$40,000 in ice cream bars for those at the United Center in August 2021.
Under the All Elite Wrestling banner, CM Punk made his return to professional wrestling. The United Center in Chicago, Illinois hosted Punk’s comeback appearance.
The event was titled AEW Rampage: The First Dance and it was never directly promoted that Punk would be there. He reflected on that during his sit-down chat with O’Shea Jackson Jr. and T.J. Jefferson on their No-Contest Wrestling podcast. He was asked if he was nervous prior to the appearance and compared it to moments in other sports when high-pressure situations arise.
There was a level of imposter syndrome he was dealing with, but then realized he sold-out the United Center on a rumor. Punk said he never felt more alive and it was a similar feeling when he returned to WWE at Survivor Series.
So, most people who do live television — I haven’t really experienced it doing TV and movies because you can just do another take. You can kind of just step out and go out, ‘I need a minute.’ This, this, that. So there is pressure to that but there’s not pressure like live television, live sports. But I don’t know what it’s like to play game seven, Stanley Cup Final. Home game and be down there for the face-off and the puck drops. I don’t know what that experience is like. I think I could maybe draw some parallels to things that I’ve done in my career. But yeah, coming back, there’s a level of imposter syndrome that I think I’ve always dealt with. Because as much as I’ve always been that guy that shuts out all the negative voices, those voices are still there, and after not doing something for seven years and famously having this very public, ugly breakup with the company and not doing anything for seven years, it’s just like the thought is, are people gonna care? Are they gonna remember me? Now we also have a pretty good idea that yeah, you know what? I just sold-out the house that Michael Jordan built, on a rumor. I’m pretty sure they’re not here to throw tomatoes at me. But there’s still always that little bit of doubt, and people wanna talk about, ‘Oh, if you could bottle that adrenaline and feeling of your highest high.’ I thrive in being uncomfortable and in that moment, I was so uncomfortable because I was so uncertain and I loved it. I wanted to sit there and just feel like, yeah, this is great. I’ve never felt more alive. Because I’ve had low lows where I’m just like, ‘Ugh. Wish it was all over with,’ and I’ve had high highs where I’m like, ‘I never want this to end’ but there’s that middle part that I’ve experienced a couple times fortunately, because I went through the same thing when I came back at Survivor Series, to the WWE. But man, that uncertainty. But then looking around me and seeing all these people who just — my peers, my colleagues on their phones filming it.
Those in attendance at Rampage: The First Dance were able to get free ice cream bars, courtesy of Punk. He spent $40,000 on that arrangement.
He went on to state that he feels bad for the people who had to deal with his name being chanted at them while he was out of wrestling. Punk feels that’s why some people have that ‘sourness’ towards him.
What helped all of that is any time they were in Chicago (there was anticipation/hope that I’d show up), and that is precisely why I spent $40,000 on ice cream bars when I came back in 2021, and because that was legit a thank you. Thank you for seven years of chanting my name and I do have a little bit of sympathy and empathy for the people that were always in the ring when that was going on and I do think a lot of sourness and maybe hard feelings some people have for me is because of that and they’re busting their ass. They’re chanting for me. But, I understand. I’ll deal with it as it comes. But, yeah, that’s one of those, man, I wouldn’t be anywhere and I wouldn’t be back here if it wasn’t for a great — many circumstances but one of ‘em is the fans, especially in Chicago. But worldwide, people bringing signs and chanting my name. Unbelievable. So we got some ice cream that night.
At NXT’s premiere show on The CW Network, Punk was the special guest referee for the NXT Championship match.
The event took place in Rosemont, Illinois and after the main event, he revealed that he paid for everyone in the arena to receive free pizza.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit No-Contest Wrestling with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
