Chris Jericho says CM Punk would be ‘welcomed with open arms’ to AEW amid speculation he will join
CM Punk hasn't wrestled properly since leaving WWE in 2014 but AEW owner Tony Khan is known to be a longtime admirer of the 40-year-old
With Double or Nothing a major success critically and commercially, All Elite Wrestling has a ton of momentum.
The arrival of Jon Moxley - known as Dean Ambrose in WWE - at the climax of Double or Nothing has given AEw the hottest star in the business right now.
But, what if they were to secure CM Punk, too?
Punk has been in the wrestling wilderness since leaving WWE in 2014, save for a few masked independent shots.
Of course, Punk had an unsuccessful UFC career where he went 0-2, but most rightly applaud the guts to go ahead and attempt such a career in the first place.
Grabbing Punk - someone owner Tony Khan is publicly a huge fan of - would give AEW a new dimension that would take things to another level.
Chris Jericho, AEW's first major signing from WWE, was recently interviewed by and spoke about the possibility of Punk joining AEW: “If he wants to come back to wrestling, it would have to be for the right reasons — both on his end and on AEW’s end. CM Punk is a unique individual.
“He’d probably be welcomed with open arms. But I think he would have to kind of prove himself, as he would want to. Because I know him. He’s a competitor. He’s not gonna come back just for a paycheck or just to be famous. If he comes back, it’s because he wants to be here, he wants to wrestle and he wants to prove something. And if he doesn’t feel that way, he won’t come back. The only person that can answer that question, I believe, is CM Punk himself.â€
Nobody knows if Punk will ever return to wrestling and at 40-years-old, this would surely be his last run of any kind if he did.
One has to think, though, AEW has all the things Punk could ever want. Relative creative freedom, a large contract and a lighter travel schedule would await him if he ever decided to sign with the company.
Punk is a Chicago native and despite spending over five years away from wrestling now, there is still a large section of fans that remain desperate for him to make a comeback.