10 Wrestlers Who Were Critical Of AEW
9. CM Punk
CM Punk's euphoric 2021 arrival in AEW felt two years overdue, so certain was his eventual place in Tony Khan's organisation.
And yet, what seemingly kept the two parties apart in the early years was a breakdown in communication between Punk and the others at All Elite Wrestling's top table. As he put it when speaking to ESPN in 2019
“The last thing I got — I got a text from Cody [Rhodes]. And again, I almost don’t even know how to reply to them sometimes, because if I reply, they do interviews and are like, “Oh yeah, I just talked to Punk.” I’m kind of damned if I do, damned if I don’t. I always think if somebody wants to do business with me, they can come talk to me. Texting offers isn’t really a way to do good business, at least."
Cody later refuted this, and comments from Khan himself have implied there was a little more communication going on than the 'Voice Of The Voiceless' let on. It at very least built a few more obstacles to make the eventual arrival all the more atmospheric.