CM Punk revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated why he called out Adam Page, seemingly unprovoked, during his return promo on AEW Dynamite this month. He challenged the former AEW Champion to a match and called him “coward shit”, seemingly unprovoked. The promo was reported as being a “shoot” and wasn’t planned.
This would explain why there was no response from Hangman. If it was not planned and AEW didn’t want to have a rematch between CM Punk and Adam Page in the near future, then Page would have not been ready to interrupt. Instead, he stayed backstage and was made to look like a coward.
However, CM Punk claims he did not seem to have that intention. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, he claims he had no plans to insult Hangman, but that he “just talked” off the top of his head. He said it to try “make people want to see” CM Punk vs Adam Page again and “sell tickets” for a future rematch between the two.
“I don’t write stuff [down ahead of time]; I just talk. That’s one of the biggest things that’s missing from pro wrestling. It’s letting people go out there and talk if they know what they’re doing. It can be magic.” CM Punk also noted that his goal with his promo was to “make people want to see what happens next,” regardless of how they get there. “I’m trying to sell tickets to the live events.”
His goal for the promo was to get fans interested in a rematch between himself and “Hangman” Adam Page for the AEW Championship. However, he lost his title to Jon Moxley the following week in a unification match that lasted mere minutes.
Jon Moxley was on the back foot, getting hit with a high kick by CM Punk. However, the attack injured the champions previously-broken foot. He fell to the ground clutching it and Moxley soon took advantage of the opening. He targeted the appendage before hitting Punk with the Death Rider and pinning him to become the Undisputed AEW Champion.
This came a week after CM Punk, before selling the Undisputed AEW Championship match was set, called out Adam Page, challenging him to a match and insulting him by calling the former AEW Champion “Coward Shit“
CM Punk is not currently booked for AEW All Out 2022. However, he is expected to face off against Jon Moxley in a rematch in the main event for the AEW Champion. Meanwhile, it is expected Adam Page will be teaming with The Dark Order in the final of the AEW Trios Championships against The Elite (Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks).
