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CM Punk’s Impending Return Presents Opportunities and Risks for AEW

The former world champion’s box-office appeal is undeniable, but will he be able to mend fences with the men he infamously insulted and brawled with last year?

Justin Barrasso

SI.com’s Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath-the-surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.

CM Punk’s return could go awry

CM Punk is returning to AEW.

Where that leads represents a pivotal stretch for the company.

The Punk situation has been a conundrum ever since last September, when he

was injured at All Out and forced to vacate the world title. Punk also delivered an explosive string of profanity-laden comments directed at people within AEW—particularly executive vice presidents Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks—then engaged in a backstage altercation, the details of which are still kept largely under wraps. Suspensions were levied, but AEW CEO Tony Khan and company have all remained silent about what took place in a nondescript Now Arena locker room.

After All Out, Punk’s future in AEW was going to move in one of two very different directions. Either Khan could fire Punk, which could potentially lead to legal battles over the remaining money on his contract, or the two sides could attempt to resolve issues and find a way to make this work.

The latter was chosen.

Punk is coming back (again) to AEW, though he never truly left. He was one of those initially suspended following All Out, but his future was sealed as soon as that show ended: Punk suffered an injury in his match against Jon Moxley, one that required surgery to repair a torn muscle, so he was going to be off-camera regardless of what ensued after the pay-per-view.

Khan is also the general manager and head of creative, and he is wise to bring Punk back. Punk is a rare type of star: He is a needle-mover for ratings, tickets, merchandise and pay-per-view sales. He embodies the type of star with the precise type of larger-than-life presence needed to sell television networks—and, by the way, AEW’s newest show, Collision, will make its TNT debut Saturday, June 17. Khan genuinely believes in Punk’s star power, which is amplified by the fact that he has won the world title in two of his past four matches.

It makes complete sense to bring Punk back to television now that he is healthy. He is one of AEW’s most expensive talents, and the idea of paying him to stay at home is absurd. Though he is not the same performer he was a decade ago, Punk is incredibly smart and knows how to put forth outstanding matches. His bout against Moxley in September was extremely gripping, physical and a joy to watch.

Now for the drawback. What type of effect will Punk’s return have on the locker room? There is no evidence to show that Sir Isaac Newton was a pro wrestling fan, but his principles apply to this situation—for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Could Punk’s return alienate Omega and the Bucks? That will be a subplot to follow.

Even if Punk is exclusively on Collision and never appears on Dynamite, it is inevitable that he will run into the company EVPs who he trashed during his infamous press conference. That is bound to happen, likely at a pay-per-view—and the entire locker room will be watching to see how it unfolds.

If Punk, Omega and the Bucks can find a way to work through their issues, an emphatic statement will be made, loudly and clearly, to every contracted talent in AEW. This is a company that has already had its share of backstage incidents, and this directly involves AEW’s most influential stars. Regardless of what is said publicly, the way this dispute is handled will dictate the future of the company. An opportunity even exists for Omega and the Bucks to work a six-man tag match with Punk and FTR, which has the potential to be phenomenal for business. But it could just as easily blow up and be a disaster.

For the sake of the company, AEW needs a smooth on-screen return from Punk. Equally as important, Khan needs Omega, Punk and the Bucks to work out their issues professionally.

Even if it is behind the scenes, the whole company will be watching.

The (online) week in wrestling

  • On the precipice of a major run, Mercedes Moné suffered a horrible ankle injury at Resurgence on Sunday. Due to the injury, Willow Nightingale now has the chance to hold the New Japan Strong women’s championship, which is a great opportunity.
  • Cody Rhodes has a massive match against Brock Lesnar this Saturday at Night of Champions, which is a rare matinee show for WWE.
  • This weekend is overflowing with wrestling: WWE has Night of Champions on Saturday and NXT Battleground on Sunday, Impact Wrestling’s Under Siege is Friday, Stardom will hold its Flashing Champions show and New Japan Pro-Wrestling will crown a champion in its Best of the Super Juniors tournament. AEW will close out the weekend with Double or Nothing on Sunday night.

