Punk’s Position
On the flip side, Punk would not be in near as strong of a position as he'd probably like to think he's in. His stint in the UFC has been a complete bust to this point, with his debut delayed by injury to the point that some wonder if he’ll ever actually fight in the octagon.
With Punk already in his late 30s, an attempted return to the WWE would likely mean that his UFC career never took off. As such, what value would he bring? When Brock Lesnar left for mixed martial arts, he won the UFC Heavyweight Championship, meaning he had the potential to bring back new fans upon his return to pro wrestling.
If Punk’s UFC career is viewed as more of a publicity stunt that never amounted to anything, he may actually be in a worse negotiating position than he was when he left. And you’d have to wonder whether his pride would allow him to come back to the WWE after essentially a failed MMA career.
