Fantasy Booking 7 Dream WWE Matches for CM Punk in 2024

CM Punk's shocking return at Survivor Series 2023 simultaneously shook the WWE landscape to its core and put the SmackDown and Raw rosters on notice.

He wasted no time in announcing his intentions to win the men's Royal Rumble match and headline WrestleMania for a world championship, two things he has yet to achieve in his decorated career.

All signs point to the Rumble marking his televised return to the ring, where he'll have the chance to mix it up with several fresh faces and familiar foes.

Punk's second stint with the company is already off to a strong start, but the best is yet to come. Many dream matches await him on both brands, including opponents fans never thought they'd ever see the former WWE and AEW champion be able to go up against.

His apparent part-time status may limit how many of them we get to see soon, but with seeds being planted in his first few appearances back, some of these storylines could come to fruition sooner rather than later.

As 2024 gets underway, these are the seven biggest money matchups and fantasy feuds for CM Punk in WWE this year.

Seth Rollins being the first Superstar to confront Punk since his polarizing return to WWE was only fitting considering the verbal jabs they've traded in interviews, on social media and elsewhere over the years.

It's the match that makes the most sense for WrestleMania 40, and WWE took a major step toward building up the bout with their heated face-off on the Dec. 11 edition of Raw. Punk ended the exchange by vowing to win the men's Royal Rumble so they could settle their differences on The Grandest Stage of Them All with Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship up for grabs.

It'd be booking malpractice to not run with that rivalry for 'Mania following that stellar segment.

The promo potential is extremely exciting, and the matchup itself could also prove to be a show-stealer.

It's almost irrelevant who goes over in the end. Punk could walk away with a win in his first WrestleMania main event, or Rollins could retain to keep the feud alive for a little longer.

Either way, this highly-anticipated clash is virtually guaranteed to take place by WrestleMania, so fans won't have to wait much longer to see them wage war at long last.

If Punk still fancies himself "The Best in the World", an outing against AJ Styles must be inevitable.

Interestingly, they have a history from the time they spent in Ring of Honor over 20 years ago. They had a trio of terrific matches at the time, all of which ended in wins for Styles, but both have evolved into incredibly well-rounded performers since then.

However, their paths haven't crossed since. Styles went to TNA while Punk left ROH for WWE in the mid-2000s, and Punk was already gone from WWE when Styles joined in 2016.

The fanfare surrounding Styles has died down dramatically in recent years due to how he's been used, but his recent resurgence with the darker persona makes this matchup infinitely more interesting.

The only thing keeping these two apart at the moment is the Brand Split. Then again, it hasn't been unheard of to see Raw and SmackDown Superstars pop up on the opposing brand in recent months to fight someone from that show.

In other words, don't be surprised to see Styles and Punk square off before long.

Similar to AJ Styles, Kevin Owens signed with WWE shortly after CM Punk departed in 2014. In fact, they missed each other by a matter of months, and what a feud they could have had if Punk decided to stay.

A potential program between the two a decade later isn't any less enticing, though.

Owens has proven himself as the ultimate five-tool player who WWE can slide into any situation and expect him to excel. He has headlined his fair share of pay-per-views in the past 10 years and would no doubt be on par with Punk both in the ring and especially on the mic.

Fightful Select reported back in September that Punk was not only open to returning to WWE a year ago but that he had his sights set on working with Owens at WrestleMania 39, at least according to sources within the company.

Now, it's very much a legitimate possibility.

Their quick interaction on the Dec. 8 edition of SmackDown served as a small taste of what fans can look forward to when they do go one-on-one someday.

LA Knight is the only individual on this list to have never worked in the same company as CM Punk until just recently (not counting Knight's brief stint in WWE developmental a decade ago, of course).

Punk has been a made man within the wrestling world for the past 15 years, whereas Knight's ascent to the top took a lot longer despite being around the same age. He's a tremendous talent all the same and is a very valuable asset to WWE right now as one of SmackDown's biggest babyfaces.

There's no reason to turn Knight anytime soon considering his current level of popularity, but it's well-documented he's a natural in the heel role. The same can be said for Punk, so a feud between them would surely deliver no matter the character dynamic.

The dueling promos they could have would be wonderful and the match would be equally entertaining. Knight has already been endorsed by a handful of notable names and adding Punk to that list by way of a full-fledged feud would ensure Knight's stock continues to soar.

This one is a ways off but could feasibly happen if they wind up on the same show in the 2024 WWE Draft post-WrestleMania.

The idea of Cody Rhodes and CM Punk being two of WWE's biggest main-event players would have been unfathomable at this time two years ago given how prominently featured they were in AEW.

Circumstances changed and now they find themselves on the verge of finishing their respective stories at WrestleMania and winning world titles. They could easily be the final two in the upcoming men's Rumble, and that should be what sets the stage for a future feud between them.

Obviously, both being world champions post-'Mania would likely prevent them from facing each other in the months thereafter, but it's more a matter of when than if they'll collide.

There's plenty of material for them to delve into between their background elsewhere, being back in WWE and the stark difference in their personalities and approach to wrestling.

What would have been your typical television match on Raw 15 years ago has turned into a WrestleMania-worthy main event. Punk being a heel would be the best way to make this match as must-see as possible, but again, this could be something that's saved for later down the line.

Drew McIntyre may seem like an unconventional opponent for Punk on paper, but he's actually taken more shots at the The Second City Saint than anyone else since Survivor Series.

He's made it quite clear in various promos that he's no fan of Punk or the fact that's back on the Raw roster after a decade away. They rarely, if ever, crossed paths during Punk's previous run, so this would be something new for both men to sink their teeth into.

It's completely logical why McIntyre would have an issue with the returning hero: He feels the crowd has turned their back on him as of late, whereas they embrace the man he believes turned his back on them.

It's simple storytelling and a rivalry worth exploring soon, but the clock could be ticking.

PWInsider reported in late November that, as of that writing, WWE and McIntyre hadn't been involved in "deep discussions" regarding his contract coming due soon. In other words, The Scottish Warrior could be taking time off as early as the spring and WWE should book the bout before that potentially happens.

McIntyre would be a fantastic foil for Punk or even a compelling first challenger if Punk leaves WrestleMania the new World Heavyweight champion.

Roman Reigns, as well as the rest of The Shield, burst onto the WWE scene at Survivor Series 2012, where they helped CM Punk retain the WWE Champion preserve his year-long streak.

Over 11 years later, Reigns is the one in the midst of a history-making run as world champion with Punk hot on his heels. Punk "acknowledged" The Tribal Chief in his return to SmackDown last month and fans immediately began to fantasy-book a match pitting them against each other.

Between Reigns handing Punk his last singles loss in a WWE ring a decade ago to his comments about Punk not being able to "move the needle" a few years back, there is no shortage of bad blood between them that will make for captivating television when the time comes.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reported shortly following Punk's return that Punk vs. Reigns was in the pipeline for SummerSlam 2024, though the creative direction is bound to change between now and then. If that is the working plan, it would be an outstanding attraction for the event regardless of whether anything is at stake.

A Punk vs. Reigns rivalry has all the makings of a modern-day classic if it's anywhere near as epic as fans expect it to be.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.