At the 2014 Royal Rumble , CM Punk was eliminated from the Royal Rumble match, was choke-slammed through an announce table, and hasn’t been on WWE programming since. CM Punk’s decision to leave the wrestling business was heartbreaking to many fans. Ten months later, he told his story during an edition of The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana, which led to a lawsuit between Punk and WWE that is still going.
During the interview, Punk said disparaging things about WWE’s Creative, the backstage politics, and most importantly, the medical staff’s refusal to treat some of his injuries. In particular, Dr. Chris Amann is the one behind the lawsuit against Punk and Cabana. However, it’s being reported that WWE is bankrolling the lawsuit, but they are using several legal tactics to possibly make peace between the company and Punk.
On paper, it doesn’t sound like WWE officials want to let cooler heads prevail. Cabana is claiming that the company is trying to force Punk to “waste” money on legal fees. That’s something that Punk can afford, but he may not want to give up the kind of money that WWE officials want to put on the table. Cabana has gone on record to say that he can’t afford the lawsuit, so it will be interesting to see how the legal issues develop.
It’s very clear that WWE officials want the lawsuit to go away, but it’s a complex olive branch between Punk and WWE for the two parties to put the legal issues to bed. The WWE Universe remains hopeful that both parties can find peace and possibly rebuild the bridge between them. A return to the ring for CM Punk may be too much, but something like a Legends contract or a WWE Hall of Fame induction could be possible.
As of this writing, the legal conflict between Punk and WWE will continue based on the former’s decisions over the coming months. He may not see the value in spending more money than he has to, but there’s a lot of bad blood between the two sides, even after almost four years. It seems the lawsuit will go as far as Punk wants to take it, so the ball is in his court. Hopefully, both parties can soon stop thinking about the past.
[Featured Image by WWE]
