AEW is seemingly not recognizing CM Punk's title as official

CM Punk made his AEW return on the debut episode of Collision. The Best in the World brought a red bag with him during his promo and claimed that it had something that he never lost.

This past week on Collision, The Second City Saint finally uncovered the mystery behind the red bag when he removed the AEW World Championship belt from it, which he never got pinned or submitted for. Punk claimed that the title still had his blood on it and is the same title he beat Jon Moxley for at All Out 2022.

Punk spray-painted the title belt with an 'X' and told the fans it meant that he's straight edge. He then proclaimed that he will remain the world champion until someone takes the belt from him.

Despite the match for the world title between CM Punk and Ricky Starks being made official for next week's episode of Collision, it seems that the company hasn't actually acknowledged The Second City Saint as a current AEW World Champion.

Over on AEW's roster page, CM Punk is still listed as an active star but not as a world champion, which tells us that AEW is yet to consider Punk's title as official. This shouldn't come as a surprise, as both Punk and The Elite were stripped of their respective championships in the aftermath of last year's All Out pay-per-view.

CM Punk hints at a surprising change before his title match against Ricky Starks

Former AEW World Champion CM Punk has teased bringing back his old theme song, which he last used in 2011.

His first WWE theme, "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage, was one of the most popular songs in the Stamford-based promotion in the early 2010s. It was well received by the crowd until Punk shifted to his "Cult of Personality" theme song that he's still using now.

On his Instagram Story this past week, The Best in the World posted a picture wearing an "I'm a Collision guy" t-shirt while using his old theme song as the background music, possibly teasing it being used in the near future.

Punk will be defending his "AEW World Championship" this Saturday on Collision against 'Absolute' Ricky Starks.

Let us know in the comments below your pick to win the match.