AEW fans, the galaxy is healing; MJF is back, and more over than ever, The Acclaimed are getting reactions right up there with Billy Gunn's other faction – DX, not the Gunn Club – and The Elite, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, have officially returned to AEW… sort of. That's right, after almost two months away, Tony Khan and company dropped a 33-second video package that showed the trio being zapped out of many of their brightest moments in the promotion Thanos-style, in a decision that could only mean a right-proper in-ring return couldn't be too far behind.

And yet, as the wrestling world moves towards an Elite homecoming and past former two-time Champion CM Punk, the birthday boy who is reportedly in talks to have his contract bought out, the “Best in the World's” camp has reportedly sent one final shot off before fading into AEW obscurity.

Speaking with Wrestling Inc's senior news editor Nick Hausman, the following excerpt from his article needs to be read in full to be fully believed.

We've been told that AEW has not reached out to Punk since the incident following the All Out media scrum, in which Punk and his friend and trainer, Ace Steel, reportedly got into a backstage brawl with AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. Sources indicate that after the brawl, Punk was asked to stay quiet, and agreed to do so. From the perspective of Punk's camp, the scrum itself — which became the talk of the wrestling world due to Punk's comments on Colt Cabana, “Hangman” Adam Page, and The Elite — didn't seem like a big deal, and only escalated once Punk's locker room door was “kicked in” and accidentally hit Punk's dog, Larry, in the face. At a pre-scheduled veterinarian appointment a few days later, Punk was informed that two of Larry's teeth had been knocked loose and had to be removed.

What the heck? Someone hit Larry in the face with a doggone door, and he had to get to teeth removed at a subsequent vet's appointment? In a way, that sort of changes everything, doesn't it? It justifies Punk's anger, corroborates the initial reports about the door being flung open, and even, in a weird way, justifies Ace Steel biting Omega, in a tooth for a tooth sort of situation. Is this the final gasps of a camp rapidly losing their spot in the promotion, or is this the sort of 11th-hour plot twist at home in RAW‘s lead-in show, Law & Order? Either way, it certainly sounds like fans haven't heard the complete story about what went down in the now-infamous backstage brawl, and may never ultimately know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The Elite are reportedly in talks to return to AEW.

Outside of the Thanos-inspired video package, when can fans of AEW expect to see The Elite back in the ring? Well, Fightful Select provided a little insight into the situation, as passed along by the fine folks of Screen Rant.

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Sheamus with a text bubble reading "You just threw it all away over a meme and a t-shirt?" next to Drew McIntyre with the CM Punk logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

CM Punk next to The Rock with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Kenny Omega next to Rossy Ogawa with the World of Stardom logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Things are looking up for The Elite… We've learned that for the first time since AEW All Out, there is talk backstage of Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks coming back to work, at the very least in a backstage capacity. One source said they heard it could happen ‘imminently,' but nobody we heard from could definitively tell us when it's expected.” Fightful also noted that “(w)e were told that a meeting was scheduled for last week, but we're in the dark on the context of those” while also indicating that The Elite's timeline to return to TV isn't currently known.

Now granted, this isn't particularly new news; folks have been theorizing that The Elite would be back in AEW in the not-too-distant future, as Punk's camp appears to have been deemed the aggressors via AEW's independent investigation. Though no one was willing to put a hard deadline on when the team would be back in the ring, as the situation appears to still be up in the air regarding Punk's contract buyout, it's safe to assume The Elite's time back in the spotlight isn't too far away, with a sudden score to settle with Death Triangle for the AEW World Trios Titles; titles The Elite technically never lost. Fortunately, the Bucks and the Lucha Brothers have wrestled each other 13 times since 2016, and the feud between Omega and Pac is one of the best organic rivalries in AEW history, so the match or, hopefully, program between the two parties should produce a classic.