The situation involving CM Punk and The Elite is still decidedly frosty.
On August 2nd AEW celebrated the 200th episode of Dynamite and looked to take the first steps into a bold new future. The first match for All In at Wembley was announced, Hikaru Shida became Women’s Champion in the show’s main event, and ahead of the broadcast, it was revealed that The Elite had all signed new “multi-year” deals with the company despite interest from WWE.
Away from Dynamite, Collision also recorded a strong rating with CM Punk leading the way for the newly launched show.
This swell of good news — aside from arguments over the booking of the women’s division — has led fans to wonder whether tensions between The Elite and CM Punk have calmed. However, it seems that the new contracts for Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and Adam Page have changed nothing.
Reporting in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that there remain “significant issues” between the two parties.
“Even with the signing, there do remain significant behind-the-scenes issues that haven’t been settled, between them and C.M. Punk, which keeps Tony Khan having to do a balancing act.”
What Happened Between CM Punk And The Elite?
The problems between CM Punk and The Elite began in the lead up to Double or Nothing 2022. Punk and Hangman Adam Page were scheduled to meet in the main event, and the former took offence at something Page said in a promo leading up to the show. This caused CM Punk to question whether he would even appear at the show, and if Page would try to deliberately hurt him in the match.
Following Double or Nothing tension continued to build and reached a peak during a remarkable press conference following All Out when Punk went after the quartet. This sparked a brawl backstage.
Since then, the relationship between Punk and the group has all but disappeared, with him continuing to take shots at the four.
AEW Founder Tony Khan has recently commented on instances of disharmony among certain members of the AEW roster, stating that he “can’t make everyone get along.”
An attempt was made to bring the two sides together in the days leading up to All In, but a planned meeting was reportedly canceled.