Could CM Punk Appear in TNA Wrestling? Ace Steel Won't Rule It Out...

Could the 'Prohibited Portal' see CM Punk appear for TNA Wrestling? Given what's happened already, Ace Steel won't rule out the idea.

WWE's new era has seen the promotion work with other promotions with multiple TNA wrestlers appearing in WWE NXT. Jordynne Grace recently challenged NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez at Battleground but came up short against The Prodigy. On the latest WWE NXT, TNA's Frankie Kazarian and Joe Hendry appeared in a battle royal won by the 'Young OG' Je'Von Evans.

While TNA received Tatum Paxley at Against All Odds 2024, this working relationship has been heavily in WWE's favor so far. In a recent interview with Lucha Libre Online, Ace Steel, a current producer for TNA who recently had his first match in decades, was asked whether fans can expect to see his friend CM Punk in the promotion.

“You never know what’s going to happen with professional wrestling. It’s famously been reported that Punk was backstage quite a few times at TNA just visiting with talent.

"So you never know what’s gonna happen. I would never rule anything out. I’m not saying that’s definite by any means, but no one thought he’d be back in WWE and here he is, and he’s loving every minute of it.”

Punk was present at TNA tapings during his first suspension from All Elite Wrestling; a hiatus over what transpired with himself, Steel, and The Elite at All Out 2022. Punk was said to be a pleasure at events and easy to speak with, in stark contrast to his latter days with AEW. While some at the time believed that Punk would reach a high-profile deal with TNA, he instead returned to WWE at Survivor Series 2023.

Punk arrived in NWA:TNA in 2002 alongside Steel and returned to the company in mid-2003. After signing a full-time contract, Punk became part of Raven's stable 'The Gathering.' During his run, Punk competed 27 times for TNA and boasts an okay 15-12 win/loss record.

Punk's TNA career hit an obstacle in early 2004 when he had a real-life altercation with Teddy Hart shortly before a taping. The altercation stemmed from Hart performing three unplanned spots at an ROH show that put wrestlers in danger.

Punk quit TNA in March 2004 after being missing from TV but has said his absence was not due to the Hart incident. Instead, the arrest of ROH founder Rob Feinstein led TNA to cut ties with ROH, ending Punk's time with the promotion.