Two Fridays ago, when the second-ever episode of AEW Rampage went on the air, fans in the United Center in Chicago were already chanting CM Punk’s name. The arena was sold out on the rumor that he would be making his AEW debut that night…and the show didn’t waste any time giving the fans what they were asking for.
Moments into the broadcast, “Cult of Personality” by Living Colour hit the PA, and out walked Punk to an ovation that those in the industry would refer to as a “Road Warrior Pop,” a colloquialism for an ovation louder than one could imagine.
“I can’t put into words what it felt like walking out there in the United Center,” Punk told Moose & Maggie on WFAN on Thursday. “It was a hell of a moment. Being a kid from Chicago, watching events there…a lot of things in my head and heart, but all good. A hell of a moment. I mean, I think the look on my face said it all. It’s overwhelming.”
Punk still hasn’t processed it all, even though he’s now had a handful of appearances on AEW’s two television shows since. But, for him, it was validation that he was still wanted, and now it’s time for him
“Selling out the United Center on a rumor says a lot. It’s humbling, but it also super keeps me grounded knowing people waited seven years for me, now it’s time for me to give them what they were waiting for,” Punk said. “They’re passionate fans, and they love you if you love them and give them everything you have. That response proved it, and it meant the world to me. Easily the top moment of my career.”
Punk notoriously left WWE just before WrestleMania in 2014, walking out after the Royal Rumble event due to multiple injuries – including a concussion suffered early in a Royal Rumble match he worked for nearly an hour – and burnout. He revealed that he was suspended by WWE for two months for leaving and eventually fired on his wedding day to fellow WWE alum April “AJ Lee” Mendez that summer.
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But, after seven years that saw him get married, start an MMA career, and even make a surprise appearance on some of WWE’s shoulder content, Punk decided to return to the ring for Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling, and his August 20 debut was a night two years in the making.
“There’s a litany of reasons to come back. When I left, there was no AEW, but watching them make a big splash on the scene and grow into a company with TNT firmly behind them – there’s a lot that goes into being a global wrestling organization,” Punk said. “I’ve been talking to Tony for two years, and watching how it all developed, I realized this could be all I ever wanted in professional wrestling – so the question is why wouldn’t I go there now?”
In his debut, Punk noted that in August 2005, he “left professional wrestling” – noting his farewell from independent promotion Ring of Honor ahead of his WWE debut – and now, 16 years later, he’s back, and he’s a much different Punk than in 2005, or even in 2014 when he walked away from WWE.
“Seven years is a long time, and I think I’ve learned from a lot of mistakes I have made after taking myself out of a bad situation,” Punk said. “You’ll hear stories about how I wasn’t fun to work with, but the environment I was in was designed to be that way, where you always had to have guard up and protect your spot, and it squeezed joy out of my life. I now prioritize my dog and my wife; it’s easier to prioritize wrestling when you’re not married or don’t have kids, but not, even if wrestling doesn’t have to be the No. 1 priority, it can still be something I devote a lot of my energy to.”
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Oddly, it was actually a tragedy that convinced him that it was the right time, and AEW the right place, to return. Jon Huber, known in WWE as Luke Harper and in AEW as Mr. Brodie Lee, passed away in 2020 due to a lung condition…but no one even knew he was sick until close to his passing, because AEW kept it all under wraps on request from Huber’s wife.
“Everyone wants to know how the sausage is made, because the behind the scenes stuff is the salacious stuff, but they sat on the story of this guy getting sick and being in the hospital because his wife asked to keep it under wraps,” Punk said. “That was near and dear to me, because Brodie was my friend. There’s something to seeing that; it shows that’s a real family there.”
So now that he’s back, and will make his in-ring AEW debut on Sept. 5 at their All Out pay-per-view in Chicago…will we perhaps see his wife, a former multiple-time WWE Divas Champion in her own right, return to the ring too?
“I’d love to see AJ return, but I’m not sure she wants to, because she’s a tiny person with a bad neck,” Punk said. “I think the shelf life of females wrestling a full schedule is a lot shorter than men, and I think she is so focused on writing and other projects. She may be receptive to the idea of coming back at some point, but that can’t even enter her vocabulary right now.”
Or what about Bryan Danielson, aka Daniel Bryan, whom is rumored to be headed to AEW after leaving WWE earlier this year? The fans in the United Center the night of Punk’s return were using Bryan’s signature “YES! YES! YES!” chants, and Punk replied with “that’s someone else’s shtick and you’re just going to have to be a little more patient, okay?”
Once again, Punk was coy about that when asked by Moose and Maggie.
“He was in the WrestleMania main event six months ago, so that would be a huge acquisition,” he smiled. “But just like me, I think he could do anything he wants to. To guys like him and me, this is our art. We’re very much in the footsteps of a Bret Hart. The seven years I was gone, if you asked me who was the one guy who could get me to come back for one more match with them, it would be him, and I’m excited to see what he does – whether it’s here or not.”
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