AEW star claims CM Punk was responsible for his return to WWE in 2013

CM Punk might be a controversial name in pro wrestling, but over the years he's helped out many of his peers. According to Shawn Spears, Punk was responsible for getting him back into WWE in 2013.

According to Spears, he eventually became friends with Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Joey Mercury. After leaving WWE in 2019, he still maintained these friendships.

In his recent appearance on Wrestling is Life is Wrestling, Shawn Spears recalled how these friendships, particularly with Punk, allowed him to return to WWE in 2013.

"An opportunity came up to for another tryout and the only reason I got that was because CM Punk, who was the world champion at the time, put my name [on a list]. He was asked for 10 guys on the indies who he thought should be signed and he put my name on that list."

"I didn’t get back into that tryout because I’d been killing it on the indies. I was just pretty much primarily working in Canada. I wasn’t making waves anywhere else. I didn’t work for any other companies. I got back there because the connections and context I had made my first time around [with guys like CM Punk].” (H/T PWMania)

During an interview with WrestleZone, Spears commented on the reality of retirement but named all the dream matches in AEW he wants to have before ending his career.

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AEW and Tony Khan's reactions to CM Punk's WWE return have allegedly been leaked

Many fans see The Second City Saint's return to the Stamford-based promotion as a major knock against the promotion. However, according to Fightful Select, Khan didn't have much of a reaction. The report alleged that he "seemed more concerned" with not signing Katsuyori Shibata than with Punk returning to WWE.

The veteran's poor backstage reputation has also been a major topic of discussion, but according to the same report, those in the AEW roster who brought it up were far more curious about the WWE roster's reaction to Punk than anything else.