7 Old Rivalries CM Punk Needs to Reignite in WWE

After almost a decade away, CM Punk made his return to WWE at Survivor Series on Nov. 25 in front of thousands of screaming fans in his hometown of Chicago.

While the three letters on the logo are the same, WWE is a vastly different company than it was when The Best in the World made his exit in 2014.

John Cena was still a top star, Cody Rhodes still had a mustache, Fandango was still a dancer, Cesaro still used the name Antonio, The Shield had yet to break up, and Vince McMahon was still running the show as the majority shareholder.

Now, Endeavor owns WWE, McMahon is no longer the main voice in the creative process, stars such as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have been elevated to the main event level, and many of Punk's former co-workers have either moved on or retired.

However, a handful of people from the 45-year-old's original run are still around, which means there are some old rivalries that can be reignited.

Let's look at a few of the feuds we might see now that Punk is back in WWE.

Randy Orton

Randy Orton is one of the longest-tenured members of the WWE roster and one of its most decorated Superstars. He has done just about everything there is to do in the company multiple times, but his own return at Survivor Series showed he is nowhere near ready to hang up his boots.

Not only did The Viper look reinvigorated to be back in the ring, but he is also in the best shape of his entire career. He has added some bulk, toned his physique and seems to have a more upbeat attitude in general.

Orton has been one of the few constants in WWE for the past two decades. He has been in the ring with stars from multiple generations, and one man he knows quite well is Punk.

They have had many encounters over the years, with their feud even taking them to a singles match at WrestleMania 27.

With Orton signing a contract to be on SmackDown, he and Punk may not be around each other too much going forward, but we all knew the walls separating the two brands are paper thin.

Punk and The Apex Predator will cross paths again, and when they do, WWE will have a lot of history to draw from to create a new storyline.

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins

The Shield and Punk are forever linked due to the storyline that brought the trio to the main roster in 2012.

Dean Ambrose is signed to All Elite Wrestling as Jon Moxley, but Rollins and Reigns have become two of the top Superstars in WWE.

Reigns and The Bloodline have been running SmackDown with a red-gloved fist for nearly three years, while Rollins has been the face of Raw ever since he won the World Heavyweight Championship in May.

This gives Punk two big targets to aim for. If his goal is to become a champion again, those are the two people he is going to have to face at the moment.

A feud with The Tribal Chief would print money, but the way Rollins reacted to Punk's return at Survivor Series and the subsequent Raw makes their potential storyline much more interesting.

The Visionary has not been shy about his thoughts on Punk, but if they can work together to put on some great matches, everyone will benefit in the end.

The Mysterio Family

Rey Mysterio and Punk crossed paths in 2007 during a random six-man tag team match on SmackDown, but their first singles contest came at the 2008 Armageddon pay-per-view.

Between 2007 and 2014, they were in the ring together a total of 99 times between live events, TV tapings and PPVs, according to Cagematch.

They know each other well and would be able to draw on that existing chemistry to deliver some great performances, but now that Dominik Mysterio is an active competitor in WWE, Punk may be eying the son of his former rival.

The Chicago native posted an image of him and Dom in the ring with Rey many years before the younger Mysterio laced up a pair of boots, and the Judgment Day member responded with a photo mocking both Punk and his father.

With The Judgment Day declaring it runs Raw on a weekly basis, it seems likely the group will end up in the ring with Punk at some point.

Whether it's against the father or the son, there is gold to be mined from a Mysterio-Punk feud.

Triple H

For all intents and purposes, Triple H is the guy in charge behind the scenes at WWE.

Nick Khan and others may run the business side of the company, but the television product is mostly dictated by The Game these days. In fact, he was instrumental in bringing Punk back into the fold.

Even though he is retired from in-ring competition, making Triple H the new corporate villain Punk must fight could lead to some great TV.

The two men have a lot of history, both good and bad. They have had many fights, but now that he is a suit instead of a rebel as he was during his D-Generation X days, The King of Kings has different priorities.

Building a storyline about Punk coming back to finally drive the last remnant of the McMahon family out of power would allow HHH to recruit some allies to do his fighting for him. That is how you get The Straight Edge Superstar into the ring against some of the newer competitors he has never faced before.

Gunther and Grayson Waller are just two of many names who come to mind, but if the script was flipped and Punk was the heel, Triple H could recruit babyface protégés such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa to his cause.

There are a lot of ways WWE could tell this story and a lot of young stars who would benefit from being in a program like this.

AJ Styles and Luke Gallows

AJ Styles had a handful of matches against Punk in the early 2000s, but the two have never had a contest in a major promotion before. The closest they came were two bouts for the ROH Pure Championship in 2004.

It's time they had a real program.

The best part about this is that it opens the door to integrate a secondary feud against one of Punk's former Straight Edge Society allies, Luke Gallows.

After the group disbanded, The Best in the World had one singles match against Gallows on SmackDown in 2010 but never had the chance of a real feud following Punk abandoning the group during a handicap match against Big Show at SummerSlam the same year.

Styles and Gallows have been thick as thieves for many years in WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Having The Club target Punk would also give the group a chance to turn heel, which might be what it needs to be relevant again.

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The number of current stars who were in WWE in 2014 is small, but it has enough big names to create at least a couple of years' worth of stories for Punk. Who do you think he should get back in the ring with after almost 10 years away?