CM Punk returned to wrestling for the first time since 2014 when he arrived in AEW in September of 2021.
The star was welcomed with open arms in his hometown of Chicago, IL on AEW Rampage: First Dance. He went on to become a two-time AEW World Champion, his second title win coming as he defeated Jon Moxley at AEW All Out.
However, Punk’s time in AEW was far from smooth sailing. Days after winning his first AEW World Title, he announced that he would need to take time away due to injury. He returned the following August, but his title victory over Moxley was overshadowed by the drama that followed All Out.
Speaking alongside Tony Khan in a media scrum following the show, Punk launched into a verbal tirade against former friend Colt Cabana, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, and though he didn’t call them out by name, the AEW EVP’s, who he said “couldn’t manage a Target.”
Enraged, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega confronted Punk in his dressing room, and the brawl that ensued has now become the stuff of legend. Not only were punches thrown, Punk’s trainer and friend Ace Steel threw a chair at Nick Jackson as well as biting Omega. Everyone involved in the melee was suspended, and Punk and The Elite were stripped of the title’s they’d won just hours before.
While The Elite made their return to the company at AEW Full Gear in November, CM Punk‘s return is heavily in doubt, and a now-deleted social media post indicates the two sides are nowhere near reconciliation.
“My Health Is More Important” – CM Punk
Writing in his Instagram story, Punk aimed to set the record straight regarding his time in All Elite Wrestling, blasting Dave Meltzer, AEW President Tony Khan, Jon Moxley, and Chris Jericho as “liars” for their previous comments on the situation. The post has since been deleted, but a screenshot of it can be seen below.
“SIGH. I wasn’t cleared to come back to wrestle yet. Then the plan was to wrestle at the ppv. I sat and listened to moxleys Rocky three idea. I explained how I’d never seen a Rocky movie. I and thought the idea sucked but if the boss wanted to do it whatever. He said he wouldn’t lose to me. I’d never experienced someone refusing to lose to me. I just laughed.
“I asked Tony if this was what he wanted. He said yes. He’s the boss so I said okay but I’d need to be cleared first. They kept saying it could just be a squash so I didn’t need to be cleared. I scoffed at that. My health is more important.
“Dave Meltzer is a liar. Jericho is a liar and a stooge. There were plans but plans always change but I’ll never put a company above my health ever again.”
From Punk’s IG story pic.twitter.com/huIQvjL7hH
— Morgan (@redheadwriter) March 23, 2023
Punk’s comments seem to stem from a report from wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer on Reddit that said the following:
“Do you know why they didn’t advertise Punk vs. Moxley longer and why it had a short build? Because Punk agreed to it, then AEW got a legal letter saying he wasn’t down with it and wasn’t doing it and ithey didn’t know if he’d come until Tony put his foot down. There are a lot of nice things I can say about him, and you can absolutely argue his position on Moxley was correct, but you can’t argue he willingly did what he was asked in that scenario.”