CM Punk officially became a two-time AEW World Champion at All Out 2022 on Sunday, defeating Jon Moxley after hitting three GTS in the 20-minute match. Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived, as MJF confirmed he was the masked devil who won the Casino Ladder Match earlier in the night. The lights went out in the arena shortly after Punk’s win, and a voicemail from Tony Khan could be heard throughout the arena. It revealed Khan offered to forgive everything Friedman had done and put him in the Ladder Match, but only if he appeared at All Out.
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Friedman appeared on the entrance ramp and flipped off the crowd (despite them cheering for him), then promised that the title was coming home with him. Punk defiantly held the championship up in the middle of the ring.
Punk first won the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing, but a surgery-requiring foot injury suffered days later forced him to step away from competition. Jon Moxley would go on to become interim world champion at Forbidden Door and would defend the title three times before Punk’s return at Quake By The Lake on Aug. 10. A unification match was moved to the Aug. 24 episode of Dynamite in Cleveland, which Moxley won in a mere three minutes when Punk reaggravated his foot injury. A week later he signed an open contract for a rematch with Punk after being convinced by his former coach, Ace Steel, to keep fighting.
The Chicago native has also been at the center of alleged backstage drama in recent weeks, particularly when he went off-script and called out Hangman Page in his return promo. Punk denied the rumors in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.
“You try not to put too much stock in internet rumors,” Punk said “But for AEW, I definitely think that’s part of our audience. Twitter’s not real life, though. On top of that, a lie makes its way around the world twice before the truth puts his boots on or gets out of bed.
“If I addressed every rumor, I’d be here all day,” he added. “I love AEW. It’s not a competition of who loves it more or who’s the heart and soul, or who’s this and who’s that. AEW allowed me a second chance to do what I do best, and that’s professionally wrestle.”
Punk later added, “It’s one side of the story. My locker room is never closed. It’s always open. Anybody who wants to DM [the Wrestling Observer’s Dave] Meltzer some bulls— can come talk to me about it. It’s not macho, stupid bulls—. I’m an adult. Come talk with me.”
Check out the full results from Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view below. The promotion returns to pay-per-view with Full Gear on Nov. 19 in Newark, New Jersey.
- (Kickoff) AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championships: Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo def. Ortiz & Ruby Soho
- (Kickoff) FTW Championship: Hook def. Angelo Parker
- (Kickoff) AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Pac def. Kip Sabian
- (Kickoff) Eddie Kingston def. Tomohiro Ishii
- Casino Ladder Match: “The Joker” wins
- AEW World Trios Championship Tournament Finals: The Elite def. Hangman Page & The Dark Order
- AEW TBS Championship: Jade Cargill def. Athena
- Wardlow & FTR def. Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machine Guns
- Powerhouse Hobbs def. Ricky Starks
- AEW World Tag Team Championships: Swerve In Our Glory def. The Acclaimed
- Interim AEW Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm def. Dr. Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter & Hikaru Shida
- Christian Cage def. Jungle Boy
- Chris Jericho def. Bryan Danielson
- Darby Allin, Sting & Miro def. The House of Black
- AEW World Championship: CM Punk def. Jon Moxley
