CM Punk was released on Saturday by AEW after the company terminated his contract following his physical altercation with Jack Perry before the main card of last Sunday’s All In pay-per-view event where he also had a heated confrontation with Tony Khan after the situation.
In the heat of the moment, Punk threatened to quit the promotion in the moment after the incident and lunged at the AEW President, leading to monitors falling on Khan.
Sports Illustrated reports Punk was not dismissed solely because of his backstage altercation with Perry, but rather after Khan felt physically threatened by Punk at All In. Khan mentioned he feared for his safety while addressing the Collision crowd.
The report added, “Unlike prior occasions, Khan was not able to effectively communicate or reason with Punk–and eyewitness accounts supporting Khan’s claim further ended any chance that Punk would return to AEW.”
Khan’s legal team unanimously recommended the firing happen, and Khan went through with it. WBD CEO/president David Zaslav was informed of the decision ahead of the company announcing the news.
The report added, “Sources close to both sides expect a response from Punk, which holds the potential to be explosive.”
