AEW announces CM Punk return for Collision premiere on June 17

The worst kept secret in pro wrestling was confirmed on AEW Dynamite: CM Punk is on his way back.

Speculation had been building for months about CM Punk‘s return to AEW. It seemed inevitable that he would come back and headline the company’s newest weekly show, Collision, and while Tony Khan made numerous announcements in the buildup, none of them were to confirm Punk’s return

Well, on the May 31 episode of Dynamite, it finally came to fruition.

Earlier Wednesday, AEW teased that Khan will make an announcement on Dynamite. It indeed happened about 30 minutes into the show, with confirmation that Punk will feature on Collision when it premieres on Saturday, June 17 at the United Center in Chicago.

By announcing Punk’s return ahead of time, AEW builds anticipation for the show and helps sell tickets for one of their biggest nights of 2023 (until they go to Wembley Stadium for All In). They have 17 days to promote this, so expect to see plenty of Punk’s face before Collision premieres.

Punk will come back after nine months following the “Brawl Out” incident where he fought the Elite backstage. It is possible that everything has been settled, so we’ll see if he interacts on AEW programming with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and Adam Page.

Given who AEW advertised as featured players on Collision, however, Punk is likelier to interact with Samoa Joe and Andrade El Idolo than his in-house rivals. To maintain harmony, this may be for the best, although backstage interactions are inevitable when everyone comes together for a pay-per-view.

Khan didn’t tease what Punk will do initially, but it would be interesting to see if AEW announces it or if Punk calls someone out for a match or feud beforehand. Rumors suggest that he wants to face Samoa Joe, his old, long-time Ring of Honor rival, so could a holy reunion be in the works?

Either way, expect sparks to fly and drama to take place when Punk returns to a pro wrestling ring soon.