CM Punk to undergo surgery, will remain AEW World Champion

CM Punk announced that he will be undergoing surgery, and as a result a new interim AEW World Champion will soon be crowned.

On tonight’s live edition of Rampage, Punk announced that he needs to undergo surgery due to an unspecified injury. However, he said he would not be relinquishing the AEW World Championship. Excalibur later announced that a battle royal will kick off this coming Wednesday’s Dynamite, where the winner will face Jon Moxley in the main event. The winner of that match will then face an unnamed opponent at Forbidden Door for the interim AEW World Championship.

Punk came out tonight and said that “a couple of things” were broken and needed surgery. He said that he promised he was going to go until “the wheels fell off” and while the wheels haven’t fallen off, one of them is broken. He also said that he was originally going to relinquish the AEW World Championship, but Tony Khan convinced him that this is only a bump in the road. Punk ended the promo promising that when he comes back, he will prove that he is the best in the world.

Punk won the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing, defeating Hangman Page. On Wednesday, he teamed with FTR to defeat Max Caster and The Gunn Club (Austin and Colten Gunn). Punk was noticeably limping throughout the match.