Tag: AEW All In

Why the pro wrestling world is buzzing about CM Punk backstage AEW footage, explained

Not even everyone in AEW knows what kind of footage from All In is being shown or what it will reveal.

CM Punk hasn’t been part of AEW for a while, having been fired last fall and made his return to WWE a few months later. But his time there is still very much lingering in ways that will come to a head on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

While the attention of pretty much every pro wrestling fan was on WrestleMania 40 this weekend, AEW announced during AEW Collision — which aired after the men’s college basketball tournament games Saturday, and thus was broadcast late at night — that it would air backstage footage from last year’s All In pay-per-view, and the Young Bucks (who are also AEW EVPs) would discuss it for the first time.

It’s a move that has both fascinated and divided the pro wrestling world, and if you’re wondering how we got here and why this is happening, here’s an overview.

What exactly happened at All In?

All In London was the biggest event in AEW history, in front of one of the largest crowds ever to watch a wrestling show. It was held in London’s Wembley Stadium and should have been the kind of victory lap that few No. 2 wrestling promotions have ever been able to take.

And while it was a success by many measures, it was somewhat marred by an altercation between Punk and Jack Perry. The causes behind it would take too long to go through here, but the short version is that Perry said something live on the PPV that was a shot at Punk, who confronted him about it backstage. Their argument turned physical and both men were suspended.

A few days later, Punk was fired, with AEW CEO, GM and head of creative Tony Khan claiming that he feared for his safety and the safety of other AEW employees.

Why is an incident from August 2023 relevant again now?

It’s mostly because Punk made it that way. On the Monday of WrestleMania week, Punk appeared as a guest on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani and talked extensively about his side of the All In situation for the first time.

He claims he did indeed confront Perry, who challenged him to do something about it. Punk says he did put Perry in a chokehold but didn’t threaten or endanger Khan. In addition, he claimed he told Khan he was quitting AEW and had to be convinced by Jerry Lynn and Samoa Joe to come out of his dressing room to wrestle Joe, which he did end up doing.

What kind of footage does AEW have from All In?

That’s uncertain, and it’s possible only a limited number of people know (including Khan and the Bucks). It could be security camera footage, other performers might have captured the fracas with cellphones, or some combination of the two.

AEW announcer and senior producer Tony Schiavone has stated even he doesn’t know what kind of footage it is, saying “I have no idea where we’re going.”

Is there a chance that this is all part of an angle?

This is a logical question any time something like this happens in pro wrestling, but every indication is that it’s legit. Well-connected wrestling news outlets like Fightful have reported that the footage will be real, and Khan and the Bucks have insisted the same. The expectation is that viewers will see behind the curtain at All In during Dynamite tonight.

An even better question is whether the video will be turned into part of an angle, and while that remains to be seen, it feels very possible. A popular theory is that it will be used to help Perry return as a high profile villain; he hasn’t appeared on AEW TV since All In and has been appearing most recently in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The Bucks are also heels right now and their involvement in this, as opposed to Khan just presenting the footage himself, has raised some eyebrows.

What is AEW hoping to gain from showing the CM Punk-Jack Perry footage?

In the short term, it’s hoping that this will pump up the ratings for Dynamite, which have been soft, and promote interest in its upcoming Dynasty pay-per-view on April 21. Khan spoke with SI’s Justin Barrasso this week and was very transparent on that front.

The longer term benefit is harder to parse. It’s possible that the footage will make Punk look like he lied on Helwani’s show, especially if it appears he was the instigator and/or did threaten Khan or others.

Even if that’s the case, it doesn’t seem like it would really hurt Punk or WWE. Wrestling fans in general are mostly settled into pro- or anti-Punk camps by this point, and it’s unclear how many hearts and minds could be changed even if Punk comes off looking like a raving assailant. WWE is also so hot at the moment that dinging the image of one of its stars (and Punk has been out with injury for months now anyway) isn’t going to slow it down.

There’s certainly a benefit in the sphere of public opinion if AEW is proven that its side of events was what really went down, a matter of trust that could potentially pay off even if it doesn’t have a large effect on the bottom line. And maybe some people who are curious about the footage enjoy the rest of Dynamite and decide to watch more AEW going forward.

Expect to see a lot of discussion and debate about what was shown and whether AEW was smart to show it after tonight’s Dynamite, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on TBS.

