Top AEW star sends a heartfelt message - "I’m lucky to have shared the ring with Punk"

CM Punk might no longer be a part of AEW, but wrestlers in the Jacksonville-based company continue to laud The Best in the World for his role in their professional lives.

Recently, AEW star Dax Harwood recalled his one-on-one encounter with CM Punk from an episode of Dynamite in March 2022. While the match ended in a losing cause for the FTR member, he has fond memories of it.

On the second anniversary of his face-off with Punk, Dax The Axe took to his official Twitter/X account to quote a video post with a heartwarming message.

"Two years ago today. The match that launched FTR into our current iteration. This is one of my favorite matches of my 20 year career. I’m lucky to have shared the ring with Punk!" he posted.

The March 23, 2022, encounter was also the first time the Second City Saint and Dax faced each other in a singles match in AEW. The grueling match finally ended when Punk put Dax through an Anaconda Vice.

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Swerve Strickland speaks about CM Punk's positive influence on him

During a recent episode of Bootleg with Kev, AEW star Swerve Strickland recalled his first interaction with CM Punk.

The former NXT North American Champion recalled being gobsmacked by Punk's chilled-out attitude during their maiden interaction at the Jacksonville-based promotion. Strickland revealed that the former WWE Champion had a positive influence on him.

“I had great experiences with him! I didn't interact with him a lot. But I always had good, positive interactions. On my first day there, like I was taking my photos and renders, and he jumped in and photobombed it! And I never even spoke to him. I never had an introduction to him, but that was his first interaction with me. And I was like, 'Oh man, this is cool! That's dope!' I went out and did my contract signing. And he was like, 'How'd it go, man? I was like, ‘Oh dude, It went excellent! Thank you!' So, like, he's always been like a positive influence on me.” [8:00 - 8:35]

Punk is currently a part of WWE. The Second City Saint returned to the Stamford-based promotion at the Survivor Series Premium Live Event in 2023. Unfortunately, he got injured while performing a spot during the Men's Royal Rumble Match earlier this year.