Dax Harwood’s comments on CM Punk potentially returning to All Elite Wrestling allegedly received “unfavourable” reactions.
This is according to Dave Meltzer from The Wrestling Observer, who reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that “several” people were unhappy with the FTR man’s pitch for the former AEW World Champion making a return to the company following the infamous incendiary events of the post-All Out 2022 press scrum.
Harwood made an impassioned plea during the debut edition of his “FTR” podcast, calling for Punk and The Elite specifically to put aside their professional and personal differences for the good of All Elite Wrestling and the interests of the fans. During the same podcast, he shared various stories of Punk buying wrestlers Starbucks Gift Cards as well as other gestures intended paint the controversial star as a force for good behind the scenes.
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It doesn’t take a wizard to work out who might not want Punk anywhere near the company ever again, but the Chicagoan lit a fire under AEW’s business before he attempted to burn it all down in September 2022.
Harwood’s plea has featured in many a fan’s booking utopia - the CMFTR/Elite dream match in particular is one of the biggest money clashes in all of wrestling at this point - but Meltzer’s latest remarks seem to suggest that it’ll remain much more of a fantasy than a reality.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