Young Bucks claim they will show All In London backstage footage on 4/10 Dynamite

Is it an angle? Top wrestling insiders say no, so the wrestling world will be looking forward to the next AEW Dynamite.

While the attention of most of the pro wrestling world was elsewhere Saturday night, AEW was still doing its thing, airing a new Collision after the NCAA men’s basketball tournament semifinals. And while it would be easy to dismiss this pre-taped episode as inconsequential, it instead created a wave of discussion and speculation as Saturday faded into Sunday.

It wasn’t a match but a promo for the next episode of Dynamite that set off the buzz. As shown in the graphic above, the Young Bucks apparently will share backstage footage from All In London last summer and “discuss for the first time.”

The events of All In, where a backstage confrontation because CM Punk and Jack Perry eventually led to the former’s firing and the latter’s suspension, became relevant again over the past week. While appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Punk gave his side of the story for the first time, dismissing the idea that he did anything that might make Tony Khan feel threatened — a key claim AEW’s CEO made when explaining his decision to fire Punk.

Do the Bucks actually have video evidence to back up Khan’s assertions? The impulse is to assume this is an angle of some sort, an effort to drum up ratings right after WWE’s biggest event of the year at a time when live attendance for AEW shows has been soft and TV viewership up and down.

Some of pro wrestling’s most well connected insiders say that might not be the case. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful said right away that it was legit, then followed up with a report in Fightful Select (subscription required) citing AEW talent and staff who said they were told footage of the Punk-Perry incident will air.

During AEW Collision Saturday, a graphic ran saying that Young Bucks will present backstage footage from AEW All In, and will discuss for the first time. Many took this as being some sort of troll or bait, but everyone around the situation we’ve spoken to at least claims that it is genuine, and footage from the CM Punk/Jack Perry altercation is expected to air. Specifically, it was reiterated to us by numerous people in AEW that the company isn’t going to falsely promote something, much less like that.

Fightful added that there was “belief that the video was enough for the company to make a clean split without much of an issue or a legal battle.” If true this will be a fascinating watch, though the idea that many minds will change about Punk will change seems unlikely in what is already a very polarized landscape for pro wrestling fans.

Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer also confirmed the plan is to legitimately air the footage.

If nothing else, it grabbed AEW some attention during a time when nearly everyone with an interest in pro wrestling is otherwise engaged with another company’s product, and that’s never a bad thing in the short term. How it plays out Wednesday night is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to deny the curiosity factor around a move like this.

AEW Dynamite airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.

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CM Punk details backstage incident with Jack Perry at AEW All In

CM Punk revealed details of his backstage altercation with Jack Perry at AEW All In.

In what became his final act with the company, AEW fired CM Punk following a backstage incident with Jack Perry at All In. It triggered an eventual return to WWE for the 45-year-old, while AEW suspended Perry, who eventually went to New Japan Pro-Wrestling and has not appeared on AEW programming since (though he’s widely believed to still be under contract to AEW).

The altercation faded from the spotlight upon Punk’s return to WWE, but he revived the discourse on Monday with juicy details regarding that and the controversies that have defined his career.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Punk was asked about the incident with Perry at All In, and he did not hold back on details.

Jack came back from his match. I was the next match. I’m sitting there. I got people with me. I’m not going to say who they are because I got a lot of friends who work there. I wish them all well, and I don’t want them to be punished because they’re friends with me. I walk up to him and I’m just like, Jack, why do you insist on doing this dumb internet s–t on TV, you know? He’s just like, ‘If you got a problem about it, do something about it.’ I was just like, ‘Come on, man. I could f–king kill you. What are we doing?’

Punk also revealed that he told Tony Khan “I quit” after the incident, before his match with Samoa Joe happened.

Sometimes, it’s like, can’t let you get close. You know? I thought I was doing the responsible thing. I didn’t punch anybody. I just choked somebody a little bit. Samoa Joe was there, told me to stop, and then I quit. I turned to Tony, and I said, ‘This place is a f–king joke, man. You’re a clown, I quit.’ I went to my room, and then Joe and Jerry Lynn came and got me, and they’re like, ‘Let’s just go out there and kill it.’ I was just too fired up, and I’m fired up now, and I’m probably gonna regret talking about all this s–t, but that’s what happened.

This suggests that Punk knowingly competed at All In, fully aware that it would be his final match, yet was still allowed to step into the ring and wrestle.

This detail adds another layer to Punk’s tumultuous tenure, and given everything he disclosed to Helwani, there’s still plenty to unpack.

