11 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW All Out 2021

4. CM Punk Does, In Fact, Still Have It

The following is a pedantic take, but it isn't a facetious one: if CM Punk wore trunks, his comeback match is half a star better.

This might be a subjective take. The fans in the arena would have received Punk as a demigod if he wore a burlap sack. He didn't. He wore long tights, and they were distracting. Was he the same CM Punk? He worked the same, after his breathing steadied, but it didn't look like it.

Again, this doesn't matter. He was received as a demigod, and his match with Darby Allin was a very worthy effort highlighted and elevated by a scintillating last five minutes. The story told was logical without being electrifying bell-to-bell - by design. After Allin overwhelmed Punk with his mat work early, Punk in a major mark-out moment for the New Generation Truthers paid tribute to the glorious, seminal Bret Hart Vs. 123 Kid match. From there, Punk sought to ground his younger missile of an opponent. Solid, logical storytelling.

Those aren't words you might have expected from a match as momentous as this, but the actual work was very good. Both men gnashed their heads together in a hammerlock escape spot to subtly put over the realism of the struggle.

As the match paced itself elegantly, Punk used Allin's speed against him to thread the main plot. He was the savvy veteran, and he articulated this with a phenomenally well-timed sit-up spot to avoid the Coffin Drop. This set up another, awesome spike in drama as Allin transitioned into a crucifix pin in a gorgeous counter.

The counters traded down the stretch were fabulous and creative, but really, the best thing about this entire scene is that it was obvious Punk was only beginning to feel it by the end.