5 real-life friends CM Punk has in AEW

He may have left the company in a cloud of controversy, but CM Punk is still a human being at the end of the day and has a lot of friends within AEW.

Punk was fired by All Elite Wrestling in September 2023 and has since returned to WWE, marking the first time he's appeared in World Wrestling Entertainment since the 2014 Royal Rumble event.

One of Punk's biggest issues with All Elite Wrestling was that he was working with, in his own words, children. He was working with wrestlers he didn't like and people who he thought weren't willing to take advice and respect the past. But he didn't hate everyone. Here, we look at five people in AEW who are still good friends with CM Punk.

#5. Samoa Joe has a long history with CM Punk

Despite having beaten the color out of each other on multiple occasions over the years, Samoa Joe is a man who has been close to Punk throughout the former AEW World Champion's career.

The two men came through the independent scene together, had one of the defining rivalries of ROH, and without the Samoan Submission Machine managing to calm everyone down, fans at AEW All In might not have seen Punk perform at Wembley.

If you need any proof as to how close Punk and Joe are, watch their "ROH Straight Shootin'" interview from 2004, where the two share stories about how they pranked Homicide, wrecked Joe's apartment, and insulted pole dancers in their time on the indies.

#4. Danhausen's friendship may have even caused harm to CM Punk!

While he might be one of the quirkiest characters to ever hit the ring, Danhausen has been both very nice and very evil to CM Punk during their friendship. The former ROH star stated in an interview in 2021 that Punk gave him permission to use the "GTS" as a finishing move, and the two have been friendly ever since.

Ironically, it's this friendship that might have actually led to Punk's downfall in All Elite Wrestling which started when he broke his foot on the June 1, 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite.

Punk dove into the audience but broke his foot on the steel guardrail in the process, something that the former AEW World Champion puts down to wearing boots that Danhausen may or may not have put a curse on.

#3. Brody King (and the rest of The House of Black) bonded with CM Punk

While they might be one of the most imposing groups in all of wrestling, CM Punk had a unique bond with the House of Black, in particular with Brody King. Thanks to their mutual love of music and tattoos, the two men grew close to one another, with King being seen with Punk outside of the ring on multiple occasions.

This was evident in AEW's recent trip to Wembley Stadium, when the House of Black and CM Punk were spotted walking around London together, even catching a bite to eat in Nandos around the corner from the All In venue.

#2 & #1. FTR even formed a trio with CM Punk

When it comes to friends of Punk in AEW, there aren't many people more closely associated with the Straight Edge Superstar than Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR. The three men bonded over their love of the business, more specifically Bret Hart, and even formed CMFTR during Punk's final months with the company.

FTR's friendship with Punk eventually influenced some storylines in AEW, with many people seeing Dax and Cash's match with The Young Bucks at All In as a potential first step towards CMFTR taking on The Elite. However, that never came to be.

Who else is friends with the Straight Edge Superstar? Let us know in the comments section below!