On May 24th, it was all but confirmed that CM Punk will be returning to AEW on the debut episode of Collision.
On Dynamite, Tony Khan announced that the first episode of the new Saturday night show will come live from the United Center in Chicago. Fans will remember that this is the same venue where Punk made his AEW debut in August 2021.
Punk’s return, much like vast portions of his 2022 has been mired in controversy. The whole process has been surrounded by claims and counter-claims, rumours, speculation, and legal issues. Everyone involved in the infamous brawl at All Out is unable to speak on what really took place that night due to these legal issues, and it has only served to further ramp up the uncertainty.
Then just as it appeared that an announcement on Punk’s future was coming, there was a setback involving the status of Ace Steel. Punk’s friend left the company after the brawl but had seemingly returned, only to be told he couldn’t be present at TV, something Punk believed he had been told would happen. However, the comeback appears to be back on.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) have been involved, and other legal issues have been “taken care of.”
“There were a couple of things done. There was some legal stuff that was taken care of. There were NDAs involved in this.
I think the key stuff is AEW was protected as far as him showing up for all the dates.
The decision is, as far as we know, that Ace Steel will be working remotely, he will not be an agent going to the Collision shows, which was what the big thing that happened last Tuesday was, so that was how that was settled.”
CM Punk Had “Productive Conversations” With AEW
This latest report appears to back up an earlier report from Fightful which suggested that CM Punk had been sent documents that covered “speaking about certain subjects, disparagement clauses, and ensuring he appears at scheduled television dates.”
It was noted that Punk had held positive talks with AEW and Tony Khan between the announcement of Collision and May 24th.
H/t to Wrestle Talk