3 Reasons CM Punk and Daniel Bryan Would be Huge for AEW
If the rumors are true, two of the biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling may very soon be “All Elite”.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com exclusively reported on July 21 that CM Punk has been in talks with a wrestling company about a return to the ring, and the leading promotion to sign the straight edge superstar is All Elite Wrestling. A few hours later, Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net exclusively reported Bryan Danielson, most notably known as Daniel Bryan in WWE, has signed a contract with AEW.
If both of these reports from two of the top reporters in the professional wrestling business are true, business just picked up in three huge ways for Tony Khan’s company.
Publicity and Legitimacy
Since AEW was founded on Jan. 1, 2019, the company has been seen as the №2 wrestling promotion in the world right behind WWE. AEW has signed some big names such as Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose in WWE), “Hangman” Adam Page, The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Christian Cage, and Kenny Omega. They have a TV deal with TNT and TBS of Turner Sports that’s locked in through 2024. The company has action figures, and video games on the way. They are a real wrestling company.
With all that being said, they are still seen way below the corporate monster that is WWE to the casual wrestling fanbase. Signing Bryan and Punk would change that. The two would immediately become the two biggest names in the company, and it would get eyeballs on TNT every Wednesday night. Both wrestlers bring real starpower everywhere they go.
In-Ring Work
Punk and Bryan would put on classic, never-before-seen matches with a lot of members of the AEW roster. Bryan vs Omega, Punk vs Omega, Punk vs Andrade, Bryan vs Page, Punk vs Page, Bryan vs Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) and Punk vs MJF are just some of the dream matches that could take place if one or both men sign with the company. The feuds would bring a freshness to AEW since we’ve never seen any of those matches before.
Backstage Creativity
While AEW has a ton of wrestling veterans on their roster such as Jericho, Cage, Jim Ross, Matt Hardy, Paul Wight (fka Big Show in WWE) and Mark Henry, there may be no better wrestling mind in the business than Bryan. Bryan got a backstage role on SmackDown during the pandemic, and SmackDown started becoming the best wrestling show every week during this time. Young talent received pushes, storylines mattered, and the in-ring work was terrific. Bryan has a real passion for the business that goes way beyond the ring, and he’s a benefit to whatever company he is in backstage.
Punk is also a deep thinker and has a vision for how to tell a story. When Punk was working with FOX Sports 1 on WWE Backstage, he was always advocating for WWE to push the younger talent, and that is something Punk would bring to AEW if he does indeed becomes “All Elite”.
