The Self-Destruction Of CM Punk In AEW | Wrestling Timelines
July 6, 2022 - The Media Starts To Sniff Around
The story begins to filter through to the public.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that Colt Cabana is still “technically” signed with All Elite Wrestling - “but talent were told that wasn’t always going to be the case”.
Sapp reports in July that “as far back as March”, there was “uproar” within the locker room over Colt’s potential exit. Khan had elected not to renew Colt’s deal in a promotion that, for better or worse, hired a not insignificant number of people based almost entirely on their relationships with top stars.
Colt is very popular; he’s a funny, outgoing guy, and many of the boys credit him for revolutionising the merchandise game from which they have profited. Many of them “go to bat” for him, and it is eventually decided that he will be reassigned to Ring Of Honor, which Khan has purchased and is in the process of rebooting.
Colt Cabana was a sporadic presence on AEW TV, and was brought in as a credible, pin-eating solid hand. This is cited as evidence that there’s nothing to see here; Colt was always destined to drop off the card after a few too many losses, particularly after AEW ruthlessly expanded its talent roster.
(The “Colt wasn’t good or over” argument is flawed. Tony Khan routinely books established stars against veterans or midcard acts who can’t buy a win. If anything, Khan persists with this ineffective booking model too often. Wrestlers who exist to lose are a staple of AEW Dynamite; many are booked year after year.)
What’s often lost about this chapter of the story is that Colt was working as a producer, regularly assisting talents with putting their matches together on Dark and Dark: Elevation.
The month of March is key here. This is when Ace Steel joined the company, as announced by Tony Khan during the post-Revolution scrum on March 6.
Colt Cabana, with whom Punk is not on good terms, is removed from his post as producer in March 2022. Ace Steel, with whom Punk is very close friends, is installed as a producer in March 2022.
Evidently, it’s too much of a coincidence for those close to Cabana to take. This is the inciting incident of the story that dominates and disrupts All Elite Wrestling.