AEW President Tony Khan finally revealed last week that CM Punk would be returning to AEW, and that Punk’s long-rumored involvement with AEW Collision was indeed happening. Since then we’ve seen Punk promote Collision and AEW promote Punk’s return, but we haven’t really heard Khan address it since the announcement. In a new interview with Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso, Khan was asked about Punk’s impending return to All Elite Wrestling, and while Khan didn’t go into too much detail, he did discuss Punk’s importance to the fans and to AEW.
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“We haven’t seen CM Punk in a long time, since All Out last September. He looked great in his last match,” Khan said. “To the fans, he’s very important. He’s very important to the company, too. He’s been a big draw for us and historically throughout his career, and the launch of the new show happens to line up with the schedule on his rehab of his triceps injury.”
Punk should be ready to go for Collision’s debut after a series of reported starts and stops. Now that everything seems to be locked in, it will be interesting to see how AEW proceeds with Punk and how Punk returns. Do we get a continuation of his heroic return run from when he debuted, or do we get a heel turn at some point, bringing some of the backstage reality into the storyline? Or do they go with something in the middle?
Lots of choices, and it will all start with Collision, which is the third major show under AEW’s umbrella. Khan also discussed how Collision came to be, revealing it was David Zaslav who approached AEW about jumping into Saturday nights.
“We have an amazing opportunity with AEW on Saturday nights on TNT, starting June 17, and it was truly the brainchild of [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president] David Zaslav. He asked about more AEW, specifically Saturday nights, on TNT. When it was pitched to us by TNT, I was so excited. It’s so exciting the timing [of Punk’s return from injury] coincides with the launch of Collision,” Khan said.
Over on Dynamite, Khan has started working more with Bryan Danielson on the creative side, and Danielson has truly enjoyed the process. At the Double or Nothing press conference Danielson said, “I love working with Tony and I love working in AEW. … I think we have a lot of similar ideas on wrestling, and sometimes he says things to me and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a great idea,’ and we riff off each other really well.”
When asked about working with Danielson and involving him more in Creative, Khan said “Bryan and I have had a very close relationship since he came to AEW. He’s one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and he’s one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known. He has a great mind, and I love talking to him about stories, matches, ideas and psychology.”
“I work with a number of people closely to bounce ideas off, and Bryan has been involved with us in the office more than ever lately. He had some very complimentary things to say about our relationship and working together, and to receive that type of praise from someone I respect so much, those are quotes I’d want on my tombstone,” Khan said.
Are you excited for Collision? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
