Now that CM Punk is in AEW, there’s a question hanging in the air that the company hasn’t dared to answer yet — will he challenge Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship? Omega took part in the many hints AEW dropped that Punk was arriving last month, but hasn’t mentioned him on AEW programming (or even Being The Elite) yet. Meanwhile, Punk has consistently named rising stars like Darby Allin, Jungle Boy and Powerhouse Hobbs as wrestlers he’d love to face, but doesn’t usually namedrop “The Cleaner.”
Punk finally addressed that question while speaking with The New York Post this week, saying that while he’d gladly take a shot at “The Belt Collector” it doesn’t make sense for him to challenge AEW’s top champion right out of the gate.
“I’m kind of approaching it like I’m quasi-new guy, but old head coming back into this thing,” Punk said. “From an artistic storyline perspective, I can’t go after Kenny [Omega] right way. He’s the (world) champion. It wouldn’t make any sense. I never wrestled in this organization. Darby is a lot of things. He’s a fantastic talent, he’s a great personality. Within the AEW storytelling, he’s a very compelling character that the fans like. I just think he’s like the perfect foil right now. It’s a spotlight on, yes this CM Punk’s first match back in seven years. It needs to be a good match, right? I need a good dance partner. Darby is probably one of the best guys for the role, honestly.”
While Punk and Omega have never competed in a match before, there’s another potential opponent Punk is incredibly interested in facing again. The former WWE Champion recently teased Daniel Bryan would be arriving in the company soon, someone who faced Punk numerous times when they were both in Ring of Honor in the mid-2000s and again in WWE.
“That’s somebody that I look at and I go, man wrestling him was always fun,” Punk said. “It was never a headache and God I would like to do that again. I would like to do that again soon. It’s a big deal. The guy was in the WrestleMania main event. He’s freshly removed from television. He’s a big deal. He’s a very, very big deal and I think that signals to pro wrestling fans that this is the place to be. This is what I want to watch.”
