"Kind of like a miracle" - CM Punk explains how AEW rekindled his love for professional wrestling
"I fell out of love with it," is how CM Punk describes the loss of his love for pro wrestling. According to The Second City Saint, AEW has helped him rediscover his passion for in-ring competition.
On August 20, 2021, on the "The First Dance" edition of Rampage, CM Punk made his debut for All Elite Wrestling in his hometown of Chicago. Because it delivered Punk's return, the show is considered one of the most significant events in the brief history of AEW.
He said he would work hard to get to the top, and it took him nine months and many memorable programs to earn that spot. Punk would go on to win the AEW World Championship as he defeated Hangman Page at Double or Nothing. It was Punk's first title win in more than a decade.
In an interview with the Associated Press, CM Punk explained that when he was working in WWE, he "fell out of love" with wrestling. But he went on to credit AEW with reigniting his passion.
“They’ve rekindled something inside of me that I thought honestly was long dead. I used to love professional wrestling and I fell out of love with it. I think when you love something so much you can hold on to it so tight it can ruin that thing for you. But there’s almost no reason to dwell on that anymore.” said CM Punk.
#AndNew!!!
Your new #AEW World Champion is @CMPunk!
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Punk also discussed the backstage scene within AEW and commented on the camaraderie. He stated that the environment has allowed him to enjoy wrestling in a manner he thought he would never be able to.
“I like the youthful enthusiasm that everybody has backstage and it has rekindled my love for it. So these past nine months has been nothing short of kind of like a miracle. I’m enjoying every step of the way,” said Punk. (Credit: Associated Press)
The Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 26th will crown an Interim AEW Champion in CM Punk's absence as he recovers from surgery. The AEW branch of the tournament culminated on Wednesday, with Jon Moxley securing his spot in the championship showdown. Moxley's opponent will be determined at NJPW's upcoming Dominion show.
When the Best in the World returns, an eventual matchup with the stop-gap champion will occur.
Although worse than expected, CM Punk had a successful surgery
The broadcast team shared promising news of Punk's status on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite.
Ross revealed that the champion had successful surgery. While the type of surgery wasn't divulged last week, he did say that it was on Punk's lower leg.
CM Punk says he is injured and needs surgery.
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It has been reported that doctors found that the bone injuries were worse than expected, but they were able to fix everything.
The date of The Second City Saint's return to AEW is yet to be determined. However, it is believed that he'll be back before the end of the year. Regardless, fans still have the Undisputed AEW Championship unification match to look forward to once Punk has fully recovered.