Professional wrestler CM Punk has criticized AEW President Tony Khan for his management style, following multiple backstage altercations and Punk’s departure from the company.
CM Punk, a renowned professional wrestler, has some beef with Tony Khan, the President of AEW. He’s of the opinion that Khan isn’t delivering what the fans want.
Last November, Punk made a surprising return to WWE. This happened at the end of the “Survivor Series: WarGames” event. The event took place in Punk’s hometown, Chicago.
His return was unexpected, especially since he had left AEW less than a year ago. Reports suggest that his departure was due to several backstage altercations. The altercations were between Punk, some wrestlers, and Khan.
There was an incident at the “All In” event at Wembley Stadium, London, in August 2023. Punk and wrestler Jack Perry reportedly had a physical confrontation backstage. Punk shared his side of the story on “The MMA Hour”. He wasn’t happy with how Khan and his team handled the situation.
Punk recalls confronting Perry about a stunt he wanted to pull off. Perry wanted to smash a rental car window with a pipe. Punk told him no. He explained that such actions could lead to rental companies refusing to rent cars to pro wrestlers.
Punk tried to reason with Perry. He told him there’s a safe way to do things. He didn’t raise his voice or cuss at him. But Perry took it personally.
The incident escalated when Perry referenced the backstage encounter during a televised promo. Punk wasn’t pleased. He asked Khan to talk to Perry, but nothing was done. Punk had to take matters into his own hands.
Reports suggest that Punk tried to choke Perry during a backstage incident at the London “All In” event. There are conflicting accounts about who started the conflict. But it ended with Punk having words with both Khan and Perry.
Punk had a match with Samoa Joe that same night. It was his last match with the promotion. AEW announced soon after that Punk had been fired. Khan later said on-air that the Punk-Perry fight “endangered people backstage”. He felt his life was in danger.
Punk was involved in another backstage drama at AEW in September 2022. He was the AEW World Champion at the time. He had a physical altercation with AEW founders and wrestlers Matt and Nick Jackson (The Young Bucks). This happened after Punk accused wrestler Adam “Hangman” Page of going off-script during a segment.
Punk believes the dispute with Page was the catalyst for his exit from the promotion. He was upset that Page didn’t stick to the script during a live TV segment. Punk felt disrespected and thought Page was ruining the business.
Punk later said he still has friends in AEW. He wishes the best for the performers and the company. But he and Khan don’t see eye to eye on what’s best for business.
Punk doesn’t want any drama with Khan. But he doesn’t expect them to reconcile anytime soon. He thinks Khan is a nice guy but not a good boss. He believes this is detrimental to the company.