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The WWE return of CM Punk at Survivor Series sent shockwaves through the world of pro wrestling on Saturday night. This includes the AEW locker room.
The Best In The World returned to WWE almost three full months after leaving AEW. Tony Khan brought Punk back to the world of wrestling in August 2021 and often defended the future Hall of Famer amid criticism. That changed in September when Khan terminated Punk with cause, and since then, he has publicly said he cannot comment on the situation surrounding the two-time AEW World Champion.
The AEW President had a busy Saturday night with the weekly live Collision episode and a special live Saturday edition of Rampage, and word is that he "seemed more concerned" with losing Katsuyori Shibata than Punk's WWE return, according to Fightful Select's latest update.
The special Saturday Rampage saw Shibata drop the ROH Pure Championship to Wheeler Yuta. While Khan was once very high up on Punk, he previously praised the Japanese legend and said he wanted to have him in AEW forever. The All Elite CEO then begged his favorite wrestler to "never leave" the company.
Regarding internal reactions to the biggest WWE return in years, this new report notes that the majority of reactions from within AEW are actually people asking about how the reactions within WWE have been. It was also said that Punk was never discussed for the mysterious Devil storyline in All Elite Wrestling.
Khan just gave a new interview and was asked about Punk's return to WWE. His response caused him to trend worldwide this afternoon.
Why Tony Khan's favorite wrestler left AEW
Katsuyori Shibata dropped the ROH Pure Championship to the same wrestler he captured the title from at Supercard of Honor on March 31st - Wheeler Yuta.
The title change on the special Saturday edition of Rampage came after Yuta confronted Shibata earlier in the show. A report from Fightful Select reveals that Shibata had to return to Japan for an extended period of time, and he had to leave as soon as possible.
Tony Khan wanted to wait and do the title change with Shibata's exit on December 15th at the ROH Final Battle pay-per-view, but the 44-year-old could not wait and had to leave for Japan immediately. It is not known when he will return to work for either of Khan's promotions.
Shibata, who has stated he was happy in All Elite Wrestling, reportedly loved the idea of the 27-year-old Blackpool Combat Club member stealing his title and then threatening to injure him so that HOOK could make the save. The idea was that this angle would create some drama but not put Shibata out for good, while also doing just enough so that ROH would be forced to give him an extended No Contact period before he can return to action as a precaution.
Yuta is now a three-time ROH Pure Champion. It looks like he will defend against HOOK at Final Battle next month.
What do you think of the whole CM Punk situation within AEW and WWE? Do you think Tony Khan regrets letting Punk go? Sound off in the comments below!
