CM Punk allegedly took issue with Ryan Nemeth over a tweet he sent out the night of Punk’s AEW return at a June Collision event, which reportedly led to an intense moment backstage between them.
As previously reported, the young AEW wrestler was flown in for Collision, but he was told that he was not needed, and a flight was booked for him to fly home once he got to the arena.
Punk’s issue with Nemeth was over a tweet by Nemeth that said, “Literally the softest man alive.” The tweet was after Punk did his return promo, where he referred to “Counterfeit Bucks.” There have been other stars sent home from Collision events.
PWTorch reports at the Dynamite that Punk had appeared shortly after his return, and Punk confronted Nemeth in the locker room. Sources told the media outlet that “Punk cornered Nemeth in the locker room, got inches from his face, and angrily and aggressively asked if they had a problem or if they needed to settle things outside.”
Punk told the young AEW wrestler that his comments on Twitter inflamed existing tensions between him and certain people in the company. He also said that the optics of the tweet sent a bad message.
The confrontation was seen by several wrestlers, who characterized it as awkward and weird. Nemeth moved the argument out of the locker room, leading to Punk to continue to berate him. Nemeth tried to defend himself as he noted calling Punk “soft” since Punk fired the first shots at the Bucks, leading to Punk to push back on the timing of it and it worked against the public image they were going for, which was to have everyone on the same page or not reignite past issues.
The report noted, “Nemeth then asked Punk if he shouldn’t react to things Punk says on TV and Punk said that’d be the right choice at that time. Then they shook hands, but apparently, the tension was still high as they went their separate ways.”
Nemeth talked to friends backstage about the incident and asked how to handle the situation.
Not everyone is against Punk. As the report stated, Punk has received good reviews for his leadership behind the scenes and is fiercely protective of Collision being a low-drama environment. Punk reportedly sees the show as his and wants to proove he can provide the type of leadership that he is critical of the EVPs in The Elite.
