CM Punk’s WWE return for WrestleMania has turned out to be a disappointment for fans. But now we’re left wondering if the Daniel Bryan finale could have had a different ending.
In a related report by The Inquisitr , CM Punk was already spotted in New Orleans for WrestleMania XXX , although whether he was there as participant or to simply watch AJ Lee defend her Diva championship was the question of the day. If you don’t know by now, it turns out Philip Brooks and AJ Lee are now engaged officially so everyone was kind of expecting him to be here in some capacity. Although, there was also the rumor that Stone Cold Steve Austin would face off against CM Punk … at WrestleMania 31.
Now Austin, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan did show up on stage together at the beginning, but at the time all the focus was on the upcoming Daniel Bryan VS Triple H match, which Bryan obviously won. Speaking of Austin, he’d also predicted that CM Punk’s WWE return would occur at WrestleMania 30:
“I’m telling you, I’m going to stick to my prediction that CM Punk is going to make his return at WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans. I made this prediction two months ago here on the show. It’s been a long time, I think he’s cooled his jets, he’s got some rest, and I think it’s time to get back to work. I don’t see him participating in a match but it would be great to see him in a run-in to establish himself, to entrench himself immediately in a memorable and just a great moment, and I would say plant himself firmly in the middle of an angle, because he would be the angle, by attacking whoever he sees fit to attack or asserting his presence rather, whatever the case may be. But I see CM Punk coming back at WrestleMania 30. Who knows if it will happen. We will know in about six short days when WrestleMania actually happens.”
Now at one point we predicted that if CM Punk showed up it’d be during the Daniel Bryant VS Triple H match, but as soon as we realized it was the opening we figured it’d be near the end. During the entire time there was not a hint that Philip Brooks was anywhere in New Orleans, not even when his newly minted fiancee AJ Lee came out to defend her Divas title. We thought he might show up in hoodie somewhere to offer congratulations but if he’s in the building it was somewhere in the backstage.
So with 15 minutes left to go on WrestleMania 30 we figured CM Punk might show up in order to help… especially once Triple H showed up as part of the no disqualification match. This little twist also meant that CM Punk could legally help Bryan win and it would have been a major diss against the authority.
Of course, what do you do when a crooked referee comes in to help the authority? Even Triple H’s infamous sledgehammer made an appearance only to have Batista and Orton team up to put Bryan through the tables. At this point the crowd realized how unfair the match was becoming and they started chanting the name of CM Punk.
Even as Bryan was taken out of the ring on a medical stretcher we knew something would happen. Sure enough, the yes movement rose him back to life and he came back on the ring. So if CM Punk’s WWE return were to happen this would be the perfect moment. But in the end Bryan did not need any help because he managed to get Dave Batista to tap out. The End?
Hopefully, the fans who mixed cheers for Bryan and CM Punk won’t start throwing trash onto the ring now, but I doubt it since the yes movement got their way. Quite frankly, if Philip Brooks had suddenly shown up it would have been a memorable moment but it also would have stolen the thunder from Bryan’s achievement.
What do you think about CM Punk not returning for WrestleMania 30? Do you think he’ll ever fight in the WWE again?