CM Punk Talks Danielson and Cole AEW Debuts, Working with Sting, WWE Experiences

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Punk Calls Danielson, Cole Debuts Bigger Than The Outsiders in WCW

AEW put on arguably the biggest show of its existence at All Out on Sunday, as CM Punk returned to the ring for the first time in more than seven years and both Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole made their debuts.

After Kenny Omega beat Christian Cage in the main event to retain the AEW World Championship, Cole made a surprise appearance to seemingly help Christian and Jurassic Express during a post-match beatdown by The Elite, but he rejoined The Elite instead.

Danielson then made his way down to the ring and helped Christian and Jurassic Express clean house to end the show.

According to Felix Upton of Ringside News, Punk told reporters following All Out:

"And as long as we keep [fans] engaged, and keep them happy, and to bring it back around, that's what we're doing. I'm not [Hulk] Hogan. I'm not [Randy] Savage. Daniel Bryan and Adam Cole, they're not The Outsiders. I see the parallels. This is totally different, and I'll go ahead and say it, and people can quote me and they'll be pissed off about it. To me, this is bigger."

Punk was referencing Scott Hall and Kevin Nash making the leap from WWE to WCW in 1996. Hogan turned heel shortly thereafter and formed the nWo with Hall and Nash, which started a huge run of success for WCW, as it beat WWE in the Monday night ratings war 83 weeks in a row.

AEW's weekly shows, Dynamite and Rampage, are still a long way from matching the ratings WWE gets for Raw and SmackDown, but there is no question that AEW has established itself as a power in professional wrestling.

It remains to be seen whether Danielson and Cole will have the same type of impact The Outsiders did for WCW, but if nothing else it proves that some of the best talent in wrestling wants to be part of AEW.

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Punk Talks Possibly Teaming with Sting

After Punk beat Darby Allin near his hometown of Chicago in his first pro wrestling match in more than seven years at All Out, he had a nice moment with a legend of the pro wrestling business.

Sting has been by Allin's side since making his AEW debut late last year, and while helping his ally off the mat, he offered his hand to Punk, who accepted it and shook as a sign of respect to The Icon.

Unsurprisingly, that led to plenty of speculation among fans that there could be plans in place for Punk and Sting to work together in some capacity moving forward.

According to WrestlingInc.com's Jason Ounpraseuth, Punk discussed that while speaking to the media after All Out, saying:

"We were never in the same company at the same time. We're two different generation wrestlers, and you just never thought it was possible, and now, it is. And that's kind of how I feel about the entire groundswell of AEW as a whole. You got me, and Darby, and Sting in a ring, and it's legitimately three different generations and the knowledge of wealth he brings. It's a bucket list item now. I think, for sure, down the line, we're probably going to tag. That feels like there's something there.

"There's real, organic moments here. Him coming out and shaking my hand, we didn't talk about that. That wasn't a planned thing. He came out, and he did it, and before I shook his hand, I looked and was kind of like, this means something to a kid like me. And he said, 'It means something to me too,' and that's wild to me. That's the playground we have here where we could do all this stuff that you didn't think was ever possible."

Punk and Sting either teaming or wrestling against each other is something that has never been on anyone's radar in wrestling over the years, but now that they are working together, it feels like something fans would love to see.

AEW has picked its spots with how it has used Sting in-ring thus far, opting to use him solely as a tag team wrestler.

Allin has been his partner every time, but working Punk into the mix would freshen things up and give both men something fun and unexpected to take part in.

Teaming could also lead to a match between them at some point, and Punk would seemingly be the ideal opponent to guide Sting through a match and protect him in the process.

Regardless of where AEW goes with Punk and Sting, there is some real intrigue present and plenty of avenues worth exploring.

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Punk Discusses WWE Not Understanding Him

Punk never truly fit the mold of the prototypical WWE Superstar during his time in the company, and Punk is taking what he learned from that and applying it to AEW.

Appearing on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette (h/t Upton), Punk noted that while he doesn't necessarily "get" Orange Cassidy's gimmick, he sees the value in him due to how popular he is.

Punk equated that to how he was viewed in WWE and noted that just because some people don't understand why a person or act is over, it doesn't mean they shouldn't be pushed as a top star:

"I'll use Orange Cassidy [as an example], who I think at dinner the other night ate my sea bass. So there's real heat there! But that's a thing that I look at and go, 'I don't get it.' But I listen to the people, and they react to him and they like him. So I'm like, 'f--k yeah.' Why would we throw that in the garbage?

"It just reminds me of when I showed up [in WWE] and those same people were like, 'I don't get it.' And I was like, 'Well, you're 65 and you're racist. I guess I'm super stoked that I'm not for you and you don't get it.' It's not for me to get. It's for the audience to get. And I think the culture for too long has generated this opinion that is just parroted by fans. And it's like, 'draw your own conclusions.' I don't like stuff because somebody else likes it. I like what I like. And if somebody else doesn't like it, that doesn't influence my opinion on that either way."

Despite Punk not feeling like he had the full support of the WWE higher-ups, he became a massive star, holding world titles on five different occasions, winning Money in the Bank twice and becoming one of the biggest post-Attitude Era stars in wrestling.

Still, Punk's experiences could help him guide other wrestlers in AEW who have dealt with similar things throughout their careers.

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