    Indie promotion Beyond Wrestling—which has been a launchpad to stardom—is running its Mills of the Gods show at a venue close to where Battleground is taking place in Lowell, Mass. Beyond founder Drew Cordeiro is excited to showcase some of the most compelling talent on the indies:

    “Before the pandemic, Beyond Wrestling was on a tear throughout New England, with monthly events drawing hundreds of fans,” says Cordeiro. “It’s taken time to rebuild, but we’re finally ready to hit the road again with our Lowell debut Mills of the Gods scheduled for this Sunday afternoon. Taffeta is just minutes from the Tsongas Center, which is hosting the NXT Battleground premium live event later in the day. Many of NXT’s current stars, including Carmelo Hayes and Dijak, had their ‘breakout moment’ in a Beyond Wrestling ring, so this only seems fitting. Our event will feature former NXT tag team champion Dango, as well as independent wrestling legend Alex Shelley, plus some of the most promising wrestlers on the scene today including Megan Bayne, Alex Coughlin, B3CCA, Alec Price and Masha Slamovich. Our goal is to set the pace for what is sure to be a memorable day of action for the lucky New England wrestling fans.”
  • Kazuchika Okada and Jon Moxley took another step in their feud Sunday at Resurgence, a show that also saw Will Ospreay defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi—which moves him closer to an impending collision with Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door in June.
  • More unfortunate news: Aussie Open, a team that has added so much to the tag division, was forced to relinquish its IWGP tag and New Japan Strong titles due to an injury to Mark Davis. Hopefully Davis and Kyle Fletcher can still be involved in Ospreay’s corner if/when he wrestles Omega at Forbidden Door.

Cody Rhodes on Chad Gable: “He’s incredibly talented”

Cody Rhodes is days away from wrestling Brock Lesnar at Night of Champions. He is only weeks removed from his Backlash match against Lesnar, which took place shortly after Rhodes’s epic WrestleMania 39 showdown against Roman Reigns.

It is crucial that Rhodes continues to showcase his talent in a manner that connects with WWE’s fan base. If he can accomplish that, there is every reason to believe he can be the one to dethrone Reigns.

An integral piece of Rhodes’s success is going to occur on a weekly basis. If he makes Raw a must-see program, especially during his segments, it will go a long way to proving he should be the face of the company. He can also utilize that time to spotlight his opponents, which he did exceptionally well this past February against the perpetually underrated Chad Gable.

Rhodes wrestled Gable on Raw at the end that month, and their match was exactly what it should have been: a highlight reel for Rhodes on his way to WrestleMania. Yet it was abundantly clear that Gable possessed a gift in the ring, and his precision allowed Rhodes to project himself as a bona fide wrestling superstar.

“One of the things you’ll see me eternally struggle with out there is, ‘What am I?’” says Rhodes. “Am I a ‘Superstar’? Am I a wrestler? Is there a difference? What does that even mean? The thing I’ve found is I want to be a wrestling superstar. I understand what it means to be a ‘Superstar,’ I know the wrestling I learned while I was away, and I am combining it with the wrestling I learned here while I was brought up. That’s the match when I got to execute that vision successfully.”

A particularly enthralling sequence occurred when Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter and then a Cross Rhodes that led to the winning pinfall. Gable took the moves in a spectacular manner, selling Rhodes’s offense in a way that was extremely believable.

“He is violent and he’s legitimate,” says Rhodes. “He’s wrestled freestyle and Greco [Roman] at the highest levels. I really liked our match, and I imagine we’ll have one again at some point.”

Alongside Otis, Gable is currently showcasing a different element of his personality in Alpha Academy. If given the opportunity to have a singles run of substance, he will flourish with WWE’s wide assortment of babyfaces.

“He’s incredibly talented,” says Rhodes. “I hope you’re talking to him in five years, and we’re marveling over his success.”

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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

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Justin Barrasso
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