The fallout continues following the AEW All In incident with Jack Perry and CM Punk that got physical.
At All In, Perry did a spot on the windshield of a limo before Perry stated to the camera that it was real glass and cry me a river, a reference to a previously reported incident between Perry and Punk several weeks ago, where Punk confronted Perry about him wanting to use real glass for a segment.
After the match, there was a physical altercation between Punk and Perry, with one side claiming that Punk choked out Perry, who was escorted out of the venue. At the same time, Punk stayed before leaving following his opening match contest with Samoa Joe.
Wade Keller of PWTorch reports “that in the aftermath of the incident between C.M. Punk and Jack Perry last night that Punk, in the heat of the moment, was threatening to quit AEW over his frustration with everything that happened.”
Punk has made it clear that he wants a drama-free locker room environment for his Collision brand, and that has led to controversy about his restrictions regarding whom he does and doesn’t want to be allowed backstage at those shows.
The AEW production team was alerted about the possible change to the match order because of the controversy, and there was brief concern that there’d have to be a delay in the show’s start to get a different opener. Punk went through with the match as scheduled.
An eyewitness stated the two crossed paths between Perry’s match and before Punk’s match, where they had an exchange as Punk asked if they had a problem. Perry replied that Punk had started something online, and that was his response to it, a reference to the report that Punk’s camp had put out information to make Perry look bad with the real glass story.
AEW President Tony Khan confirmed at the All In post-even media Q&A there is an ongoing investigation into the matter.
One veteran wrestler in AEW told the media outlet that “Khan has fostered an environment where younger wrestlers without a lot of experience in the national spotlight feel free to “go into business for themselves” online or live on TV to try to settle scores or send messages.”
The same wrestler feels Punk overreacted to Perry and should have let it go while also thinking “more firm leadership would dissuade some wrestlers from sparking these situations.”
The report cited one course close to management, noting they believe Perry will end up with more of the blame than Punk as he should’ve known he would be initiating the situation with his comments during his match.
Regarding backstage reaction, several people in AEW are frustrated with the incident as it was a distraction from All In. While the investigation is ongoing, sources have an early belief that Perry will face more ramifications than Punk.
This report would seem to explain why Punk was seemingly saying goodbye following the bout.
It looked like CM Punk was saying "goodbye" after the match. Did anyone else see it that way? #AEWALLIN
— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) August 27, 2023
