Last night, CM Punk finally made his return to AEW TV on the debut episode of AEW: Collision, live from The United Center in Chicago, IL. Punk has been away from the promotion for nearly ten months following his fiery AEW: All Out media scrum last year, and the subsequent altercation that played out in the locker room after it. While it does not seem that the hatchet has been buried between The Second City Saint and The Elite’s camp, Punk is still moving full speed ahead with his comeback.
During his opening promo on the show, Punk took a few veiled shots at the “counterfeit Bucks” but largely kept his attention on missing the fans, and wanting to reclaim the AEW World Championship, something he seemingly had in a red velvet bag he was holding. Later in the night, he, along with FTR, came out victorious in an action-packed main event that saw the trio defeat ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe and Bullet Club Gold’s “Switchblade” Jay White and Juice Robinson.
Following the main event, after the cameras stopped rolling, Punk and FTR brought a fan into the ring who was carrying a “Support LGBTQ+ Youth” sign. Punk, along with Harwood, took a few minutes to speak directly with the fans in attendance to close the night out, and send an important message about inclusion,
I was at the show as official press and was able to capture Punk and Harwood’s comments, in full. You can find a transcription of what they said, as well as the video, below.
“Sometimes I can get a lot of flack for being this man’s best friend,” Harwood started. “Sometimes I can get a lot of heat for speaking the truth. AEW has the best professional wrestlers in the world. AEW houses the most passionate professional wrestlers in the world, and let me tell you, regardless of what a journalist wants you to think, it ain’t Dynamite versus Collision. It’s A E God damned W.”
“Listen up real quick, I could talk to you guys for ninety minutes,” Punk said, taking over the promo. “The last ten months of my life have been a little bit of a hell but I got a buddy named Chad who’s got cancer real bad, and all of my moans and all of my pissing and moaning and crying is a fraction of what I watch him go through, and he’s still positive, and he fights when he gets chemo.
“So, me, if somebody on Facebook in their mom’s basement doesn’t like me, that’s all horseshit. I love each and every single one of you, even the guy who spelled my name wrong on that sign. Also, listen, I didn’t know what I was walking into. I was told everybody hates me. There’s a big part of me that said, ‘Good, I’m gonna make a lot of money.’ But it did feel good coming out here and feeling the love.
“This young man’s name is Colby. I saw his son. I recently reposted something from Pretty Cool Ice Cream. I don’t know if you guys were here two years ago, I bought y’all ice cream. I wouldn’t have done it again but I thought y’all hated me. I reposted something Pretty Cool Ice Cream, it was an ice cream bar, and some of the proceeds when you purchased a bar went to support trans youth.
“I got a lot of hate for reposting that message. Somebody in particular, don’t know who it is, a nameless, faceless, person on the internet said, ‘Why do you support that trash?’ And I thought about replying but you can’t argue with stupid, okay? You just both look stupid. The reason I support trans kids, trans-grown-ups, gay, straight, lesbian, whoever is because I know when I was growing up I didn’t fit in anywhere but it was because of the clothes I wore, what my hair looked like, and the music I listened to.
“Those are all things I could rectify. I could cut my hair, I could listen to jazz, I don’t know what. But to be somebody who’s gay or lesbian or especially trans, I don’t know what it feels like to be trapped in a body that I don’t feel I belong in. That is why I support that. I know I didn’t fit in anywhere until I found pro wrestling, and all the freaks and geeks in the locker room were just like me, maybe a little bit psychotic, and they couldn’t hold on to a real job, but that’s another story.
“Support trans kids. Support gay and lesbian rights. I want everybody to be themselves, just do no harm to anybody else. Thank you. I love you.”
If you use any quotes from this article please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling for the transcription