According to a new report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Chris Jericho is one of several top AEW stars who have told the AEW locker room that they will “make sure” CM Punk is not brought back to the company following his backstage brawl with The Elite earlier in the year.
Chris Jericho Tells AEW Locker Room He Will “Make Sure” CM Punk Does Not Return.
Writing in the January 2nd edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer would reveal that the ongoing CM Punk controversy has left Tony Khan “in a very bad position” with various AEW talents over the last nine months due to the various opinions in the locker room and the clear divide between those who side with Punk and those who side with Kenny Omega & The Elite.
Meltzer would go on to reveal that the situation in the AEW locker room has even got to the point that Chris Jericho and other “top guys” had told the locker room that they would “make sure” CM Punk wasn’t brought back to the company noting that Punk’s return may also be dependent on the status of AEW & the wrestling business when he has recovered from his tricep injury that he sustained during the AEW World Championship match at All Out 2022.
“Several of the top guys, Chris Jericho being among them, told the rest of the locker room that they’d make sure Punk wasn’t brought back. I think a lot depends on where business is in about five or six months when Punk viably could be back.”
Continuing, Meltzer would compare a potential FTR & CM Punk vs. The Elite feud to Edge and Matt Hardy’s iconic 2005 feud, which tied into real-life heat between Hardy and The Rated R Superstar following an affair between the latter and Hardy’s real-life partner and fellow WWE superstar Lita, noting that it is hard to tell if this sort of feud would resonate with the AEW audience as the fan base has never had this style of programming.
Finally, the veteran journalist would note that the longer CM Punk is out, the more his return to AEW would mean also noting that the injury plays into AEW’s hands as it will allow them time to try to resolve this mess whilst he is uncleared and unable to compete regardless of the drama that has unfolded.
Additionally, Meltzer would note that for any potential programming to come to fruition between Punk and The Elite that CM Punk would need to apologise, something that Meltzer is not “counting on.”
CM Punk’s last match for AEW came at All Out 2022 when he defeated Jon Moxley to regain the AEW World Championship.