CM Punk´s All Timer AEW Run
380 Days of great, good and awful stuff that represents what CM Punk is
One of the greatest wrestlers of all time, a master psycologist, one of the best talkers of all time, CM Punk is the representation of a lot of things, maybe the most interesting wrestler of his generation that includes Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, AJ Styles, etc.
Just before I stopped watching wrestling I remember that one of my favourites was CM Punk but it was the pre pipebomb Punk, the Jeff Hardy feud is still one of my favourites because I was a fan of Jeff Hardy and because the heel won decisevely something that was very rare during the peak of Cena as the babyface ace of WWE.
I wasn´t paying attention to the wrestling world while he did the pipebomb or was the WWE Champion until I started to watch wrestling again in early 2020, I watched the build he did for his multiple matches vs Cena at the beginning of the 2010´s and I consider the build for the Money In The Bank match as one of the best in history.
I was obviouly excited when it was rumoured that he would be back to wrestling, in the promotion that brought me back to watch wrestling, AEW. I still remember watching that Rampage when he debuted, easily one of the greatest moments in wrestling with fans in the arena literally crying because his favourite was back in the ring.
When you check the segments, matches and interviews of his AEW run it has to be considered one of the best in general, his feud vs MJF will be remembered as a classic, a tremendous 2 week feud vs Eddie Kingston with one of the least pretentious big match I have ever seen.
For the way Punk is, this type of stuff was going to happen at some point specially for the egos involved, but not only that, new philosophies that were proven a succes during the time Punk wasn´t wrestling that the Chicago Made didn´t understood or didn´t wanted to. Also he was known for been someone not really easy to deal with as some interviews of other fellow wrestlers have said.
I didn´t really wanted to say much negative stuff because his attitude was what ended his comeback run really fast, before listing what I think are his best moments in AEW I found a twitt that encapsulates all my feelings in a paragraph:
Promos and Segments:
- CM Punk Debuts at AEW Rampage: Grand Slam
- CM Punk first promo in AEW in front of the Chicago crowd
- Eddie Kingston confronts CM Punk
- CM Punk vs MJF: All the Feud in one video
- CM Punk is back in AEW
- Ace Steel gives CM Punk the trust to challenge Jon Moxley after the humilliation he suffered the previous week
Matches:
- CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston in AEW Full Gear 2021 (****3/4)
- CM Punk, Darby Allin & Sting vs The Pinnacle (MJF & FTR) in AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash 2021 (****1/4)
- CM Punk vs MJF in AEW Dynamite #122 (****1/2)
- CM Punk & Jon Moxley vs FTR in AEW Dynamite #123 (****1/4)
- CM Punk vs MJF in a Dog Collar Match in AEW Revolution 2022 (****3/4)
- CM Punk vs Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship in AEW Double Or Nothing 2022 (****1/2)
- CM Punk vs Jon Moxley for the Undisputed AEW World Championship in AEW Dynamite #151 (Best squash match of the decade that told a lot of stuff in 3 minutes)
- CM Punk vs Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in AEW All Out 2022 (****1/2)
The Future for AEW
I think is the start of a really interesting new era, I think they will not be that badly affected on ratings but in merch sales and specially PPV buys I think is where they will have difficult to top the buys where Punk was booked in a big match. I´m really positive of the future to the point that I see a booming period in business and quality in AEW because they have a lot of young, hungry and fresh talent that has been waiting for a while to been given the ball and a booker that after been too dependant on the veteran star power of certain main eventers, will be pushed too book even better and create more new stars.
The Future of CM Punk
I don´t really know what will happen to him, maybe Triple H calls him and he goes to WWE but I don´t really know who hates more. If this was the end of his carreer I think it was what Punk is, with some bad stuff but with tons of great and even legendary shit.
