At AEW Rampage Grand Slam in September 2021, CM Punk wrestled his first televised bout since 2014.
The match took place in front of over 20,000 people at Arthur Ashe Stadium and is AEW's biggest show to date.
Standing across the ring from CM Punk on that night was Powerhouse Hobbs, a man Punk had spoken highly of upon his return to wrestling at AEW Rampage: The First Dance in August 2021.
A member of Team Taz, Hobbs has been on a role with victories over the likes of Brian Cage, Dante Martin, Shawn Dean, and Baron Black.
Though Hobbs wasn't victorious against Punk, it was a coming out party for Powerhouse and made him feel like a valued member of the AEW roster.
"It was awesome. The fact that he trusted me, to acknowledge my ideas, asked for my input. Not just say, 'Hey, we're going to do this, this, and this.' Punk asked, 'What do you want to do? What ideas do you have?' That meant the world to me. That meant that he actually trusted and valued my opinions, that there was some type of respect there," Hobbs told Will Washington, Righteous Reg, and Phil Lindsey of Grapsody.
Hobbs continued, explaining why the match was more than just a normal bout for him and how Punk comforted him given the circumstances.
"I've been on record and said what the significance of this match meant, it meant that I was looked at as being valued in this company and it was about a month after my mother's passing, and Punk knew that. He knew how much my mom was a wrestling fan, how much she was my number one fan, and how I wished she was there. He pulled me aside and said, 'Hey man, your mom is here. Let's not go worry about anybody else. She's here, let's do it for her.' I didn't worry about the 20,000 people there, I worried about one person that was there spiritually and that was my mom. The thing he told me right after the match, if you look at the end of the match, he patted me on the chest and said, 'this is for your mom.' Ever since then, I believe him and I have a friendship. He's one of the guys who will sit down with me and watch and breakdown my matches with me. When that bell rung and his music hit and he stood up on the top rope and was like, 'Let's go motherfucker,' I looked at him and was like, 'Alright, bitch, let's go.' That competition and fight was there. I knew from that point it was on and we had a banger. That's one match I'm definitely proud of and one match I personally felt that I was looked at like, 'Powerhouse Hobbs is valued in this company,'" he said.
Sharing the ring together at that event meant Hobbs and Punk would be linked together forever and Punk left a lasting impression on Hobbs with his kindness and understanding before, during, and after the match.
"I felt that, I don't have to say that, but he's such a good dude. That meant the world to me, you [CM Punk] acknowledging that [his mom passing], like you knew how much pressure I had on my shoulder," he said before reflecting on his entrance in the bout. "You can look out and, that was probably the quickest entrance I've ever had in my life. Taz and HOOK joke about it. My music hit and I pretty much got to the bottom of the ramp in two big skips. HOOK was behind and you can see the look on his face like, 'Oh shit, I gotta hurry up.' I can't say enough about [Punk], about that match, if I could do it again, I would love to be in that moment again, doing it all over. I wouldn't change anything. It was another match that made people open their eyes to me and that's what I feel I continue to do every match."
Hobbs and Punk will both be going after championship gold on Sunday at AEW Double or Nothing as Punk challenges for the AEW World Championship against Hangman Adam Page.
Meanwhile, Hobbs will team with Ricky Starks to challenge Jungle Boy & Luchusaurus for the AEW Tag Team Titles in a triple threat bout that also features Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee.
Grapsody airs every Saturday at noon ET on Fightful's YouTube channel.
