CM Punk returned to the wrestling ring during the August 20th episode of Rampage in scenes that likely won’t ever be forgotten. He came out to Cult of Personality, and the sold-out crowd chanted his name, which clearly moved Punk. He’d go to challenge Darby Allin and will be wrestling his first match in over seven years at All Out. Now in an article by ESPN, it has been revealed that Punk had only signed his AEW contract 30 minutes before appearing on air.
Punk arrived early at the United Center and got a text from his lawyer while there. He told Punk that he should probably sign his AEW contract before appearing on television, so he did that about 30 minutes before the start of Rampage.
Punk’s AEW debut was a very unique situation. While much of the wrestling world knew he was debuting due to multiple clues from AEW and endless dirtsheet news reports, very few people actually knew whether it was 100% confirmed. On the day of the show, Punk was referred to backstage as “a guest,” and at no point did AEW publicly promise he would appear. However, has Punk pulled out at the last minute or held the promotion up for more money, it would have been a disaster for AEW. Nevertheless, Tony Khan had been speaking to Punk for the past 18 months, and they clearly had built up the necessary levels of trust.
The belief is Punk’s contract is for multiple years, and while he is set to be a full-time television performer, it’s believed he will only wrestle between 10 to 12 times per year. While that may disappoint some, it will still allow him to wrestle the up-and-coming talent he has previously stated he’d like to wrestle, such as Ricky Starks and Jungle Boy, while still enabling him to have first-time dream matches with the likes of Kenny Omega and Adam Page.
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