CM Punk Reflects On His Current AEW Run: “I’ve Never Been Happier In A Wrestling Ring”

AEW superstar CM Punk recently joined Comicbook.com for a full-on conversation about pro-wrestling, which includes Punk’s thoughts on his current run with the promotion since returning to the sport last August after being gone for seven years. Highlights from the interview can be found below.

Says his run has exceeded his own expectations:

“This run has been more than what I expected. I had expectations. They were pretty high. So far, they’ve pretty much shattered all that, and that’s just based on analytics and numbers of how well we’re doing.”

How he’s there for the fans in the building, and on the decline of cable:

“I’ve long said that I’m there for the fans in the building. Nowadays everybody is still focused on ratings numbers when cable is absolutely — I canceled DirecTV months ago. I just, I couldn’t do it anymore. It’s too convoluted. It’s too expensive. Streaming services are, I feel like, are the future. So when people look at ratings and say that wrestling is dying, I say, ‘Well look at our buildings. We’re selling out and we’re doing our first million-dollar gate.”

Says he’s never been happier to be in a wrestling ring:

“So I don’t attribute that just to me. I attribute that to the spirit of AEW and everybody behind the scenes that makes it all work and makes it all click. But the run, my run specifically, my stuff as a whole, I’ve never been happier in a wrestling ring. I’ve never, to me, been telling more fluid, better, reality-based stories. It’s been a real treat.”