CM Punk made history on Sunday night at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view by defeating “Hangman” Adam Page for the AEW World Championship. The title gives Punk his first championship reign in the world of pro wrestling since his 434-day reign as WWE Champion from 2011-13 and in the post-show media scrum he talked about which stars he wants to face next. AEW’s next pay-per-view is a crossover with New Japan Pro-Wrestling dubbed Forbidden Door, which will take place in Punk’s hometown of Chicago.
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“I think [Kazuchika] Okada, [Hiroshi] Tanahashi, [Will] Ospreay, guys like that I’m looking forward to stepping into the ring with,” Punk said (h/t Wrestling Inc.). “AEW talent โ I always think number one with a bullet is going to be Bryan Danielson. I’ve never wrestled Jon Moxley โ I’ve wrestled Dean Ambrose, so that’s an interesting match up. There’s still guys on my list that I’ve never wrestled with, Jungle Boy, Ricky Starks. I could probably finish out my career wrestling FTR every day for the rest of my life, and it could be different and fun every single time. Will Hobbs is another guy that I think has all the potential in the world.
“We’ve got a really stacked roster. It’s almost a crime that we can’t do everybody justice at once, but I think we’re getting there with baby steps. I think we’re learning. I think we make mistakes, but instead of dwelling on it and punishing other people or ourselves, I think we move on and try to learn from things. But Bryan Danielson will probably be the first guy that comes to mind. Very selfishly, I’d love to wrestle him,” Punk continued.ย
His comments managed to get a response out of Will Ospreay, who was openly challenging Punk to a match before he even returned to pro wrestling last August. Ospreay was recently dealing with a serious kidney infection that forced him to miss a recent RevPro event, though hopefully he’ll be fully recovered by June 26.ย
As for his first AEW Championship challenger, it’s worth noting that Jon Moxley was right behind Punk in the final official rankings poll that dropped right before Double or Nothing. Punk also has ready-made storylines with MJF (though his status with the company feels very much up in the air right now) and Wardlow, the latter of whom was seemingly going to beat Punk in dominant fashion earlier this year before Max got involved.ย
Who do you want to see Punk take on first now that he has AEW’s top prize? And who should he face at Forbidden Door? Tell us your picks down in the comments!ย
