CM Punk Finally Breaks Silence on AEW Rumors

The rumors of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan arriving in All Elite Wrestling have been the biggest stories in pro wrestling for the last several weeks. AEW has openly started playing into that speculation recently with various nods to Punk sprinkled over the last few weeks of AEW Dynamite, along with the announcement that the Aug. 20 episode of AEW Rampage would be held in Chicago's United Center. Thanks to the hype of Punk's possible arrival, the arena sold out in less than five minutes. However, beyond a few teases in his Instagram story that could just as easily be red herrings, Punk had remained quiet regarding all of the rumors.

That finally changed with the latest Sunday Night's Main Event, where Punk spoke with Jason Agnew while promoting the upcoming premiere of the Heels series. When asked what his plans were for Aug. 20, Punk said (h/t Fightful), "I think I might be doing a screening, this isn't confirmed yet so I probably shouldn't blast this out everywhere, but we're talking about doing a screening of episode three of Heels at AMC in Chicago. That's one of the dates that has been proposed. I hope to see everybody there."

He was also asked directly about the promo Darby Allin cut immediately following the United Center announcement (calling out the "Best in the World"). Punk deflected by saying he assumed Allin was talking about Daniel Bryan.

Punk then confirmed he had previously talked with AEW president Tony Khan, who had stated in interviews that he wanted Punk to be a founding member of the roster when he first launched AEW.

"Yeah, I talked with Tony. My perspective on this, and I've said this to his face, I am a guy who has constantly heard, 'Hey, I've got a money guy!' or 'Hey, I've got TV!' at least one or twice a year for 15-20 years of my wrestling career... it always seems like somebody [says], 'Oh, we're going to start up and compete with Vince [McMahon].' I always think that came from a bad spot, because I think if you start up a wrestling company, I think you should always focus on yourself. So I, more or less, took a wait-and-see approach. I wasn't and I am not interested in pro wrestling in that respect."

Punk concluded by saying his main focus right now is on being the best actor he can be. Do you believe the former WWE Champion? Or is Punk really going to be on AEW TV next week? Let us know in the comments below!