CM Punk is having a blast in AEW.
“The Second City Saint” returned to the wrestling world when he made his AEW debut at AEW Rampage: The First Dance last August. In doing so, he ended his seven-year absence from the ring and gave the company a genuine superstar. He has been featured as one of the promotion’s attractions ever since, and his feuds with Eddie Kingston and MJF drew practically universal praise. Punk has also proven himself all over as again as an in-ring competitor; he can still perform at an elite level. His remarkable run will continue at AEW Double or Nothing, where he’ll challenge Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship.
In an interview with Connor Casey of ComicBook.com, Punk looked back on his time with AEW up to this point. He stated that this chapter of his career has “shattered” his expectations. The fan-favorite star also stated that business is booming in AEW, and he credits this success to everyone involved. Overall, Punk made it clear that he’s never been happier as a wrestler.
“This run has been more than what I expected,” said Punk. “I had expectations. They were pretty high. So far, they’ve pretty much shattered all that, and that’s just based on analytics and numbers of how well we’re doing. I’ve long said that I’m there for the fans in the building. Nowadays everybody is still focused on ratings numbers when cable is absolutely — I canceled DirecTV months ago. I just, I couldn’t do it anymore. It’s too convoluted. It’s too expensive. Streaming services are, I feel like, are the future. So when people look at ratings and say that wrestling is dying, I say, ‘Well look at our buildings. We’re selling out and we’re doing our first million-dollar gate.’ So I don’t attribute that just to me. I attribute that to the spirit of AEW and everybody behind the scenes that makes it all work and makes it all click.
“But the run, my run specifically, my stuff as a whole, I’ve never been happier in a wrestling ring. I’ve never, to me, been telling more fluid, better, reality-based stories. It’s been a real treat.”
Punk will face John Silver on the May 11 episode of AEW Dynamite.
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