AEW News and Rumor Roundup: Ex-WWE star explains why he paid tribute to John Cena, major plans for Bray Wyatt canceled? (15th November, 2021)

Welcome back to another exciting edition of AEW News and Rumor Roundup, where we bring the biggest news stories coming from the world of All Elite Wrestling.

We'll kickstart today's edition with none other than CM Punk, who explained his motive behind paying tribute to John Cena. While fans are buzzing over Hangman Page dethroning Kenny Omega, a former WWE Champion is unhappy over the outcome.

A recent report has provided revelations about nixed plans for Bray Wyatt's next wrestling destination. Tony Khan thinks top star getting booed is similar to The Rock at WrestleMania 18. Last but not least, AEW star explains how a feud with Sting elevated his career.

Now without further ado, let's take an in-depth look at these stories.

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#5 AEW's CM Punk opens up about paying homage to WWE star John Cena

This year's AEW Full Gear is in the history books now, but it created a lot of memorable moments. One of those occurred during CM Punk's vicious encounter against Eddie Kingston.

In between the tussle, The Straight Edge Superstar delivered a few of John Cena's 'Five Moves of Doom' on Kingston. His fitting tribute to the WWE star has sent fans into a frenzy ever since.

While speaking during a post-media scrum, AEW's CM Punk stated that he has a connection with fans while performing in the ring, and sometimes things go with the flow. He cited garnering different reactions as the reason behind pulling off Cena's sequence:

“I have one boss when I’m in the ring, and I often like to say, ‘I have no boss when I’m in the ring,’ but the truth is it’s the people, and I listen to them," said Punk. "Sometimes I go with the flow and sometimes I take it places."

"Regardless of the seven-year gap, I’ve been doing this for a minute," Punk continued. "To me, it’s fun just to f*** with people. That’s the whole juice for me. It’s getting different reactions and kind of getting to play with that."

CM Punk and John Cena have remained each other's biggest rivals on-screen, dating back to their time in WWE almost a decade ago. However, Punk's homage seems to suggest that he holds tons of respect for the 16-time World Champion.

#4 Bryan Danielson unhappy over Kenny Omega losing the championship to Hangman Page

While fans are going berserk on social media after watching Hangman Page dethrone Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear, Bryan Danielson seems unhappy with the result.

Speaking at a media scrum, The American Dragon said he felt disappointed, regardless of fans' overwhelming reaction to the title change. He believes there's unfinished business with Omega and that he wanted to be the one to take away his title.

The former WWE Superstar, who is the No.1 contender for the world title, also spoke about his potential upcoming rivalry with Hangman Page:

"I was, to be honest, a little disappointed. I know it's great for the fans that Hangman was the champion but, I mean, there's a part of me that wanted to be the one to take the championship from Kenny Omega. Not only I wasn't able to do that, I wasn't able to beat him, you know what I mean, and Hangman was. I don't have a lot of jealousy in me, but there's a part of me that's like, 'Hangman, okay, let’s see what you really got," said Bryan Danielson.

Both Page and Danielson are two of the biggest babyfaces in AEW today. Given similar on-screen characters, it will be interesting to see how the company portrays its storyline.

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#3 Backstage update on initial plans for Bray Wyatt joining AEW

Bray Wyatt's next wrestling destination has become one of the hottest topics in pro wrestling today, especially after the former has completed his 90-day non-compete clause.

During a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, it was stated that the former Universal Champion was set to show up at Tony Khan's promotion at one point, but plans fell through. It is unknown why both parties didn't reach an agreement.

Aside from reports, many fans anticipated seeing Wyatt make his debut at the recently concluded Full Gear pay-per-view, but nothing major transpired that night. It remains to be seen which promotion will end up signing the former WWE Superstar.

#2 Tony Khan says CM Punk getting booed at AEW Full Gear is similar to The Rock's situation at WrestleMania 18

CM Punk getting booed in his match against Eddie Kingston was arguably one of the strange takeaways from this year's AEW Full Gear.

During the media scrum, Tony Khan compared the crowd turning on The Straight Edge Superstar similar to The Rock's reaction at WrestleMania 18 when the latter faced Hollywood Hogan.

The AEW President said he was present in attendance that night and recalled cheering for The Great One, despite fans turning on the WWE star:

"I remember being the only person out of 70,000 cheering for The Rock in Toronto,” Khan said. “My friend looked over me like, ‘what are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘somebody has to.’ And that’s how I felt about Punk getting booed tonight (vs. Kingston). There were way, way, way more Punk people tonight than there were Rock people in Toronto, though. I can attest as I was there for both shows.”

Eddie Kingston's struggle from almost quitting wrestling to rekindling his passion is one of the reasons for his immense popularity in AEW. However, nobody anticipated that he would be cheered against a red-hot Punk, who recently returned to pro wrestling.

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#1 AEW star Ethan Page believes feud with Sting elevated his career

While speaking with Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Ethan Page opened up about Men of the Year's rivalry with Sting and Darby Allin.

Page stated that it felt 'incredible' to be in the ring with the legendary Icon, despite knowing that he lost to a 62-year old wrestler. He added that Tony Khan's promotion gave Sting a platform to pursue his passion for wrestling again, considering his retirement from the business years ago:

"I mean, who the hell wants to admit that they're getting their a** kicked by a 62-year old man. But it's a legend so...(laughs). I would say that it's extremely criminal that that late in his career he stopped wrestling in front of live crowds. We essentially brought him back into the fold and now he's in the ring all the time. And to be a part of that history, to be one of his last in-ring matches, one of his last big pay-per-view matches is incredible," said Ethan Page.

Ethan Page further said that the storyline with Allin and Sting helped elevate his and Scorpio Sky's careers. Although he's unhappy with the storyline outcome but knows that they can't win every match:

"To open up after the pandemic, to have audiences come back on that special match and on that special occasion is also very special to me. And I would say that kinda cemented me and Scorpio as a team, moving forward, was that whole story with him and Darby so...it was amazing and I'm very proud of it. I'm not happy about the outcome but we can't win them all," added Page.

The face-painted stars defeated Page and Sky at the 2021 Double or Nothing event. The rivalry was then shifted to Allin and Page, which saw both men compete in a coffin match. Unfortunately, one-half of Men of the Year lost this encounter too.

Despite coming up short during the feud, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page gained massive spotlight on AEW programming.

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