AEW is bringing back their weekly ranking system, something that some fans really missed. Now, fans who love stats will have something else to comb through every week. It seems that the disappearance of that ranking system was to blame on CM Punk.
Why AEW Nixed Their Ranking System The First Time
In the early years of AEW, a ranking system was employed to determine upcoming championship matches in each division. However, it disappeared in the final months of 2022.
CM Punk had significant backstage influence over certain aspects of AEW while he was with the company. This included things going away, and one of those things was the AEW rankings, which vanished during his tenure with the company.
During the Bryan & Vinny Show, Bryan Alvarez reported that he was told it was Punk’s idea was to eliminate the rankings. He apparently had a discussion with Tony Khan about them, and then they were gone
“These f*cking rankings. Do you know whose idea it was to get rid of the rankings? I was told it was CM Punk. He talked Tony into getting rid of the rankings.”
CM Punk also got to pick his roster for AEW Collision. He had say-so in which talent AEW brought in for the show as well, and he could ban talent from the company’s Saturday night show as well. This is why the Collision roster was loaded with his friends, a practice that remained until his AEW release.
After CM Punk’s AEW Release
Following a discipline committee, consisting of Bryan Danielson and two attorneys, AEW terminated Punk due to a backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In 2023. This decision came after Punk’s All Out brawl with The Elite the previous year and various backstage issues. It did not take Punk long until he returned to WWE after his AEW release.
Now, it appears that Tony Khan is bringing back his ranking system. Interestingly enough, this is coming during a time when he has received a significant spotlight due to his reliance on CageMatch rankings.
