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New AEW World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk delivered a heartfelt message to the crowd following his victory earlier in Double or Nothing 2022 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Punk won the title by dethroning Hangman Page when he countered the latter's buckshot lariat into the Go To Sleep finisher. After the victory, The Second City Saint unveiled his emotions to the Las Vegas crowd. This would be his first world title win in nine years since he held the WWE Championship for 434 days.
When the pay-per-view went off the air, The Second City Saint had a post-match segment where he first thanked his wife, April Mendez (FKA AJ Lee in WWE). Amidst the thunderous "CM Punk" chants, he also addressed the fans by saying that he became a champion because of them.
"No matter what you hear, no matter what you read, I am grateful for each and every one of you, I love every single one of you, and I’m a champion once again in professional wrestling because of all of you. [Responding to a CM Punk chant] Deserves has got nothing to do with it, I f***ing earned this... Everybody in the back, male, female, everybody behind the camera, whether they’re making money or spending money – they’re the reason I’m here. I appreciate every single one of you," Punk said. (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Check out his full speech here below:
Punk also gave a shout-out to FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) and the rest of the AEW locker room by expressing his appreciation to them. He ended his speech by saying that fans "ain't seen nothing yet."
You can check the full results of Double or Nothing here.
CM Punk was greeted earlier by FTR after his AEW World Title win
Before Punk's post-match speech, AAA and ROH Tag Team Champion FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) stormed into the ring. From there, the duo embraced The Second City Saint whole-heartedly.
While hugging FTR, the new AEW World Champion joked that the duo should always tell him never to do the buckshot lariat again. Afterward, the ROH and AAA Tag Team Champions gave the former a victory ride by hoisting him up on their shoulders.
Punk's title win drew reactions not only to wrestlers but also to wrestling fans all over the world. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if there will be a rematch should Page take his rematch clause.
