AEW announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently shared his thoughts on the now-infamous backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at AEW All In 2023, calling the incident “embarrassing” and stating it never should have happened.
In a new video interview published on Inside The Ropes’ YouTube channel, Ross recalled the moments surrounding the incident and didn’t mince words.
“I was out front. I was going to do my match or two, whatever it was, when that all went down. It was embarrassing. I don’t give a sh*t who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s not the place or the time to do that. Hold your angst and let it go.”
Ross, who maintains a close friendship with Punk (real name Phil Brooks), acknowledged Punk’s role in escalating the situation.
“And Phil Brooks is a great friend of mine. We still communicate semi-regularly. Good dude. He was wrong that day by continuing to stand there and push the buttons. I gotta believe that Jack Perry was scared sh*tless. Now, he wouldn’t say that. He wouldn’t admit that, ’cause that’s not macho. But, you know, come on.”
The legendary commentator said he narrowly missed witnessing the fight firsthand as he was headed to the ring at the time.
“I missed it. I was going out as they were going down. Somebody informed me during the last match or during that time, ‘Boy, you missed this backstage.’ And I’m thinking, I didn’t miss anything. That’s embarrassing. Are you kidding me?”
Ross made it clear how he feels about backstage altercations in wrestling.
“It just couldn’t wait, could it? It’s such a hot, boiling over cauldron of some train yard. It’s just a terrible thing. It was bulls**t.”
The Punk/Perry incident ultimately contributed to CM Punk’s firing from AEW following the Wembley Stadium event, while Jack Perry was also suspended and has not appeared on AEW programming since.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more updates on AEW backstage developments and Jim Ross’ insights.
