WWE: Vince McMahon Wants CM Punk Back, Here’s Why He Shouldn’t

Vince McMahon appeared on a special WWE Network edition of the Steve Austin Show podcast, where he fielded questions from legendary WWE Superstar “Stone Cold” Steve Austin on a number of wrestling-related subjects.

While the two get along better than they did in the Attitude Era when McMahon was putting Austin over with what fans will agree were some of the worst Stunner reactions ever recorded, that didn’t stop Austin from asking Mr. McMahon some tough questions, particularly concerning one CM Punk.

The CM Punk podcast episode of professional wrestler Colt Cabana’s podcast is now Internet-legendary for the verbal beating that Punk gave the WWE.

Effectively, that interview seemed to kill all hopes of a Vince McMahon and CM Punk reunion, but as McMahon points out on the SAS podcast, he’s managed to mend relationships with all kinds of controversial stars — Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior to name two.

He hopes that can be done with Punk, but now many WWE fans are asking why.

The message boards are heavily divided on whether a CM Punk return would do any good at all. After all, detractors claim, Punk is about as loose of a cannon as you can get.

He’s not afraid to make his employers look bad, and that’s something the WWE can’t take too much of in the wake of sluggish stock and a faltering streaming network.

He’s also quick to take his ball and go home if he feels things aren’t going his way, and some point out that he hasn’t met a good idea yet that he didn’t feel comfortable taking credit for, even if he had nothing to do with it.

His recent bashing of Ryback also shows that he isn’t the best at keeping up employee morale.

Still, all these views are mostly opinions. To really solidify the case against CM Punk and express why Vince McMahon should stay away from the Straight-Edge superstar, the opposition points out this 2012 piece by Bleacher Report‘s Maria Cane.

While the article supports Punk, it does point out that during his time, especially when he was WWE Champion, he simply never drew. In fact, ratings consistently tumbled from 2007 to 2012, the height of Punk’s popularity and influence with the company.

While a champion doesn’t make a company, it’s worth noting that the problem existed not only when CM Punk was champ, but also while he was rising to prominence. Even during those times, ratings were alarmingly bleak compared to the days of the Attitude Era.

Vince McMahon, the anti-Punk crowd claims, is in a unique position to give his company a fresh start if only he would start pushing some of the young talent he has like Bray Wyatt and “Bad News” Barrett instead of resorting to Old Guard guys like Punk, John Cena, and a part-time Brock Lesnar.

But what do you think, readers? Are people right to doubt the effectiveness of CM Punk as a significant draw or do the low ratings have nothing to do with him? Also, is Vince McMahon right to want Punk back at some point? Share your thoughts in our comments section.