Tony Khan is excited to have CM Punk back in AEW.
Punk is set to return to the company on the debut episode of Collision on June 17th after a tumultuous nine-month absence which began after his infamous All Out press conference appearance and subsequent brawl involving The Elite.
He will be in the main event of the show, teaming up with World Tag Team Champions FTR to take on the team of Samoa Joe and Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White and Juice Robinson.
On the latest edition of Barstool Rasslin’, Khan spoke of his excitement at having Punk back and reigniting his ROH rivalry with Samoa Joe.
“I’m very excited about his return to the ring. He’s one of the biggest names in AEW, he’s a top star. He’s one of the biggest names in all of wrestling.
“One of his greatest rivals in his entire career is Samoa Joe. I’m very excited to feature Samoa Joe on Collision also.”
Tony Khan expects CM Punk to get a “positive reaction” on his return
Although fan reaction to Punk has been mixed in recent months, Khan still expects him to get a “very positive” reaction when he makes his comeback.
“Well, I think it’ll be very exciting to see how the fans react, but I expect a very positive reaction, particularly in Chicago for the first episode.”
Khan expects Punk to continue to get great reactions as he regards him as “one of the most popular wrestlers in the world.
“I think then, going forward, CM Punk’s one of the most popular wrestlers in the world, so certainly he’s gonna get a great reaction. Depending on who his opponent is and the type of reaction he’s trying to get, I expect CM Punk to connect with the crowd as well as anybody in the entire pro wrestling business.
“He had an amazing connection with the fans, and I think that’s part of his longevity and his mystique is his amazing connection with the crowd.”
While Khan is optimistic about how Punk will be received on Collision, this hasn’t been reflected in ticket sales for the new weekly show so far. A recent report described sales outside of Chicago as “bad”, with one show not even breaking 1,000 paid so far.
H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.