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DOES AJ LEE'S RETURN MEAN CM PUNK IS FAR BEHIND?

One of the top questions we've received in the last several weeks is whether the return of AJ Lee to WWE might mean whether CM Punk, who she married last month, is far behind. Since WWE spotlighted Punk in their free WWE Network week press release with a "Wrestlemania Rewind" special about his exploits in the Money in the Bank matches, that email has about tripled.

The short answer is, "No."

We are told that Punk's existing contract would be set to expire on 7/17 (three years to the day he signed it backstage at the 2011 Money in the Bank PPV in Chicago) and when WWE sources were asked whether there was any change with Punk's status with the company, one source declined to comment, saying, "I'm not going there" and the other said, "Nope."

We are also told that Lee's return has "no bearing at all" on the company's relationship with Punk. One of the aforementioned sources believed that the company has had very little contact with Punk since February.

Punk, the longest reigning WWE champion since Hulk Hogan's first title reign in the 1980s, walked out of WWE last January. He has since referred to himself as retired.

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