The annual WWE SummerSlam has long been the main wrestling event of the summer, but with the arrival of CM Punk, AEW has emerged as the new winner. With live in-person crowds once again attending their shows, after a year of empty arenas and virtual participation, both AEW and WWE have been delivering big surprises. All this excitement follows after the summer kicked off with John Cena’s return to WWE, while the likes of Christian Cage and Andrade El Idolo made their AEW debuts.
This trend of highly-anticipated arrivals kicked up a notch with CM Punk returning to professional wrestling for the first time since 2014 and opening episode 2 of AEW’s new weekly show Rampage. Only a day later, as part of the WWE SummerSlam 2021 pay-per-view event, Becky Lynch and Brock Lesnar appeared after extended hiatuses to take on new challengers. It has left fans of professional wrestling with much to discuss, and lots to look forward to, but there was also widespread agreement that Punk’s relatively stripped down and simple comeback served as the latest in a series of indications that AEW is emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the professional wrestling world.
At one point limited to fighting with WWE’s NXT brand for Wednesday night ratings, AEW is now arguably the much hotter promotion. How did that happen? And how did they manage to handle Punk’s return better than the SummerSlam shockers of Lynch and Lesnar? Here are some of the reasons, including why AEW won the weekend.
Comparing The Returns
AEW and WWE both waited for big shows to introduce or welcome back top-level talent. Still, even though SummerSlam included both Becky Lynch and Brock Lesnar, Rampage had the better and buzzier return with CM Punk. In all fairness to WWE, it would be difficult to compete with the long-awaited comeback of one of the most popular wrestlers of all time. Even setting aside Punk’s popularity, and the controversy surrounding his seven-year absence from professional wrestling, AEW went above and beyond to stage a memorable and emotional return for Punk. The man once known as the Straight Edge Savior returned in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. He opened Rampage with a heartfelt promo, speaking to more than 15 thousand fans in the crowd, and shedding light on why he felt the need to walk away from WWE back in January 2014. The segment was clearly momentous for the fans in the United Center arena, some of whom were moved to tears, and it was significant for Punk as well. On the whole, it served as a prime example of the elation and the joy professional wrestling can elicit at its best.
Viewed in isolation, WWE’s SummerSlam returns are nothing to scoff at. Lynch and Lesnar are both immensely talented performers with huge followings. Their appearances at SummerSlam were heavily forecasted for months. By contrast, despite how AEW hinted at rumors of Punk’s debut, his arrival still garnered shock and celebration to quickly become one of the weekend’s trending pop culture topics. WWE couldn’t compare with that tidal wave of positive attention.
How The Returns Were Handled
Looking beyond the question of which return garnered the biggest buzz, AEW again wins by virtue of the way that it handled Punk’s return. He was the centerpiece of Rampage’s opening segment, he got his time to say some of what was on his mind and, after announcing a match with Darby Allin at the upcoming All Out PPV, he got out of the way. AEW didn’t lose sight of the talented performers it had spent months building up just because a big-name wrestler was now available to them. Jade Cargill got a showcase match, continuing her rise as one of AEW’s top women’s wrestlers. Jungle Boy and his partner Luchasaurus defeated Private Party to advance in a Tag Team tournament and potentially challenge The Young Bucks for their Tag Team Championships at All Out. Daniel Garcia, a promising new talent, got to rub shoulders with Jon Moxley in the main event of Rampage. In other words, after giving the spotlight to Punk for a portion of the show, AEW continued to build its already existing roster and its simmering rivalries.
