10 Biggest Mysteries In The Secret War Between AEW And CM Punk
6. Which Side Is Right?
Mystery:
The whole thing is so exhaustingly and fascinatingly complicated, all at the same time.
Tony Khan prior to All Out told Forbes outright that CM Punk had, to paraphrase, "f*ck all" to do with Colt's banishment to Ring Of Honor. Here's Khan's direct quote (h/t Forbes):
"I will clarify that, just to take it head on, that [Punk] had nothing to do with any of the contracts I picked up, whether I did or didn't. But in particular, I did pick up Colt Cabana’s contract and gave him a similar contract to do different work. I don’t know if it was fair that that got perpetuated...I also didn't think that was fair to Punk."
Conversely, Dave Meltzer - who is meant to be on Khan's payroll, mind you! - at first talked around his idea that Khan wasn't being entirely truthful in a message board post dated November 14, 2022. "Just theoretical," Dave wrote, before indicating that Punk was responsible for Colt's vanishing and that Khan backed up Punk in fear of his "big star" looking like an a**hole in the eyes of the public. "Again, only theoretical," Meltzer wrote.
Dave was less cagey and "slick" when discussing Colt's disappearance in connection with his return to AEW in a match against Chris Jericho on November 2, 2022. When co-host Bryan Alvarez remarked that it was a little funny that Colt had walked back in the second Punk went AWOL. Meltzer shouted, with conviction, that "it's almost as if a certain story was true from the start!"
Theory:
Somebody is lying. It is a terrible idea to guess who that person is here, with as little actual information as anybody else outside of a few people within AEW. But somebody is lying. That much is 100% certain.
Who is it?
The guy with a shaky defence few in AEW believe - but all the puffed-chest conviction in the world - or a mostly exceptional reporter whose credibility has taken a hit with his reporting on Dragon Gate?
Dave apologised for that, but still - his modern track record is not flawless.