AEW: CM Punk Has Reportedly Pushed for a Current Champion to Be His First Opponent After His Return

CM Punk's return and involvement in AEW's upcoming weekly Saturday night show, AEW Collision, has been one of the biggest rumors of the pro wrestling industry since the start of the year. Plenty has been written about Punk's return, where his relationship with the The Bucks and Kenny Omega stand following last year's Brawl Out incident and that there are plans for him to work with Chris Jericho upon his return to TV. However, Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp is now reporting that Punk has been pushing for someone else to be his first opponent — Samoa Joe. 

The history between Punk and Joe stretches back two decades and their original trilogy of singles matches in Ring of Honor (August 2003 at ROH Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies, June 2004 at ROH World Title Classic and October 2004 at ROH All-Star Extravaganza II) helped define the early years of that promotion. Punk is 0-4-2 in singles matches against Joe, including two hour-long time-limit draws. And while both spent time in WWE, Punk was gone from the industry by the time Joe arrived in NXT. 

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"We can't confirm whether the pitch/suggestion was for a one-off match or an extended program. Also, we have not confirmation on whether or not the match is actually happening, as AEW sources won't discuss anything related to Collision in general, much less the matches planned," Sapp wrote.

Joe has recently proclaimed himself as "The King of Television," having held the ROH World Television Championship for nearly 400 days while also winning the AEW TNT Championship twice. He recently set his sights on Zack Sabre Jr.'s NJPW World Television Championship. 

Do you think a Punk/Joe program is a better option that Punk/Jericho? Could it still work as just a one-off match? Or should AEW have Punk operating as a heel right out of the gate given how everything went down last year? Tell us your thoughts down in the comments!

The announcement of AEW Collision, reportedly set for next week at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation, is just the first event of what promises to be a massive summer for AEW. That includes the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 28 in Las Vegas, AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door on June 25 in Toronto, All In: London at Wembley Stadium on Aug. 27 and All Out on Sept. 3 (reportedly at the United Center in Chicago).