re: Cm punk is back on AEW

I’d put AEW close to the early years of WCW. They’re definitively the #2 promotion behind the global WWE brand, which is incredible considering AEW has only been around for a couple of years. Ratings wise they’re doing great (by 2021 standards), though still behind Raw and Smackdown. I do feel the presentation and storytelling is superior and they actually respect their fans. WWE has a few good things going, and some of the best wrestlers in the world, but it’s so repetitive, boring, and overproduced much of the time they run that good stuff into the ground. See “The Fiend” recently or their entire women’s division outside of Becky Lynch.

I’ll say this, WWE neutered things so much as the only game in town that AEW is really awakening latent fandom in many. I’ve not felt this way about wrestling since the Attitude Era where their shows are just a blast to watch and leave you wanting more. Adding huge names like Punk (and soon Danielson) is only going to stoke the flames. These guys are two of the biggest stars of the past 20 years, and it’s a big deal they’re showing up. On top of that, the collab with Impact, NJPW, AAA, etc. has really blown the doors open to countless dream matches. It’s a fun time to be a fan.