Samoa Joe is the latest name to comment publicly on CM Punk’s departure from AEW, a decision by AEW President Tony Khan, as Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson have previously commented on it.
The departure was following his physical altercation with Jack Perry at All In. Samoa Joe is the last man to have wrestled Punk in AEW as they worked that show.
The incident with Punk and Perry nearly caused the show to be reshuffled as Punk was upset. Fortunately, Samoa Joe was there to calm the situation down, with the match happening as scheduled.
While speaking to Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post, Joe was asked about the incident.
“For the most part, I haven’t read what’s been portrayed. There’s been so much said. I’m not the one to go out there and try to debunk everything. I know we had the initial incident. Everybody rallied. Everybody got together. Got their heads together and lined up and got ready to do the show and we went out there and we did the show,” he said. “That really was the focus at that point in time. We got a massive show to do and we got fans out there rabid to see that happen. So it’s important that we step up and do it and it’s important that we did, and I was proud to be a part of that.”
Joe was asked whether the situation was as serious as Khan stated when he noted Punk endangered innocent lives backstage and feared for his own life.
“That’s up to whoever perceived it. I’m used to that environment. Those things don’t seem very intense to me, but it could be something crazy intense to someone else. I wasn’t really affected by the moment. I was more focused on getting the show back on track and getting us going because it was bell time.”
The two men have a long history together, spanning decades. Regarding his relationship with Punk, Joe thinks many things are misunderstood or portrayed about him, but it’s been non-wrestling related for their relationship.
