Almost two weeks ago, Kris Statlander made her triumphant return to All Elite Wrestling when she answered Jade Cargill’s TBS Championship open challenge at Double or Nothing. The former space alien had been off AEW TV for nearly a year with her second ACL tear within a three-year period.
Statlander is not the only AEW star returning to action. AEW: Collision debuts on June 17 and in the initial announcement for the show, it was revealed that Miro and Thunder Rosa are also headed back to television following lengthy times away from the ring. Of course, two weeks ago, Tony Khan made it official that CM Punk is returning to the AEW fold soon as part of the Collision brand.
Punk’s return to action does come on the heels of an injury but that is not the only reason that The Second City Savior has been away from the ring. During his AEW: All In match against Jon Moxley last September, Punk tore his left tricep on the way to retaining the company’s top title. In the media scrum following the show, Punk laid into AEW executives and various members of the roster, leading to a backstage altercation involving The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Ace Steel, and others.
Punk’s return to the fold has reportedly been met with mixed reactions from the roster. Some, like FTR’s Dax Harwood, have openly advocated for Phil Brooks to be let back into the mix, and others, like The Young Bucks, are reportedly unwilling to bury the hatchet with Punk, yet. In an exclusive Haus of Wrestling interview, I asked Statlander how she felt about Punk’s impending return to the promotion, and what her time around him has been like.
“I’ve always had decent interactions with him, and if this is going to help us out, then that’s fantastic,” she said. “I can only hope that with everything, all these announcements going on, and this new show starting that we only experience positive outcomes from this. Hopefully, no negativity happens. We all get frustrated in wrestling and with all of our jobs sometimes, and that’s understandable but I do hope that everything that we do going forward is for the better of AEW. And I think that’s the most important thing.”
If you use any quotes from this article please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling for the transcription and link back