Report: CM Punk Behind AEW Scrapping The Rankings System

There has been another revelation about CM Punk wielding his influence behind the scenes during his controversial stint in All Elite Wrestling between August 2021 and September 2023. 

All Elite Wrestling debuted a rankings system when the promotion was founded in 2019 and the sports-based product was a key facet of AEW's on-screen presentation. The rankings were often used to determine title matches but they came under scrutiny in the Summer of 2022 when FTR failed to receive a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championships despite being one of the top-ranked teams in the division. The rankings were then de-emphasised and scrapped altogether following August 31, 2022. 

Although the end of the rankings was ultimately a Tony Khan decision, the AEW CEO decided to get rid of the system following lobbying from CM Punk, according to Bryan Alvarez on the Bryan & Vinny Show.

"Do you know whose idea it was to get rid of the rankings? I was told it was CM Punk, he talked Tony into getting rid of the rankings," Alvarez said.

With CM Punk now out of All Elite Wrestling and a renewed emphasis on a sports-based product since the start of 2024, AEW will be reviving the rankings system this month. 

H/T TJR Wrestling