CM Punk Requires Surgery, but Not Relinquishing AEW World Championship

UPDATE: It was cleared up on commentary after Punk’s promo that he is not vacating the AEW World Championship, and a tournament will be held to crown a new Interium AEW World Champion. Original story follows: Earlier in the night, it was revealed that CM Punk would have a major announcement on tonight’s AEW Rampage, and he was sporting a noticeable limp in his walk as he made his way to the ring. Rumors had pointed to a possible foot injury, and with the AEW World Championship around his waist, he grabbed the microphone and explained. He had tears welling up in his eyes before he started talking, and revealed that he does have an injury that will require surgery, taking him out of action for a while, but he plans on coming back and being stronger than ever.

Punk said “When I got here earlier today I pulled up to the arena and every bone in my body was screaming at me to turn around and hug my wife, and when I say every bone in my body, I even mean the broken ones. My gut told me that everybody here live deserves an explanation, so here I am. I said since I stepped foot here in All Elite Wrestling I was going to give you my all until the wheels fell off. I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news, which do you want first?”

“Because the last thing I ever wanted to feel was that I was letting any of you down or leaving you disappointed, so I hope thus far I haven’t made you feel that way,” Punk said. “I have loved every single second I’ve been in this ring. Every single time I’ve been in this ring in front of all of you has been a gift I never thought I’d get to experience ever again. Here’s the bad news. The bad news is I’m injured and I need surgery. A couple of things are broken, the biggest one is my heart. Because I’d love nothing more to perform in front of all of you and I wanted to go on a hell of a run.”

“The good news is I can still do all that. I told you I was going to go until the wheels fall off and they are still there and haven’t fallen off, it’s just that one of them happens to be broken,” Punk said. “I’ve been through worse and this is a bump in the road. It hurts like hell. I want to wrestle for you. I want to wrestle right now. That being said, let’s talk about this Title. I told Tony before I came out here that I don’t want to hold this up. There’s a laundry list of talent that could be filling my shoes and be Champion. I’m talking Bryan Danielson. I’m talking Jon Moxley. But Tony told me he believes in CM Punk, and he believes this is a bump in the road.”

Punk ended with “The get back is going to be better than the setback. I’m Champion for a reason, and I’m going to show you why I’m coming back faster, stronger, and hungrier than ever before, and I will prove why I’m the best in the world!”

Let us know what you thought of Punk’s comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!