4 Reasons Why CM Punk Must Turn Heel After Return to AEW

AEW Collision will debut on June 17 from Chicago, but the most newsworthy part of the event won't be that All Elite Wrestling has launched a third weekly show.

During last week's Dynamite, Tony Khan announced CM Punk would be back on AEW television that night for the first time since All Out on September 4.

While a lot of fans expressed happiness to have Punk back, there was a noticeably mixed reaction in the arena during the announcement, which is more of an opportunity than some people might realize.

Professional wrestling is built upon the basic concept of good vs. evil, or in this case, babyfaces vs. heels. The Straight-Edge Superstar has been working as a face since he made his AEW debut on the premiere episode of Rampage in August 2021.

Let's take a look at a few reasons why Khan might want to consider booking Punk as a villain after his return.

Punk Hasn't Been a Heel in Almost 10 Years

Before Punk arrived in AEW, he had been out of the wrestling game for several years. His UFC run ended after two fights, and his short stint as a host for WWE Backstage on Fox was largely uneventful.

When he left WWE, his character was working as a babyface, which means the last time we saw him work as a heel was almost 10 years ago at Payback on June 16, 2013.

During the Raw after the pay-per-view, Paul Heyman turned on The Second City Saint when Brock Lesnar attacked him, turning him into a face and initiating a feud between the two former world champions.

That means the debut episode of Collision will take place on the 10th anniversary of his last babyface turn. It would be so poetic if Punk turned heel again on the same date.

Not only would it help freshen up his character, but it would be genuinely surprising if Punk used his return promo to lambast the crowd and declare his intentions to defeat all of our heroes in AEW.

These days, anything that surprises people in pro wrestling is usually going to create a lot of buzz.

Being Heel Opens Up a Lot of New Feuds

One reason why Khan may want to consider turning Punk heel would be the number of high-level babyfaces currently on the roster.

Becoming a bad guy would open up a whole new list of potential opponents for the former AEW champion that he didn't have a chance to face during his first year.

Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, "Hangman" Adam Page, Adam Cole, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Wardlow, Eddie Kingston, the Hardys, the Lucha Bros, Keith Lee and a slew of other names would all become potential rivals, and that's not even counting all of the people who could come through the Forbidden Door for a quick program.

Granted, some of those names might be off the table if Punk and The Elite haven't made up, but that still leaves a lot of people to consider. Even though he and Kingston locked horns, they did so while Punk was a face. The dynamic would be totally different this time around.

There are still plenty of heels Punk could face when he returns, such as the Blackpool Combat Club, the Jericho Appreciation Society and House of Black, but having him play the bad guy against the company's top faces might be the more interesting option right now.

Being a Heel Would Negate Mixed Responses

When Khan announced Punk's impending return last week, you could hear some fans at the Viejas Arena in San Diego who didn't sound too excited to see him back.

There is no doubt Chicago will give him a hero's welcome as it always does, but once he settles back in and visits other cities, we might not see him received as warmly as he was.

The Elite has an extremely loyal fanbase who likely hold Punk responsible for the backstage altercation that took place at All Out, so when AEW visits a city that tends to favor the Bucks or Omega, the locals likely won't be looking to cheer The Straight-Edge Superstar.

Turning Punk heel would solve that problem. The fans who already want to boo him could do so freely, and those who want to boo the bad guys would be right there with them.

Sometimes you have to listen to the crowd and change plans accordingly. If Punk is not universally welcomed back by the AEW audience, making him a villain is the best path forward.

Punk Is More Entertaining as a Heel

Punk is a great pro wrestler who can work on both sides of the fence, but he is often more interesting when he's the bad guy.

Being straight edge makes it easy for him to act superior to everyone else, but it's more than that. He seems to have this knack for getting under people's skin when he wants to, and that is a trait you don't usually see in a heroic character.

His biggest asset might just be his ability to pick somebody apart verbally. He zeroes in on somebody's weakness and uses pointed insults to chip away at a person's patience. Few people are as good at making you want to punch them in the face as Punk.

If AEW did turn him heel right after his return, he would be able to turn against the crowd and claim nobody had his back when things went south last year.

If he and The Elite are able to put their differences aside and work together on a feud, being able to call the crowd a bunch of simps for The Young Bucks, Hangman and Omega would generate instant heat and a lot of ticket sales.

---

There are arguments to be made for both keeping Punk a babyface and turning him heel. What do you think is the right way to go?