AEW’s Tony Khan says CM Punk deal one of best he has ever done

Talking to Dan Le Batard on a podcast Wednesday, AEW’s Tony Khan said his deal to bring in CM Punk is one of the best he has ever done in his life, even after just one night.

Khan said it’s the best weekend AEW has ever had between their record attendance for Rampage at the United Center, record-breaking social media metrics and being told from ESPN that their traffic for a social media post about Punk’s return was the best they have done since May which includes the Olympics.

“For fans, if there is something to motivate you to get back into wrestling, this is it,” Khan said.

He said the deal with Punk was not just about money, but when pressed by Le Batard on whether Punk paid for himself on his first day, Khan said, “Yeah, I think he did.”

While he would have wanted Punk for the launch of AEW, he understood him not wanting to be the guinea pig for the launch of a new product and that everything worked out perfectly for him signing as they have been able to build new stars since then.

For Friday’s debut, the plan all along was for 99% of the fans to believe Punk was going to be there but to still leave that 1% of doubt to add some intrigue. Tony Schiavone talked about the lead-up to Punk’s debut backstage on his podcast Wednesday as well.

Punk debuts on AEW Dynamite Wednesday for an interview with Schiavone.