Bryan Danielson Reflects on Lost CM Punk Feud in AEW

Danielson anticipated wrestling Punk while the two were in AEW together.

By Liam Crowley

AEW's CM Punk era is in the rear view. The Second City Saint ended his seven-year sabbatical from professional wrestling in August 2021 by signing with All Elite Wrestling, joining the company just over two years into its existence. Acquiring Punk, alongside top free agents Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole, helped propel AEW into its most prosperous period, as Tony Khan's promotion became the hottest ticket in town for the next nine months, outdrawing WWE in multiple markets. Three days after he won the AEW World Title, Punk broke his foot, setting off a chain of events that ultimately led to a year-long slow burn break up between himself and AEW. Punk was fired from AEW in September 2023, ending his run with the company at just over two years, only half of which he spent as an active member of the roster.

Bryan Danielson Reflects on Lost CM Punk Feud

CM-PUNK-BRYAN-DANIELSON-FIRED-AEW-TONY-KHAN
(Photo: AEW)

As a result of that tumultuous exit, AEW missed out on multiple expected CM Punk feuds.

Speaking to Inside The Ropes, AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson noted he anticipated mixing it up with Punk in an All Elite Wrestling ring, but the two never crossed paths on screen during the two years that they shared an AEW locker room.

"Sad isn't the right word. It was something that I thought was going to happen that didn't happen," Danielson said. "So it's like, it would've been really cool and really fun for me."

Danielson and Punk's in-ring careers have run parallel to one another. Both men got their starts in Ring of Honor and squared off once in that promotion, adding three more singles bouts against one another on the independent circuit in the early 2000s. The two met again in WWE in 2012, wrestling 24 times that year across television tapings, live events, and pay-per-views.

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"I've always thought that Punk and I were destined to do a WrestleMania match, and then it just never happened," Danielson said in December 2021. "It felt like, 'Man, it's so perfect and it makes so much sense that we would have this WrestleMania match against each other,' and it never happened."

Punk was fired from AEW last year due to his involvement in a backstage altercation at AEW ALL IN: London 2023. Danielson, who holds a high rank on AEW's disciplinary committee behind the scenes, was reportedly a key decision-maker during the company's deliberation on Punk's future. Despite his friendship with Punk, Danielson was said to have felt that letting him go was a decision that had to be made.

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