SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following are highlights from AEW’s post-Rampage: The Last Dance media scrum with Tony Khan and C.M. Punk
Tony Khan and C.M. Punk are the guests
Khan thanks everyone for joining the scrum. He said he will turn the floor over to C.M. Punk.
-Radican question to C.M. Punk: Now that you’re back in a professional wrestling company, what moments do you hope to create that you can enjoy and appreciate.
C.M. Punk answer: Punk said he’s excited about creating moments in the ring. Punk told me he wants to work with Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, Darby Allin, and Jon Moxley. Punk said he’s never stepped in the ring with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. He said there are dream matches and dream situation.s Punk said he doesn’t know who else is coming into AEW. Punk said there’s different combinations out there to make moments. Punk said he’s excited to be here. He said he’s here for the fans and for himself.
-Radican question to Tony Khan: AEW Dynamite and now Rampage have been red hot lately. How do you sustain this momentum and continue to create moments and what moments do you hope to create with Punk going forward.
Tony Khan answer: Tony said he wants to create indelible moments for Punk with their young wrestlers and their established talent. Tony said the shows are red hot and the talent is red hot with wrestlers in their prime.
-Punk is asked how long his deal is and what are the details to what he signed on for. Punk said one of the biggest appeals is that people don’t know how the sausage is made. He said people just need to know that he’s here and here to have fun. Tony adds that this is a full time deal for Punk and he’s excited for him to be in AEW.
-Punk is asked what it was like to come out and hear the insane reaction. Punk said he thought he was going to cry more than he did. He said he wondered if people cared and if they did do they care because he’s from here. Punk said he didn’t want to think about what he was going to say. He said he knew what he was going to say once he got out there.
-Punk is asked what changed between now and a couple of years ago when he talked to Tony in 2018. Punk said he had been talking to Tony for a year and a half about coming into AEW. Tony said some girls are easy to get into bed and some are not. Punk said it was about talking to Tony and getting to know him. He said he also talked to people that worked in the company to get an idea about AEW.
Punk said he saw many promotions pop up and he said he’s a paranoid, anxiety filled person. He said he knew he couldn’t debut without people in the building.
-Punk is asked what went through his mind before he went through the curtain. Punk said he was extremely nervous. He said Eddie Kingston asked him why he was nervous. He said being nervous is a good thing. He said he’s had big moments where he didn’t care and wanted to be anywhere else. He said he was on the stage and this was fun again.
Punk said sometimes you fall in and out of love with stuff and sometimes you set something free and it comes back to you.
-Punk is asked from a physical aspect how has he been getting ready to get back into the ring. Punk says this is going to sound terrible, but he says he hasn’t been doing anything different. He said he’s been working in his basement to get in better shape. Punk says this is like riding a bike and he wants it to be authentic. He wants people to say he’s still the same dude. Punk says he won’t bump in training, but he will run the ropes.
-Punk is asked about the C.M. Punk ice cream bars handed out in Chicago at the event. Punk said the ice cream bars were his idea. He said this is the easiest home run I have ever hit and this is a legit thank you to the fans. He said AEW reminded him of places he used to work that he loved. Punk said it’s more about the spirit of things. Instead of feeling like a house, it felt like a home.
-Punk was asked about working with younger talent. He’s asked if he’s seen AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation. Punk said he’s pretty sure he’s going to be a TV guy. Punk said he’s not a tech guy and he’s an old head now. He said when kids say YouTube, he doesn’t know anything. He says he still watches DVD. “I’m Terry Funk now.” Punk said he will watch everything going forward.
-Punk is asked how his match with Darby Allin came out and what did he do to prepare for it. He said the first thing he did in the ring was mention Brit Baker. He said it needs to be paid attention to. He said he named drop Brit to put her over. He said Darby Allin was his idea. Punk said he did a Twitter Q & A last year. People named all these people and Darby was one of them from a year and half ago and he’s grown a lot since.
Punk said if he was a kid, Allin would be one of his favorite wrestlers. “I don’t want to take his dive because it looks like it would be painful. Punk said sometimes you get a feeling about situations and people and a lot of it makes sense.
-Punk is asked about the happy accidents that brought him to AEW. He’s asked what he meant by that. Punk said nothing was forced and it was just very relaxed. He said he doesn’t even want to call it a negotiation. He said you know when you’re talking to someone and you say the same thing at the same time. Punk said nobody is standing on their own dick, they just let stuff happen because it’s simple and straightforward when what’s right is right.
-Punk said you don’t need 16 cooks in the kitchen trying to politic. He said everyone in AEW is there to have fun. Punk said there’s a time and a place to be deadly serious. Punk said you can have fun and be deadly serious. Punk said the happy accidents are people in charge letting people make mistakes and not punish them for it. Punk says people that screw up don’t have the pressure of getting fired.
He said people offer advice if there are mistakes.
