Time for CM Punk to Challenge Hangman Page for AEW Title After Bloody MJF Win

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Perhaps the biggest proclamation coming out of AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view on Sunday night is the fact it’s time for CM Punk to fully enter the main-event scene and challenge for the AEW World Championship. 

That’s saying something too, given the top-to-bottom quality of the card and some of the unforgettable moments. Think, William Regal emerging to get between Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson. Sting, at 62 years old, with the epic spot. It goes on and on. 

But it’s Punk’s emphatic, if not historic finish of his feud with MJF in their Dog Collar match that signals it’s time for him to move on up and take a shot at “Hangman” Adam Page, who freed himself of the feud with Adam Cole and some stagnant momentum in the main event Sunday night. 

Truthfully, Punk’s skirting around the main-event scene always had a bit of an expiration date. He and AEW, presumably, wanted to avoid slingshotting him right into the title scene after he joined the company for a variety of reasons. But this is probably the most organic-feeling chance for it to finally happen. 

Punk has, after all, done nothing short of put over notable talent since his first official match with the company in September 2021. It started there with Darby Allin before looping in unforgettable feuds with Eddie Kingston and Wardlow. 

That journey culminated Sunday night, fittingly, with the capper of the feud against MJF, perhaps the most critical building block of the entire company. Punk hit the ring in throwback Ring of Honor attire and music before dawning a crimson mask, telling an entertaining story with creative usage of the chain while helping MJF again look amazing, even in defeat. 

And that’s been the moral of the Punk-in-AEW story so far—he leaves his opponents looking better regardless of the result in the win-loss column. 

To finish off the MJF feud, the final moments carefully worked in future-minded angles for the loser. Wardlow came out, tossed Punk a weapon and that was it. The result is the long-anticipated MJF-Wardlow feud that could potentially be the most entertaining thing in the company for the better part of six months or more. 

That theme of Punk leaving things better off than he found it upon exiting a feud would certainly extend to an encounter with Page for the top AEW title, too. Maybe in an ideal world for most fans, Punk would ultimately win that title because frankly, how many major title runs does the 43-year-old Superstar have left?

But he doesn’t have to win it. 

Page wouldn’t look bad for losing to a modern legend like Punk by any means. He’d probably leave the matchup looking even better. But he’d look downright outstanding picking up a win before moving on to something else. 

By that same token, there’s no hurting Punk with a loss to Page. It would quell the demands of those who want to see it and free him up to go out and do something else. 

There is, of course, an x-factor to consider for this sort of possible feud—character development and arcs. Pulling the proverbial trigger on this feud could be a nice chance for a Punk heel turn where he pulls a robbery, throwing more riotous fan support behind Page than ever. It’d be a fitting continuation of Page’s multi-year journey that was littered with uncertainty and near-permanent underdog status. 

That’s just one idea. But it’s also a good example of why the pairing just works for a promotion-headlining feud and hasn’t even mentioned some of the stereotypical story beats like old vs. new, home-grown vs. free-agent signee, etc. 

At this stage of the game, Page doesn’t have a ton of overly intriguing matches on deck, either, barring a Kenny Omega comeback. Danielson and Moxley are off in what should hopefully be an all-timer of a stable with Regal. MJF is busy with Wardlow. Chris Jericho had his moment. Somebody like Keith Lee probably isn’t ready just yet. 

Whether it’s a one-off or an extended feud that lasts until the next big event on the limited AEW pay-per-view calendar, the beauty of such a feud is the flexibility it provides not just in scheduling and long-term planning, but the mentioned character flexibility, too. 

There’s a business and emotional side to getting Punk in the main-event scene, too. For the former, AEW has undoubtedly gotten its return on the Punk investment already by a few metrics, but more couldn’t hurt. For the latter, it’s just plain fun to see a guy who missed sevenish years go out there and give it his all—mostly like he hasn’t skipped a beat, either. He and fans should be rewarded for that, too, at the very top of the card. 

It sure doesn’t hurt that Punk’s stock might never be higher after that classic of a match. He once again showed that storytelling-heavy matches, not spot-fests, have an everlasting place on any promotion’s card if done right. No wonder he dropped this in the post-show scrum: