A WWE Hall of Famer explains why they hoped CM Punk remained in AEW.
September 2026 will mark three years since CM Punk departed from AEW after being terminated by AEW CEO Tony Khan. Nevertheless, many within the company still think of the former AEW World Champion fondly.
Amongst those is WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW commentator Jim Ross, whose experience with Punk extends back to their first runs in WWE. According to Ross, Punk is a talent who can successfully portray himself as a heel or a babyface in wrestling.
More importantly, though, Ross views Punk as a friend. That’s why he wishes “The Second City Saint” was still working near him in AEW.
“As long as Punk is featured, then I’m happy,” Ross said on Grilling JR when asked about Punk’s booking as a wrestler. “As long as he doesn’t disappear off the face of the wrestling earth, I’m for it. He’s a valuable talent, CM Punk. It could be a great heel or a great baby face. He’s another guy that’s in our reliable category that’s hard to bust him out of that situation. So I’m a CM Punk fan. Whatever role they decide to put him in, he’s going to succeed because he’s just a real talented dude. I consider him one of my friends. I wish we still had him at AEW. He made things lively around that place.”
Punk returned to WWE in November 2023. Since then, he’s captured three more world titles, all while maintaining his status as a top babyface in the company. He currently reigns as the Undisputed WWE Champion.
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