After the Royal Rumble in 2014 CM Punk walked away from professional wrestling. Punk had tired of the WWE way of doing things and decided he needed a break. He needed time to pursue other interests and to heal his mind, body, and soul. Punk would compete in a couple of UFC fights, losing both. He would also dabble in acting but at his core he was always a pro wrestler. Punk has always been a student of the business and one of the rare individuals that understand all the little nuisances that make a wrestler great. Fans would chant his name whenever they were disenfranchised with what the WWE was putting out there in front of them. Unfortunately as long as the WWE was the only real game in town a CM Punk return to the squared circle did not seem likely.
Then something happened a couple years ago, Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Tony Khan got together and started an alternative to the WWE in AEW. AEW would lure names like Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley away from the WWE and started to make a name for themselves as maybe more than just an alternative to WWE maybe just maybe they could be competition. While there have been some big moments in AEW’s existence thus far none may be as a big as the moment that happened on Friday August 20th at the United Center. If you missed it here it is in all its glory. As CM Punk said himself in AEW’s initial press release, “I’m Back!” And this wrestling fan couldn’t be happier.
