CM Punk's AEW Return Set: Wrestling Fans Divided

By Brian Jones - June 1, 2023 03:45 pm EDT

CM Punk is coming back to All Elite Wrestling. During AEW Dynamite on Wednesday, Tony Khan announced that the former AEW World Champion will be featured on the company's new show Collision, which will debut on June 17 at the United Center in Punk's hometown of Chicago.

Punk has been off AEW TV since last September when he was involved in a backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks following the pay-per-view event All Out. The incident happened on Sunday, Sept. 4 after Punk's press conference for the pay-per-view. According to Sports Illustrated, Punk spoke with Omega and the Young Bucks before a fight ensued. Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa and Brandon Cutler were suspended after the altercation.

Punk made his AEW debut in August 2021 after being away from professional wrestling for nearly 10 years. He's known for his time in WWE where he won the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWE Championship twice. Before WWE, Punk was in Ring of Honor and won the World Championship and Tag Team Championship. Here's a look at fans reacting to Punk returning to AEW.

The Announcement

.@CMPunk is BACK

June 17th. Chicago. #AEWCollision. Only on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/nupKUaJAav
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) June 1, 2023

One fan said: "MR CULT OF PERSONAAAAAAAAAAALITY THE BEST IN THE WORLD IS BACK."

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Initial Reaction

Chicago will be great for a response but wonder if it will be 50/50 or worse elsewhere?pic.twitter.com/2IqV1JaHcD
— Mikey 3️⃣count (@Mikey_3count) June 1, 2023

One fan said: "Ya he has to come back heel. With a mixed reaction like that you gotta make them all turn now."

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Hesitaiton

Hesitant (I’m not looking forward to it until he proves he’s not gonna be a problem but I feel like that’s a lot to ask for)
— ⏳ (@dvpeolsen) June 1, 2023

A Twitter user wrote: "Enough time has passed I think happy to see him back and looking forward to his matches plus those media scrums lol. Going to be interesting how the crowd reacts to Punk on Collision though, it's gonna be must see tv!"

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No!

pic.twitter.com/TLPIGO1pJ3
— Dustin douglas kennedy (@DouglesKennedy) June 1, 2023

A person on YouTube commented: "Been 10 years since we've seen Heel Punk. I think it's about time."

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Good Day

Me waking up today knowing Cm Punk is back in 2 weeks. pic.twitter.com/ja9Q1sqkGD
— 👑𝔸𝕕𝕒𝕞 𝔾𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕘👑 (@AdamGoldberg28) June 1, 2023

Another Youtuber said: "Good to see there is a mixed reaction. I would like CM Punk to have a heel run soon. He's gonna rock that."

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Strange

It’s weird to see AEW acknowledging Punk again. We’ve had eight months of them basically pretending he never existed. There was nothing and now it’s all “CM Punk will be here and then here…oh, and he’ll also be here.” He suddenly exists again. It really is the second coming.
— Morgan (@MorganJayneX) June 1, 2023

One fan on YouTube said: "CM Punk being back is certainly interesting. I hope he can make things up with the Bucks and Hangman Adam Page since that one of the reasons the elite hasn't re signed their contracts probably."

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Clobberin' Time

Let’s GOOOOOOOOOO
It’s Clobberin’ Time !!! https://t.co/3d3Ml6gjhc
— Kevin Gill (@OGkevingill) June 1, 2023

And this fan commented on YouTube: "I'm not even the biggest fan of him personally, but as an entertainer he's one of the best."

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