The Self-Destruction Of CM Punk In AEW | Wrestling Timelines
September 2, 2023 - Terminated With Cause
CM Punk is officially fired. He is terminated with cause, as is revealed by an official press release and explained by Tony Khan ahead of a Collision taping.
Khan reveals that he has been producing wrestling shows for four years, and until All In: London, had never once feared for his safety or his life. Khan cites that the internal disciplinary committee and legal counsel, who agreed unanimously, informed his decision.
If nothing else, AEW has the opportunity to move on free of distraction. After an abysmal autumn period defined by the all-time bad ‘Devil’ mystery storyline, 2024 brings with it renewed optimism. The Continental Classic - AEW’s long wished-for, almost apologetic version of the vaunted NJPW G1 Climax - sets the tone in December ‘23. The creative flair that foreshadows the full-time arrival of living legend Kazuchika Okada indicates that the Young Bucks are checked back in. The Bucks, Sting, and Darby Allin prove that the only-in-AEW magic still exists at Revolution: the iconic feel-good site of Sting’s retirement. The additional signings of Will Ospreay and Mercedes Moné seek to recreate the “feeling” summoned at All Out 2021.
And then CM Punk gets interviewed by Ariel Helwani.
April 3, 2024 - The Obsession Continues
It was going so well before the Ariel Helwani interview.
CM Punk, now back in WWE, is interviewed by Helwani on April 1 as part of the WrestleMania 40 publicity campaign. It’s a terrible situation for AEW, optics-wise: WWE is white-hot, critically acclaimed, and is set to pay off its most universally beloved long-term story in decades. And while AEW tormentor Punk is injured, he’s still on TV, as a bigger star, plotting his compelling slow-burn saga with Drew McIntyre. This series will continue the new WWE ‘boom’.
Naturally, the subject of AEW comes up.
Punk reveals that he wanted to leave AEW in the wake of Brawl Out, and knew Collision was a dumb, untenable idea. He puts on a great exasperated voice as he recalls asking Tony Khan to “handle” the real glass business at Collision.
“Like, please,” Punk says.
Punk expresses his belief that AEW isn’t a serious business predicated on selling tickets. When asked what AEW wants to do, he says “just having good matches, maybe?”
Punk also plays down the Wembley incident. He says he did nothing to make Khan fear for his life. Punk says that, after the scuffle was broken up, he leaned over to Khan and said: “This place is a f*cking joke. You’re a clown. I quit.”
On Khan more generally, Punk refers to him as “a nice guy, not a boss”.
In what very much scans as a defensive gesture, Adam Copeland opens the April 3 Dynamite with an impassioned pro-AEW rah-rah speech. This becomes a recurring theme; Dax Harwood also gets in on the act. This feels forced and lacks credibility, since Punk has only days ago confessed that he buried WWE at the First Dance because it’s what the audience wanted to hear.
Pro-AEW rhetoric is exposed as just another work. AEW builds its year around it nonetheless.