CM Punk: Latest News and Buzz Surrounding Former WWE Star Before Payback

At last year's Payback, WWE fans hoped, in spite of how unlikely it was, that CM Punk would return home, strap on a pair of wrestling boots and return to the industry that made him famous. Leading up to Payback 2015, that thought is all but nonexistent.

Punk is entrenched in his post-WWE life now. He composes stories for comic books and is preparing for his UFC debut.

There's no talk of a WWE return—at Payback or any other event.

The WWE world hasn't let him go, though. His name has been mentioned in many an interview with current wrestlers. An old opponent believes Punk has one more match in him. Another foe isn't buying the story Punk is selling.

Long after his departure from the squared circle, buzz still surrounds Punk.

Conversations about Punk 

Wrestlers and the WWE boss himself have been unable to escape questions about Punk. Despite his departure taking place more than a year ago, the former world champ popped up in several recent interviews.

Vince McMahon gave a brief interview with the Chicago Tribune, in which he talked about the possibility of WrestleMania coming back to Chicago at some point and his relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. When asked about whether he's tired of hearing "CM Punk!" chants, he simply said "no."

Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns offered more information when they spoke about Punk.

Joe appeared on The Ross Report to talk with Jim Ross and said that he would love to face Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles or Punk again. That last option seems highly unlikely, considering Punk's recent attitude toward wrestling. The Samoan Submission Machine, though, seems to think Punk would consider it.

He told Ross: "I know he very much wants to have one last one, one last go. I'm sure he'd love for it to be 100 minutes or 90 minutes, but we'll see how that goes."

Wrestling Hut provides a clip of the discussion:

The folks at Ring of Honor or whoever would host that bout have to be salivating at the idea. A one-off Punk match would be a huge draw if it ever happened.

Reigns, meanwhile, disputed Punk's claim that he came up with the idea of the Shield. During a Q&A session at Philadelphia's Comic Con (h/t Fansided), a fan asked him about that and Reigns took a shot at his old rival.

He said: "The only thing he made was that Pepsi tattoo on his shoulder. I think a lot of people had their hands in on the Shield. We have a huge creative team that's just a part of the process, but ultimately, myself, Dean and Seth made the Shield."

Punk also had to deal with a shot from a fan who mocked him for quitting. To his credit, Punk played nice and simply wished Rusev well in his upcoming bout with John Cena:

The comment from the fan clearly got his attention, but it's hard to imagine that kind of thing affecting him. Punk has a lot of things going right for him lately, including some gigs in the world of comic books.

Writing Projects

Opportunities to pen comics continue to come Punk's way. His writing an issue of Thor Annual appears to have been just a warm-up.

He recently contributed to DC Comics' Strange Sports Stories, writing about a cursed baseball team. It's a story of which Punk says he's proud:

Speaking with Matt Fowler of IGN, Punk said that he was nervous about how fans would react. In wrestling, he got immediate feedback; in comics, there's "a much longer wait for a payoff," as he puts it. His perception of where he is as a writer sounds a lot like his state as a UFC fighter.

He told Fowler, "I'm still trying to get my feet under me. I'm still learning the ropes.

Next up for Punk on the storytelling front is writing an entire book. He will be tackling a Drax the Destroyer series.

Ryan Renagos of Marvel Comics tweeted the news:

Wrestling fans will notice that one of the spectators on that cover looks a lot like Colt Cabana. There's another wrestling connection with this gig as well: Drax the Destroyer is the character Batista played in Guardians of the Galaxy.

In an interview with SB Nation, Punk said that he texted Batista about the oddness of the situation and they shared a laugh about it. Punk told SB Nation: "It's definitely bizarre. It's almost one of those stories where you wouldn't be able to make this up."

The narrative of Punk's UFC career may end up having that same quality. The first chapter of that tale, though, is still a good distance away. Punk is busy writing the prologue.

UFC Training

Curious spectators await Punk's first fight in the UFC. It's not clear when that will come. He only just had his second scrimmage.

Trainer Duke Roufous noted that and tweeted a shot of him, Punk, AJ Lee and others:

"

Great 2nd scrimmage today by @CMPunk today at @Roufusport @danawhite #UFC #MMA #MixedMartialArts #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/5gqi95OF5o

— Duke Roufus (@dukeroufus) May 1, 2015"

And although Punk has a lot of training and scrimmages ahead of him, in his interview with SB Nation, he said that he thinks he's six months away from being "ready to go." That would make his debut somewhere around November. 

Until then, it's going to be a constant series of lessons in the gym. 

On what is hardest about UFC training, he told SB Nation: "Getting my reaction time down for stuff. I know when I do stuff wrong, or when I'm in a bad position. It's just fighting out of those positions and really putting it all together."

It's becoming more and more of a reality that he will be eventually be doing that fighting in the Octagon rather than a mat in a gym.

The stories he tells in comic books are certainly intriguing, but it's the one he will tell in the heat of battle that will be most compelling. The transition from pro wrestler to MMA fighter will feel complete then. And we will all have plenty to talk about, regardless of how that narrative ends.