The wrestling world stood still Saturday night as CM Punk returned to WWE at the conclusion of the Survivor Series pay-per-view, nearly an entire decade after walking out on the company amid creative frustration and burnout.

The moment popped the fans in Chicago's Allstate Arena, drove astronomical numbers across social media platforms, and created an undeniable buzz around the product just over two months after he was fired, with cause, from All Elite Wrestling following a backstage altercation with Jack Perry.

For fans, it was an unforgettable moment orchestrated by a Chief Content Officer in Triple H more willing to give them what they wanted than his predecessor. For Punk himself, the moment represented the start of his last chance to write the storybook ending to a career and legacy that deserves it.

A Soiled Reputation

Punk's stint in AEW, and dismissal from the company, left him with the reputation of being volatile and difficult to work with. Some formerly ardent fans of the Chicago native revoked their support for him, viewing him as a malcontent who set the growth and evolution of the company back.

The All Out 2022 media scrum (video contains profanity), coupled with the backstage brawl that followed, and the All In altercation with Perry, erased any and all goodwill he had created for himself by returning to the industry after a seven-year absence in August of 2021 and setting out to work with the best and brightest young stars in the promotion.

We will never fully know who was at fault in which scenario, why they happened in the first place, if anything was done by those in power to prevent them from happening, or the complete and unbiased details of any of it, but what is readily apparent is that Punk did more to hurt his legacy during his stint with AEW than help it.

It is against that backdrop that Punk returns to WWE, with an opportunity to prove that the guy who fairly consistently found himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in AEW was more a product of his surroundings than anything.

It will not be easy.

Regardless of the shock, awe, and excitement that fans greeted him with Saturday night, there will be a subsection of the audience that believes he was in the wrong in AEW and will not be willing to accept him at face value.

There is an entire backstage area of coworkers who believe what they hear about his prior run with WWE or the controversies in AEW or have their own previous, personal experiences with Punk.

Triple H, the man responsible for bringing Punk back, has a complex history with him, acknowledging as much in his post on X (formerly Twitter) following Saturday's shocking return.

Much has already been made of World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins' reaction to his return. Act or not, there is history between them. Rollins acknowledged during an appearance on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast, in the midst of a feud with Matt Riddle, that he is willing to give second chances and do business, however, and the same should be expected with Punk if they can mend fences.

He faces doubters and critics who will not be willing to give him a pass or readily accept him into a locker room that has thrived since the changeover in leadership that placed Triple H at the forefront of the company.

With that said, the CCO has repeatedly proven willing to let bygones be bygones and it will be up to Punk himself to ultimately decide what lasting impression he leaves on the industry by way of this final run with WWE.

An Undeniable Career

This is not the first time Punk arrived to the biggest company in professional wrestling facing preconceived notions about himself.

He signed with the company and immediately found himself barraged with criticisms of his appearance and doubts that he could be a top-tier star in the company. Officials such as Michael Hayes, Bruce Prichard, and Vince McMahon himself questioned whether he was a guy who could be put on TV and sold to the masses as a star based on his appearance and indie wrestling background.

All he did was develop a passionate following, put in the work between the ropes, and prove himself as someone the company could build around. In 2011, having won world titles and repeatedly delivered in the few opportunities he had, he cut the infamous "pipebomb" promo in which he expressed his frustrations with the company and his position in it and in the process, became the voice of the voiceless.

Unprecedented popularity followed, as did the longest reign as WWE Champion in years and one of the great main event runs in modern company history.

Now back as a bigger star than he was when he entered the promotion the first time, he has the opportunity to silence critics again. This time, they do not doubt his ability to work, to draw, or to be a star.

Instead, they question his motivations, his temperament, and whether he is the team player whose willingness to help young stars behind the scenes in AEW was touted by Dr. Britt Baker DMD in a recent interview or if he is the malcontent who threw it all away in a scuffle with Perry.

WWE has a roster full of stars who, while more experienced than many of the youngest stars in AEW at the time of his arrival, can still benefit exponentially from his advice and wealth of knowledge. If there is one constant throughout his career, it has been his willingness to take all that he learned over the course of his career from guys like Paul Heyman, and pass it on to those with the desire to learn.

How he acclimates himself to a locker room full of veterans like Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns is the big question and will ultimately determine whether his story has a happy ending or if he is forced from the company, his reputation further sullied.

Punk's legacy is one that should be celebrated.

He was the unlikely superstar who emerged from the high school gyms, barns, and VFW halls to compete on the WrestleMania stage as WWE Champion and one of the biggest stars in the industry. He took a career that began in backyards in Chicago and turned it into one of the most decorated and, for the longest time, celebrated in wrestling.

He is an inspiration to every person who has been held down, and back, from achieving all that they can because of the way they look, sound, or think.

He proved the world wrong, became a genuine success, and one of the hottest commodities in his industry.

Punk should be remembered for that. In an industry that often mistakes the concept of deserving vs. earning, his body of work deserves to be celebrated.

Now, it will be up to the man himself to determine the legacy he leaves and how his fans, critics, analysts, and peers remember him when he calls it a career.