CM Punk and Ace Steel got into a backstage altercation with The Elite on Sunday night after Punk made some disparaging comments at the All Out post-show media scrum. On Wednesday night Tony Khan announced that both the AEW World Championship and AEW Trios Championship had been vacated following the altercation. It’s also notable that there were no mentions of CM Punk or The Elite on Dynamite this week.
Fightful Select reports that those that have been in touch with CM Punk and Ace Steel have softened their stance on the idea that The Young Bucks kicked Punk’s door down. They’ve since said that “kicking the door down” was a turn of phrase and should have been clarified. It’s also being said that side has varied in regard to what caused Ace Steel to bite Kenny Omega going from Steel trying to protect his wife to Steel believing Kenny Omega was trying to attack CM Punk when he was trying to separate Punk and The Young Bucks.
It was noted that the accounts of the story are wildly different from each side, and this is just what has been relayed to people close to the parties involved.
AEW talent haven’t been told what’s set to happen with CM Punk as they’re under the impression it’s pending an investigation. Numerous people on the AEW roster and staff have said that unless Punk is unpaid during a suspension, or fired, then it’s superficial because he will be out of action until 2023 due to injury.
It’s being said that much of the heat on CM Punk was just as much about his rant at the post-media scrum than anything. Punk had long been rubbing the AEW locker room the wrong way. However, one source said it’s not fair to blame Punk for all of the issues in the locker room as they reached an all time high when he was gone.
There was apparently a much more positive vibe following the show on Wednesday with one source saying the situation is “out of sight, out of mind” for people who just want to show up and work. Another source said that the best way for all parties involved to move beyond the embarrassment would be to get over their issues and make money for the company while highlighting other talent along the way.
