How AEW Handled The Elite & CM Punk Backstage Last Night
What happened when The Elite & CM Punk shared an AEW arena at Forbidden Door 2023?
CM Punk and The Elite were back in the same AEW building for the first time since their infamous post-All Out 2022 brawl last night, necessitating what sound like some pretty extreme measures behind the scenes.
Fightful Select reported that Punk was placed on the complete opposite side of Toronto, Ontario's Scotia Bank Arena to Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks for Forbidden Door 2023.
Punk did not appear at the post-show media scrum, having verbally attacked Omega, the Bucks, and 'Hangman' Adam Page during the post-All Out presser, leading to a backstage brawl. All involved parties were suspended indefinitely following the incident.
Neither Omega, Page, nor the Young Bucks appeared at the Forbidden Door scrum either.
Punk returned to AEW for the first time since September 2022 on the 17 June episode of Collision. The Elite weren't present for that show in Chicago, IL, and didn't attend the following Wednesday's episode of Dynamite, which featured Punk, either. Thus, Forbidden Door was the first time the two parties had shared a building since All Out.
Punk defeated NJPW's Satoshi Kojima at Forbidden Door. Elsewhere, Page and the Bucks were victorious in a 10-man tag team bout, while Omega dropped the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship to Will Ospreay.