When CM Punk officially made his debut in WWE after being fired from AEW following his actions at All In, it made waves around the professional wrestling community.
Some fans, wrestlers, and pundits alike loved it, others hated it – looking at you, Seth Rollins – and others still sat somewhere in between, opting against casting a vote of yay or nay on the decision until things shook out a little further one way or another.
And yet, while AEW has attempted to field a unified front in the face of this WWE blitz for media and public attention alike, that doesn't mean a few members of the promotion aren't excited to see Punk shine in his new role, including some, like former AEW Women's Champion-turned-Spanish commentator Thunder Rosa, who didn't have the same public relationship with the “Best in the World” as, say, Danhausen, Brody King, or the members of FTR, but liked him all the same.
Discussing her feelings for Punk on Busted Open Radio, Rosa noted that she wants to see her friend Phil fulfill his dream as he, much like everyone else, deserves a second chance to achieve his dream.
“People were blowing up my phone. ‘Did you see what happened?' ‘No, I was working.' I have to confess, it was a touch of heartbreak and happiness,” Thunder Rosa said via Fightful. “I love Phil, as a person. I want him to be successful. I wish things would have gone completely different and that he was still working with us. I'm really happy that he is fulfilling his dream because he loves professional wrestling and he has a very strong passion for professional wrestling. Working with Phil, in my perspective, I'm talking about me, it has been positive, and enriching. I really feel we all deserve second chances, I firmly believe in second chances. This is a way that, everybody needs to recognize that Phil has had many chances and this is his last chance in professional wrestling. A lot of people thought it was never going to happen and it was a huge surprise.”
Will CM Punk overcome the odds and become a true stalwart of WWE television, inspiring fans of all ages as a babyface or working the world up like only he can as a heel? Fans will have to wait until he has more time in the WWE Universe to find out.
Jim Ross also showed his support for CM Punk.
Speaking of AEW commentators who hope to see CM Punk succeed in WWE, the voice of the Attitude Era, Jim Ross, recently discussed the “Best in the World” making his return “home” after nearly a decade away and how fans of both major promotions reacted to the news.
While Ross is clearly still team AEW, as he does still work for the promotion despite his contract expiring soon, he thinks WWE made the right call bringing Punk back, as the reaction from fans in Chicago clearly proved.
“It was a perfect booking decision. It was a great creative move. The pop] was sustained chaos. I guarantee you there was a lot of AEW fans at the Survivor Series because they're wrestling fans. They don't have this brand bulls**t, where you're only going to support one brand. So you must not really be a wrestling fan, right? How could you be a wrestling fan and not be happy for the success of others within your industry?” Jim Ross said on his podcast via Fightful.
“Anyway, It was great booking. Good judgment by Paul Levesque. Phil is a friend. I didn't always agree with him, and I certainly agreed with him more than not on some of his issues. He's just a friend. I'm happy for my friends that find success in their chosen vocation. I wish him the best of luck on his journey. I don't agree with all the s**t that went on with him. I think he could have handled it a little differently, as probably everybody could, if you go back and look at it in hindsight. The bottom line is, he was a great get. Timely. I love the surprise.”
Can Punk put the you-know-what behind him, as JR so eloquently put it, and become the best version of the performer WWE fans desperately want to see on RAW or SmackDown, depending on which brand he ends up on? It's hard to say, Punk certainly didn't try to take the high road in AEW after either of his returns, and that's a big reason why he no longer works for the promotion today. Then again, who knows, maybe Punk will act more respectfully in his “home” than in the house The Elite and Tony Khan built?
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