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10 best AEW PPVs of all time: Which AEW shows were the greatest so far?

AEW has put on some classic pay-per-views since it came into existence in 2019. Here’s our list of the top 10 to date.

No matter how you feel personally about All Elite Wrestling, there’s no denying the boost that the company has given the U.S. pro wrestling scene in just its first few years of existence. A truly healthy, strong alternative to WWE had been missing for more than a decade before AEW came to life in 2019, and almost anyone you ask in the business will tell you that it’s been a net positive.

One of AEW’s calling cards from the very start has been a strong offering of pay-per-view shows. Driven by his days as a wrestling fan, Tony Khan tries to load up each event in a way that he might have once dreamt about, and while they often tend to run a little long and occasionally seem to come together at the last minute, they nearly always deliver in terms of the in-ring product.

That makes picking the best AEW PPVs to date a bit challenging. Since the company has been cautious about not running too many big cards — though that’s starting to change with the addition of Forbidden Door in 2022 and All Out and WrestleDream in 2023 — it’s not like there have been a bunch of mediocre shows to help separate the ones that have shined brightest.

Still, if there’s one thing that unites wrestling fans, it’s opinions on which things are better than others, and no site is better for that than Cagematch. Using both the user votes on that site and Dave Meltzer’s ratings, we’ve cobbled together a bit of a consensus opinion on the top AEW PPVs, just like we did for WWE.

You’ll see that even the awe-inspiring backdrop of 80,000+ fans at Wembley Stadium in 2023 didn’t sway these ranking too much, since All In London isn’t even in the top 10.

Which shows are? You’ll have to read on to find out.

The biggest professional wrestling stories of 2023: CM Punk, TKO and more

From WWE to AEW and beyond, here were the things that stood out most in an eventful year in pro wrestling.

Take a deep breath, wrestling fans. The year 2023 is almost over.

It is understandable if you haven’t done that a whole lot over the last 12 months, as the industry has not provided many opportunities to take in a soothing sigh of relief.

There were many ups, quite a few downs, but all in all, 2023 was a banner year for professional wrestling that in hindsight will be fondly remembered as one of the most impactful in the history of the industry.

But before we look ahead to 2024, let’s take one last look back on the year’s biggest stories in professional wrestling.

Will Ospreay calls AEW All In ‘the coolest thing’ he’s ever done

Might his All In experience convince Will Ospreay that signing with AEW is the right move going forward?

AEW went to Wembley Stadium in London earlier this year for the return of All In, marking one of the biggest pro wrestling shows in terms of attendance ever. It wasn’t without controversy, but the show still made waves as Tony Khan’s company never tested the waters as greatly as that massive sports venue.

For Will Ospreay, All In was a chance to entertain a huge crowd of his home country fans, as he defeated Chris Jericho. It wasn’t the Aerial Assassin’s first experience performing for a large audience; he had previously worked on Wrestle Kingdom shows for New Japan Pro Wrestling, among other events, but this surpassed them all.

Several months past All In, Ospreay recalled his experience working the show. He told ComicBook.com that although he was scared, performing there was “the coolest thing” he’s ever done.

Oh man, I was scared. I just remember feeling like I’ve done it now. The maximum I’ve ever performed in front of was 40,000 at [NJPW] Wrestle Kingdom. This was twice as many. I was worried that my stuff was going to get lost, or not as big of a reaction as what it could get. Maybe I’m not the guy that they really want in this position. Maybe it should have gone to someone else. That’s all going through my mind. The moment the music was playing, just that bit of the piano, I could just feel my heart coming out of my chest. So flipping scared. Family’s here. Everyone is here just wanting to just enjoy wrestling in England, wrestling of this caliber and stage.

Going out and hearing people sing my song… man. I literally heard people screaming it and then pointing up to the sky and when the fireworks were going off. Just watching it, it felt like two minutes. It felt like everything was going in slow motion. Then to get in the ring and the bell rung and then just 80,000 people do the olé! chants. Oh man, it was just the coolest thing. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done.

Ospreay was able to soak up as much of the night as possible, performing at Wembley Stadium in front of his loved ones. But if he signs with AEW, he’ll have the chance to work that same venue again with All In returning to London in August 2024.

An alternative for Ospreay is joining WWE next year — a tantalizing move that would give him constant opportunities to work big stadium shows. Whether he goes to WWE or not, though, opportunities are fruitful for him to dazzle in front of large audiences.

