WWE legend says slow AEW All In opener was awkward: " Punk started looking gassed after about two minutes"
CM Punk and Samoa Joe kicked off All In 2023 with a hard-hitting showdown. WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff recently commented on the bout, calling it a slow-paced start to the event.
Following the Zero Hour pre-show at All In, the event's main card started with CM Punk defending his "Real" AEW World Championship against Samoa Joe. The match was a back-and-forth affair, where both stars paid homage to wrestling legends John Cena and Hulk Hogan.
On a recent edition of his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff said that the title bout lacked energy. He further mentioned how Punk looked "gassed" from the early stages of the contest because of how he sold Joe's moves.
"I thought the match was slow-paced. I thought it didn't have a lot of energy. I thought Punk started looking gassed after about two minutes in, and I don't think he was, by the way. I just think he was selling like he had a marathon two hours before he decided to wrestle Joe, and it's just the pace of it I thought was surprisingly slow." [8:26 - 8:48]
Eric Bishoff had huge expectations from AEW All In's opening match
CM Punk and Samoa Joe had a fierce rivalry during their time in Ring of Honor. Both stars delivered some classics as part of the program. Bischoff noted that he had sky-high expectations from the duo's latest bout at All In.
The Hall of Famer also praised The Samoan Submission Machine's in-ring and character work:
"I'll admit part of that was because my expectations were [a] little out of whack. I have never seen [sic] Punk-Joe history, and I understand they've had really good matches in the past. I am a huge fan of Samoa Joe as a human being [and] as a character. So I was really excited, I wanted to put it over, you know, and I am. It was solid it was good. I just thought it was a little awkward to start the show with something [sic] this slower pace." [8:49 - 11:10]
Bischoff rated Punk and Joe's title match a six out of ten. The Second City Saint retained his gold after delivering the Pepsi Plunge to the ROH World TV Champion.
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If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the 83 Weeks podcast and add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.