AEW Star Opens Up About How CM Punk Helped Them

While CM Punk has been a polarizing figure within AEW, the Second City Saint has his fair share of loyal supporters, and few fly the Punk flag as proudly as AEW Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood. Harwood’s short-lived podcast essentially served as a tell-all about his friendship with Punk, as the FTR member often went into heavy detail about their relationship behind the scenes. With all the chaos going on behind the scenes following the now-infamous AEW All Out press conference, Harwood served as a window into Punk’s side of the ongoing situation and often expressed his desire for all parties to make amends so that they could work together on-screen in the future.

Outside of the hopes for an AEW future with Punk, Harwood has reflected on what the former AEW World Champion has done for him personally.

“He hasn’t given me any specific advice, but I’ve been pretty forward about my anxiety issues,” Harwood said during a Monopoly Events Q&A. “My anxiety issues stem from sleeping. Going to work was really difficult to me because I didn’t have my wife. She was my support system and she was my comfort. Going on the road was really difficult for me because I was worried about sleep and I was worried about my mind wandering. Punk would say, ‘come to my room, let’s watch wrestling, let’s hang out.’ He just helped me acclimate my brain back to being on the road for my anxiety issues. I’m forever indebted to him for that.”

Harwood noted that he did not receive any special treatment from Punk, as he was always happy to help anyone on the AEW roster that was seeking advice.

“You could ask anybody else in the AEW locker room who is not overconfident because he literally had his door open for everyone,” Harwood continued. “He would watch every match, people would go to him and say, ‘Can you watch my match and tell me what I did right and what I did wrong?’ He would and he would stay from the beginning to the end. He did that because he does love professional wrestling, just like we do.”

Punk is reportedly set to make his AEW return in mid-June, where he is expected to be the centerpiece of the new AEW Collision show. The launch of this Saturday program will reportedly lead to a brand split of sorts within the AEW roster.