CM Punk had a lot of influence over certain aspects of AEW, including the AEW rankings, when he was still with the company.
Punk’s tenure
AEW terminated Punk following a quickly developed discipline committee that included Bryan Danielson and two attorneys due to his backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In 2023.
This was after his All Out brawl with The Elite the year prior and other issues behind the scenes. Punk returned to WWE after his AEW release last November.
The rankings
AEW used a rankings system to help determine upcoming championship matches in each of its divisions in the early years of the promotion, but it disappeared in the final months of 2022. Now, the rankings are coming back.
AEW President Tony Khan confirmed that the rankings would be returning, as seen below, which came after Khan took a shot at WWE for booking Jinder Mahal in a World Title match despite winning zero matches in the last year. He fell short while challenging Seth Rollins for the World Title but was victorious while working house shows last week.
The Rankings are coming back to AEW going forward, starting this month!@AEW is having a very exciting January, and this is only the beginning of an amazing 2024 for AEW and our fans.
Thank you all watching Saturday Night #AEWCollision right now on @TNTdrama!— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) January 21, 2024
While speaking on the Bryan & Vinny Show, Bryan Alvarez reported it was Punk’s idea to get rid of the rankings.
“These f**king rankings. Do you know whose idea it was to get rid of the rankings? I was told it was CM Punk. He talked Tony into getting rid of the rankings.”
Bryan Alvarez on the B&V show today revealed that it was CM Punk's idea to get rid of AEW rankings in 2022.
"I was told it was CM Punk. He talked Tony into getting rid of the rankings." pic.twitter.com/n9Ga5DzRg9
— Drainmaker 🌧️ 💵 (@DrainBamager) January 22, 2024
