With the way WWE is rolling now, Punk should be a break glass in case of emergency situation in the event tickets and viewership start going on a steady decline.
Inless WWE thinks they can somehow make more money in the live gate with him, which would mean raising ticket prices or going to bigger venues, he’s not moving the needle there.
Given the timing, the only way they will really be able to parlay Punk into more TV rights money is if they bring him back ASAP on Raw in hopes he can pull some people back in who opt to watch MNF instead. And that’s only if he makes any significant and sustainable contribution to the viewership numbers
He’ll sell a ton of merch, but given how small any one person’s merch revenue is relative to all of WWE revenue, it’s but a mere drop in the bucket.
So is it really worth his headaches for some merch money?