19 Things WRESTLING Wants You To Forget About CM Punk
5. "Workers Rights"
It wasn't exactly throwaway, but Hangman Page's use of those two words altered the course of AEW and wrestling history, setting off a chain of events that may well have occurred anyway but were expedited in the aftermath.
Page questioned the validity of Punk's public call for wrestlers to come together in the wake of Sasha Banks and Naomi leaving WWE amidst arguments over their booking and treatment, inviting mass speculation that Punk had been directly involved in Colt Cabana (and possibly others) no longer working on shows he was on.
Contextualising it with their title match on the subsequent pay-per-view, Page got right in Punk's face and said;
"But I will tell you face to face, man to man how I feel about you. I don't hate you. I almost pity you. And I have no respect for you and what you've done since you got here...you talk a big game about workers rights, well you've shown the exact opposite since you've gotten here. I love this place. I care about this place. This is my home...I will not be defending this Championship against you, for the first time in my life, I will be defending All Elite Wrestling from you."
Though wholly unambiguous in the aftermath, enough of the remarks got lost to the general feeling of confusion and uncertainty around the pair's feud.
As did an equally unprofessional blowback a few months later...