On the other hand, in its attempt to hype up Lynch’s return, it could be argued that WWE damaged the months of storytelling that it had spent on Bianca Bel-Air. After it was announced that Sasha Banks (who plays Koska Reeves in The Mandalorian) would not be competing at SummerSlam, Lynch returned to a massive ovation. She easily took out Carmella, Banks’ planned replacement, and she challenged Bel-Air for her Smackdown Women’s Championship. In a match that lasted less than 30 seconds, Lynch easily dispatched with Bel-Air after a few moves to capture the championship. This led to fierce criticism by fans and wrestling pundits alike, many of whom wondered why the match couldn’t have been more competitive. Bel-Air won the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble. Along with Banks, she main-evented this year’s WrestleMania. In the eyes of critics, they felt that this type of storytelling simply reaffirmed WWE’s tendency to discard rising talent in favor of more established performers.
Lesnar’s return was greeted more warmly. This is partially due to the fact that, for the first time in a long time, the typically villainous Lesnar was positioned as the hero against current Universal Champion Roman Reigns. But even then, Reigns and Lesnar have faced off against each other in three singles matches. They’ve done battle in a number of other match types. They’ve shared dozens of segments, essentially feuding on and off since 2015. The change to Reigns now playing the antagonist could prove to be an interesting shift, but it again reinforces that WWE would rather rely on what is established and familiar. Meanwhile, in AEW, there are countless fresh rivalries and matches that await Punk.
Narrative & Momentum
Finally, when considering which company had more momentum coming out of the big weekend’s shows, the edge once again went to AEW. It’s benefitting from the arrival of Punk, to be sure, but there are also rumors that the likes of Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt (who was cut by WWE) might soon be headed to AEW as well. Other talents, like NXT stalwart Adam Cole, are likewise rumored for AEW in the near future. Beyond its ability to acquire top-level talent, AEW already has a roster filled with young talent that can hopefully be relied upon for years to come. Allin, Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara, and MJF have all been positioned as the company’s main eventers going forward. Referred to at times as ‘the four pillars of AEW’, they each bring their own unique strengths to the roster. Performers like Britt Baker, Orange Cassidy, Dante Martin, Ricky Starks, and Will Hobbs are also being handled with care to one day potentially take over. In the case of Baker, she’s already established herself as one of the most talked-about wrestlers.
None of this is to disparage WWE’s roster, but the reality is that, since the onset of COVID-19, the promotion is more frequently in the headlines for reasons that have little to do with its storylines or the quality of its matches. Due to budgetary reasons, WWE’s executives have argued that it has had no choice but to let go of scores of its roster in waves, firing several WWE superstars in 2021 who have since gone on to join AEW. Others, like Zack Ryder, reinvented themselves on the independent scene. Still others, like Primo and Epico Colón, are in the process of launching their own promotion. These mass firings, a regular occurrence since April 2020, have also included the scaling down of departments and the dismissal of many backstage workers and crew members. On the whole, it’s led to persistent speculation that WWE CEO and chairman Vince McMahon might be looking to sell off WWE to the highest bidder. WWE president Nick Khan did little to quell the speculation, noting in recent remarks that “We’re open for business on anything and everything.”
NXT, run by Vince McMahon’s son-in-law Paul “Triple H” Levesque, has also come under scrutiny due to backstage machinations. Hardly spared from the mass firings, there are reportedly efforts to minimize the once triumphant third brand, steering its focus back to recruiting younger talent with limited wrestling experience. This would signify a shift for NXT, which has been universally lauded for providing something of an alternative to the wrestling featured on Raw and Smackdown. It also indicates that the brand is gradually being downgraded back to a largely developmental territory after failing to win the Wednesday Night ratings war with AEW’s Dynamite. Whatever the case, it does clarify that fans are more interested in discussing the backstage drama of WWE than the actual matches and narratives being offered. The narrative around WWE is one of relative uncertainty, while AEW gathers momentum by moving from strength to strength.
None of this is to say that WWE has decisively lost or even that Dynamite is likely to beat the ratings of Raw and Smackdown. It’s also important to note that AEW could easily make missteps from here, focusing too much on new arrivals and too little on the previous unknowns that helped build the company. At least for now, it’s clear that CM Punk is the biggest factor in an undeniably hot streak for a wrestling promotion that many initially doubted.