CM Punk set the professional wrestling world on fire with his famous "Pipe Bomb" promo in 2011, solidifying himself as one of the industry's all-time greatest stars. Punk had an extended run with the WWE Championship and generally enjoyed a great deal of success, but due to a variety of issues, left WWE abruptly at the beginning of 2014. Punk hasn't been seen in a professional wrestling ring for seven years, but he's now made his return, courtesy of All Elite Wrestling.
As has been teased by AEW on episodes of AEW Dynamite and through social media for the past couple of weeks, CM Punk has finally made his professional wrestling return. Punk kicked off the latest episode of AEW Rampage, making his entrance to his "Cult of Personality" theme music and cutting a promo addressing his intentions in AEW.
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Punk mentioned that he will be appearing on the program regularly, with plans to be on Dynamite on Wednesdays, Rampage on Fridays, and pay-per-views the four times they're hosted a year. Punk's first match back will be against Darby Allin at All Out on September 5, with Allin being managed by legendary professional wrestler Sting.
Punk's promo included some nods to his time in the WWE, particularly how things ended poorly between him and the giant wrestling company. CM Punk said that as far as he was concerned, he left the professional wrestling business when he left Ring of Honor, insinuating that his time with WWE didn't count as "professional wrestling." He also accused WWE of ruining his health, and then ended his promo by promising everyone at the United Center in Chicago free ice cream bars, a reference to the ice cream bars he tried to get brought back during his WWE run.
The return of CM Punk to the world of professional wrestling is huge and has great potential to move the needle for AEW ratings-wise. Punk could very well be AEW's smoking gun to help propel the company even ahead of WWE, though it depends on how things play out in the weeks and months ahead.
Of course, it's worth pointing out that Punk isn't the only ex-WWE star that's expected to be debuting in AEW soon. Reports indicate that world-renowned professional wrestler Daniel Bryan has signed an AEW contract and could be making his debut sooner rather than later. Needless to say, AEW has some serious momentum behind it, and it will be interesting to see if it's able to properly capitalize on all the buzz.
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