Tony Khan: Christian Cage’s Comeback Has Set The Standard For CM Punk’s Looming In-Ring Return
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
AEW president Tony Khan hopes fans see Christian Cage‘s comeback story as a blueprint of sorts for that of CM Punk.
Whereas Cage was forced to retire due to injuries, Punk left the business for a variety of seasons. Still, after seven years out of the ring, at AEW All Out, Cage will challenge for the AEW World Championship and Punk will return to action.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Khan compared how the two beloved wrestlers have a lot in common and expressed his hope that fans will find hope in Cage’s success ahead of Punk’s in-ring debut for the company.
“Christian Cage, I think, is one of the best wrestlers of all time and now the way he’s been featured in AEW and the way I’ve promoted him, I think it’s obvious I feel that way. And I really believe Christian Cage in this comeback has done a lot and I think he can do so much more. It’s not a short-term deal, as people see now. He’s come out and wrestled every week. He was out for many years, and it also set the stage and hopefully it makes people optimistic for the future, frankly of CM Punk.
“Because when you see how Christian was out for seven years, and you see that I’ve featured him and have gotten him in big matches and that AEW has given him a great platform to succeed, but also that this was not a short-term deal. This guy’s gonna be a part of the roster, he’s gonna wrestle. And he’s back. And when CM Punk said he’s back, this isn’t one of those BS comebacks where the guy’s gonna do a pay-per-view match then go do six movies and come back every five years. This is the real deal.”
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Khan emphasized that Cage has set the standard for Punk’s comeback, and perhaps others who hope to follow in his footsteps. He noted that Cage has “worked his ass off,” which is why he has earned the right to challenge for the world title. Khan went onto call Punk’s ongoing return “the biggest thing” AEW has ever done.
“It’s like similar, maybe not as a mainstream story, but it’s similar to us in the world of wrestling, in terms of what he’s gonna do, and how he’s gonna deliver, and what we expect, in terms of him being like a super professional guy that we all respect, it’s like with Christian Cage<‘ said Khan. “Because with Christian Cage, he came back and he’d been out for many years, he’s been a featured watt in AEW, now he’s challenging for the title.
“Every time Christian gets in the ring with one of these new opponents, it’s very exciting to me and again, it sets the stage for what’s happening now with CM Punk’s comeback. Look at the slate of opponents, and he said it in his promos. And we’ve delivered it in the past, and now we’re gonna deliver it to a new audience at a bigger level. CM Punk’s comeback is the biggest thing we’ve ever done and there are so many huge opponents for this guy. I think he has really proven and really set the standard for a comeback.”
The full episode is available here: