Backstage AEW Issues Between CM Punk & Jack Perry?
Punk and former Jungle Boy in backstage disagreement at AEW Collision.
Jack Perry has become the latest AEW wrestler to be reported as somebody who has had a backstage disagreement with CM Punk in recent weeks.
Fightful Select reported on Tuesday that towards the beginning of Collision's run (the show debuted on 17 June), Punk and Perry were involved in a backstage face-to-face supposedly revolving around an idea the former Jungle Boy had pitched.
Per Punk's side, Perry was pushing to use real glass for a backstage segment, with the 44-year-old believing that Jack's motivation for this was that he wouldn't have to come to work the following week. Punk reportedly sees this as a big issue in AEW. Whether or not the spot would have been dangerous is unclear, however.
Continuing, the Punk side claimed Perry would have been going against the production team and company doctors. Tony Schiavone was also among those who told Jack not to do it. The young star apparently "wasn't happy" with being advised against the spot, and that smashing glass represented a safety hazard.
The Perry/Punk conversation happened shortly before AEW's new list of spots and moves requiring clearance came into play.
Jack Perry, CM Punk Argue Over "Dangerous" Segment
Punk's side of the story is that he "stepped in calmly," told Perry that they don't do spots like this on Collision, and that if he wasn't happy, he could stay on Dynamite. Other locker room members familiar with the situation have referred to the conversation as an "argument." The Punk side, meanwhile, states Jack threw a "temper tantrum" after the spot wasn't cleared.
There is no word on how the situation ended. It is understood, however, that several people agreed with Punk's stance.
Fightful contacted Perry for comment on the situation but didn't hear back.
The Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez believes some of the story's details may have been "lost in translation." Per Alvarez on the Observer/Figure Four Online message board:-
"Jungle Boy had a vacation planned. He wanted to do a pre-taped angle with a car to write him off TV for that week. Punk told him no, he felt it was too dangerous to do a broken glass spot, and said they cared about safety. Jungle was upset about that. That is very different from the story that Jack wanted to do a dangerous spot as a way to avoid having to go to work."
Neither side has commented on the situation publically.