CM Punk Gives Injury Update Heading Into Tonight's AEW Title Match

Tonight, CM Punk will finally defend the title he won back in May.

Hampered by injury, Punk has been away from AEW programming recovering from surgery to repair his broken foot. Punk recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about the injury and the recovery, as he is set to defend the title against Interim AEW Champion Jon Moxley on "AEW Dynamite."

"It's a prickly topic," Punk begins, saying that he's had "problems with the way [his] health was handled in the past." As far as his foot goes, Punk said, "I've been devoting all my waking time to getting my foot back to 100%. I will be cleared by my surgeon. Whether that means I'm 100% or not, there's where the tricky answer comes in."

Punk compares the uncertainty to his first fight in the UFC, where despite a loss to Mickey Gall, Punk said in his post-fight interview that he just likes to "climb the mountain" whether he reaches the summit or not. "I'm ready, I've done the work, but you're never ready until you do it. This foot, I'm doing everything I can to make sure it's ready, but it won't be ready until I do it. Am I game ready until I play a game? I'm looking forward to playing a game and finding out where we're at."

Punk says that he was very clear with his wife, doctors, and boss Tony Khan in the wake of the injury, "I'm in a rush to be healthy, not in a rush to get back." According to Punk, his days in the WWE were not as forgiving, saying that previous in the midst of previous injuries, Punk was asked "two weeks after knee surgery" to come back because the company put the match before the wrestlers' health.

"I didn't feel comfortable about that," Punk said. "I feel 100% testing my limits on Dynamite."