The aftermath of the explosive CM Punk media scrum following last weekend’s All Out pay-per-view continues with new details emerging about the locker room fight between the world champion and the EVPs he spoke about during the press conference. As I said in an article I wrote about the media scrum incident, I took most of those reports of a fight with a grain of salt because incidents like this, especially in the pro wrestling business tend to get blown out of proportion rather quickly. A verbal argument is reported as a fight, and an actual fight might be covered like it was a total brawl so you shouldn’t put too much stock into initial reports.
However, enough sources, including PWinsider’s Mike Johnson have confirmed that there was a legitimate brawl after the Punk comments. Details of exactly what happened are still being debated, but from what was confirmed thus far, Punk threw a punch at Matt Jackson, and Ace Steel threw a chair at Nick Jackson. Ace also grabbed Kenny Omega’s hair and bit him. This might be another note to take with a grain of salt, but The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer claimed that those involved aren’t talking because there are potential legal issues stemming from the fight. If that is true, All Elite Wrestling as a company might have a much bigger problem than what’s scripted for this week’s episode of Dynamite.
With the confirmation that there was a physical confrontation between them, including when Chris Jericho quietly informed Tony Khan of the incident after his portion of the press conference, the biggest question surrounding AEW is, how should Tony Khan handle any of this?
Chris Jericho tells Tony Khan “some shit went down” on his way out of the media scrum #AEW #AEWAllOut #ALLOUT pic.twitter.com/s5LDxZd0CB
— Jay (@HEELJay_) September 5, 2022
Listen, as we’ve discussed, it’s an ego-driven industry and wrestlers have disagreed with each other as long as the business has existed. The common theme, especially before guaranteed money, was that everyone found a compromise to be able to make the money that was on the table. It’s 2022 and with the age of social media, disagreements and especially physical confrontations can’t be sweep under the rug. Even the most casual fans will hear something about a backstage fight, and the ripple effect of that can affect the perception of a star on screen. Nobody, except a very niche group of fans, knew that Vader got knocked out by Paul Orndorff before he left WCW in 1995 so when he debuted in the WWF a few months later, he still had the aura of a monster.
Make no mistake about it, Tony Khan doesn’t have an easy decision going forward.
As I said before, this might be a situation where Khan has to decide who is more valuable to the All Elite brand. In theory, Punk is the bigger star and the more valuable commodity, but as I also mentioned in an article recently, from a numbers perspective, one could argue that his contributions to the company are moot because Dynamite still draws roughly the same one million viewers now as it did before he arrived. The company has a diehard fan base that is willing to travel to shows and had already sold out pay-per-views before Punk signed with the company. At the same time, as spectacular as the athleticism is, the argument could be made that The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega work a style that will only draw a niche audience. That being said, regardless of some of the rightfully criticism of the AEW booking or how The Elite present themselves in the company, they are a group that the core AEW fan base is dedicated to following. I’m not sure the organization retains that core if The Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Adam Page were sent away in favor of CM Punk. Sure, the argument could be made that none of those guys might draw the causal fan to All Elite, but so far Punk hasn’t either.
Tony Khan is a billionaire, and I’m not so who am I to tell him anything, but if All Elite is going to have a meaningful future in the industry, I’d suggest that his actions are swift. Keep in mind, the recent Discovery merger could impact the network’s perception of the wrestling project, particularly when they have to negotiate a new television deal in a few years. One of the featured stars of Khan’s company becoming a TMZ headline for an assault isn’t good for anyone. As much as I think Ace Steel didn’t get the credit he deserved as a wrestler and was a wise mind to have as a producer, he should be gone from the company. You simply can’t work as a producer if you threw a chair at someone and bit someone else. If this was 1985 then this could go unnoticed, but the story is public and something must be done in response to it. If Punk wants to walk out because of the dismissal of Ace, so be it.
If Punk should stay is another matter that should be addressed. Clearly, Punk thinks he’s the biggest star in the company, but as I said, he hasn’t brought more casual fans to AEW, the television ratings prove that. The bottom line is, is CM Punk that much more valuable to the company than someone like Bryan Danielson or Jon Moxlely? Would arenas suddenly be empty if Danielson was the champion instead?
If Punk actually threw the first punch then he should be out the door. Let him drop the title to Danielson or MJF as soon as possible and wish him well in the future. The reason I say this isn’t an attempt to dismiss the star power that Punk brings to the table, but rather the precedent that will be set if he’s allowed to continue to work there. Where’s the line drawn? What if someone takes liberties during a match? Obviously, Punk thought he was bullet proof enough to bury the structure of the company during the press conference so what exactly does Punk have to do to be given his walking papers? Furthermore, how can Tony suspend anyone for anything similar in the future if Punk doesn’t have any consequences for throwing the first punch? He asked if anyone has a problem with him to find him and someone did so assuming he threw the first punch, I’m not sure how much blame for the actual fight can be put on The Elite.
In short, I don’t think even CM Punk is worth this hassle or negative publicity. How many people are talking about the pay-per-view or the MJF/Punk match in the future? CM Punk isn’t a martyr for pro wrestling. The same narrative that he was difficult to deal with in WWE followed him to AEW. Phil Brooks is the common denominator in the stories of problems with management. Unless this is all resolved and each group is somehow willing to work together to attempt to get something productive accomplish from this whole debacle, and it doesn’t look like that’s possible then Punk did more to harm the perception of All Elite than help the company as champion. Why should CM Punk be released? The answer is, because CM Punk cares about CM Punk, and to some level that’s understandable, but there’s a track record that shows that he’s difficult to do business with regardless of the company. At some point, Tony Khan has actually be a wrestling promoter and make the best move for AEW.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Twitter @jimlamotta
