March 9, 2020. That was the last WWE show to have actual fans before the pandemic shut everything down. Now, fans are back!

Yet, with the way cases are rising, they may be headed back to the P.C. or the Yuengling Center whether they like it or not. I’ll come back to that later.

So, we’ve had a couple of busy news weeks. Other than John Cena and the fans returning, the rumors of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan potentially being All Elite have made waves. Yet, would either of them be the difference maker(s) in this pseudo-war against WWE? Maybe. Other than his two losses in UFC and “that podcast”, what has Punk been doing lately? Would he even be relevant now? Bryan going to AEW would hardly burn his bridges with Vince McMahon. The both of them going would cause a surge in ratings, but probably not enough to move the needle ala Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

For a four year period, the one topic – other than Montreal – that was always present in his interviews was whether Shawn Michaels was gonna return to the ring. When he did return, it was gonna be a one-off, but he stayed and it became a great comeback story. The difference is HBK’s run didn’t end on his terms. He stayed in the public eye too.

We didn’t think Sable, Warrior, Bret Hart, and Matt Hardy would return. They did, and they all got treated badly, especially Bret and he didn’t forgive Shawn for 12 years.

Vince knew to strike while the iron was hot. CM Punk let it all hang out as WWE Champion John Cena was in the ring reeling from a table spot. Just like that, he was the hottest thing since sliced bread. He moved the needle and he had leverage. Punk and Cena tore the house down, but then Triple H had to come along and mess it all up.

That gets me thinking. If only Vince was an issue, I’d say Phil Brooks would re-sign with him. Has Punk forgiven Triple H for bringing him down when he was red-hot? He had to have been behind some of Punk’s bad booking in the next 2.5 years, especially after SummerSlam ’11. It’s a known fact Stephanie didn’t like him.

Punk could be full of it, but he knew what Triple H wanted at WrestleMania XXX. He needed to face CM Punk so he could run him down in the lead-up and make Punk’s victory mean less.

There are those who would argue that Punk was buried after MITB ’11. I’m not certain if ‘buried’ is the right word, but he was weighed-down. Yes, when he was champion for 434 days, he had to play second-fiddle to Cena. He’s not alone. The Rock was a hot commodity, but before Stone Cold’s neck surgery, he didn’t get to headline as much as he should’ve. He couldn’t headline his own PPV thanks to Austin.

He did have a fantastic match with the Undertaker, some classics with Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, and Brock Lesnar. Also that great angle with AJ Lee.

There’s my take. If he returns to the ring, he returns. Not holding my breath.

Final thought

I said I would come back to it, so here it is.

I’m not gonna tell you how to live your life or how to take precautions with your health, but the question’s gotta be asked. Why don’t more people care about protecting their fellow man? It shouldn’t be a hard decision. If you have people you care about, you would wanna protect them. My friend who has scleroderma, I avoided her for over a year out of fear that I would infect her. I waited until after I got my second shot to see her in person.

Think about it.

Don’t mess with the X.