CM Punk Confronted Tony Khan In “Heated, Intense Manner” At All In
The relationship between CM Punk and Tony Khan seems fractured according to a new report.
AEW All In was a massive success, with All Elite Wrestling surpassing the largest paid attendance record set by WWE at WrestleMania 32. The record-breaking crowd inside Wembley stadium were witness to multiple title changes and a highly-praised main event between Adam Cole and MJF.
All was not well behind the scenes, however, as once again backstage drama has reared its ugly head and overshadowed some of the show’s success. During Jack Perry’s match with HOOK on the All In pre-show, the former Jungle Boy looked into the camera and said, “It’s real glass, cry me a river.” His words were in direct reference to reports that he and CM Punk had gotten into an argument on an early episode of Collision that stemmed from Perry wanting to use real glass as part of a spot and Punk putting a stop to that.
While accounts differ on what exactly went down once Perry came backstage after losing the FTW Championship to HOOK, it’s been reported that an altercation took place between Perry and Punk and that Perry was sent home from the arena while Punk went on to defeat Samoa Joe in the opening bout of the main show. Punk reportedly met with security after his bout and left Wembley Stadium of his own accord as he believed it would be better for everyone involved.
AEW President Tony Khan alluded to the incident during a post-show media scrum and said that an investigation was being launched. He refused to comment further. It was later reported by multiple outlets that both Punk and Perry had been suspended pending the results of the investigation.
CM Punk Told Tony Khan “I Quit”
CM Punk’s incident with Perry wasn’t his only confrontation for the day according to a new report. As previously reported by Haus of Wrestling, Punk was not picked up from the airport when he arrived in London, and when he was unable to get car service, he purchased a train ticket to try to find his hotel on his own. Punk got lost taking the train, and some wrestling fans helped him find his way.
According to a new report from Wade Keller of PWTorch, Punk was already angry about the travel situation when Jack Perry made his comments during Zero Hour, and this led to Punk confronting Tony Khan backstage at All In. Keller wrote:
“When Perry made his unauthorized comments on the PPV about “real glass,” a reference to stories that Perry believed Punk floated to the wrestling media weeks earlier to try to make him look bad, Punk was already upset about not being picked up at the airport by anyone with AEW. Punk didn’t know at the time that no one was picked up at the airport and he wasn’t singled out or forgotten about. AEW, unlike WWE, didn’t provide that level of logistical travel support to the wrestlers on this overseas trip.
“PWTorch has learned Punk confronted TK in front of others and then in his locker room in what has been characterized as a heated, intense manner and, at one point, according to three sources who have heard about the situation, told Khan he quit and chewed out Khan with harsh phrasing.
“As we previously reported, there was a moment where it appeared the Punk vs. Samoa Joe match wouldn’t take place at all, or at least not on time. It didn’t take long for Punk to agree to move forward with the match as planned, though. After his match, there was an extended period of time without communication between Punk and Khan, which is unusual given in past situations the two at least communicated via text after blow-ups or backstage situations. We haven’t heard if there has been communication since then.”
According to a previous report, CM Punk was not told of his suspension directly from AEW but rather learned the information from his lawyer.