“I Don’t Blame Them”: Fans Divided as Tony Khan Delivers an Official and Final Statement on CM Punk’s AEW Future Weeks After Teasing an Announcement

The world will finally witness the ‘Best in the World’ CM Punk lace up his boots once again and make his return to AEW. But is it a sight that they want to see? For months and months, there had been numerous talks surrounding his comeback. But the AEW president finally decided to make it official.

Did he really benefit from it? Yes, because many believe that CM Punk is a draw. No, because the fans in attendance and on social media are divided, with that side higher in numbers that Tony Khan might not like to hear.

How did fans react to the news of CM Punk’s return?

Fans have not seen CM Punk on AEW programming since the All Out 2022 pay-per-view. Of course, there is no secret to how that night unfolded. Punk’s supposedly big ego got in the way of business. He lashed out at the management and superstars, including Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, during the post-event media scrum.

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This led to the former WWE champion getting involved in a real-life brawl with the trio, and being suspended for his actions. Since then, Punk stayed away from wrestling while also recuperating from injuries. With AEW debuting their new show, Collision on June 17th, 2023, in his hometown of Chicago, there was no way Punk could have been left out of the card.

After weeks of speculations, Tony Khan finally made the announcement on AEW Dynamite this week that CM Punk will indeed return to AEW Collision. However, to the shock of many, most of the crowd in attendance was not as thrilled about it as many anticipated.

The same divide was evident on social media, with many of them berating CM Punk’s impending return.

While this was the small section of fans that are pumped for Punk’s return, the detractors seem to have moved past him a long time ago.

Nevertheless, this is not the first time the Chicago native expressed his disdain for authority.

CM Punk has always had a problem with authority

The infamous incident at AEW All Out last year was not the first time Punk defied the authority. In fact, this has been a major reason for his ascend as a top wrestling star. No one would ever forget the infamous “pipebomb” night in 2011, that put him on the map for berating major top individuals in the business.

Moreover, Punk’s differences with WWE authority figures, Vince McMahon and Triple H saw him walk out in 2014. He was away from the squared circle for seven years, before arriving in AEW in 2021. However, Punk could not control his defiance even there, leading to the All Out incident that created a rift between him and the majority of fans.

With the fans spoken, what will the reception to CM Punk’s return on June 17th be? Furthermore, how will he be received outside of his home territory?

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