Folks, it's official: AEW has sold 60,000 tickets and counting for All In 2023. Not since the debut of CM Punk has excitement been at such a fever pitch for Tony Khan's company, and with “The Best in the World” reportedly coming back to AEW in the not-too-distant future, it would appear things are only going to ratchet up before they cool down with the weather.

Is the idea of bringing back Punk universally acclaimed? Not necessarily, no; Eric Bishoff hates the idea, as do WWE-only fans who want to see AEW fail, and even Dave Meltzer has questioned how Punk's camp will co-exist with The Elite, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, when the two acts have to be on the same television show.

Speaking with British media on the day All In tickets officially went on sale, Saraya declared that bringing Punk back could be best for business, as the duo have a great relationship.

“Absolutely. I've said this before with Punk. He's always been an absolute sweetheart to me,” Saraya told BBC Norfolk via Fightful. “He's never once had any conflict whatsoever. He's been very helpful and given a lot advice over the years. Since basically near the beginning of when I was at WWE, he was kind of on his way out, but I remember coming up on live event loops, and he was very nice. Going into WWE Backstage, always very nice.

“Coming into AEW, he had reached out to me, ‘If you need anything.' He's really awesome. I want whatever is best for business. If people don't like each other, you have to find that common ground in a professional setting. There are people I haven't liked over the years, but I've never let my personal feelings get in the way of business, at the end of the day. If he was to come back, it would be great for AEW, it would be great for tickets too. Wembley is already doing awesome without anyone announced, but do you bring in the big dogs? Absolutely. We do have Chris Jericho, we do have the Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) and Kenny (Omega), and hopefully, we bring in Punk too.”

Will CM Punk draw money in AEW when he first returns? Yes, he did so in 2021, and he'll likely do so again in 2023, especially after all of the backstage drama. Will that hype continue into the future? That, wrestling fans, is the multi-million dollar question TK has to ask himself before greenlighting his return.

Trinity Fatu comments on CM Punk's surprise appearance backstage at Impact.

Speaking of CM Punk and his schedule, WWE's Naomi, who recently made her Impact debut as Trinity, was stopped by TMZ for an interview about her return to professional wrestling, and the former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion let it be known that Phil Brooks was nothing but a gentleman when they linked back up in Chicago.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Tony Khan with a text bubble reading "I think it made a lot of sense" next to CM Punk and Jack Perry with the AEW Dynasty logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Kenny Omega wit a text bubble reading "My relationship with CM PUNK?" next to CM Punk with the AEW All Out logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Adam Copeland with a text bubble reading "I always subscribed to the Bret Hart school" with CM Punk on his left and Bret Hart on his right with the AEW Dynamite logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

“It was everything. It gave me that extra boost that I needed to really follow through and do it because I was so scared,” Trinity told TMZ Sports via Fightful. “At one point, I was literally thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?' Mercedes being there — she was there with me the entire weekend, just helping me, helping me pick out my outfits, talking to me, talking to me through things, buying glow sticks; she was just so incredible. To have her there, I felt like everyone came to support me. I gotta show up. I gotta deliver, I gotta kick out, I gotta do this. I can do this. They really made me believe that I'm going to be okay and that I'm going to do well.

“Right before my match, Tamina comes walking in, and I turned around and just started crying because it's so incredible for everyone to stop what they're doing in their lives to come all the way here because they believe in me that much. It made me believe in myself a little bit more. Then, too, CM Punk shows up, and he comes in, and it was really cool to see him. He gives me a big hug and just knew that he was there, and got to see me, it was all so surreal. Then, Manny [Kalisto] was there and helping me with ideas. So much love and support. It was unbelievable. It was so surreal, and I'll never forget it. It was really all I needed to go out there and turn on.”

Has Punk turned over a new leaf, attempting to both generate hype and mend a few bridges before his return, which is reportedly coming next month in Chicago? Only time will tell, but as yet another Summer of Punk rolls around, fans will wait with bated breath to see what goes down, because when “Pepsiman” gets into the ring, something interesting is always right around the corner.