AEW official reveals how CM Punk was finally convinced to return to pro wrestling after 7 years

AEW President and CEO Tony Khan was recently a guest on Wrestling Observer Radio hosted by Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales. As expected, the topic of CM Punk's AEW debut came up during the interview, and Khan was asked about what convinced the popular star to finally return to pro wrestling.

He acknowledged that when the promotion first started, CM Punk didn't sign immediately, as it "wasn't the right time" and Punk wasn't ready to end his pro wrestling hiatus by returning for a start-up company. Khan added that AEW's success since then, and especially the extension of their deal with WarnerMedia, played a part in CM Punk's return:

"A few years ago, it just wasn't the right time and I think he wanted to see how this thing went. He wasn't ready to go back to wresting, especially not for a start-up company, and now we're long past the start-up phase." Khan continued, "It's been really successful, we signed a big TV extension and I think once we got the extension and it looked like we'll be in place for a while it made the company look a lot more like a stable option for CM Punk. But it was during the pandemic really, we stayed in touch."

Tony Khan added that when the pandemic began, he had more time on his hands to converse with the recent AEW signee:

"There was even a month where all of the Dynamite shows were taped," said Khan. "I did a big taping and shut the company down for about five weeks in the early part of the pandemic before we were able to establish a testing program and build a production bubble. I had more time on my hands and he [CM Punk] and I got along."

CM Punk is set to make his AEW in-ring debut at All Out

#aewrampage @AEW #icecreambars pic.twitter.com/CW8TaUZYeK

— player/coach (@CMPunk) August 21, 2021

Following his debut on AEW Rampage in Chicago, Punk also made his first Wednesday Night Dynamite appearance on August 25. The 42-year-old star's first match back will take place at the All Out pay-per-view on September 5th, where he faces one of AEW's homegrown young stars - Darby Allin.

The popular star has put Allin over heavily in the run-up to the match, saying the latter would have been a 15-year-old CM Punk's favorite wrestler because of his cool factor and reckless abandon. It will be interesting to see the Best In The World back in the ring after more than seven years.

If any quotes are used from this article, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and credit Wrestling Observer Radio.