Samoa Joe says CM Punk All In incident no big deal to him: ‘I’m used to that environment’

Samoa Joe says he was more focused on the match ahead of him at AEW All In than the backstage incident that led to CM Punk’s firing.

Even in a pro wrestling world full of hyperbole, it’s hard to overstate how big the backstage incident at AEW All In London between CM Punk and Jack Perry turned out to be. Not only did it lead to Punk’s eventual firing (and an indefinite suspension for Perry), but it nearly forced an on-the-fly card change during AEW’s biggest show to date.

Of course, when you’re a veteran of the wrestling business like Punk’s opponent that night, Samoa Joe, one who’s seen everything and been a champion around the world, you’re much less likely to be rattled by what may appear to others as absolute backstage chaos.

That’s exactly the tone Joe took during his interview with The New York Post’s Joseph Staszewski, when the ROH World Television Champion was asked if the situation at Wembley Stadium was as “intense as it sounded.”

That’s up to whoever perceived it. I’m used to that environment. Those things don’t seem very intense to me, but it could be something crazy intense to someone else. I wasn’t really affected by the moment. I was more focused on getting the show back on track and getting us going because it was bell time.

Joe also noted without saying in so many words that with Punk gone, there’s a chance for everyone in AEW to step up and show what they can do (“There’s more time for everybody now. Everybody knows that.”). He feels it’s not only the veterans, including himself, that are rising to the occasion, but that people throughout the company can and will do so.

Maybe it’s easier to be so zen when you are both feared as a competitor and respected as a locker room leader like Samoa Joe. It’s still amazing to consider that as a pivotal person in what was likely the wildest behind-the-scenes moment in pro wrestling this year, he was pretty much unaffected to the point where he went out and had a great match in Punk’s AEW swan song.

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Chris Jericho says he talked with CM Punk before he went out ‘on top’ at All In

As it turns out, Jericho and Punk didn’t talk about anything particularly revelatory before the fateful events of AEW All In.

By now, almost the entire pro wrestling world has weighed in on CM Punk being fired by AEW last week. Perhaps surprisingly, one person who hadn’t was Chris Jericho, one of a handful of people who can legitimately say they bring the same (or even more) mainstream name recognition to AEW.

That changed on the most recent episode of his podcast, Talk Is Jericho. The Ocho revealed that he spoke to Punk before either of them wrestled at AEW All In London at Wembley Stadium, though the conversation was nothing revelatory and was mostly about different moves Jericho might use against Will Ospreay that night (h/t Wrestling Observer).

I don’t want to dwell on this or talk about it but I should address it. Of course, CM Punk no longer with AEW, and Wembley was his last match, what a way to go out. I did talk to him briefly. I was going to do a Frankensteiner off the top and I know that he does that sometimes so I was just curious if he was doing it. I went and talked to him for a bit and asked him if he was doing it, he wasn’t. Then I told him I was going to do the GTS with a straight face and I think for a second he thought that I was going to and I was joking, of course.

Jericho added that as far as what went down between Punk and Jack Perry, which eventually led to Punk’s contracts being terminated by AEW once an internal investigation concluded, “it’s a regretful moment what happened but Tony Khan made his decision.” He gave credit to Punk for being “a big part of AEW” and said that he “went out on top, for sure,” since his final match with the promotion was at Wembley.

While Jericho has a point about Punk’s farewell coming on AEW’s biggest event (by a wide margin), it’s highly unlikely anyone involved would agree that his firing constituted going out “on top.” The new, Punk-less era of AEW, of which Jericho will continue to be a big part, begins this week.

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No one wins from CM Punk’s departure from AEW

AEW had to fire CM Punk. But things should never have reached this point.

After two years of drama, fights and sneak dissing through the media, the CM Punk saga in All Elite Wrestling has ended.

On Saturday, AEW founder Tony Khan released a statement through the promotion’s social media platforms that officially announced that he — and he alone — terminated Punk’s contract with cause, effective immediately.

The announcement came hours before AEW presented Collision in Punk’s hometown of Chicago and one day before AEW hosted its second pay-per-view in as many weeks … also in Punk’s hometown. It could get pretty awkward for AEW this weekend in the Windy City.

This may come as a surprise (this is sarcasm), but the discourse around Punk’s departure on social media was devoid of any nuance. One on side, you had people loving the fact Khan finally put his foot down while the other side was lamenting the fact that AEW’s biggest moneymaker — Khan’s words, not mine — was now gone.

