CM Punk Opens Up About Original Talks With AEW's Tony Khan

CM Punk has opened up on his past talks with Tony Khan.

Punk, who hasn't competed in a professional wrestling match since 2014, was approached by Khan sometime before AEW's first show in May 2019 and talks went so far that the two men had a face-to-face meeting. 

Ultimately, nothing came of the negotiations at the time, but Punk is now seemingly set to return to the squared circle in AEW, with his debut expected to occur at the upcoming August 20 Rampage taping at Chicago's United Center. 

While there has been no official confirmation this is the case, Tony Khan has said "everyone knows what to expect on the second episode of Rampage" and the AEW president hasn't denied Punk is joining the company.

Punk himself has stayed quiet on his reported AEW debut, but The Straight Edge Superstar did reflect on his 2019 talks with Tony Khan during an appearance on Sunday Night's Main Event. 

"I talked to Tony (at that time). My perspective on this, and I said this to his face, I'm a guy who has constantly heard, 'I have a money guy. I have TV.' I heard that once or twice a year for 15-20 years. I've gotten bounced checks from those gentlemen. You watched it happen, especially after ECW folded. Everybody was restarting ECW. It always seems like somebody is like, 'We're going to start up and compete with Vince.' I always thought that came from a bad spot. If you want to start a wrestling company, you should focus on yourself. I more or less took a wait-and-see approach. I'm not interested in pro wrestling in that respect," Punk said.

The former WWE Champion was on the show to promote the Starz series Heels, and Punk added: "We're here, we're talking about Heels, it could be bad luck that this role I got is set in the world of pro wrestling, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'm focused on being an actor."

H/T to Fightful