AEW interim champion

During last night's episode of Rampage, newly-crowned All Elite Wrestling world champion, CM Punk announced that a leg injury will require surgery, putting him on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. Punk was very emotional during the segment and it wasn't completely clear until the announce team explained that there will be an interim champion that will be determined at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view in a few weeks to eventually decide an undisputed champion when Punk returns to action.

Aside from the announcement that a battle royal will be held on Dynamite next week with the winner getting a match with Jon Moxley for the interim belt, not much else is known about the situation.

As of this writing, CM Punk hasn't vacated the championship, but there's also no indication how long he will be on the shelf either. Besides who the interim champion might be, the question of how long Punk will be on the injured list is the biggest piece of the puzzle for the promotion. While Punk assured the fans he will be back, an injury that requires surgery less than a week after his championship coronation might prompt speculation about how much of the promotion's future should be placed on his shoulders?

Don't get me wrong, CM Punk proved that he can still go, that's not a question. In fact, Punk and Bryan Danielson are the two biggest stars on the roster so his impact on the organization as far as potential brand exposure isn't a question either. That being said, it's a harsh reality, but at 43, Punk might have a limited time frame as far as his physical peak in AEW. Keep in mind, the grind of the WWE schedule took an infamous toll on his body, and even when he transitioned to MMA for a brief stint in the UFC, his debut with the organization was delayed because he suffered a knee injury in training for the fight. At this point in his career, is it wise for Punk to be in a main event role where it's not uncommon for title matches to go thirty minutes on pay-per-view?

I don't know the answer, but it goes without saying that it puts Tony Khan in the position to have to find a new champion rather quickly, particularly because so much of the main event scene was set to be built around Punk, including a match against New Japan legend, Hiroshi Tanahashi at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

I completely understand why Moxley would be one of the competitors in the interim title bout, mostly because of his star power and also because of his status as one of the more popular stars on the roster. That being said, I think Moxley winning the interim belt would seem more like a retread than progress of the championship since Moxley has competed in more tag matches recently. Obviously, it's very disappointing that Punk won't get the anticipated run as AEW champion, but a way to turn a negative into a positive is to attempt to use this situation to make another star for the championship.

However, who wins the interim title should probably be based on how long Punk is going to be out of action, and if Khan plans to have Punk win the unification match to essentially pick up the title reign where he left off.

If there's a rather short recovery time for the surgery and Punk will be back in the ring within a few months, prehaps, Moxley getting the interim belt makes sense because Punk beating a former AEW champion in his comeback match will help solidify him as the world champion for a fresh start with the belt. On the other hand, if there is an extensive time away from the ring, I think there are three key options that the company could go with to stabilize the main event scene. It goes without saying that Bryan Danielson was already at the main event level and he would be a great choice for match quality, as well as far star power in the main event. The American Dragon and can it all and there would be strong consideration for him to win the title even if Punk didn't get hurt. If not the established star power of Danielson, I sincerely think that Eddie Kingston is a worthy name to win the title. Kingston has an authenticity that very few bring to the table and he's organically over with the audience. He was the standout star of the Anarchy in the Arena match and now might be the time to use that momentum to propel him into the main event scene. His history with Moxley as a tag team could be used for the interim contest and then his previous rivalry with Punk can be used for the narrative of the unification match.

If I had a vote, Eddie Kingston wins the interim title because he's the most believable performer in the entire business right now.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but it's always possible that a "rogue" MJF enters the battle royal and then wins the interim title as a way to claim he has leverage with the negotiations of his AEW contract. As I wrote in a column earlier this week, the whole worked shoot angle was from the Russo playbook and the potential downside of souring the good will that the company has with the fans is exponentially a bigger risk than any potential benefit of this type of storyline. Some of the fans were cheering MJF's criticisms of the company during the over-the-top promo on Dynamite, but what's the benefit of making the company the heel? If Tony Khan argues with MJF on television, it validates some of the criticism toward him that All Elite Wrestling is just a vanity project. Make no mistake about it, if the AEW audience rejected Cody then it's very possible that they could reject Khan in the future.