AEW's CM Punk On If Wrestling Is Entering Another Boom Period

Professional wrestling is hot right now. 

WWE and AEW programming are some of the highest-rated shows on TV in the United States and major stars in Brock Lesnar, Becky Lynch and CM Punk have all recently returned to the industry. Bryan Danielson is also expected to debut in All Elite Wrestling later this week at All Out and Adam Cole may well be turning up on Dynamite soon.

If wrestling is entering another boom period has been the topic of much discussion, though, and CM Punk has weighed into the debate. 

"I think people will always harken back to, 'Oh, X amount of people used to watch this, where are those millions and millions of people? Where did they go?' It's why I don't put a whole lot of stock in ratings and demographics. It's not my job. I know TNT, I know the executives love that stuff, but I don't like movies simply because somebody else likes a movie. I don't go to restaurants simply because it's highly rated. They serve something I'm allergic to so I'm not gonna go ahead and eat it," Punk told New York Post.

"I definitely think stuff's trending upward and it feels hot right now. I don't know if I can call it a boom period. Attitude Era, how many people were watching? So there are a lot of people out there who are not watching. I think chasing all those fans who don't watch anymore can be detrimental. I'm about giving our fans, who are here in the arena, I'm about giving them what they want and making them happy.

"Yes, mainstream popularity for television shows, yes that stuff is great and I think that audience can eventually come and that's what AEW has. You watch it on television and you go, 'Look at those people in the stands, they're having a blast. I need to go to that. I need to watch that. I need to get into this.' And if you are just trying to chase people who aren't watching, people who maybe watched 10 years ago, that's a crapshoot. You could be shooting yourself in the foot," Punk added.

Professional wrestling has gone through two boom periods in modern memory, namely the 1980s and WWF's Attitude Era.