Warner Brothers Discovery Announces CM Punk's Next AEW Appearance

One of the ways one knows they've made it these days is if they find themselves at the San Diego Comic-Con. Founded in 1970, the comic book convention has morphed into arguably the largest convention of its kind, expanding beyond comic books to showcase other elements of pop culture, including pro wrestling. WWE has had a presence at the Comic-Con for years, and this year it will now be AEW's turn to be showcased in San Diego.

As announced in a press release by Warner Brothers Discovery on Monday, AEW will have their own panel at the San Diego Comic-Con next month, called "AEW: Heroes & Villains." A second presentation of AEW will also be made by TNets, which was described in the press release as a ringside view of the promotion.

The "AEW: Heroes & Villains" panel will feature five AEW stars; AEW World Champion CM Punk, TBS Champion Jade Cargill, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, and Bryan Danielson. The panel, which will be hosted by AEW play-by-play announcer Excalibur, will "dig into the heroes, villains, and championship quests through the eyes of the biggest names in wrestling", according to the press release.

As things stand, this will be Punk's first appearance in AEW of any kind since the AEW World Champion was forced out of action with an injury earlier this month. The AEW star and actor is no stranger to the San Diego Comic-Con; following his WWE Championship win at WWE Money in the Bank in 2011, Punk crashed WWE's panel at the Comic-Con, getting into a brief exchange with Triple H.

The San Diego Comic-Con will take place from July 21 through July 24, the same weekend as Ring of Honor's Death Before Dishonor event. AEW's presence at the San Diego Comic-Con is another good sign regarding their relationship with Warner Brothers Discovery; in addition to the appearance, AEW is also expected to have a heavy presence regarding "Shark Week", which will take place the same week as the Comic-Con.