Originally, CM Punk was reportedly set to headline tonight’s All Out 2023 edition in his hometown of Chicago. Now, what appears to be a piece of bad news for the wrestling fans, the former AEW World Champion will not only be missing the show but he’s permanently out of the AEW banner as a result of what transpired at All In, last weekend.
This week’s episode of AEW Collision opened with All Elite Wrestling CEO and President Tony Khan announcing that CM Punk’s AEW contract has been terminated. The decision was taken by Khan after the latter got into a fight with “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry backstage at the AEW All In pay-per-view last Sunday. It happened after Perry took a shot at the former WWE Superstar during the show’s Zero Hour.
According to the reports of Fightful Select, AEW had plans for CM Punk to defend his “Real” AEW World Championship against Ricky Starks in the main event of All Out 2023 before his suspension. Instead of facing Punk, Starks was looking forward to facing WWE Hall of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat in a Strap Match but during Collision, he was introduced to his latest opponent, Bryan Danielson.
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Tony Khan claims CM Punk created an unsafe work environment in the AEW locker room
In his statement, Khan specifically noted the reason behind firing CM Punk from his company and that’s to endangering the lives of innocent people backstage. He also stated that he felt endangered at a pro wrestling show for the first time ever because of the former face of Collision,
“Never have I ever felt that my security, my safety, my life was in danger at a wrestling show.”
If previous reports are to be believed then monitors fell on Khan and CM Punk got aggressive with him at All In. before getting separated from Perry as well as Khan, the former WWE Champion also had some harsh words for Khan on the day of the international PPV event.
As the announcement was made during the live edition of Collision, Tony Khan was heavily booed by the Chicago crowd. PWInsider further noted that there is a mixed reaction in AEW to this release. Some people are disappointed about it, while some are very happy. Some people are just happy because a decision has finally been made to eradicate the backstage disturbance that was being created by the ex-AEW star.
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