Wrestling legend thinks WWE will take a major step to "punish" CM Punk if he returns (Exclusive)

CM Punk has been labeled as a bit of a problem child after the fallout of his AEW run. After Tony Khan released him, there has been a lot of talk of him wanting to return to WWE. If that happens, wrestling legend Dutch Mantell said that the company could include a special clause in his contract to "punish" him before he even returns.

On the latest episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell spoke about the possibility of CM Punk's return to WWE. He mentioned that WWE is unlikely to let the situation with Punk get out of hand the way it did at AEW.

The veteran said that WWE could include a special clause to anticipate a backstage issue with Punk should it occur:

"You mentioned Kevin Owens. Ok if he [CM Punk] had a problem with him a year ago when all of this happened because he [went up against] The Bucks. You got to put that aside, all of it. I've done a lot of things I didn't want to do. But guess what? When they told me '[If] you don't do it, you're not getting paid', I mean he'll get paid. And I bet something [will be] written in CM Punk's contract. That if anything like that happens they're going to anticipate this. And that's a way to almost punish him before he even gets there. I don't think it's going to be that big of a problem, it really won't." (From 02:44 to 03:37)

Mantell added that in such cases, there is a need to be rugged, lethal, and brutal:

"That's what you got to do. You got to be rugged, you got to be lethal, you got to be brutal." (From 03:41 to 03:49)

You can watch the full video below:

Is WWE not interested in a CM Punk return at all?

Although Punk is reportedly interested in returning to WWE, it looks like that may not happen anytime soon. There is undeniably the "never say never" mentality when it comes to WWE - something that's been emphasized many times before.

However, it may not be on the books right now, and that could be because of one man.

Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Vince McMahon, in particular, decided to turn CM Punk down:

"They turned (CM Punk) down. He wanted to go there, and the decision was a no. It can always change, and it was brought up to me that there's no such thing as 'No forever' when it comes to WWE, but it's no for now. That was the decision that was made. It's Vince's decision. Vince, Nick Khan, Paul Levesque, and obviously, they decided that the negatives outweighed the positives," said Dave Meltzer.

What is your take on the story? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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