Why Vince McMahon Won't Hire CM Punk And Alberto Del Rio

Any possible return to a WWE ring looks off the table for these two former World Champions.

by Andrew Pollard
Punk Del Rio
WWE.com

Despite regular rumours of a CM Punk wrestling return, it appears that the chances of seeing the Second City Saint back in a WWE ring are extremely minimal. And likewise, the same can be said about a certain Alberto Del Rio.

The reason why we can seemingly rule out any such return to action for Punk and Del Rio is, according to WOR, that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon does not want to do business with either of these multiple-time World Champions.

Online scuttlebutt suggested Punk may be being lined up to return and face Seth Rollins, while Del Rio himself went public earlier this month to say that he’s had talks with WWE and that he would be returning to the company before 2020 is out.

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For his part, CM Punk has always played down any talk of a return being imminent. As for Del Rio, well let’s just say he’s been known to stretch the truth a tad during interviews and public appearances.

Adding further to the Punk part of all of this, the Straight-Edge Superstar’s agent reportedly attempted to open dialogue with WWE officials at one point in time, but there was zero interest on WWE’s end – mainly because McMahon has made it clear that he won’t ever do business again with the Chicago native.

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The only reason why Punk makes sporadic appearances as an analyst on FS1’s WWE Backstage is that WWE didn’t want to rock the boat with FOX. And this latest piece of information claims that Punk’s Backstage appearances are only being limited to a maximum of one per month, as instructed by WWE.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.