CM Punk sat down with ESPN Chicago and spoke about his return to professional wrestling, which was also his debut for AEW.

“That might have been the greatest moment, the greatest night of my career. Just the entire night couldn’t have gone more perfect. The way we set it up as the worst kept secret, selling out the United Center on the rumor that I was going to be there, never announced, never advertised. It shows the connection to the fanbase that AEW has, that they get it, right? They want to be involved, they want to be entertained, they want to go up to shows and have a good time.

So we didn’t feel the need to beat them over the head to get a TV rating. And don’t get me wrong, I know executives at TNT love their ratings. But to me pro wrestling has always been about moments and getting people to feel something. It was the perfect storm, the perfect night.”