When CM Punk came out of retirement to join AEW in August of 2021, it felt like a paradigm shift for the professional wrestling business.

After over half a decade away from the ring following his incredibly firey burnout with WWE, Punk was propositioned by seemingly every professional wrestling promotion in the world to lace up his boots once more but consistently turned them down, instead focusing his attention on MMA fighting, watching hockey, and an ill-fated tenure on WWE Backstage that was ultimately ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sure, his path interacted with independent wrestling on occasion, from appearances at conventions to the now-notorious in-ring assist he provided to Ace Steel in a match versus Daryck St. Holmes at MKE Wrestling, but until that fateful episode of Rampage booked for the United Center in Chicago, Punk's in-ring return as a full-time, unmasked performer was about as likely as his dream opponent, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, returning to the ring.

And yet, much like Austin's match with Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, Punk had his day, and he announced that he “Is All Elite” in front of a sold-out crowd in the arena that Michael Jordan once called home. Punk wrestled his first official match since all the way back in 2014 a few weeks later at All Out, where he defeated Darby Allin again from the United Center, and his run rapidly looked like the sort of difference-maker AEW was looking for to really posture themselves as a direct competitor for WWE from a national perspective.

Fast forward to All Out 2022, and everything very much is different; AEW is more popular than ever, Punk has won the national championship on two occasions, and after throwing down with The Elite in the back of the NOW Arena in his hometown, his time in Tony Khan's company appears to be at an impasse, with some suggesting he will either be suspended or outright fired by the end of the night. With Khan set to address the situation on the September 7th edition of Dynamite, the path to Punk's current status is unfortunately filled with warning signs that no one cared to address before it became too big of an issue.

These CM Punk warning signs should have been heeded by Tony Khan and AEW.

3. CM Punk didn't originally want to wrestle for AEW

When AEW soft-launched in 2018 and officially announced itself to the professional wrestling world as a full-fledged company headed by Khan and The Elite, Punk was one of the top names on the top of the promotion's wish list.

Punk, reportedly, wasn't interested.

That's right, being pitched for the top babyface role opposite Chris Jericho in the inaugural storyline of AEW's time on TNT, Punk rejected the company's advances, stating that he didn't want to re-join the professional wrestling world just to perform in a company that could fail at any time. While that worry was seemingly eased by the company's massive success, Punk's initial lack of faith in AEW's ethos should have been the first warning sign that a marriage between the two parties wasn't destined for long-term success.

2. CM Punk never addressed Colt Cabana's status with “Hangman” Adam Page

In wrestling, some things are simply off-limits. Sammy Guevara, for example, doesn't allow his opponents to bring up his former fiance Pam, no one has ever mentioned The Bellas when feuding with Bryan Danielson, and Eddie Kingston got into a backstage brawl of his own with the “Spanish God” because he was called fat in a promo; everything isn't far game in professional wrestling, and performers need to maintain an open dialogue to they are safe workers in the ring and on the mic.

Did “Hangman” Adam Page step over a line when he brought up Cabana during their feud with Punk during the leadup to Double or Nothing? Yes, clearly that was the case, but why didn't Punk address it with Page at the time? He was booked to go over at the Pay-Per-View, why hold onto that slight for three months and then bury his former foe when he couldn't defend himself? As soon as Punk delivered his AEW pipebomb in the center of the ring, Khan should have nipped the issue in the bud, instead of incorporating it into the storyline.

1. Punk called out The Elite at the All Out media scrum

While hindsight may be 20/20, when Punk explicitly called out The Elite after his firey tirade talking down “Scott Colton” and the “Hangman,” Khan should have taken a break from his string of press conferences and taken his new World Champion aside to talk things out before Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Kenny Omega did it for him. Even if there was no indication that these words would result in folks getting bitten within the hour, there has to be a level of professionalism maintained in the wrestling business, especially since any in-ring performance requires its performers to work together, not fight each other to knock out like in other combat sports.

Had AEW addressed these issues head-on, or had a mediated interaction between Punk's camp and The Elite, maybe things would have still broken down in a salacious way, but it's hard to imagine Steel hitting Nick Jackson in the eye with a steel chair and then biting Omega if Khan was in the room. Suspending the scrum would have still been a story but not to the degree where folks are reporting backstage rumblings that Punk could be fired by the end of the day.