Tony Khan continues to make the media rounds to promote the series premiere of AEW Collision this Saturday night at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
During a recent appearance on the Barstool Sports ‘Rasslin’ podcast, the AEW and ROH President spoke at length about the promotional return of “The Best in the World” CM Punk.
Featured below are some of the highlights.
On how it is very exciting to have Punk back in AEW and having his first match back being a trios match that showcases a bunch of other top names: “It’s very exciting. CM Punk’s been out injured since All Out, and he had a triceps injury in the main event match. We have not seen him in a long time. I’m very excited about his return to the ring. He’s one of the biggest names in AEW, he’s a top star. He’s one of the biggest names in all of wrestling. One of his greatest rivals in his entire career is Samoa Joe. I’m very excited to feature Samoa Joe on Collision also. I think it’s very interesting they’ll be on opposite sides of this match. It’s also really cool that the AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR are gonna be featured here on Collision and across all AEW programming, and FTR certainly gonna be showcased alongside CM Punk. I think they’re a great trio. I’m really excited to have them in the first main event with CM Punk and FTR taking on Samoa Joe, Jay White, and Juice Robinson.”
On how Punk competing in the main event of Collision’s first show is a really cool moment: “I think for the fans who wanted to see CM Punk return, he’s doing it in a grand fashion, and it’s gonna be really exciting in such a big main event of such a huge show in his hometown, Chicago, for the debut of a new show, Saturday Night Collision. I think it’s gonna be really cool.”
On speculating that the fan reaction to Punk’s return will be positive: “Well, I think it’ll be very exciting to see how the fans react, but I expect a very positive reaction, particularly in Chicago for the first episode. I think then, going forward, CM Punk’s one of the most popular wrestlers in the world, so certainly he’s gonna get a great reaction. Depending on who his opponent and the type of reaction he’s trying to get, I expect CM Punk to connect with the crowd as well as anybody in the entire pro wrestling business. He had an amazing connection with the fans, and I think that’s part of his longevity and his mystique is his amazing connection with the crowd. CM Punk’s a really great wrestler, and I’m very excited to have him back in AEW, starting this Saturday night on TNT on AEW Collision.”
Check out the complete interview below. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.
