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CM Punk made his shocking return to professional wrestling on Friday, August 20th, 2021, joining the ranks at All Elite Wrestling. The date will be forever etched in history as the day that Punk returned to wrestling after a seven-year absence.
CM Punk's career started in 1999, and he has wrestled all over the world on the independent scene and in WWE. You might expect that he would have faced all of the best wrestlers out there during such a long career. But he hasn't.
That being said, let's take a look at five wrestlers CM Punk has never wrestled against before, in no particular order.
#5 CM Punk has never faced Kurt Angle
A match between CM Punk and Kurt Angle would no doubt be considered a dream match. Sadly, it has never happened anywhere in the world. It leaves us scratching our heads as to why this match ultimately never happened.
Kurt Angle was signed to WWE between 1999 and 2006 before departing for IMPACT Wrestling. For Punk, he just broke through onto the main roster at WWE in 2006, debuting for WWE's version of ECW. Their paths crossed, but not long enough for them to step into the ring together.
Angle is considered one of the best wrestlers ever, the Second City Saint dubs himself the 'Best in the World,' the match would write itself. Best vs. best. There could have even been a twist with the straight-edge superstar bringing up Kurt Angle's past of substance abuse to add more fire to the storyline.
Kurt Angle has previously spoken about the possibility of facing Punk before on his Kurt Angle Show Podcast:
"That’s a tough one. I never talked to him. I don’t really know him, but I watched his wrestling and I really appreciated it and that is CM Punk. We would have had a great match. It would have been incredible. I would have loved to work with him. He’s fire with promos." Kurt Angle said (h/t Sportzwiki)
Sadly, this isn't a match we are going to get to see. Kurt Angle has retired from professional wrestling following his defeat to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35.
Like all professional wrestling, though, never say never. Could Kurt Angle rock up in AEW for one last match someday? If he does, CM Punk has to be at the top of that list.
#4 CM Punk has never faced Adam Cole
Adam Cole's rise came after CM Punk's successful run in the indies. They've never crossed paths on the independent scene or national television. Could that all change now that Punk has signed with AEW and Cole could potentially be on his way too?
It's considered a dream match by many, and could come to fruition with Adam Cole reportedly no longer under contract with WWE. Only time will tell, but what a huge wrestling match that would be between two of the very best.
Adam Cole has a lot of praise for CM Punk in regards to how his career has panned out, especially in WWE. Mr 'Bay Bay' spoke with 'My Mom's Basement' in July about the straight-edge superstar's impact:
"I do think that guys like him and Daniel Bryan are responsible for me having a job here. I really do. They made everybody open their eyes and say, ‘There are guys out there who can bring a lot to the table as independent wrestlers.’ I don’t know if he feels that way about it, but I certainly do. I just remember – I know it’s a famous one with his pipebomb promo – but he’s been cutting pipebomb promos his entire career." Adam Cole said (h/t 411 Mania)
#3 CM Punk has never faced Kevin Owens
This is a CM Punk match that definitely should have happened years ago. Both Punk and Kevin Owens were performing on the independent scene in the early 2000s. Sadly, their stars didn't align.
They crossed paths backstage in the indies on one occasion. However, it resulted in an altercation between the two. It involved a comment made by Punk about Owens wearing a T-Shirt during his match. KO commented on Punk upon returning from his match, to which the Second City Saint took offense and went on a tirade against Owens.
Whether they patched things up remains to be seen, but they could have even used that exchange as a storyline, right? Kevin Owens, as it stands, is WWE's modern version of CM Punk in some ways with a similar demeanor and attitude on WWE programming.
KO vs. The Best in the World sounds like a mouth-watering prospect.
#2 CM Punk has never faced Shinsuke Nakamura
Is there anyone else who gets goosebumps just thinking about CM Punk vs. Shinsuke Nakamura? It would light up any card it would feature on and steal the show, that's for sure.
Given their passion for the sport, this match could be a psychological roller-coaster. Shinsuke Nakamura recently spoke about getting into wrestling during Renee Pacquette's Oral Sessions podcast:
"I wanted to be a man, so that’s why I started. I was interested in martial arts. Also I’m a big fan of ninja and samurai, finally I found wrestling. So wrestlers do matches almost every day, so that makes me tough I think, then I should be a wrestler." Shinsuka Nakamura said. (h/t Wrestling Headlines)
What makes this so fascinating is that CM Punk also has a background in mixed martial arts. It's a match made in heaven if the two were to collide someday. There is still every chance the match will go down in the future somewhere, but as for now, we will just have to be patient.
#1 CM Punk has never faced Kenny Omega
Now that CM Punk has signed with All Elite Wrestling, the dream match between him and Kenny Omega could finally come to fruition.
Omega has been considered the best wrestler in the world for a number of years now. CM Punk, of course, is the 'Best in the World.' Put these two in the ring together, and you're going to get something special.
Kenny Omega recently spoke about Punk and his following with Wrestling Observer Radio:
"CM Punk, a guy who probably has a different line of thinking then your current day performer, your average performer. And he has this incredible reputation, and he has fans to this day who would follow him to the ends of the earth. A very dedicated fanbase. And that fanbase believes he’s the best in the world and will be the best until the end of time. If you’re able to have people like that who follow your career so passionately, you probably have something very special about you. It just goes to show you that the way he presented himself, the way he spoke about himself, the way he spoke to his opponents, how he performed in the ring, entrance music, his image. He was always very meticulous and he was very intelligent about how he went about it." Kenny Omega said (h/t Inside The Ropes)
It is very likely we will get to see this match sooner rather than later. We are incredibly excited to hopefully tick this off the dream match bucket list soon.
