Why AEW Has Just Pulled Off The Mother Of All Game-Changers

Simon Miller breaks down the possible AEW arrivals of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

by Andrew Pollard
punk bryan
aew/wwe

These past few days have been pretty bonkers for any and all wrestling fans.

As your standard news week rolled on by, Wednesday saw reports that CM Punk was in talks with AEW over a shocking return to the ring. And if that wasn't enough to raise an eyebrow (or more, in some cases...), that news was shortly followed by similar stories that Daniel Bryan was also in negotiations to become #AllElite.

While nothing has been formally announced on either front by AEW - and such debuts would surely be kept as a surprise - the common belief is that the Second City Saint is likely to make his AEW bow at 5 September's All Out PPV from his hometown of Chicago, while Bryan, aka Bryan Danielson, could show up at the company's big Grand Slam special from Queens, New York on 22 September.

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If either of these signings happen, it's a genuinely huge deal, but should Tony Khan end up bringing in both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan? Why, that's quite the game-changer.

Here, our own Simon Miller breaks down exactly why this is such a big deal and how AEW is about to pull of the mother of all coups.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.