Tony Khan has given his thoughts on CM Punk.
Punk’s return was officially announced on May 31st by Khan, who stated that the former World Champion would be a part of the debut episode of Collision. In a further announcement on June 7th, the President of All Elite Wrestling confirmed that Punk would be a part of the main event match of the debut episode.
With the topic of a return frequently coming up in interviews with Khan ever since the infamous Brawl Out incident, the CEO has remained virtually silent on the matter of if/when Punk would be coming back.
CM Punk Was Last Seen On AEW Alongside Tony Khan
With the return now confirmed, Khan gave his thoughts on the value of The Second City Saint to the company, along with how the launch of Collision coincidentally is when Punk will be full recovered:
“We haven’t seen CM Punk in a long time, since All Out last September,” he said. “He looked great in his last match. 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.
Khan continued to praise the Warner Bros. Discovery executives for their decision to expand All Elite Wrestling’s weekly programming, along with detailing how Collision was pitched to him:
“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.”
H/t to Haus Of Wrestling for the use of transcriptions.