AEW’s CM Punk trains in MMA gym with ex-WWE star Malakai Black and his wife Zelina Vega ahead of ring return
CM PUNK trained at his MMA gym with ex-WWE star Malakai Black and Zelina Vega as he prepares for his pro wrestling return.
The former WWE champion has returned following seven years out of the wrestling ring after signing for All Elite Wrestling.
Punk - real name Phil Brooks - challenged Darby Allin to a match at the All Out pay-per-view event - which is now set for September 5.
The Straight Edge superstar left the WWE in 2014 and signed for the UFC as he confirmed his switch to MMA.
But after just two fights, losses to Mickey Gall and Mike Brown, Punk hung up the gloves.
Despite his MMA retirement, the American appears still present in the gym he formerly trained at, headed up by MMA coach Duke Roufus.
Punk was pictured with Rofus and Black, currently signed with AEW who is married to Vega, the WWE diva who just re-signed with Vince McMahon.
Rumours of Punk's move to AEW had built for months, until he was finally unveiled in his home city of Chicago.
Most read in MMA
And AEW boss Tony Khan said on radio host Dan Le Batard's podcast: "I think this was our number one best weekend we’ve ever had.
"It was number one in so many metrics. We set our attendance record for the most fans we’ve ever had at the United Center on Friday night for AEW Rampage, for the debut of CM Punk.
"We broke every social metric. I heard, at ESPN that the traffic that they got was so beyond anything that anybody had anticipated.
"It was in fact, the most traffic on any one social post they’ve had since May, which includes the summer Olympics and the NBA Finals.
"So the amount of interest in CM Punk returning to wrestling and joining AEW is unprecedented in the world of wrestling, and really this year in the world of sports.
"It’s huge for our company. It’s huge for everyone who works here, it’s huge for all our fans…the First Dance was just a huge hit for us in every sense of the word."
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)