10 Wrestlers Who Turned Heel On AEW
3. CM Punk
As you read this, CM Punk may well have returned or be as good as back in the fold in All Elite Wrestling, and how. But he very nearly wasn't after only a year with the group, and made no secret of his gripes with those at AEW's top table during his infamous post-All Out 2022 press conference rant.
You've seen it all before, but like every epic CM Punk promo, it bears repeating. On Hangman Page, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, he said;
“What did I ever do in this world to get to deserve an empty-headed, f*cking dumb f*ck like ‘Hangman’ Adam Page to go out on national television and f*cking go into business for himself...What did I ever do? I didn’t do a goddamn thing!...There’s people who call themselves EVPs that should have f*cking known better...It’s a disgrace to this company. When somebody [Page] who hasn’t done a damn thing in this business jeopardises the first million-dollar house that this company has ever drawn off of my back and goes on national television and does that, it’s a disgrace to this industry...Now, we’re far beyond apologies. I gave him a f*cking chance. It did not get handled and you saw what I had to do, which is very regrettable, lowering myself to his f*cking level, but that’s where we’re at right now.”
Cooler heads might prevail eventually, but they'll need to be ice cold to truly douse the heat created in this legendary (and/or legendarily horrendous) industry flashpoint.