WWE’s CM Punk and AEW’s Samoa Joe Both Hold The World Championships Of Their Companies in 2025; Just Like 2008

Live from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, AEW emanated Full Gear. In the main event of the show, a gruesome Steel Cage match for the AEW World Championship was held. The champ going into the match, “Hangman” Adam Page, however, faced the wrath of Samoa Joe and The Opps. The numbers game took over and ended his title reign. This marks Joe’s second AEW World Championship reign. The surprising fact is that one of the arch-rivals, CM Punk, is also a world champion at the same time.

Punk is the World Heavyweight Champion in WWE won it recently this month itself. The last time Samoa Joe was world champion, Punk was getting his foot back in WWE after nearly a decade’s absence. But nearly two years back in WWE, Punkster held the gold and was at the top of the RAW roster. Joe, however, is at the top of the whole AEW roster as the Jacksonville-based promotion has one world title.

Now, both these title reigns are special, though, as they mark the first time since 2008 that both Punk and Joe are simultaneously the world champions. Back in 2008, Punk held the older version of the World Heavyweight Championship in WWE while Joe held the TNA World Championship. Later in Punk’s career, he captured the world championship multiple times, but it took more than a decade for Joe to do so.

Both superstars come from an iconic rivalry in their time during ROH. The veterans never faced each other in WWE but were lucky enough to have a match in AEW. At All In 2023 in London, Punk vs. Joe opened the show and delivered probably the match of the night. Another evidence of their iconic rivalry also comes in the fact that they ended it in London, as it became Punk’s last match in AEW before being fired.

When did CM Punk win his current World Heavyweight Championship?

Samoa Joe is in his second reign as the AEW World Champion, but so is CM Punk with his World Heavyweight Championship. Yes, he has won the title twice, and that too this year itself. At SummerSlam on August 2nd, he defeated Gunther to win the World Heavyweight Championship. He held the title for nearly 5 minutes before Seth Rollins ran in and cashed in his Money in the Bank. Punkster won and lost the championship then and there but was still considered a legal champion, for those 5 minutes.

Apparently, Rollins faced the karma and had to relinquish the championship two months after winning it. Punk found a way to redeem himself and aimed to capture the vacant title now. At last, he came out successful in a bout with Jey Uso after being the No. 1 contender for it. Punk began his current reign on the November 1st, 2025, edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event.