From booking the United Center to calling the show “The First Dance”, AEW made no bones about the inspiration behind the Aug. 20 edition of Rampage - which turned out to be the CM Punk return many of us hoped it would be.
It was Michael Jordan’s triumphant return to basketball and the Chicago Bulls, some of which was chronicled in the excellent ESPN docu-series “The Last Dance”.
After his father’s death, Jordan retired from the NBA. He’d lost his love of the game, and channeled his competitive drive into minor league baseball. He missed one season, then part of another. Then towards the end of the Bulls 1994 - 1995 campaign, he returned to the team. Through his agent, Jordan announced his comeback with a statement that simply read, “I’m back.”
You’ll note the similarities in Punk’s statement about tonight’s events:
#aewrampage @AEW #icecreambars pic.twitter.com/CW8TaUZYeK
— player/coach (@CMPunk) August 21, 2021
He really is. Time for a run of greatness from the Best in the World.