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On the latest episode of AEW Dynamite, CM Punk made his first appearance on the show since his extended hiatus from the company following the Brawl Out incident last year. Tony Khan recently revealed the reason this decision was made.
Many reports have suggested that CM Punk's return to AEW would see him exclusively featured on Collision. That is why his appearance on last Wednesday's show caught a lot of people off-guard. He even alluded to these reports during a brief promo.
Tony Khan has constantly denied the rumors of a hard roster split between his two primetime shows, and this was a major factor in his decision to have The Voice of the Voiceless show up on Dynamite. The AEW President said the following at the post-Forbidden Door media scrum:
“Of course, CM Punk has been big on Collision but I also wanted to bring him back to Dynamite in front of the Chicago crowd and show the fans that first of all, like I’ve said, there’s no hard roster split. So, that’s why, you know, he came and he made the reference which was great. It was a cool moment. I thought it got people talking and you never know where you’re gonna see him. So like he said, he’s been featured on Collision – is he, you know, supposed to be here? Who knows. But it was a great segment.” [01:27:34 – 01:28:58]
For the most part, it looks as though The Second City Saint will be on Collision more so than Dynamite. But if the past week is anything to go by, he could appear on either show, given the right circumstances.
CM Punk advances to the next round of AEW's Owen Hart Tournament
On the AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II pay-per-view, CM Punk faced off against Satoshi Kojima in the first round of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. As expected, the self-proclaimed Best in the World walked away with the victory.
What may be a more noteworthy takeaway from this match is the reception Punk received from the Toronto audience. The Scotiabank Arena was filled with boos from the first note of Cult of Personality right up until The Straight-Edge Superstar returned backstage.
CM Punk played up to the crowd's reaction and gleefully egged fans on as the jeers rained in. It may only be a matter of time before he defiantly cements his heel turn.
If you use any quotes from here, please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
