CM Punk’s AEW Debut Was Pushed Back Due To Pandemic

CM Punk made his All Elite Wrestling debut on this week’s AEW Rampage: The First Dance, a move that created a lot of buzz for the company. Tony Schiavone considered it the greatest debut in pro wrestling history. This could have happened much sooner, but world events got in the way.

Punk was in talks with AEW for quite a long time as well. Fans and pro wrestlers alike were delighted to see him in AEW. This included even WWE Superstars.

Even before CM Punk made his debut in AEW, there were several teases regarding his impending debut on episodes of AEW Dynamite and more. Since its inception in 2019, many fans wondered if CM Punk would ever make his way to the company.

While speaking during a media scrum after the conclusion of AEW Rampage: The First Dance, AEW President Tony Khan stated that CM Punk’s debut could have happened a lot sooner. However, Khan ultimately wanted Punk to debut in front of a live audience.

When there were no fans. I’d like to think we navigated the pandemic as well as we could’ve. Again, that was nothing anybody could have ever planned for, but it definitely gave [myself and Punk] a lot of time to talk because there was no rush to do anything because the fans were not coming back anytime soon. I think that it was worth the wait. It was definitely worth the wait.”

It was also exclusively reported by Ringside News that CM Punk agreed to work 10 to 12 dates per year for AEW, so fans will get to see The Second City Saint in action for a long enough time every year. We will have to see how CM Punk will be booked in the company in the coming months. His first match will be against Darby Allin at All Out on September 5th.

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h/t to Wrestling Inc for the quotes.