Ever since CM Punk made his shock appearance on WWE Backstage in November 2019, wrestling fans around the world have only wanted to know one thing.

That is - CM Punk, when are you returning to the squared circle?

Punk has never said he's officially retired from the business, but there were certain bridges to be built after his abrupt departure from WWE in 2014.

On one of his first appearances on Backstage late last year, Punk said he was in no rush to get back in the ring again, but if WWE reached out to him and offered him something intriguing, he would explore the possibility of lacing up his boots again.

The talk of him potentially returning keeps on coming up wherever he goes, and on the Swings & Mrs radio show, Punk named four wrestling stars in particular that he would be interested in working with if the carrot was dangled to him.

Three of them were very familiar opposition in the form of John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan, but the fourth man is someone who has never worked for WWE before.

And that is Will Ospreay, the British high-flyer who some consider to be one of the best in the world at his craft.

26-year-old Ospreay performs for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and whilst he may be very light in weight, he has no issues tussling with the biggest heavyweights in the ring.

His level of work has clearly impressed CM Punk who name-dropped Ospreay, and that has led to the Brit throwing down the gauntlet at a special place.

"Just an idea & because we could all use something to focus on to get us through this hard time right now," Ospreay tweeted.

"Save January 4th & get some reps in.

"Help the business move forward instead of being a 'spoke on the wheel'.

"This might be click bait. But a Great White just bit."

It's got a lot of fans excited, and there's a sense of intrigue about Punk potentially going over to Japan for a stint in NJPW - and if you're not familiar with Ospreay's work, click HERE to see him in action.

Anyone in the wrestling world would have said that WWE would be the only place that Punk would return in, but the cards have well and truly been shuffled now!