During his first appearance as an analyst on WWE Backstage this week, CM Punk did not close the door on a return to the squared circle.

Quizzed by Renee Young on what the future holds for the former world champion, Punk stated that he was specifically signed to FOX, and he's spoken to no-one in WWE about a potential in-ring comeback.

Punk however stopped short of saying it'll never happen, although he said a lot of bridges will need to be re-built in order for it to happen.

That comment was just too good to ignore, so we've decided to map out how WWE should book the return of CM Punk to the wrestling ring.

ROYAL RUMBLE 2020

With the comments made on WWE Backstage this past week, it would make sense for Punk's first feud back to be with Seth Rollins.

The Royal Rumble is now two months away - and that's plenty of time for WWE to discuss a deal with Punk and for him to get ring-ready.

With Rollins standing tall in the Royal Rumble match with a host of bodies laid out on the mat, the number 30 entrant would come out - and Cult Of Personality blasts out around Minute Maid Park in Houston.

CM Punk officially returns to a wrestling ring as the final entrant, and before long he eliminates Rollins from the match.

Punk would then get into the final four alongside Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns, but Rollins returns to the ring, still angry about being dumped out of the match, and throws Punk over the top rope.

MONDAY NIGHT RAW - ONE NIGHT LATER

Punk returns to Monday Night Raw for the first time since 2014 and speaks about his shock return, and eventually calls out Rollins for his actions at the Rumble.

As his music hits though, there is no Rollins coming down the ramp - instead he comes from the crowd armed with a steel chair and blasts Punk in the back, almost akin to what he did to Reigns and Dean Ambrose in 2014.

This very moment cements a heel turn once again for Rollins, who had been the target of much fan criticism since September 2019 for his character work.

ELIMINATION CHAMBER

Punk is not seen for a couple of weeks after the brutal attack by Rollins, but insists that he will get revenge on him in the near future.

Rollins meanwhile brags in promos about how he stopped Punk's comeback before it even started, and that no-one will stop him becoming a world champion once again.

In that time Rollins also won a qualifying match into the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship at the eponymous pay-per-view - including the champion Brock Lesnar, McIntyre, Aleister Black, Randy Orton and Andrade.

March 8 comes around in Philadelphia, and Rollins and Lesnar are the last two in the Chamber match. Rollins brutalises Lesnar with a baseball bat he manages to sneak in through the metal grids of the structure.

Just as he's going for a Stomp to finish Lesnar off, Cult Of Personality hits inside the Wells Fargo Center, but Rollins isn't fazed, he just laughs maniacally as he knows Punk doesn't have a way into the Chamber - or so he thinks.

Punk was under the ring the whole time and he used the same part of the metal grid that Rollins used to get the baseball bat into the match to get in, hits Seth with the GTS, allowing Lesnar to escape with his title and secure his spot in the WrestleMania main event - against Royal Rumble winner Kevin Owens.

WRESTLEMANIA 36 - PUNK v ROLLINS

An irate Rollins hijacks the opening segment on Raw the night after Elimination Chamber, demanding to Vince McMahon that he wants CM Punk banned from not only the arena - but from WWE.

McMahon appears and tells him that he can't allow that - because Punk signed a contract to become a full-time wrestler once again.

Later on in the night, Rollins faces Aleister Black in the main event, and in an arrogant move he tries to put away his opponent with Punk's GTS manoeuvre.

As he walks around the ring with Black on his shoulders, the crowd goes nuts and he realises that Punk is standing with the fans, around the exact position where The Shield would enter from the concourse in their heyday.

A distracted Rollins drops Black, turns around and eats a Black Mass and is defeated. Punk makes his way through the crowd and to the ring. He sits cross-legged in the middle of the ring next to Rollins - still unresponsive from Black's destructive kick, points at the WrestleMania sign and tells Seth he will see him in Tampa.

The last couple of weeks before Mania see more promos and a contract signing between the two, but neither get physical with each other, until WrestleMania 36 comes around.

After a 20-minute technical masterclass between the two, the referee takes an unfortunate bump, and Rollins tries to play dirty to secure a win on the biggest stage.

Unfortunately though, his attempted slam of Punk's head onto an exposed turnbuckle goes awry.

Rollins himself is dropped onto it, leaving him prone to receiving the GTS for Punk's first victory in WWE in over six years.

There's a plethora of talent on Raw and SmackDown that Punk could realistically face at WrestleMania, and he doesn't even have to return at the Rumble to make it happen, but Rollins would make the most sense at this moment in time.

Let us know your fantasy booking ideas of a Punk return in the comments section, or on our Facebook and Twitter channels!