Booker T Claims It'll Be 'So Hard' For AEW To Return To Chicago Without CM Punk

For many, the ‘CM’ in ‘CM Punk’ means ‘Chicago Made’, with the ‘Second City Saint’ always given a hero’s welcome whenever he appears in front of a hometown crowd.

Punk made his AEW debut in Chicago, and recently made his WWE return in the same city at Survivor Series on November 25. Such is Punk’s link to Chicago that WWE Hall of Famer Booker T believes AEW will have a hard time running the city without him, saying the following on the Hall of Fame podcast:

"This is huge. It's huge because it's a huge blow. The Chicago market has been huge for AEW, bringing CM Punk in was a huge plan to really boost that thing to the next level. Bottom fell out, still tried to run Chicago, now it's going to be so hard for that company to step back into Chicago without someone like CM Punk. That goes back to my ol' adage; just keep your damn mouth shut, take care of your business, and then you might not fall into potholes like this one right here. This is just one pothole. Those potholes are going to keep getting bigger and bigger.

“This goes back to when I was in WCW, we were running for 83 weeks, the bottom fell out, the company got sold. All those guys were looking for a job. Ted Turner, you think he missed any champagne wishes and steak dinner? Ah nah. He said, 'Let me pull the plug on this.' Sooner or later, I feel like Tony Khan will be doing the same thing if he doesn't keep his mouth shut and run his company," said Booker.

AEW have ran major shows in Chicago both before and after CM Punk’s departure, with All Out in September occurring days after Punk’s firing from the company.

H/T: Fightful