CM Punk's Contract Terminated by AEW After Backstage Confrontation at All In 2023
September 2, 2023
AEW announced Friday that it terminated the contract of CM Punk after his involvement in a backstage incident at All In last weekend in London.
In a statement, AEW president Tony Khan said he made the decision to fire Punk on his own and did so "in the best interests" of AEW's talent and staff:
Punk, who made his AEW debut in 2021 after more than seven years out of wrestling, returned from injury in June as the face of AEW's new weekly Saturday show called Collision.
According to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp and multiple other reports, Punk and "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry were involved in a backstage altercation prior to the start of the main card at All In, which was held at Wembley Stadium in London in front of over 80,000 fans.
During a match against Hook on the Zero Hour pre-show, Perry pointed to the windshield of a car on the stage and remarked, "Real glass, cry me a river."
It was previously reported by Sapp (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) that Punk and Perry had a backstage run-in before a recent episode of Collision over Perry wanting to use real glass in a segment.
Despite the backstage issue at All In, Punk opened the pay-per-view against longtime on-screen rival Samoa Joe, beating him to retain the "real" AEW World Championship.
Punk suffered a triceps injury during his win over Jon Moxley at AEW All Out in September 2022, which was a match Punk won to become a two-time AEW champion.
The injury kept Punk out for several months, and once he returned, he reintroduced the belt he never lost and called it the "real" AEW World Championship.
While AEW did not recognize it as an official title, Punk defended it multiple times and made it a centerpiece of Collision.
Punk's firing from AEW comes just two days before the All Out pay-per-view will be held in his hometown of Chicago. Saturday's episode of Collision will also emanate from the Windy City.
While Punk has received mixed reactions over the past couple of months, he is always cheered in Chicago, and it is fair to wonder if the fans will voice their displeasure over his termination.
In a possible effort to curtail that, AEW announced that Basketball Hall of Famer and Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman will be present for Collision on Saturday night.
As the 44-year-old Punk departs AEW, it begs the question of whether he will end his wrestling career or attempt to continue elsewhere.
Punk was previously under contract with WWE from 2005 to 2014, and he established himself as one of the faces of the company, holding world titles on five occasions.
Although Punk did not leave WWE on good terms in 2014, it stands to reason that WWE could potentially be interested in a performer of his caliber.
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