-Punk is asked about previously being hesitant about coming back to wrestling. Punk was asked about if there was something AEW had to prove to him before making it a reality. Punk said nobody has to prove anything to him. He said it was about Punk being open to the idea. He said he had to dip his toe in and see how it was going to be. He said it was all Rene Pauquette’s fault because she had him come to Fox to do the WWE backstage show. Punk said he waited and liked what he saw.
Tony said he enjoyed talking to Punk and he had clearly been watching Dynamite. Tony said he really wanted Punk to wrestle, but he didn’t want it to happen when there were no fans. Tony said the pandemic gave them a lot of time to talk because the fans weren’t there.
Tony said one happy accident was the building being available on a Friday and he said he talked to Punk and mentioned he could do the second Rampage at The United Center. He said the perfect opponent for Punk lined up and it didn’t feel like anything forced and it was something they both wanted to do.
-Tony is asked about the non-traditional wrestling venues he’s been booking. Tony said The United Center was Punk’s idea and Arthur Ashe Stadium was his idea. Tony said Punk will be a big part of a show where nobody has wrestled before.
-Khan and Punk are asked about keeping it a secret and Tony and Punk laugh about it. “What secret?” said Punk. Punk said he told his wife he was going back to AEW. Punk said AEW appealed to him because Brodie Lee was sick and nobody knew. He said seeing that they kept his illness a secret impressed him. Punk said everywhere else it would be all over the internet and his wife would have to deal with it.
Punk said he didn’t hide walking in. He said he didn’t have to be hidden because nobody was standing on their own dick and everybody is having fun. Punk said nobody is trying to Tweet and spoil stuff. Punk said people knew he was coming, but they weren’t sure. He said it was the worst kept secret for a reason. He said it’s about making moments and fun and having people be a part of it.
-Punk is asked about doing the Heelz TV show and other outside opportunities. He was also asked about doing commentary in AEW. Punk said he will do everything and he will sit in and do commentary if it’s called for. Punk said he doesn’t need to be a producer to give advice. Punk said he’s not saying he’s going to be wearing multiple hats, but everything he did, it’s about giving back.
Punk said he wasn’t in the right place during his prime years to be doing this, but he doesn’t regret anything. He said he’s not worried about wins and losses, he wants to work with the right people and have fun with them.
–
Punk is asked about falling in love with wrestling again. Punk is asked what made him love wrestling again. Punk said he doesn’t want to give negative answers and not talk badly about anything. He said on Aug. 13, 2005 he left pro wrestling and on Aug. 20, 2021 he came back to pro wrestling. Punk talked about how he could watch all types of wrestling, watch Steve Austin stunning or otherwise cut promos. Punk said why should we pretend that what they do is pro wrestling.
-Khan is asked about not keeping the secret. Tony said they collaborated on it. He said Punk wanted to have a big surprise and Tony wanted to sell out the building. Tony said it came together perfectly. They wanted the surprise, but everyone knew it was coming. Tony said you could feel the buzz around Chicago and you could feel it among wrestling fans everywhere. Tony said it was the right call to let the news out and he credits C.M. Punk.
-Punk is asked if he’s smoothed over things with everyone. Punk said he doesn’t have a problem with any person back there tonight. Punk said tonight is a positive night and there’s no reason to bring it down and be negative about it.
-Punk is asked how he will contribute to AEW. Punk said he doesn’t put much into legacy. He said he came up when indies were still kind of new and he wished there were still territories, but what he did was work everywhere he could and learn from as many people as he possibly could.
Punk said he got to his dream job and these dudes he idolized didn’t like him. He said he wants to help the young talent the way Terry Funk and Eddie Guerrero helped him. Punk said people were dicks to him and for what.
Punk said Pat Patterson told him he was born 20-30 years late. Punk said Sting came up to him and said he was excited to work with him and how he wished he could have worked with him back in his prime.
-Tony is asked about Danny Garcia’s status with AEW. Tony said he is under an agreement with them and he can do more with them and stay with them for a long time hopefully. Punk asked Tony if Danny is 22. Tony tells him he’s one of the Buffalo boys and he was in a car accident two years ago and worked his butt off since then.
Tony said he wanted to do a trio match with Darby, Eddie, and Mox and he liked 2.0 in NXT and the independents and adding Danny Gacria with them was a home run.
-Punk is asked about working in other promotions. “I’m an AEW guy.” I have freedom here to continue to do outside endeavours.” Punk mentions his MMA commentary. He said he doesn’t have to be on every show just like Omega and the Bucks. Punk said it’s great that talent rotates on and off TV. Punk said Tony gets pole position on what he does. “If he wants me to do the G1, we’ll talk about it.” Punk said the forbidden door is great. Punk says down the line he will fit into that but for now he wants to be an AEW guy.
Tony said he’s very grateful for Punk to do this with AEW. Tony says people had high expectations and they got what they wanted to see. Tony said he hopes they brought in new fans and old fans.
Contact Sean at radicansean@pwtorch.com. Follow him on Twitter @SR_Torch.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.