Becky Lynch Talks Retirement; WWE Rumors on Charlotte’s Contract

CM Punk’s relationship with AEW ended on a sour note, but that doesn’t mean some of the wrestlers in the promotion are holding a grudge against him.

Appearing on the SI Media podcast with Jimmy Traina (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), AEW world champion MJF praised Punk when asked about the outspoken superstar’s return to WWE:

“One of the greatest feuds…I’ll just say this, the greatest feud of the modern era was me versus CM Punk, I think, and that happened on AEW television.

“No, I was happy for him. Listen, if he’s happy, I’m happy. I think he’s a hell of a talent, and at the end of the day, it’s a business. For some reason with wrestling, it’s looked at differently than any other sport. I see guys get traded to different teams all the time. That’s just life. So he did what he felt was best for him, and the company did what they felt was best for the company. So I just hope he’s happy. I wish him the best of luck.”

During MJF’s ascent to main-event status in AEW, one of his most memorable matches was a dog-collar bout against Punk at Revolution in March 2022. CM Punk got the win, but MJF was elevated to another level after the bloody affair was over.

MJF was being set up to challenge Punk for the AEW world title after All Out that same year, but the post-show backstage brawl involving Punk, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, as well as an injury to Punk, altered those plans.

It’s not impossible to imagine a scenario when MJF and CM Punk cross paths again. The Devil said in the same interview his AEW contract expires on Jan. 1. If that’s the case, given how much his profile has increased over the past year, WWE could make a serious bid at taking him away from AEW.

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Amid all of the online speculation about which superstars might jump ship between WWE and AEW, Becky Lynch doesn’t sound like she’s angling to go anywhere.

Appearing on the Strutting from Gorilla YouTube show (starts at 9:50 mark), Lynch called WWE the place “where I was born as a professional wrestler in many ways in terms of my influence” and it’s “it’s where I’ll retire.”