Though the final fate of CM Punk in AEW has yet to be revealed, one of the big factors in a potential return down the road (and it would have to be down the road, as Punk’s injury status means he wouldn’t be able to return to action until next year) is whether some of the other big AEW stars won’t want to work with him if he comes back. It sounds like Chris Jericho might be among those leaning that way.
In this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote extensively about the eventual endgame from Punk’s post-All Out press conference tirade and the fight with The Elite that followed. He speculated again about whether Punk would eventually be back and suggested that “many if not most of the key top names were saying that they wouldn’t work with him,” with “Chris Jericho being the name mentioned most.”
It’s possible that Jericho told Punk face to face exactly how he feels. Fightful Select reported late Thursday night that Jericho “approached” Punk following the All Out brawl and before he headed to the press conference.
Jericho told CM Punk that he was a cancer to the locker room, and a detriment to the company. Those we’ve spoken to didn’t recount CM Punk’s reply verbatim, but said that he effectively told Jericho it wasn’t his business and needed to leave.
It’s obviously not ideal to have two top stars who don’t want to work together, but it’s happened before in pro wrestling, and AEW has a big enough roster that it’s possible to have Jericho and Punk on it without putting them in programs together.
But if Jericho’s feelings are echoed by a majority of the locker room, that is a problem. Even though Punk has proven to be a top draw, at what point does he subtract more than he adds?
AEW may already be there. There remains a school of thought that maybe everyone involved realizes there’s a lot of money to be made if the entire situation can be used as an angle and they all work together to profit from it. With each passing week, though, that feels more and more unlikely.