CM Punk Accused Of Abusing & Harassing Ex-AEW Star Who Claims Company Failed To Respond

A former AEW wrestler has filed a complaint against AEW for CM Punk’s actions towards him and also because the company didn’t do enough to put an end to the situation.

CM Punk has been gone from AEW since September 2023 after a backstage fight with Jack Perry led to Punk’s firing. It was about a week after the fight when AEW Owner Tony Khan went on his own Collision television show to announce the news while claiming that Punk made Tony “fear for his life.”

While CM Punk is now thriving in WWE after winning the WarGames Match at Survivor Series with Roman Reigns, The Usos & Sami Zayn, Punk’s AEW past is in the spotlight again thanks to a complaint from Ryan Nemeth.

Ryan Nemeth worked for AEW from early 2021 until he was let go about two years later. Nemeth wasn’t ever pushed that much in AEW, but he is a respected veteran who is the younger brother of TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth (fka Dolph Ziggler).

The backstory between CM Punk and Ryan Nemeth is that on June 21, 2023, Punk confronted Nemeth backstage over some comments that Nemeth made that upset Punk. Nemeth had joked on social media that Punk was the “softest man alive” which infuriated Punk, who had a lot of power in AEW at this point. Nemeth claimed his comments were in character.

It was also reported that when Punk found out that Nementh was booked for a show in August 2023, Punk used his power in AEW to have Nemeth sent home.

In a lengthy report from Fightful Select, they received “a complaint sent to numerous executives within All Elite Wrestling back in September, in which Ryan Nemeth outlined a timeline of events that he says highlight abuse, harassment, and threats he faced while working in AEW.” They were claims filed by Nemeth himself and dated on September 12th.

Nemeth’s complaint claimed that while the abuse stemmed from WWE’s CM Punk (Phil Brooks) when he was in AEW for two years, Nemeth’s main issue is that AEW failed to respond to the incidents that were reported to them and they wanted Nemeth to cut a promo on Punk instead. There is a timeline provided by Nemeth with information that includes emails, texts, phone call logs and other records.

In the complaint, CM Punk is referred to as “a former AEW talent who also had an undisclosed (i.e. not publicly known) Executive/Producer/Manager title with AEW.”

According to Nemeth, he contacted AEW’s legal rep Megha Parekh on April 16, 2023 with concerns about Brooks targeting him. That was two months before the June 21, 2023 backstage incident when Nemth claimed that Punk threatened him. According to Nemeth, AEW staff including EVPs The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Tony Schiavone & Parekh were sympathetic to him. It was also noted by Nemeth that he wasn’t booked by AEW for two months after Punk threatened Nemteth.

The report adds that Nemeth was contacted by current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, who said that it didn’t sit right with him and Moxley was supportive of Nemeth.

When Nemeth contacted Parekh on July 17, 2023 to communicate that he was upset about the June 21 locker room incident, he thought his exclusive paid-per-appearance deal would expire. In Nemeth’s view, he thought he was being punished for Punk threatening him because of Punk’s top guy status in the company.

Regarding the August 12, 2023 AEW event that Nemeth was booked on and then sent home at Punk’s request, Nemeth claims he has an audio recording of some of his interactions that day. Nemeth was originally told by AEW Producer Pat Buck that there was travel confusion, but then it was confirmed to Nemeth that Punk demanded that Nemeth was removed.

The complaint continued, with Nemeth claiming he contacted Parekh again wanting action to be taken. At the August 16, 2023 AEW show, Nemeth claimed he was “ordered to verbally antagonize the “World Champion” at a time when Punk was carrying around an AEW World Title on Collision.

Ryan Nemeth would go on to claim that there was no appropriate response to the situation after he spoke to AEW legal and Human Resources. Megha Parekh left her role in the AEW Legal department, so Nemeth dealt with Chris Peck and Margaret Stalvey. Following Punk’s backstage skirmish with Jack Perry, Nemeth was told there was an investigation. Nemeth expressed concern about being a fall guy for Punk’s actions. Nemeth also believed that his contract wouldn’t be left to expire.

Ryan Nemeth Feels He Was Held Responsible For CM Punk Getting Fired And Going To WWE

The last time Nemeth worked for AEW was on November 18, 2023, which was just days before CM Punk made his shocking WWE return at Survivor Series 2023 in Chicago.

In his complaint filed against AEW, Nemeth believed that AEW and Tony Khan held him responsible for having to fire Punk and leading to Punk’s WWE return. Nemeth’s contract with AEW expired in March 2024, so they didn’t use him for several months before they let the contract expire. According to Nemeth, “Sonjay Dutt had made repeated creative pitches for him that went ignored” by the company.

Fightful adds that “Nemeth says that AEW Legal rep Chris Peck communicated a settlement interest that would equal approximately three years of his salary, dependent on signing an NDA on the matter.” While Nemeth claimed to have a good working relationship with Parekh, Nemeth claimed that “Peck threatened to sue him in response to sending the aforementioned timeline.”

Regarding his mental health, Nemeth said that he met with professionals about what happened. Nemeth is seeking policy change and the financial consideration that was discussed. Nemeth praised the AEW roster while stating that they deserved to be in a safe environment. According to Nemeth, his concerns fell on deaf ears to Chris Peck and AEW.

It was added that “AEW Legal and HR received the timeline, but not Peck himself as things had reached a stonewall with him.” Nemeth also said that Megha Parekh, the Young Bucks, and Jon Moxley were helpful during the situation

Fightful Select added that Ryan Nemeth spoke to AEW Owner Tony Khan and others a few months ago leading to Khan suggesting a Nemeth return to AEW, but Nemeth didn’t want to go back there.

Since leaving AEW, Ryan Nemeth has worked for TNA Wrestling along with his brother and other places around the world as well.

When Fightful reached out to AEW for comment about the complaint filed by Ryan Nemeth, they did not hear back.