There has been a lot of talk surrounding CM Punk and the injuries that have stalled his AEW career.
The two-time AEW Champion turned the wrestling business on it’s head when he made his AEW debut in August 2021.
He appeared on AEW Rampage, making his first wrestling appearance since the 2014 Royal Rumble match.
It was one of the biggest moments in wrestling history, with over a million people tuning in to see a glimpse of the Best in the World inside a wrestling ring again.
CM Punk Injured His Foot Jumping Into The Crowd
CM Punk beat MJF at AEW Revolution 2022, sending him shooting to the top of the AEW rankings.
This granted him a championship match for the AEW title, booking himself a match at the next pay per view against champion “Hangman” Adam Page.
Page had won the belt off Kenny Omega the year prior, and defended his title against CM Punk at Double or Nothing 2022, in a feud that was fraught with controversy and “shoot” comments, that CM Punk did not take too kindly to.
Nevertheless, CM Punk defeated Adam Page to win the AEW Championship, his first world title in nearly a decade. He had a celebration in the ring after the fact, with FTR hoisting him onto their shoulders in victory.
The following week on AEW Dynamite, CM Punk was booked to team with FTR against The Gunns and Max Caster (due to Anthony Bowens injury, he could not wrestle the match against CM Punk).
It was a celebratory mood for Punk, as after the match he would be challenged by Hiroshi Tanahashi to a match at Forbidden Door.
As he was so happy, during his entrance CM Punk leaped into the crowd, something he had done many times since his return. However, he lost his footing somewhat, banging his foot on the guardrail.
He wrestled the match on Dynamite, but it was later discovered that he had broken his foot, and would out for some months.
This caused him to miss Forbidden Door, but did not necessitate him vacating the AEW Championship. Instead, Tanahashi fought Jon Moxley for the interim AEW Championship at the event, which Moxley won in the main event.
CM Punk Injured His Bicep During His Match Against Jon Moxley
It would be nearly three months later when CM Punk’s injury finally healed up, and he could wrestle again.
He returned to AEW in late August 2022, challenging Jon Moxley to a AEW Championship unification match just two weeks before All Out 2022 (the next pay per view in the schedule).
That match occurred on the 24th August 2022, and is so far the quickest AEW Championship match in history.
CM Punk was said to not be 100% recovered at that point, and reportedly got lawyers involved to stop AEW making him work injured (a particular bug bear which was part of the reason why he left the WWE in 2014).
Jon Moxley pinned CM Punk in just three minutes, targeting the injured foot to bring him down and beat him in quick fashion. This made Moxley the new AEW Champion (for his second reign), and set up a rubber match to take place at All Out 2022.
At the event, CM Punk once again became AEW Champion by beating Jon Moxley in the main event. He hit two GTS’ in a row, pinning Moxley after a fantastic bout.
However, during the match, CM Punk suffered a torn tricep. It has been said that the injury occurred during a suicide dive, with Punk landing awkwardly on Moxley as he flew out of the ring.
Despite winning the match, he was forced to vacate the title soon after the show. This was both due to the injury, and the explosive press conference that followed.
At the All Out post-show press scrum, Punk tore into The Elite, as well as Adam Page and Colt Cabana. He claimed he “worked with children”, and warned that Adam Page tried to jeopardise their “first million dollar gate” with his shoot comments prior to Double or Nothing.
Later on, he was confronted by The Elite in his dressing room. No official details of the altercation have been released, although the generally accepted story is that CM Punk punched Nick Jackson, while his friend Ace Steel threw a chair at the Young Bucks and bit Kenny Omega.
According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, Punk’s doctor recommended tricep surgery quickly after the injury.
This was so as “to prevent any muscle atrophy” and cause further complications in the veteran wrestler’s road to recovery.
As of June 17th 2023, CM Punk will be returning to AEW as the featured star on the new AEW Collision TV show. This is a clear indication that CM Punk’s injury has healed, and will be back wrestling on AEW TV as soon as he can.
