CM Punk’s interview with ESPN before returning to AEW may have done more than just get fans talking.
In the interview, Punk said that he had attempted to reconcile with The Elite and apologised to Tony Khan for his actions at the post-All Out media scrum. However, the most newsworthy comments were reserved for Hangman Adam Page.
Punk said that the match between the pair at Double or Nothing in 2022 was “garbage” revealing he considered not even competing after taking issues with comments Page made in a promo on Dynamite. The two-time AEW World Champion added that he was unsure whether Page would “shoot” on him during the match, and hit out at the star for chopping him in the face during one heated exchange.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the interview caused “controversy” backstage, later adding that the comments “surprised people” backstage.
“The interview caused a lot of controversy behind-the-scenes for a multitude of reasons. First, the fact an interview that had not been released having its contents or potential contents talked about to the point it became news was noteworthy enough. There were issues having to do with the damage control attempts that we wrote about last week.
And there’s the obvious issue of the contents not only talked about internally before the story came out, but it being heavily reported how Punk went after Page, and had complained about the idea of whether Page was shooting on him in their match at the 2022 Double or Nothing show in Las Vegas ended up being reported on before ESPN’s story came out.”
CM Punk Situation A “Ticking Time Bomb”
Meltzer also discussed the feeling backstage now that Punk is back in the fold and had appeared on the June 21st episode of Dynamite. He stated that he’s been told by a “top star” that they left Dynamite in a “bad mood” and felt the situation around Punk was a ticking time bomb that wouldn’t end well for all involved.