AEW Debut Promo “The First Dance”

massive crowd pop, heavy "CM PUNK!" chants

You guys really know how to make a kid feel like Britt Baker in Pittsburgh.

I'm wingin' this-yeah, we're wingin' this-WE. That's a very important distinction; we'll get back to it, but I didn't plan on what I was gonna say because I didn't know what to say. Because I didn't know how I was gonna feel, but I knew that I needed to feel it. And I feel you, Chicago. And I hear you, Chicago.

another crowd pop, more "CM PUNK!" chants

That's what I've heard for seven years; I heard you! I heard you! And we got a lot to cover. There's good news and bad news; the bad news is we're not gonna get to it all right here, right now, but the good news is-is I got the time, Wednesday, Friday, four Sundays or Saturdays a year, I got the time and I ain't goin' anywhere.

still another crowd pop with further "CM PUNK!" chants

Just wait, one second. Possibly for me, the most important thing I'm gonna say right now and this is for everybody at home, this is for everybody who bought a ticket, this is for everybody in the back; if, at all through my journey, any of my personal choices or decisions related to my life made you feel disappointed or let down-let me just say, let me just say I understand if you all try to understand that I was never gonna get healthy physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally staying in the same place that got me sick in the first place.

Can I tell you guys a story? It's hot in here, hang on one second.

Punk removes his hoodie to reveal his new T-shirt, which resembles the one he first wore at WWE's Money in the Bank in Chicago over ten years prior

Can I tell you a story?

Punk sits in the middle of the ring, in his familiar lotus position

You see, I felt before like I had to leave. I didn't want to, but I knew I couldn't stay, and that was when I used to work for a place called Ring of Honor. August 13, 2005 was my last match in Ring of Honor and I famously came out with tears in my eyes, and walking out here today I now know why I was crying, and it was a lot of reasons, but what it boiled down to was I had made a place where people could come work, get paid, learn their craft and love professional wrestling. And I cried because I knew I was leaving a place that I love, and it was a home, and I knew where I was goin' wasn't gonna be easy for a guy like me. Because I'm one of you.

So I look at it like this; August 13, 2005, I left professional wrestling.
Punk stands back up August 20, 2021, I'm back. And I'm back for YOU! I'm not gonna lie, I'm back for me too! And I'm back because there's a hell of a lot of young talent that I wish I was surrounded by ten years ago. So in saying that, I sit back and I say, "Well, hell, they're there now, so why aren't you?" Here I am.

I'm back because I wanna work with that young talent that had the same passion that I had stamped down. I'm back because there's a couple of scores to settle in that locker room. I'm back for the young guys-DARBY ALLIN!

the camera shows Darby Allin up in the rafters, with Sting at his right-hand side

I've seen you. You're good. I've seen you jump out of airplanes, I've seen you wrapped up in a body bag and chucked over the top rope, I've seen you kicked down a flight of stairs, and you ALWAYS come back. Just like each and every person here in Chicago, you're tough.

But I'm here to help. And you're the first on the list, I'm gonna help you because you're a daredevil and you like danger, well, Darby Allin, there is nothing you could do that is more dangerous than wrestling CM Punk. Except wrestling CM Punk in Chicago.

I will see you, and I'll see Sting, and I'll see all of you September 5 at All Out, live on pay-per-view!

I'm back.

One more thing. Seven years is an awful long time to wait for somebody; I appreciate everybody here who has waited. So on your way out of the United Center tonight, grab yourself a free ice cream bar on me.