MJF had barely finished calling himself AEW’s “real” World Champion before fans started making the same comparison: CM Punk.
The former AEW World Champion returned on Dynamite: Grand Slam Mexico, attacked Andrade El Ídolo and declared that Kenny Omega was carrying a “paper championship” while insisting he was still the company’s real champion.
Instead of talking about MJF’s return, plenty of fans focused on something else. They thought they’d seen this story before. One fan took to Twitter and wrote:
“So we running the same storyline punk did then before he left 3 years ago.”
Another immediately referenced CM Punk’s infamous spray-painted “Real World Championship.” The fan even attached a GIF of Punk to drive the point home.
“Put a X on the belt and let’s pretend like this is not a rip off/recycled material @The_MJF.”
Others questioned why MJF was calling himself champion after losing the title clean to Kenny Omega: “Fake AEW World Championship? 😭 @The_MJF.” Another fan didn’t think the company should revisit an angle that divided fans the first time around.
“It didn’t work with CM Punk. It won’t work with MJF. Stop trying to get this s*** over.”
One fan went even further, arguing the comparison doesn’t even fit because Punk never actually lost his championship in the ring.
“This is dumber than CM Punk’s fake title. I mean, MJF lost that belt clean, what is he talking about.”
Whether AEW intends to revisit Punk’s old storyline or simply borrow parts of it remains to be seen. But it didn’t take long for fans to make up their minds. Almost as soon as MJF declared himself the “real” champion, social media was already accusing AEW of dusting off one of the company’s most controversial storylines.
Do you think fans are right to compare MJF’s new angle to CM Punk’s “Real World Championship,” or is it too early to make that call? Let us know in the comments below.
