CM Punk has been at the center of a few backstage controversies since arriving in AEW. But in a new interview with Sports Illustrated, the “Real” AEW World Champion had nothing but positive things to say about one of the company’s young stars — Darby Allin. Punk chose Allin for his first match when he arrived in AEW in 2021 and the former TNT Champion has matches booked for both All In and All Out over the next two weeks. Punk compared Allin to Connor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks’ top draft pick who could potentially turn his beloved hockey franchise around.
“It’s Darby Allin,” Punk said. “He’s still fairly young, and he always makes chicken salad out of chicken sh–. He’s got that ‘It Factor’, and he’s really getting comfortable. We had a whole big promo segment a few weeks ago [on Collision], and I thought he shined. That made me super proud. He has a ton to offer, as long as he doesn’t kill himself jumping over his house in a f–ing monster truck or something like that.”
Allin will team with Sting to face Swerve Strickland & AR Fox in a Coffin Match at All In at London’s Wembley Stadium. He’ll then challenge Luchasaurus for the TNT Championship the following week at All Out.
Meanwhile, Punk will defend his “real” championship against Samoa Joe at All In. Joe had previously issued a challenge to Punk, but after Punk didn’t answer he decided to thwart Punk’s chance at winning the AEW World Trios Championships alongside FTR. Punk got some revenge on the latest AEW Collision, dressing as the masked figure The Golden Vampire and nailing Joe with a surprise Go To Sleep.
Joe and Punk famously had a trilogy of matches in the early 2000s that stood out as one of the best feuds of Ring of Honor’s early years. The feud was recently reignited when Punk finally beat Joe during the Owen Hart Cup Tournament.
“Just experience, a treasure trove of experience,” Joe said in a recent interview with Under The Ring regarding what has changed since they initially wrestled. “When we first locked up, we were very new in the industry and still very much a journeyman learning. You never stop learning, but at the same time, we definitely knew a hell of a lot less back then.”
