Tony Khan Finally Explains If Showing CM Punk’s Brawl In Footage Was A Retaliatory Measure

AEW has seen a few controversies since they opened their doors. CM Punk’s time in the promotion was certainly interesting. Tony Khan lived through it, and now he can look back with a bit of retrospect on the situation.

At AEW All In 2023, CM Punk got into a backstage fight with Jack Perry after Perry used real glass in a segment and took a shot at Punk on camera. Punk wasn’t happy about it, and the situation escalated.

CM Punk was released from AEW, and that that wasn’t all she wrote. AEW continued their beef with CM Punk, even after he was no longer with the company. Tony Khan went on to release the full security camera footage of Punk’s backstage All In brawl with Jack Perry, even though they worked overtime to remove it afterward. He also believes that tape speaks for itself.

Months later, Punk discussed the incident in an interview with Ariel Helwani, and AEW responded by airing the security footage from that backstage confrontation. While speaking to the Ariel Helwani Show, Tony Khan was asked about CM Punk. The owner of the company went on to give his own version of the story, although it wasn’t very elaborate.

Tony Khan was asked if there are any regrets, to which Tony said, “there were so many things.” Then Ariel isolated his question to concern the security footage that was played in response to Punk’s interview on his show.

“It’s interesting, because I do think that I didn’t necessarily agree with the description of how it all happened. No, [it wasn’t a way of showing Punk up after speaking with Ariel Helwani] and I very much think you’re a great interviewer, and I very much appreciate it, because we’ve had a very, very good interview, and I think I’ve been very good to answer the questions so far.”

“Now you’ve got me enjoying talking to you so much. So, I want to answer your questions — even the challenging ones. I didn’t necessarily agree with everything that was said in that interview about how things happened, but also it’s a TV show, and [playing the video] did a very strong number, and if you look, it made sense. It was a thing that was advertised, it got a lot of attention, and it got a very strong number, and it’s in the eye of the beholder.”

When asked if there was anything that he wanted to refute about what CM Punk said, he replied, “I think the tape spoke for itself, and it happened, and it was a major part of why things couldn’t continue with us.”

CM Punk brought over 1 million viewers to AEW, but those weeks are over. He was also called out for not being a locker room leader in AEW. Now, the Second City Savior is having a great time in WWE as World Heavyweight Champion.

We will keep a close eye on AEW and CM Punk. At this point in time, it doesn’t seem like the two sides will do business with each other again. Tony Khan and CM Punk probably prefer it that way.

What’s your take on CM Punk and AEW’s story? Could there have been something to help mend the relationship? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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