On September 4th, 2022, CM Punk won the AEW World Championship for a second time and then sparked the most infamous incident in the history of AEW.
After taking aim at Hangman Adam Page, Colt Cabana, the Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega while seated just feet from Tony Khan in the post-show media scrum, Punk got into a fight backstage with The Elite as all hell broke loose.
In the aftermath of the chaos, Chris Jericho reportedly told Punk he was a “cancer” and the star hasn’t appeared for AEW since.
Due to the explosive way in which the night ended, questions have been asked about Punk’s state of mind in the hours leading up to the show. Many have wondered whether Punk was backstage seething and getting ready for war, knowing what he was going to do in a few short hours. However, according to Josh Shernoff of the Premier Steaming Network, that assessment would be wide of the mark.
Speaking to Nick Hausman on the Haus of Wrestling podcast, Shernoff recalled being backstage outside of Punk’s dressing room that day.
“I will tell you, I was backstage at All Out,” he said. “I had been hanging out in the hallway outside Punk’s dressing room, that’s pretty much where I had been hanging out all night.”
“I saw him and he was talking to some of the younger talents, just hanging out there. I don’t know if he was maybe talking about their matches, or, whatever it was, but it was good. Everything, his demeanor was good.”
Shernoff added:
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t see him around Jericho, and I didn’t see him around The Bucks,” he described. “I mean, that’s not to say he wasn’t, it’s not to say they weren’t cordial or side-eyeing each other. I have no idea. I can just picture him talking to various talents over by the road cases. He was not held up in his locker room away from everybody. Anytime I had seen him there at shows in the past, I could see him by the curtain, watching matches, peaking through the curtains and stuff.
“To me, he always seemed very engaged, he never seemed removed. But, at the same time, that’s kind of how I saw everybody there. I never saw Jericho held up in his locker room. Jericho was always out there talking to people and interacting with people and watching stuff.”
With regard to the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, Shernoff noted that he didn’t really see them, although this could have been due to them being more involved in the production of the show.
“You know what? I never really saw The Bucks and Kenny that much,” Shernoff said, describing The Elite’s backstage AEW presence. “Every once and awhile they would walk around, or, whatever. I think that night, also, MJF returned. So, I think there was, on the other side of the building, a lot of secrecy because I didn’t see MJF until after his return.
“At the same time, you have to remember the Bucks and Kenny are more involved with things. I wasn’t sitting in Gorilla so I have no idea. For all I know, they were in there sitting next to Tony Khan. All I know is the atmosphere was never this negative energy that you hear about.
CM Punk Returning To AEW
Despite the controversy, CM Punk is inching closer to a return to AEW. It is believed that Punk will return on June 17th at the United Center in Chicago. The event will be the premiere of AEW’s new Saturday show named Collision.
It has neem reported that Punk’s first storyline back will involve Chris Jericho and a meeting between the parties involved is scheduled to take place soon. However, some within AEW have questioned how well this meeting will actually go.
H/t to Haus of Wrestling