A lot has gone down in the last couple of weeks regarding the AEW All Out Brawl and in the midst of it all, there has been an everchanging reports in what went down in the aftermath of the AEW All Out Media Scrum.
Fightful Select provided some new information regarding the ”Brawl Out 2022” situation.
“Almost unanimously, the talent that we’ve spoken to haven’t been in favor of the way CM Punk handled things at all that evening. Even talent that typically would back Punk up either said that’s not what they would have done, or haven’t commented to us.One talent believes that considering the nature of the situation and possible legal ramifications, not mentioning anyone on television is a “better safe than sorry” move. Especially considering how much of the crux of the argument in general was about public perception, and referencing any of the parties in any context can contribute to that after the most heated situation in AEW history.
So far, talent haven’t been told explicitly what is to become of CM Punk, but most of them we spoke with are under the impression that it’s all pending an investigation, and his injury status. There is still an incredible amount of heat on CM Punk, and would have been based on the scrum regardless. As of that September 7 Dynamite, much of the heat we’re hearing on Punk was just as much about his scrum rant than anything. Punk had long been rubbing the locker room the wrong way, but one source said that blaming him for all of the locker room issues of late simply was not fair, as they had reached an all-time high when Punk was gone.
When we spoke to the AEW roster on September 7, many indicated that after the show there was a much more positive vibe, with one saying it couldn’t have been worse than the chaos of the previous days. That same source said that the situation was “out of sight, out of mind” for plenty of the roster who just wanted to show up and work. Another talent said the best way for all parties to make up the public embarrassment would be to get over the issues, make money for the company and highlight other talent along the way.
Several sources that Fightful spoke to said that either Punk would need to leave the company, make major amends, or hope time heals those locker room wounds if he hopes to return to a welcoming locker room environment.
The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega remain suspended, and as of week there was no timetable on a return. Omega already had planned the week off. CM Punk and Ace Steel’s status’ are uncertain, but Punk is sidelined with an injury and Steel was not at the September 14 Dynamite. Omega was originally supposed to work with AEW Games for the Tokyo Game Show, but as a result of his suspension, did not. He did make his originally planned trip, however.
AEW has still not officially confirmed the suspensions publicly or to media.
There was confusion from both of those as to why Tony Khan would not comment in the follow up about Punk bashing the EVPs and not providing clarity regarding the people who launched the company with him.
“You can’t expect a lot of people here to have a lot of positive things to say about Punk, and I think he’s aware of that and has probably come to peace with it,” one talent who worked with Punk in the past said. “I feel like he’s trying to run things there, and it looks like he’s doing it.”
Another longtime main eventer told us that they considered Punk’s actions unprofessional and don’t believe he’s the company man or leader that he made himself out to be. That same person would call Punk “selfish and arrogant.” This sentiment was echoed by several we spoke to, including some talent that worked on set with Punk at FOX.
A WWE official said that they agreed with Tony Khan that wrestlers not liking each other wasn’t bad for wrestling, but said that in situations like Punk and the Elite’s, that power had to be asserted in order to let everyone know that wasn’t tolerable. The same official said that kind of thing didn’t happen as often recently in WWE — except for the likes of Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar — because talent knew that if they did that while Vince McMahon was there, they probably weren’t going to be welcomed back. With situations where it did happen, like Alberto Del Rio, they were fired.
It must be reiterated again, that the actual accounts of the brawl are very “he said, she said” in nature, and should not be taken as gospel. It is very unlikely we ever learn the exact happenings of said situation considering that nature of things.”
Time will tell what else will happen in this incredibly gripping saga.
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