It seems the day that most wrestling fans have dreaded, but knew was coming is here: CM Punk is -- seemingly -- officially no longer a part of the WWE Roster.

On Tuesday, World Wrestling Entertainment removed the controversial five-time WWE world champion from their roster page, moving him to the Alumni section of their official website, seemingly signaling the end of their working relationship with Punk following his shocking walkout from the company on Jan. 27 this year.

Punk's contract with WWE was set to expire this month.

Adding fuel to the fire, Punk, responding to tweets from fans on Twitter with the hashtag #ThankYouPunk, said, "Nope, thank YOU.Thanks for all the help and support through the years. Health and happiness above all.Don't ever take any s*** from anybody."

Those loyal fans holding out hope that this was walkout was some sort of swerve or angle may have just been handed a pretty crushing blow, as it seems more or less official now that the "Best in the World" and the longest reigning wrestling champion of the modern era has put his days in a WWE ring behind him.

Yet while Punk has been seen enjoying his new-found freedom and fortune watching hockey games, getting married to WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee and doing generally whatever he feels like, the question wrestling fans want to know still beckons: where does Punk go from here?

At 35 and with his name brand built successfully, Punk is in full control of his own destiny now. By the buzz his career -- and his exit from WWE -- has created, whatever his next move is will surely create curiosity. But what is his next move? Here's a look at several possible things that could be in Punk's future, be it in the next few months or in the next few years:

1. Hosting a Show

Punk is one of the greatest stars in wrestling on the mic in the modern era, perhaps of all time. He has the gift of gab, and he's not shy about his opinions, as evidenced by his appearances on "The Talking Dead" and his planned co-hosting appearance at the AP Music Awards on July 21 in Cleveland. In one of his more recent tweets, he hinted that he would be starting his own podcast soon. Given his comfort on the mic and his rise in popularity over the last few years, he could make things very interesting when given an outlet to speak his mind again.

2. Getting into Music

An avid music lover, Punk has done guest vocals for the Hardcore band Madball earlier this year. In that same tweet hinting about a podcast, he also hinted that he could be starting a band. If so, he wouldn't be the first wrestler to try their hand at music. Chris Jericho has tried it with his band Fozzy, and former WWE Divas Maria Kanellis and Mickie James have released their own albums in recent years. Given Punk's musical tastes, however, fans could expect something edgy in whatever band he decides to be a part of .

3. Go into Acting

Punk may not have the prototypical build of the wrestling stars that have gotten into acting in the past (i.e. Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, Hulk Hogan, Terry Funk, John Cena, etc.) but he has bucket-loads of charisma and is very comfortable in front of a camera, as evidenced by his years of promo work for Ring of Honor and WWE. Getting a few roles in TV shows could be a great place to start for him, either as a lovable snarky anti-hero or a no-nonsense, gritty hero or villain -- parts he played to near-perfection in his WWE days -- would be a great way to not only make some decent cash, but to build up his name recognition in mainstream media.

4. Head to TNA/Impact Wrestling

The WWE and Punk's divorce has been public and ugly, both sides taking none-too-subtle jabs at each other on Twitter, in print and on TV for months. WWE has even gone as far as blocking out any mention of Punk on-air, except for a recent plugging of his documentary "CM Punk: Best in the World" on their struggling WWE Network this week.

While Punk has been enjoying life away from the grind of wrestling, with his contract up, it would be the ultimate middle finger to Triple H, Vince McMahon and the WWE for Punk to -- if we can borrow the phrase LeBron James made famous for a moment -- take his talents to Florida and join the company's rival, Impact Wrestling. Granted, Punk has been vocal of his disdain for TNA due to the time he spent there years ago, but with a lighter schedule, a young roster and a chance to be doing what he does best, Punk may be hard-pressed to turn away a chance to stick it to WWE by giving their competition his talents and the buzz his arrival would generate. And with a roster that includes the likes of former WWE champion Jeff Hardy and ex-WWE star Bully Ray, old ROH friends and rivals Samoa Joe and Austin Aries, established TNA stars like Bobby Roode and up-and-comers like Magnus, Punk could have plenty of new and exciting rivalries to bring to fans on a bigger scale.

Still, there is one option left, though it's a long shot at this point...

5. Return to the WWE

Let's face it: it's the biggest game in town in the wrestling/sports entertainment business.

It won't happen right now; it can't. Punk's still healing from years of wrestling injuries and is enjoying life post-wrestling too much, and there is still a lot of animosity and bad blood on both sides, Punk's and WWE's. But in the end, it's still a relationship that works for both. WWE can offer Punk the biggest stage in the business to shine, and Punk can give WWE one of their most compelling, most gifted and most versatile performers on the mic and in the ring that they've had in years. Despite the rumors of backstage animosity towards him post-departure, he still has friends there. More importantly, his newly-wed wife AJ is there. Getting to see more of her could be an incentive for Punk to want to mend fences between himself and the company, in due time.

We've seen some ugly splits between talent and WWE over the years -- Stone Cold Steve Austin and the late Ultimate Warrior come to mind -- but in the end, somehow, some way, they've ended up coming back. It may not be today, tomorrow, or even next year, but with time for the anger to cool on both sides, eventually, a CM Punk return may become reality.

There is still plenty for Punk to do in the company. Who wouldn't want to watch the decorated multi-time world champion battle the likes of up-and-comers like Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose and Rusev? Better yet, who wouldn't want to see Punk renew rivalries with Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Batista and Brock Lesnar? Or, perhaps more fittingly, what better way would there be for Punk to cap his amazing, Hall of Fame-level career than by giving one last run, giving the fans a chance to say "goodbye" and "thank you" while getting him one more chance to do the one thing he's never done -- headline and close out the biggest pay-per-view in sports entertainment, WrestleMania, for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event?

Is it likely at this point? Not right now. But if history has taught us one thing, it's this: never say never in the world of professional wrestling.