:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72288972/punk.0.jpg)
Ours weren’t the only eyebrows that went up when there no mention of CM Punk in AEW’s press release about their new Saturday show Collision this morning (May 17), or at the Warner Bros Discovery upfronts presentation where Collision was promoted as part of the TNT line-up.
The plot thickened when Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina noticed that an email sent to media contacts about Collision originally did mention Punk...
WBD's press release headline for the AEW Collision announcement originally mentioned CM Punk and other wrestlers, which you can see in the cached listing (left) before it was edited (right).
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) May 17, 2023
h/t to @JimmyTraina for noticing pic.twitter.com/VUzkvjzbh1
And following up with WBD about that change, ComicBook.com’s Connor Casey was told “CM Punk is not affiliated with TNT’s AEW Collision”.
The easiest explanation here would be that Punk’s return is supposed to be a surprise, even if it’s all-but-official like his debut on “The First Dance” edition of Rampage in 2021. But given everything that’s happened between Punk and AEW over the last year or so, it seems imprudent to rule out anything at this point.
Stay tuned.
Loading comments...