If the majority of the AEW locker room gets its way, CM Punk will never work for the company again.
On March 23rd, CM Punk opened fire on Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and Dave Meltzer, while claiming that AEW had pressured him to wrestle even when he was injured. Incredibly the comments came just 24 hours after it was reported that Punk was looking to return to AEW.
The problems between Punk and AEW go all the way back to the summer of 2022 but famously came to a head following All Out in September.
Speaking on a VIP audio show, Wade Keller of PWtorch has given an update on the feeling around Punk in AEW. Keller notes that unsurprisingly, Punk and Moxley don’t get along, while the majority of wrestlers in the company don’t want him back. In addition, Punk doesn’t get on with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, and potentially even MJF.
“For one, Jon Moxley and CM Punk do not like each other that much anybody I asked around will say that. It’s very clear. There’s a tension to a degree…certainly, they are not in a position now where anyone would predict that they would want to work together or if they would even feel comfortable working together on a promo or whatever.
From what I can gather…the sentiment is that he’s just not welcomed back. The wrestlers don’t want him back. The majority of wrestlers don’t want him back. I would go as far as even saying that my sources are saying the mass majority of wrestlers don’t want him back. One person said maybe one or two of the top third of the roster want him back….in top half. And then there are some younger guys who liked him. In terms of the top stars, the politics are not terribly among the top guys.
There’s some tension among the top guys, but it’s mostly, Punk doesn’t get along with Hangman, Punk doesn’t get along with Moxley, Punk doesn’t get along with Kenny, Punk doesn’t get along with the Bucks, Punk doesn’t get along with MJF. Actually, I’m not sure on the MJF thing, but I think the way things went down even that situation. it’s not as strong as it once was.”
Keller added that Jericho and Moxley have a particularly strong relationship, and many of the company’s big names get on, this makes Punk very much the exception.
“Punk is the exception to that right now. Him going off on Instagram really hurt the chances of him being welcomed back. One wrestler I talked to outright said that it might not matter what the wrestlers think if Tony Khan wants Punk back. Punk might be brought back.
My sense is that there would be something greater than a strong push back amongst top talent in AEW if Tony Khan tries to bring back Punk at this point. I think it would be difficult before Punk said what he said on Instagram. I think it’s going to be much more difficult now, but I don’t know if the odds of Tony wanting to bring back Punk have changed based on what Punk said.”
Dave Meltzer Addresses CM Punk Controversy
CM Punk’s Instagram post was seemingly in reaction to a comment on a message board from Dave Meltzer. The long-tenured journalist 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.”
In response, Meltzer explained that he felt bad about how the situation had played out.
H/t to WrestlingNews.Co