"Everybody wanted to see" - Wrestling legend believes AEW missed out on the opportunity to book Cody Rhodes vs. 6-time WWE World Champion
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry recently shared some of the biggest pros and cons of AEW World Champion CM Punk's current pro wrestling run.
Yesterday (August 20, 2022) marked the first anniversary of The Straight Edge Superstar's sensational debut in front of the jam-packed United Center in Chicago.
Since coming out of retirement, Punk has been having the time of his life in AEW. He embarked on a tremendous singles record, defeating some prominent names like Darby Allin, Eddie Kingston, and MJF en route to his first world championship reign in the Jacksonville-based promotion.
Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, Mark Henry lavished praise on Punk for facing a variety of opponents in AEW and making them a standalone commodity:
"You notice that there was a variety of different style grapplers, big guys, intermediate-sized guys. Guys that were good guys, guys that were bad guys. The end result was what? Everybody got over.... That is the legacy of CM Punk coming back... He has been able to help this company [AEW] get to the point to where the wrestlers that he wrestled against are now standalone, viable commodities themselves," Henry said. (17:48-18:36)
Henry gave the six-time WWE World Champion's overall run in Tony Khan's promotion a 9.5 rating on a scale of 1 to 10.
However, the veteran believes the company missed a huge opportunity to book a dream match between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes:
"I would have to say I give him a 9.5. I can't say perfection because everybody wanted to see CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. And we missed, and that was a miss. A miss is a miss and that was the only thing that I didn't get that I wanted and that's me being a fan of professional wrestling," he added. (19:12-19:57)
Where were you when @CMPunk made his #AEW debut 1 year ago today at #AEWRampage: The First Dance 8/20/21 @UnitedCenter? https://t.co/D0lSFjRXbg
CM Punk has changed the landscape of AEW recently
After taking a sabbatical due to an injury, CM Punk returned on the Quake By The Lake episode of Dynamite a few weeks ago and confronted AEW Interim World Champion, Jon Moxley.
From the looks of it, many assumed the two would collide at the upcoming All Out pay-per-view on September 4.
However, The Second City Saint changed the entire dynamic of the feud when he and Mox dropped pipebombs on each other this past Wednesday night.
A closer look into the #AEW Undisputed World Championship to be decided this WEDNESDAY at #AEWDynamite LIVE at 8/7c on TBS: it's Interim World Champ @JonMoxley vs. World Champ @CMPunk! https://t.co/hr1WLIbBuN
Their heated war of words quickly spiraled into a chaotic brawl, forcing the security men and locker room to break them apart.
Soon after, the company announced a title unification match between Mox and Punk in the forthcoming edition of Dynamite, which came as a surprise since All Out is merely two weeks away.
Wrestling fans must tune into the flagship show next Wednesday to find out what Tony Khan has planned for this feud and All Out.
If you use the quotes from this article, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and credit the Busted Open podcast.