After watching CM Punk go scorched earth on AEW in an appearance on the MMA Hour, Cody Rhodes, one of the original founders and EVPs of the promotion, was asked by Ariel Helwani for his take on the “Best in the World's” assessment that the company doesn't have good leadership, doesn't care about drawing money, and is just generally not at the same level as WWE.

While Rhodes ultimately opted to leave AEW in 2022 in the pursuit of fulfilling his father's unfinished dream, he's still incredibly proud of what Tony Khan and the EVPs have put together and remains proud of everything they've accomplished to this day.

“That’s his assessment, it is not my assessment. It's always important for me to remind people that I am so proud of what me, Matt, Nick, Kenny, Tony, Bernie, Brandi, and Dana, and Chris, and I name all these people, because I was in those meetings,” Cody Rhodes told Ariel Helwani on MMA Hour.

“As much as the internet will try and spin the narrative one way, if one of those people would not have been at that start-up level, the company would not have happened, and I am so proud of what was created. I am so insanely proud of what it does for the industry overall, for wrestlers and their well-being and their ability to feed their families. And I have an unbelievable love for so many people in that locker room, including The Bucks, including Kenny, who we are bonded forever over this thing that we did. So it’s not my assessment. In my time there the infrastructure was just being built up, we were trying new things, it was a start-up company, a big-time start-up company, but a start-up company. And I wish them nothing but the best.”

Since leaving AEW in January of 2022, Rhodes has been consistently complimentary of Tony Khan's company, celebrating what they've accomplished, tributing his former EVPs with his Too Sweet/finger gun hand gesture, and championing that there is now proper competition in the industry that allows wrestlers to consistently earn better compensation across the board as a result. While Punk, too, was happy that some of his friends continue to make money based on his hard work, for Rhodes, AEW is a much bigger part of his legacy and something he's much more proud of, too.

CM Punk doesn't regret returning to wrestling.

When CM Punk returned to AEW, one of the lasting moments from his introductory promo was declaring that, after 16 years away, he was finally back to professional wrestling. Now, for fans in the know, when Punk left Ring of Honor in 2005, he went to WWE, but because the promotions was all about Sports Entertainment at the time, shooting on the leader in the business in his Rampage debut felt like a way to drum up business and make fans excited about his future in the promotion.

But now? Now Punk is a member of WWE once more, ending his return to professional wrestling at roughly two years, give or take a few days.

So, does he regret taking a shot at WWE for not being real wrestling? In his interview with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, Punk said no, noting that he truly believed AEW could be a competitor to WWE, even if he didn't feel like it shook out that way in the end.

“I don’t regret saying it. I think I was catering and maybe leaning too much towards the niche audience. I was sold on AEW being an alternative to what WWE was,” CM Punk told Ariel Helwani via Fightful. “That’s the biggest shame to me. This is a last chance. I like competitors. I like guys being able to be like, ‘I can go over here and make X amount of money.’ That’s good for the business and good for the boys. When you’re there, guaranteed money almost ruined pro wrestling. If you had to get paid based off the house, the place would be drastically different. ‘Oh s**t, this isn’t working. Do something else. Pivot.’ What is going to get people into the building? The short time I had where I was ‘In charge’ of Collision, that’s the way I did things. What did we draw here last time? Okay, my goal is to get one more ticket sold. I did that. I work incrementally.”

Asked if he regretted coming back to professional wrestling as a member of AEW instead of staying retired, Punk said no, as he made plenty of friends in AEW and now gets to rub shoulders with the likes of Shawn Michaels and Triple H philosophically instead of in the ring.

“No. There are too many things I’ve done since coming back that have overshadowed whatever negative spin you want to put on anything,” CM Punk revealed. “If I didn’t come back, I wouldn’t have met Brody King, I wouldn’t be friends with him to this day. Danhausen, Dax, Cash, Darby, Sting. I don’t want to name everyone because I don’t want people to punished any further for being my friend. So many people. I’m sure I helped somebody along the way. To me, that’s what it’s about. There is a lot of knowledge in here. I never projected that or forced it on anyone. There was that thing about, ‘He would run around and give unsolicited advice.’ Never. My time is valuable. I’m not going to run around and help people if they don’t want help. I was always a guy that would run around and ask things. Do I regret coming back? No because I get to ask questions to people who have been in it longer than me. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, what is your mindset? Obviously, my body is not going to last longer than my brain. I have way more to give to pro wrestling. Do I regret coming back? No.”

While CM Punk still has plenty of hurt feelings towards members of the AEW roster, from Tony Khan and Jack Perry to the Young Bucks and “Hangman” Adam Page, it's safe to say he wouldn't be where he is today without AEW, as the promotion gave him an opportunity to return to wrestling on his terms and ultimately proved to WWE that he was a big enough draw to justify bringing him in once things went south with Tony Khan. In the end, alls well that ends well, even if the path there was straight up Hell in a Cell.