Chris Jericho On CM Punk’s Return: He Came Back With More Of A Sigh Than A Scream

Chris Jericho weighs in on CM Punk‘s return.

While CM Punk may work for Fox and not WWE, his return on WWE Backstage was headline news over the past couple of weeks. Punk reportedly had offers from Fox and AEW, deciding to join Fox as a special contributor and analyst on WWE Backstage rather than sign with AEW in some capacity.

AEW World Champion and former Punk foe Chris Jericho weighed in on Punk’s return in an interview with Uproxx.

“It’s a long time coming,” said Jericho. “We knew there would be a Mötley Crüe reunion and we knew CM Punk would come back to wrestling. It was just a matter of time. I think he came back with more of a sigh than a scream. It seems kinda funny that he came back on a show that drew 150,000 viewers where it could have been 5 million viewers. But if it’s part of the process to slowly wean him into the wrestling business, then good. The WWE sure needs him. You need stars in the business. Good for him for coming back. I just think it was not as big as it could have been or should have been. He’s back for the first time in five years and no one really cares. But I’m sure it will lead to more. I don’t see how it can’t.”

When asked if he was disappointed AEW couldn’t sign Punk, Jericho stated, “I’m not disappointed. I know there were some conversations, but Punk’s his own guy. Could we have used him? Yes. Does it hurt us to not have him? No, not at all.”

Punk is not scheduled to be part of Tuesday’s episode of WWE Backstage. You can read a full recap of his official debut by clicking here. It is unknown if Punk will return to WWE Raw, SmackDown, or NXT. Triple H recently stated that he has not talked to Punk about a return and Punk has noted that he is not actively pursuing an in-ring return.