CM Punk is no stranger to controversy as he’s been involved in a lot of backstage drama since joining AEW, and on Sunday he got into a heated exchange with not only Jack Perry, but Tony Khan as well.
PWTorch reports that CM Punk’s relationship with Tony Khan may be beyond repair at this point according to AEW sources. There’s also said to be growing concern about the crowd reaction in Chicago if CM Punk isn’t part of the All Out pay-per-view.
It’s being said that Tony Khan has been a big fan of CM Punk and has tried to excuse his behavior or steer him away from volatile situations. However, Punk’s conduct on Sunday at All In could be a breaking point for Tony Khan.
It was also noted that by the time Jack Perry made his comments about “real glass” prior to the altercation with CM Punk backstage, Punk was already upset about not being picked up by anyone from AEW at the airport as he didn’t know no one was picked up and he wasn’t singled out or forgotten about. AEW simply didn’t provide that level of travel support to the wrestlers on this trip.
CM Punk reportedly confronted Tony Khan in front of other people, and then in his locker room in what was described as a heated, and intense manner. According to three sources CM Punk chewed Tony Khan out with harsh phrasing and threatened to quit.
Following CM Punk’s match with Samoa Joe there was an extended period of time where there was no communication between CM Punk and Tony Khan. This is said to be unusual because Punk and Khan usually communicated via text following backstage blow ups. There are no indications that CM Punk and Tony Khan have been in contact since Punk lashed out at Khan in his locker room before his match at All In, and it’s been reported that Punk’s lawyer informed him of his suspension.
Past fines and suspensions for CM Punk have been kept quiet as Punk has been fined for prior incidents, but both sides decided not to go public with the fines.
Due to all of the drama AEW wrestlers are openly speculating that CM Punk might be looking to remove himself from AEW, and that Tony Khan might be at the same place regarding the relationship. However, with AEW negotiating with Warner Media for TV rights Tony Khan might be reluctant to remove Punk from the roster.
