CM Punk Shoots Down AEW Rumors, Details Talks with Cody Rhodes, Matt Jackson

Although he's participating in the third Starrcast convention in Chicago, CM Punk reiterated he has no agreement in place nor a desire to join All Elite Wrestling for a return to the squared circle.

In an interview with ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Punk confirmed he had communicated with Cody Rhodes, an AEW star executive vice president, but played down what that meant:

"The last thing I got—I got a text from Cody. And again, I almost don't even know how to reply to them sometimes, because if I reply, they do interviews and are like, 'Oh yeah, I just talked to Punk.' I'm kind of damned if I do, damned if I don't. I always think if somebody wants to do business with me, they can come talk to me. Texting offers isn't really a way to do good business, at least."

Punk also relayed how he sent a congratulatory text message to AEW star Matt Jackson, who's also an executive VP, following Double or Nothing in May. The narrative then got turned into him having "a great relationship" with AEW President Tony Khan.

In general, the former WWE champion explained to Raimondi how he's in a no-win position to some extent.

"My silence to some fans means something," he said. "They're trying to read the tea leaves, but there's nothing to read. ... Anything is possible, but I've been saying this for five years, man. People are mad at me. I don't understand how a stranger can get furious at somebody else."

Punk made a surprise appearance for MKE Wrestling, an independent promotion in Milwaukee, in April:

At no point has he ever indicated he's remotely close to a full-fledged comeback, though. Time and again he has tried to make it explicitly clear he's done with wrestling in any meaningful capacity.

But fans are conditioned to cast a sideways glance toward anything a major star says publicly. Whether true or not, the assumption is it could all be a part of some storyline that's going to unfold in the near future. Of course Punk would want to talk down a partnership with AEW now because it would make his debut at All Out on Aug. 31 even more shocking.

There's a point, though, at which fans have to simply take things at face value. It must be extremely tedious for Punk to give the same response anytime he's asked about possibly getting back in the ring.