5 AEW stars who have publicly acknowledged CM Punk's WWE return

AEW and WWE are competitors, and both play the game of competing differently. While Tony Khan's company routinely references WWE, the Stamford-based company doesn't. That status quo didn't change when CM Punk moved from AEW to WWE. Several AEW personalities spoke and posted their thoughts on the Voice of the Voiceless' return to the WWE ring.

Punk made his re-entry into WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames 2023 and cut a promo on Monday Night RAW. The move seems to have genuinely shocked the wrestling world and even angered some. Here's a list of some of the best quotes and reactions from five AEW stars.

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#5. AEW Coach Mark Henry was pretty shook

Mark Henry has carved a niche for himself in the world of wrestling. He has been with several wrestling promotions and is now a commentator and coach with AEW. Henry was surprised to see Punk in a WWE ring and expressed his emotions via a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"Wowwww I’m in shock, I was wrong!" he posted.

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#4. Danhausen was true to form while referencing CM Punk

Danhausen has captured the audience's imagination with his creative and unique posts. He had a unique way of referencing the Second City Saint's re-entry into the WWE with a dark enough post. He used a GIF of a black goat, from the movie The VVitch, named Black Phillip. In the movie, Punk's real name is Phillip Brooks.

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#3. CJ Perry used unparliamentary language to show surprise

CJ Perry is no stranger to big roster changes. She and her husband Miro, then known as Lana and Rusev in WWE, were red hot in the Stamford-based company until they weren't. She had an expletive-laden message about Punk's WWE debut.

"Holy S**T," tweeted CJ Perry.

C.J.Perry reacted as well.

You can access her post here.

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#2. Andrade was all smiles in a throwback photo with CM Punk

Andrade El Idolo, Charlotte Flair's husband, who was on the AEW roster during the time Punk was, also referenced Punk's re-entry into the WWE orbit. He posted a throwback picture of himself and the Second City Saint.

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Andrade has previously posted about Punk on his social media account. When AEW released the Voice of the Voiceless, Andrade referred to a pending match between the two.

#1 Jeff Jarrett turned philosophical

WWE icon Jeff Jarrett has seen some 'wrassling' moves in his time - both in and outside the ring. He has been in WCW and WWE, and even went on to become one of the founders of NWA: TNA. He also spoke about how the business is unpredictable. On his podcast My World with Jeff Jarrett, he spoke about his ideas for Punk's return to WWE.

“It just goes without saying that ‘never say never’ is very, very appropriate. The other old saying that came to my mind is, it’s not so much, I’m not directing this at anybody, this is just a saying that, in my mind, always kind of tried to make this default, it’s, ‘What happens in life to you is really only 10%. It’s how you respond is the other 90%,” he said. (H/T wrestletalk.com)

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What do you think? How will CM Punk fare in WWE? Tell us in the comments section.