Ace Steel being back in AEW hasn’t been a short-term thing after all.
Steel’s AEW departure was after his involvement in the backstage fight at AEW All Out, along with CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks. Steel allegedly threw a chair and bit Omega during the fight. Steel thought he wasn’t going to be let go by the promotion before being informed of the decision.
As previously reported, the plans to have CM Punk in the promotional material for the launch of AEW Collision on Wednesday ahead of the show’s premiere on June 17 were nixed. The two sides are at odds over a misunderstanding regarding bringing back Steel, as Punk thought Steel could be at events to work backstage, while AEW thought Steel would work remotely.
Nick Hausman of Haus of Wrestling reports that AEW re-hired Steel “several months ago” but has not been actively working while backstage at shows.
When he was re-hired, Steel was told he would work with AEW President Tony Khan on creative in some capacity. The idea was for him to work remotely because he may upset some talent should he be backstage at shows.
There was an understanding that once AEW Collision started, then he could return to the road as an agent for the brand, but on Tuesday, the decision not to bring him back to the road was made, something Punk quickly learned about.
There was some miscommunication between lawyers, leading to Punk being pulled from the announcement. It was added that Punk “sounds like he is motivated and wants to help the company’s growth however he can.” His relationship with Khan also appears to be on “sound footing” with no issues between them, and they’ve kept communication open.
