AEW re-signing The Elite was the last straw for CM Punk - Reports

AEW recently released CM Punk after a backstage altercation, but could the star have planned his exit long before All In? Dave Meltzer believes it could have begun after The Elite was re-signed.

Despite rumors that The Elite could have potentially left AEW, in the end, all the members of the faction were re-signed to the promotion. Additionally, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks kept their EVP status, but could this have been the moment CM Punk decided to leave?

During an episode of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer claimed that some in the AEW locker room believe that CM Punk made his final decision once The Elite re-signed.

"I can't say because I can't get into his brain, but yes, there were a lot of people that thought that when the contract was signed with The Young Bucks, Omega, and Page that he wanted out and that something was going to happen." [H/T: TJR Wrestling]

WWE's locker room was reportedly buzzing about CM Punk's potential return to the promotion. While some stars were open to the idea, a number of top stars believed it wasn't the right move.

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Missed out on last week's AEW Dynamite? Catch up with the results here.

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Meltzer also alleged that CM Punk could have been spooked by AEW Collision's falling ratings

AEW Collision initially kicked off a soft roster split and featured starkly different booking compared to Dynamite and Rampage. Many fans praised the show online, despite how the ratings began to fall over time.

Continuing in the same episode, Meltzer proposed that Punk could have felt anxious after MJF and Adam Cole pushed Collision's ratings up.

"He thought that because the ratings for Collision were so much lower, I think the one that was the bad one was when Cole and MJF came, the ratings skyrocketed and when they weren't back they went back down. That was the one that established that Max and Adam Cole are the draws in the company. It's going to go down without him, he was the biggest draw on that show." [H/T: TJR Wrestling]

Bully Ray recently addressed CM Punk's exit and how it'll affect Collision going forward. According to the veteran, too many fans watched the show for Punk and the difference in atmosphere, and this will ultimately ruin the potential it could've had.

What are your thoughts on the entire CM Punk drama? Sound off in the comments section below.