CM Punk sparked the latest round of controversy surrounding himself and AEW with a now-deleted post on Instagram on March 23rd.
In the post, Punk claimed that he had been pressured to work despite being injured, said Jon Moxley refused to lose to him, and claimed Dave Meltzer was a liar and Chris Jericho a “liar and a stooge.” The insults were in response to comments made by Meltzer on a message board where he suggested Punk almost didn’t turn up for the episode of Dynamite where he lost to Moxley, noting that “you can’t argue he willingly did what he was asked in that scenario.”
Incredibly, these comments came after Punk had all but agreed to return to the company.
In the wake of Punk’s post appearing and then being taken down, sections of AEW’s talent handbook were circulated on social media. As the conversation unfolded, Brian Last shared the images and wondered whether Punk had been ordered to take the post down.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer recapped the situation and highlighted a section that Punk appears to have violated.
“There were a variety of different opinions before the post and then the post came and there was the feeling from some that it’s a sign it’ll never work, but time will tell. Shortly after he took it down, the AEW talent handbook got circulated with people noting talent is banned from talking to media without company official authorization and in particular when it came to the post by Punk was this passage:
‘Public Criticism of Fellow Team Members. AEW policy prohibits public criticism of fellow team members. Such prohibited public statements may include, but are not limited to: Accusations or criticism of fellow team members or the organization as a whole. Accusations or criticism of tactics/style of wrestling of fellow team members. Accusations or suggestions that certain issues consistently occur in a particular match. Innuendos and indirect statements will also be considered prohibited.
While understanding that social media can be used to help advance storylines, first please check with those with whom you are working before posting. Feel free to run potential posts by Christopher Daniels, a coach or a member of Legal/HR or PR team before posting.'”
When Did CM Punk Last Wrestle In AEW?
CM Punk hasn’t wrestled since defeating Jon Moxley to claim the AEW World Championship at All Out on September 4th, 2022. In the process, the star suffered a triceps injury that required surgery.
However, it was Punk’s comments at the post-show media scrum that created chaos. The two-time AEW World Champion took issue with the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Colt Cabana, and Hangman Adam Page. Once he was done, he ended up in a backstage fight with The Elite.