Having watched the CM Punk run in AEW from start to finish, I have always stood by the idea that if Punk decided to call it a day after this match, his run in AEW would have gone down as perhaps the single best run anyone has had in any wrestling company. From the debut in the United Center to the unbeaten streak, to every hoop that MJF made him jump through to get to this moment where he unleashed the monster that everyone thought had died in Ring of Honor back in 2005, it was wrestling perfection.

At the time, it seemed like Punk and AEW were a match made in heaven, but that’s what made the eventual breakup so painful for many fans. Part of the reason why some fans don’t even acknowledge what Punk has done post All In London 2023 is because what the “Second City Saint” did in AEW was so special that they are probably still angry at the fact that it didn’t end up working out, and to those people I say just move on, it’s wrestling, it’s not that deep.

We all know what happened with Punk following AEW Revolution 2022. He would take a few weeks off before returning to go after Hangman Page and the AEW World Championship, which on paper made all the sense in the world, but in reality it became the first domino to fall in a series of events that would lead to Punk returning to WWE at Survivor Series 2023. Brawl Out, Brawl In, there was probably a brawl somewhere in between for all we know, the weight of success that Punk brought to AEW began to crack the foundation of the entire company, and it’s only recently where it seems that AEW has gotten back on its feet and moved on.

As for MJF, he was naturally angry at what Wardlow did to him during this match and wanted to make him pay. Their feud built to an eventual showdown at AEW Double or Nothing 2022, but what was meant to be Wardlow’s crowning moment and launching pad into the main event scene turned into a media circus surrounding MJF who was threatening to walk out of the company. Obviously, MJF didn’t walk out and is not only still in AEW to this day but is the current AEW World Champion at the time of writing, but the “Salt of the Earth” would miss the entire summer after calling Tony Khan a “f****** mark” on national TV, and spent all of 2023 essentially using the AEW World Championship as a bargaining chip in order to get a new deal with AEW, or a fresh one from WWE.

And what about Wardlow? He’s been mismanaged, mishandled, and booked aimlessly basically since his feud with MJF ended, and is currently on the sidelines with an injury he sustained in his AEW return after missing close to a year through other injuries and non-wrestling projects.