In my eyes, there is only one way to look at the entirety of this situation: Everyone loses.

Punk loses because he lost his job with a promotion that gave him basically everything he wanted, including his own prime time show.

AEW loses because … it had to fire Punk. I highly doubt when AEW first signed Punk, it was hoping to fire the guy two years in. Also, Punk could feasibly waltz right over to WWE and make his long-awaited return. While that is not guaranteed, if it does happen, that does obviously not help AEW.

I know some people saw Punk as a cancer inside AEW’s locker room and that his unceremonious exit is merely addition by subtraction. Given all of the reported drama, Punk hurting the morale of the locker room doesn’t sound like something that is outside of the realm of possibility.

However, Punk was the promotion’s top draw. Again, those were Khan’s words, not mine. How does a promotion losing its most notable star help? The locker room sans Punk could very well be a healthier work environment, but that does not guarantee AEW sells more tickets or gains more viewers on television. It just means everyone likes each other and nothing more. It does not guarantee that it will translate to a hot product on screen. Sure, it could help, but those results are not promised.

Two sides not being fond of each other is nothing new in professional wrestling. We have all watched and listened to countless documentaries and podcasts about the drama behind the scenes in professional wrestling. Hell, it’s basically the entire ethos behind the industry’s premiere docu-series, “Dark Side of the Ring.”

Yet AEW seemingly had no idea how to handle all of the egos at play, let the situation grow out of control, and lost its stop star as a result.

At the end of the day, this should have been nipped in the bud a long, long time ago. I figured the melee at last year’s All Out would be the worst of it. I figured all of these grown adults would learn from that embarrassment and either get on the same page or eventually just let bygones be bygones.

Instead, they did neither, making themselves look very immature in the process. On top of that, the drama overshadows all of the quality wrestling AEW produces on a weekly basis. Even when AEW set a world paid attendance record for pro wrestling last week at Wembley Stadium, most people were discussing the nonsense involving the AEW locker room and how messy it was.

To me, all of that did a disservice to everyone who helped AEW reach such exemplary heights.

So what now? For Punk, it could mean a return to WWE. It could also mean he is done with wrestling all together. For AEW, it is time to pick up the pieces from a disaster it could have avoided months ago. Ideally, AEW — from top to bottom — will learn from this situation and never allow it to be replicated again. Because what good actually comes from it all?

Regardless of what happens next, we should look back on Punk’s two-year term with AEW as a slew of missed opportunities due to egos that were never put in check.

And because of that, everyone lost.

Here’s how close the AEW All In match order came to changing after CM Punk-Jack Perry incident

Several different tag teams and wrestlers were asked to potentially open AEW All In before CM Punk and Samoa Joe went off as planned.

CM Punk and Samoa Joe opened the historic AEW All In card last week at London’s Wembley Stadium, competing for Punk’s “Real” World Championship. But thanks to Punk’s backstage altercation with Jack Perry, which resulted in both men being suspended while AEW investigates exactly what went down, it was almost someone else who came through the curtain first.

Tony Khan and his crew even asked several other performers if they could be ready to go if needed, which is one of the fascinating tidbits on the Punk-Perry incident in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required). According to Dave Meltzer, “the announcers and production people were told to stall because at this point nobody knew if Punk vs. Joe would happen.”

Meltzer said that Khan asked FTR and the Young Bucks if they could go on first instead, but that the teams weren’t quite ready yet since they assumed they’d be on later. Others were asked as well.

Kenny Omega then offered to have his six-man tag go first, since they were scheduled for second anyway and were pretty much ready, and the Bucks vs. FTR would start early as well. They asked others, including Chris Jericho and Will Ospreay, to go out earlier but they also weren’t ready since Jericho’s match also included his singing his entrance. At least some of those involved, if not all, were not told at the time what the reason was when asked although the word traveled very quickly.

Samoa Joe was reportedly the one who was able to calm down Punk enough to go through with their match, preserving the planned order of the show. But it’s interesting to see just how close Khan came to needing to improvise on the spot during the biggest event in AEW’s history.

As of Friday afternoon, there still hadn’t been an update on Punk’s status for All Out, which is set for the United Center in his hometown of Chicago this Sunday. It’s fair to wonder if the near reshuffling of All In will have any bearing on his fate once Khan considers everything that went down.

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