There is another falling out between AEW and CM Punk, which blew up on Wednesday following the announcement of AEW Collision, which is reportedly slated to be built around Punk. The idea is for him to make his return on the June 17 premiere episode of Chicago.
As previously reported, Punk was originally listed in the press release and promotional materials for the announcement before being removed. The two sides are at odds over a misunderstanding regarding potentially bringing back Ace Steel, who was part of Punk’s brawl with The Elite at All Out. There were plans in place for Steel to return, but with the idea that he would not physically be at tapings and would have had to work remotely. That didn’t go over well, leading to the falling out.
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Warner Bros Discover is hopeful that the two sides can reconcile before the weekly show’s premiere.
“There were people who thought this was the ultimate blow-up, and Punk screwed Tony on Tony’s big announcement on Tony’s big day to WBD. From the WBD side, because nobody from the AEW side has talked about this at all nor confirmed any of this, from the WBD side, they have said their belief is there will be an attempt to work it out. They’re hopeful that they work it out and it’s not a dead deal. This is the situation. The United Center is booked, but if there’s no Punk, do you go to a different arena? Do you go to the United Center without Punk? Because if you go to the United Center, everyone is going to assume, even if you announce him or not, that he’s going to be there,” Meltzer stated.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit F4WOnline.com with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. An F4WOnline.com subscription includes the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and daily audio shows in addition to thousands of hours of archived audio shows.