Report: Some In AEW Felt CM Punk Return Promo Was ‘Hypocritical’

AEW

The backstage reaction to the AEW return of CM Punk on the debut episode of Collision on June 17 has been revealed.

As well as main eventing the show alongside FTR with a win over Jay White, Juice Robinson and Samoa Joe, Punk also opened proceedings with a promo and got some things off his chest.

Among the notable lines were that he’s been dubbed ‘One Bil Phil’ by the CEO of WBD because he’s “the one true article in a business full of counterfeit bucks”, and apologizing to fans who don’t like him because “the only people softer than you are the wrestlers you like”.

Obviously there was some reaction to this within AEW, with Fightful Select reporting that some people thought Punk was “hypocritical” for calling people soft after the comments he’d made about Hangman Page in the ESPN interview a day prior.

Those comments included Punk being worried that Page would legitimately try to hurt him and how that affected the quality of their match at Double Or Nothing last year, especially after Page had struck Punk’s face with a chop that should have landed on his chest.

Of course, in the same interview, Punk confirmed that he’d tried to make contact with members of The Elite but got letters from attorneys telling him not to, and it’s not for his lack of trying that they haven’t been able to communicate since All Out.

Fightful also mentioned that there were some people who believed Punk was just “getting out what he needed to get out” in the promo on Saturday.

According to sources who had spoken to the Young Bucks, they had taken Punk’s comments “lightheartedly”.

Viewership numbers for Collision aren’t out until tomorrow (Wednesday), but ticket sales for upcoming shows have picked up very well following Punk’s return now that people know he’s actually back and have seen what Collision is going to look like.

Fightful reported over the weekend and has since reiterated that Punk is planned to be at this week’s Dynamite in Chicago, meaning The Elite won’t be there and will only be appearing via pre-tape.

AEW has yet to officially announced Punk for the show.

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• Collision
• cm punk
• AEW

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