10. CM Punk
WWE.comLets get the elephant out of the room straight away. The contract is up late in July so maybe there will be further news on Punks status by the time of SummerSlam but, until there is, the unfortunate truth for Phil Brooks is that the ghost of CM Punk will be hanging around for quite some time yet. Every time the WWE goes to Chicago, the expectation of a return will be there. Everytime AJ wrestles, the expectation will be there. Also, everytime it looks like a serve or a rescue is needed in a big match...the expectation will be there. Is this cameo likely? Of course not, but it would be remiss to ignore it. The other reason the cameo is unlikely is because the WWE has moved on massively since January. The Shield has broken up and all three are moving rapidly up the card. The Wyatts are programme dominators. Daniel Bryan rescued the gap in Punks departure. Also, Cena is back on top and Lesnar is planning on ripping him apart. Does Punk fit in anywhere here? Not really. If he does return, and isnt punished and demoted down the card immediately, then he has to return near the top. If Lesnar decimates Cena in similar fashion to Extreme Rules (without the flukey finish), a good way to end the PPV would be Heyman and his client celebrating in the ring before Cult of Personality plays and Punk steps out. This would work because of his storied history with both men but also because it throws a new (old?) feud straight into the Autumn programming. It would set Punk as the good guy and also as the radical wrestler who plays by his rules. If Daniel Bryan is injured longer, then this return would help before the inevitable Roman Reigns run. Will this happen? If bookies took bets, itd probably be 1000/1.