3 ways Paul Heyman can return as CM Punk's manager

This past Saturday at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames fans both in attendance and at home were sent into a frenzy as CM Punk made his stunning return to the company.

This was the former WWE Champion's first appearance in the company since 2014, with him having previously left World Wrestling Entertainment under controversial circumstances.

During the latter stages of his time in the company, the Chicago native worked as a heel with the legendary Paul Heyman as his ringside manager.

Therefore, we are going to take a look at 3 potential ways, Paul Heyman and CM Punk could reunite in WWE.

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#3 - The Wiseman helps Punk against The Tribal Chief

Whilst Punk is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in the company, the face of WWE today is Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief has been world champion for more than 3 years now and during that time he has had Paul Heyman by his side.

One major match that fans will want to see is Punk against Roman Reigns, with the two stars looking to establish who the top dog in the company truly is.

Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, ECW legend Tommy Dreamer stated why he wants to see Punk and Roman face off at WrestleMania 40 next April.

"I like to strike while the iron is hot. There's a great story with Paul. There's a great story with Roman Reigns surpassing Punk who had one hell of an impressive reign. I'm also CM Punk and I want everything that I've always wanted and I have the opportunity to get it. Like I said, don't know if he negotiated it. But I want a main event at WrestleMania and it's an important thing to him., which when you're in negotiations, you get to do these things." [From 33:41 - 34:15] [H/T Sportskeeda]

If they do indeed face off on the Grandest Stage of Them All next year, fans could see a double turn as Heyman helps Punk steal his way to the gold as The Wiseman turns his back on The Tribal Chief.

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#2 - Heyman pulls double duty

For a decent majority of his time managing Punk, Paul Heyman was also the advocate for The Beast, Brock Lesnar.

The Wiseman headed down to the ring alongside both men at WrestleMania 29 in 2013 ahead of Punk's match with The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar's intense showdown with Triple H.

Speaking on The Masked Man Show last year, Paul Heyman was asked to share his thoughts on Punk's wrestling gimmick as well as if his former client can still remain as popular in the years to come.

"Where does he take the CM Punk character in 2023, 2024, 2025 and can he make that character so progressive, so revolutionary, so evolutionary, so riveting, so compelling, so different and unique than anybody that’s out there that he truly defines himself as a transformative figure, a true disruptor in the professional wrestling/sports-entertainment game? That’s the interesting part to me. What he’s doing now, no matter how hard he’s working, he’s just riding that wave of momentum." (H/T Post Wrestling)

Given his real-life love for both CM Punk and Roman Reigns, we may see Heyman pull double duty once more and manage both performers.

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#1 - Paul aids CM Punk against a WWE Hall of Famer

If CM Punk does not go one-on-one with Roman Reigns at the Show of Shows next year, another potential top star he could do battle with could be Stone Cold Steve Austin, following recent reports that the two legends may face off in Philadelphia in April.

Both performers became top stars in WWE by standing up to authority and challenging the product as we know it, with many fans having compared both performers to one another over the years.

During a recent interview with Forbes, Stone Cold gave his thoughts on CM Punk as an in-ring performer as well as a person.

"Great promo guy, great worker, he’s got his own thing going and we’re just friends. So I think I remember there’s a picture of myself and him from Chicago, my favorite town to work in, my favorite building. And I guess he had come down to where we were all hanging out. Maybe he looked up to me back in the day, but I don’t know if I so much mentored him because I think he paid his own dues. He learned it the way he did and he got over on his own merits. The fact that maybe I could have been somewhat of an influence would be flattering if that were the case. But he’s made his own career." (H/T Cageside Seats)

If Punk and Austin do face off at WrestleMania 40 next year, Paul Heyman may look to cause some outside interference to aid his old friend in defeating The Texas Rattlesnake.