CM Punk Wins AEW World Championship To Close Double Or Nothing

CM Punk is the new AEW World Champion. A tearful Punk knelt in the middle of the ring as most of the AEW fans cheered his victory and applauded his successful quest to finally become the champion of a promotion that he says means the world to him. It's been nine years since he held a world title and the company believes he can lead them to bigger and better things.

This was a match that had a big fight feel. The pacing was slower, the moves seemed to be more impactful and the wrestlers took their time telling a story. Page was conflicted as the champion, trying to defend AEW from Punk, while Punk was trying to convince the fans he was championship material and the best in the business. Both had their own agenda: Punk's won out.

In the closing moments of the bout, the official was knocked out as Punk went for a GTS. As he lay unconscious, Page eyed the championship belt that sat in the corner of the ring and thought long and hard about using it on Punk to secure his win. A prone Punk couldn't have defended himself, but Page thought better of his decision, dumped the belt to the side, and went for a Buckshot Lariat. Unfortunately, he had taken too much time and because he'd injured his leg earlier in the match, couldn't get everything behind the move. Punk caught him, reversed it, and got Page in position for the GTS, which he nailed.

The referee came to, just in time to count the three and declare Punk the new AEW Champion. Punk will now walk into Wednesday's Dynamite as the titleholder and it will be interesting to see if the fans give him a warm response or if they're upset that Hangman is no longer the champ.

Related: Adam Cole And Britt Baker Win Owen Hart Tournaments At AEW Double Or Nothing

Who Was The Crowd Behind Here?

At times, this match felt like a double turn might be coming, but in saying that, it was hard to tell who the fans were really behind. Both men got their share of cheers and boos and the crowd seemed evenly split. Will Punk act like a heel when he shows up on Dynamite? Or, will he be an appreciative babyface? That may determine who his next challenger will be.

TheSportster Podcast has returned! Check out latest episodes of the show where Jim Parsons and Norman Quarrinton cover the latest news and events happening in the worlds of WWE, AEW and more!

Listen to TheSportster Show here