CM Punk Not Being Released, What Usos Run Could Have Been

Fans have been expecting it since his suspension, but CM Punk is not being released yet. Plus, we have a glimpse of what the Usos tag title run could have been.

CM Punk Not Being Released

In a bit of a surprise, it seems CM Punk is not being released yet, and Tony Khan has no plans to do so.

That news is courtesy of the Wrestling Observer.

We all know that he has not been released yet-such a move would have been quite notable.

But CM Punk not being released yet, you’d figure it’s just a matter of time.

It might be, but right now, Khan has no plans to release Punk.

There’s a lot to unpack there.

For the longest time, CM Punk was a desired free agent. Any time WWE was stale, fans would chant for him.

Then, AEW was born, and it wasn’t long before Punk wasn’t a free agent anymore.

One of the company’s bigger signings, it’s understandable why the boss might not like the idea of CM Punk being released.

After all, it’s been noted before that other stars have asked for their release, and AEW has not always granted that.

In fact, especially since Triple H took over, Tony Khan has been pretty much against granting releases-something of a reversal for him.

It is not clear whether new WWE leadership is partly to blame for why CM Punk hasn’t been released yet.

But to be honest, considering Punk was injured on the evening of the All Out brawl, he can’t wrestle yet anyways.

For now, releasing him does nothing for Punk. Even if Khan wanted him gone, it isn’t like Punk would show up in the 2023 Royal Rumble.

Plus, with as much money as the Khans have…Tony probably would rather pay CM Punk to stay home, as opposed to releasing him and watching him on RAW or SmackDown.

Of course, some fans still hold out hope for an AEW return…

I know I’m going against the grain, but I want this so badly #aew #aewdon #theelite #kennyomega #youngbucks #cmpunk #ftr pic.twitter.com/AUALKNND2T

— Christine (@ShiningPolaris) January 16, 2023

What Usos Run Could Have Been

As we think we are nearing the end of the unified tag titles, we can discuss what the Usos run could have been.

Or, not been, as it turns out.

According to Meltzer, as much as WWE had planned to unify the RAW and SmackDown titles with Roman Reigns…the tag belts were not intended to be unified.

But then…why were they?

To put it simply, this came down to Randy Orton’s condition.

To recap that a bit, Orton and Matt Riddle were enjoying a run as RAW tag champions.

Their own reign was not expected to last, but it did.

But…Randy Orton was dealing with a major injury. It became clear that Orton’s injury was going to take him out of action.

In fact, there were rumblings after the fact that Orton’s back injury might end up being a career ending situation.

When all of that became clear, WWE made the decision to give Jimmy and Jey the tag belts for both brands, and they’ve had them ever since.

But…had Randy Orton’s back not given out, we might have never seen a unified tag title reign from The Usos.