1. Chicago Raw
WWE.comBut the biggest rumored return of CM Punk has to be when Raw rolled into his hometown of Chicago five weeks after Royal Rumble. At that point, fans hopes that Punk would return and enter into a main-event feud for WrestleMania were still running high. And with speculation running rampant that something big was planned for Raw, fans were amped for the show. The stage was set for March 3 to be a truly memorable night: the same fans who made the Money in the Bank PPV in 2011 unforgettable were organized (with prepared chants and instructions on how to hijack Raw) and ready to make their voices heard. Chicago Raw could have been a disastrous night for WWE especially since it turned out that the rumors of Punk appearing were false. Instead, WWE pulled a brilliant move and put on a PPV-quality episode of Raw, with a Tag Team Championship title change, a six-man match between two of the biggest factions in the company (Shield vs. Wyatts), Daniel Bryan vs. Batista, and an appearance from Brock Lesnar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhiPYrZrYXE But the biggest coup WWE pulled was having Paul Heyman lead off Raw, coming out to Punks music and delivering the bad news in a way that Wade Barrett only wishes he could do. The theme music and Heymans promo allowed boisterous fans to chant, yell and boo their collective heads off. Having Heyman out there was a perfect way to diffuse a potentially volatile situation because the crowd respected him enough (due to his reputation and longstanding relationship with Punk) to give him some leeway. As July wears on, there undoubtedly will be more rumors flying about Punks status and whether he will return to a WWE ring. Until that happens, expect the rumor to continue. Just keep a tally sheet handy to keep track of them.