CM Punk Beats Samoa Joe, Retains 'Real' AEW World Title at All In 2023 at Wembley
August 27, 2023
CM Punk defeated longtime rival Samoa Joe at All In on Sunday in London to retain the "real" AEW World Championship.
The match started with Punk bleeding after being swung into the announce table on the outside.
All Elite Wrestling @AEW"The job is to beat me, not survive"<br><br>Samoa Joe is manhandling CM Punk in Wembley!<br><br>🇺🇸: <a href="https://t.co/mUn4tim61a">https://t.co/mUn4tim61a</a><br>🔗 <a href="https://t.co/p1Cr3Sb7zg">https://t.co/p1Cr3Sb7zg</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWAllIn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWAllIn</a><a href="https://twitter.com/SamoaJoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SamoaJoe</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/CMPunk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CMPunk</a> <a href="https://t.co/EBL9dHl5Yy">pic.twitter.com/EBL9dHl5Yy</a>
It ended with both men on the top rope and Joe attempting to go for a suplex, but Punk responded by biting his head before hitting a Pepsi Plunge for the pinfall.
After nine months away due to injury, Punk returned to AEW as the face of the new Collision show in June. During his first promo back, Punk held a bag that contained the AEW World Championship he never lost, and it became a much bigger factor last month.
Punk pulled the title out of the bag and declared himself the "real worlds champion" since he had beaten Jon Moxley for the title last year and was forced to vacate it after getting injured.
An "X" had been spray painted over the face of the title, and Punk said it represented many things, including the legacy he has built in the wrestling business for the past two decades.
Ricky Starks immediately challenged Punk for the title after having beaten him previously, and Punk was successful in his first defense.
Although AEW is not recognizing Punk's title as a legitimate championship, the precedent was set for him to defend it, making it a logical addition to the All In card.
Any number of compelling opponents could have stepped up to challenge Punk at Wembley Stadium, but given their history together dating back to Ring of Honor, Punk vs. Joe was a slam dunk choice.
Since Punk's return from injury, he and Joe have mixed it up on multiple occasions, including Punk and FTR beating Joe and Bullet Club Gold on the inaugural episode of Collision, and Punk beating Joe in a singles match a few weeks later.
Joe laid down the challenge for a match against Punk at All In, and on a recent episode of Collision, Punk took the opportunity to play mind games with his rival.
While Joe was supposed to have a match against a masked wrestler named The Golden Vampire, it turned out that Punk was under the mask, and he hit Joe with a GTS before accepting the challenge.
By scoring yet another victory over Joe at All In, Punk retained his status as the self-proclaimed real world champion in AEW.
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