CM Punk recently opened up about his time in AEW and his thoughts on AJ Lee’s potential return to WWE during an appearance on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg (via Fightful).
Reflecting on his AEW tenure, which spanned from his debut in 2021 to his firing in 2023, Punk discussed the matches and storylines he wished he had the chance to explore with certain wrestlers in the promotion. While he didn’t name specifics, he admitted there were opportunities he felt were missed, acknowledging that not every match or program reached its full potential.
On the subject of his wife, AJ Lee, Punk expressed his belief that if she were to return to WWE, her comeback would create an even bigger buzz than his own return. AJ, who retired from in-ring competition in 2015 following the Raw after WrestleMania, has been a frequent topic of discussion among fans and pundits alike, especially with Punk’s return to WWE in 2023. Punk added that while the idea of AJ’s return has been widely speculated, it would undoubtedly generate immense excitement and surpass even the reaction he received upon his WWE comeback.
You can find more highlights from Punk’s interview below, courtesy of Fightful.
CM Punk on if there were any wrestlers he wishes he could’ve told a story with:
No. I feel like I wasted some matches on some people, for sure. That is what it is. Some people understand the business and some people don’t. I think everybody here understands the business.”
CM Punk on speculation around AJ Lee returning:
“She 100% supersedes me. That’s the fun thing about wrestling fans. They look for stuff that necessarily isn’t there. That’s kind of the fun of it. Everyone is talking about, ‘Who is going to main event WrestleMania?’ ‘Who is going to enter the Royal Rumble?’ ‘Who is going to comeback?’ They are always looking around this time of year for big returns. I had mine last year, I think hers would be bigger than mine.”
CM Punk on if AJ Lee’s temptation to return is bigger now that he’s in WWE:
“Yeah, I would say it definitely did. It’s more of a workload thing for her. She is very busy. I’m not trying to not talk about it, but I’m also trying to temper people’s expectations. If she wraps up some stuff that she’s working on and she has the time and she feels like dipping her toe back in or jumping back in the pool, she’ll let us know. Her and I are similar in the regard that we’re out of time. You could pluck us both off from where we started and put us in any kind of era. I definitely think she would thrive here. She thrived back then when the focus wasn’t women, and this past week, every single television show we had opened with a women’s match and main evented with a women’s match. You can’t tell me she wouldn’t fit in there.”
