CM Punk

On Aug. 20, 2021, a familiar chant echoed throughout the United Center in Chicago as "Cult of Personality" hit and anticipation turned into uproarious joy. Just as it seemed too good to be true, CM Punk stepped out in front of his hometown crowd and soaked in the kind of sustained ovation that most performers have only dreamed of.

As of Sunday, it has been six months since the Second City Saint returned to professional wrestling. After seven years, one of the most talked-about figures in the sport made his AEW debut on the second episode of Rampage. It was a perfect start to the next chapter of his career.

The opening of the show will go down as one of the greatest returns in wrestling history; a moment that many of us will never forget. It left us with a lasting high that made it hard to question what Punk's run with the new company would look like. After all, most of us were just happy to see him back.

However, we've had enough time to process the last few months, and the straight-edge star has given us plenty to digest. So, let's analyze the first half of his maiden year with AEW.

The Matches

For most fans, the biggest test for Punk would be how he looked in-ring. The 43-year-old prided himself on delivering memorable matches as far back as his time with Ring of Honor.

So, viewers waited with bated breath to see just how much ring rust he would exhibit in his first match since 2014. In response, he and Darby Allin put on an excellent performance at All Out.

In fact, the former Voice of the Voiceless has put together a respectable collection of high-quality matches in his new home. To date, he has wrestled in 13 contests, and they all offer a different look at his scrappy in-ring style and underrated technical prowess.

More importantly, just about all of his opponents have benefitted from entering the ring with Punk. It would have been easy for him to squash many of them and build up to more high-profile matches. Instead, Punk had competitive encounters with several up-and-comers.

The Second City Saint managed to survive his second opponent, Powerhouse Hobbs, and made the big man from East Palo Alto look great in the process. He also had standout matches with Daniel Garcia, Bobby Fish, Lee Moriarty, Eddie Kingston and FTR.

Nevertheless, his 38-minute showdown with MJF was easily his best match with AEW. Although the three-time Dynamite Diamond Ring winner handed him his first loss, the two produced an amazing main event on the Feb. 2 episode of Dynamite.

Grade: B+

Storytelling

One of the things that made Punk's first match with MJF so good was just how far The Salt of the Earth forced him to delve into his bag of tricks. The final member of ROH's inaugural class of Hall of Fame inductees even executed the Pepsi Plunge for the first time in 17 years.

In fact, this subtle, underlying story has made the Chicago native's comeback so intriguing. Punk has had to work for every one of his wins besides his bout with Shawn Spears, whom he put away in less than a minute.

Fans got to watch him reacclimate himself in real time and use different means to pull out a win in most of his early matches. The veteran often used his experience to eke out a crafty victory. This made it even more devastating when MJF cheated to beat him after another gutsy showing.

It's a traditional approach to storytelling, but Punk has such great attention to detail. His nods to legends like Bret Hart reward longtime fans, and his psychology makes his match much more believable.

It's interesting to compare his AEW run to Bryan Danielson's. The American Dragon is still at the top of his game. He took on The Best Bout Machine Kenny Omega straight away and quickly climbed the rankings to challenge Adam Page for the company's top prize.

Punk didn't go straight to the top of the food chain. Instead, he immediately called Allin, in whom he may have seen himself, in his first match and worked his way through a variety of unique opponents before he even mentioned the AEW title.

One would have to assume he and Danielson will eventually cross paths. It makes too much sense considering their history together. However, AEW has done a fantastic job keeping them away from each other and setting up a slow burn toward their inevitable feud.

Grade: B

Promos

For some fans, Punk's mic skill is his greatest strength. As such, there wasn't as much doubt in his ability to still cut strong promos, and he hasn't disappointed.

The Best in the World has only had two feuds in AEW, and they've both put him up against a pair of the best talkers in the company. First, he and Kingston played up 15 years' worth of tension ahead of their match at Full Gear. Next, his war of words with MJF on the Nov. 24 episode Dynamite produced one of the best segments of 2021.

The self-described Paul Heyman Guy has dropped some great lines, including "Send Hook," which became a meme. His work with MJF and Kingston gave him the right dance partners to flex his skills on the microphone.

If that wasn't enough, he turned the tables on the Long Island crowd on the Dec. 8 episode of AEW Dynamite. At the UBS Arena, Punk entered to MJF's theme and proceeded to eviscerate his foil's hometown. It was one of my favorite promos since his return.

Grade: A

The Verdict

It was always going to be difficult for CM Punk's return to wrestling to live up to expectations. However, the divisive star has already created so many memorable moments in just six months.

There's still so much we would like to see him do. Punk has only scratched the surface with AEW, but he has already proved that he can still go in the ring and that his silver tongue is still intact.

However, the real gift of his comeback is watching him enjoy wrestling again. The events that caused him to retire in 2014 seemingly left him miserable and disillusioned. It's encouraging to see Punk having so much fun working with new talent and treating fans to his version of pro wrestling.

At one point, it truly felt like Punk would never wrestle again. We're lucky to have him back during the industry's hottest period in some time.

Ring of Honor announced Monday that AEW star CM Punk will be part of its inaugural ROH Hall of Fame class.

ROH noted that Punk is the final member of the class, joining Jay and Mark Briscoe, Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe.

Punk, The Briscoes, Danielson and Joe will all take their place in the ROH Hall of Fame when a special Hall of Fame episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling airs the weekend of March 5.

The 43-year-old Punk made his ROH debut in 2002 and remained contracted to the company until 2005 when he signed a developmental deal with WWE.

Punk had memorable matches and rivalries with Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Christopher Daniels, Danielson and others in ROH.

He was also a two-time ROH Tag Team champion with Colt Cabana and was the fifth ever Ring of Honor World champion.

Punk went on to find great success in WWE after leaving ROH, becoming a five-time world champion and once holding the WWE Championship for 434 consecutive days.

While Punk stepped away from wrestling in 2014, he made his long-awaited return in August, ending a more than seven-year absence from the business.

Now, Punk is among AEW's top stars, having mixed it up with Darby Allin and MJF, among others.

In October, ROH announced it would be going on hiatus after December's Final Battle pay-per-view. The company also announced that all talent would be released from their contracts and free to sign elsewhere.

ROH noted at the time that it planned to return in the spring, and while there was some skepticism, it has since announced that Supercard of Honor XV will take place on April 1 in Garland, Texas, in conjunction with WWE WrestleMania weekend.

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