Matt Hardy Accuses CM Punk of Sabotaging His AEW Collision Appearance

There was a lot of drama during CM Punk’s time in AEW and he was eventually fired from the company. Matt Hardy used to be in AEW when Punk was there and now Hardy has accused Punk of sabotaging his appearance on AEW Collision.

While speaking on the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Matt Hardy talked about how CM Punk basically got the final say with Tony Khan, because Tony really trusted his opinion on booking. Matt noted how they had done a segment on Dynamite that was supposed to lead to Matt being in Ethan Page’s corner the next night when Ethan faced MJF, finishing Ethan’s turn into a good guy.

Matt Hardy didn’t want to miss it, but he already had a direct flight home in the morning and plans with his kids. A few days earlier, MJF asked if he could change his flight, but Matt said no. He told them if Tony really needed him, Tony could tell him directly, but he wasn’t going to give up time with his family.

“There was one point where we talked about how he kind of got the last word in with Tony, because Tony really held him in high regard when it came to booking. We’d done a thing on Dynamite that was supposed to lead to me being in Ethan Page’s corner the next night when he wrestled MJF, to complete the babyface turn.

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I didn’t want to miss it, but I had a direct flight in the morning and plans with my kids the next day. MJF asked me a few days out, ‘Hey, would you change your flight to do this?’ and I said, ‘No, I’m not going to do that. If Tony really needs me for that show, he can tell me himself, but I’m not wasting my time at home with my children.’”

When Matt got to Dynamite that night, he spoke with Tony Khan, who said he absolutely wanted Matt there the next day with Ethan Page and thanked him for doing it. Since Collision was being taped on Thursday after Wednesday in Canada, Matt agreed.

Hardy then got with Travel, changed his flight, and went back to his hotel. Later, Travel called saying he was no longer needed for the show and they’d try to get him back on his original flight.

Matt was absolutely shocked, since he had just spoken to Tony Khan hours before and Khan had been excited and fully on board. He didn’t have direct proof, but he figured someone must have blocked it, and he couldn’t imagine it was anyone other than CM Punk, since that was Punk’s show.

“So I get to Dynamite that night and talk with Tony, and Tony’s like, ‘Yes, I want you tomorrow. Be out there with Ethan. I definitely want you there. You’re gonna be on the show. Thank you for doing this.’ They were taping Collision on a Thursday after the Wednesday, and we were in Canada. I said, ‘Okay, cool.’ Then I talked with Travel, they changed my flight, did the whole deal, I went back to the hotel — and then I get a call from Travel saying, ‘Just heard you’re not needed for tomorrow’s event. We’ll try to get you back on your original flight.’

I’m like, ‘What do you mean I’m not needed? I just talked to Tony three hours ago and he was excited. He said, let’s f****** go.’ And really, I don’t have the full authority to say, but someone stopped that from happening. I couldn’t imagine it was anyone besides Punk, because that was his show, right?”

The next day turned into a mess. Matt Hardy couldn’t leave Toronto until 4:00, got stuck somewhere, had to rent a car, and didn’t get home until 3:00 in the morning. It ruined his day and really upset him.

Looking back, Hardy said what happened with AEW that night was total “b*******” and very unprofessional and that it was problematic how deep CM Punk was in Tony Khan’s ear and did whatever he wanted. It messed up his real life and his time with his family, and it left him seriously angry.

“It was so crazy that Tony so adamantly wanted me there, saying, ‘Yes, you’re going to do it,’ and then the next day I couldn’t fly out of Toronto until 4:00. I got stuck somewhere, had to rent a car, didn’t get home until 3:00 in the morning. It made my day real shitty. That f****** s**** bothered me.

So there were definitely times, especially in that AEW relationship, where he was so deep in Tony’s ear and got to do whatever he wanted, and that ended up being problematic.

What happened at AEW or whatever created that was f****** b****** that night, and I did not like it. It was a very unprofessional situation that f***** me over in my real life, in my actual time. It really p***** me off.”

It’s certainly a shame how things turned out for CM Punk in AEW as many felt CM Punk would’ve truly taken the company to the next level. Regardless, Matt Hardy’s experience with Punk wasn’t necessarily the best and it’s not hard to see why.

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