As he entered his hometown venue, the former WWE champion and UFC fighter was apprehensive and anxious. He hadn’t gotten any sleep in two nights. Prior to the live Rampage broadcast, Punk attempted to relax by watching some of the wrestling matches taped for past AEW programmes, but he couldn’t sit still or concentrate. He was starving, but he couldn’t make himself eat much.

Punk began to question some of his decisions. He looked down at his black-and-white sneakers, unsure if they were appropriate footwear. He examined himself in the bathroom mirror to see if his slicked-back brown hair was in good condition. He kept pacing about the backstage area, trying to find solace in a small group of friends he’d brought along, including Nora Flanagan, whom he’d known since he was 14 years old, and Lou D’Angeli, a former pro wrestler best known as Sign Guy Dudley in Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Punk and his companions moved behind the curtain about 15 minutes before showtime. Punk, a die-hard hockey enthusiast, smiled briefly. Inside the United Center, he was familiar with this site.

Punk told D’Angeli, “This is where I always stand for when I do ‘Shoot the Puck’ for the Blackhawks.” “I’m usually nervous when I do that, so it’s only natural that I’m nervous here as well.”

Finally, the AEW Rampage entrance music began to play in the arena, signalling the commencement of the broadcast. When that stopped playing, the cries of “CM Punk!” began, despite the fact that the sold-out crowd still didn’t know if he would be present.

That’s when Punk’s characteristic entrance track, Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality,” blasted through the United Center’s PA system, sending the crowd into a frenzy and raising the decibel level even higher as Punk went through the tunnel and presented himself to the audience.

CM Punk returns to professional wrestling after seven years and is greeted with thunderous applause at AEW Rampage in Chicago.

One of the most successful wrestlers of modern times had returned to the ring for the first time since leaving WWE under the most acrimonious of circumstances in 2014. On September 5th, he competed in his first match since his return, at AEW’s All Out pay-per-view event at NOW Arena, in his birthplace of Chicago, versus Darby Allin — a wrestler Punk said would be his favorite if he were a teenager right now.

The narrative of Punk’s reappearance is significantly more complicated. Along the way, there were sold-out arenas, record-breaking T-shirt sales, and $500 ice cream bars, but at its heart, it’s about a man who has finally returned home.

Punk stated of his homecoming, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime spot.” “I’ll never have another opportunity to do something like that. I’m not sure there will ever be another opportunity for someone to achieve something like that. The ideal storm.”