The phrase any publicity is good publicity seems to be true for AEW as the negative fallout from CM Punk media scrum and the backstage altercation seemed to have helped the viewership of Dynamite.
This week’s episode of the Wednesday night show averaged 1.035 million viewers, which is actually a 1.5% increase compared to last week’s show.
Last week’s episode which featured the final build for the Jon Moxley vs CM Punk match at All Out had averaged 1.020 million viewers.
The show did a 0.38 rating in the 18-19 demographic, which is an increase from the 0.35 rating last week. Dynamite ended up being #2 on cable for the night.
Tony Khan Reacts
Tony Khan didn’t miss the opportunity to tout these viewership numbers. He made a tweet sharing some stats about the show’s ratings:
“Thanks to you, last night marked the first time since Oct 2021 that Dynamite’s had 3 straight weeks over 1 million viewers! + we made it 15 straight Wednesdays Dynamite ranked in cable’s top 2 shows in the 18-49 demo!”
Thanks to you, last night marked the first time since Oct 2021 that Dynamite’s had 3 straight weeks over 1 million viewers!
+ we made it 15 straight Wednesdays Dynamite ranked in cable’s top 2 shows in the 18-49 demo!
See you TOMORROW for a huge Friday Night #AEWRampage on TNT!
The quarterly breakdown shows that fans were interested in knowing how the company will handle the fallout from the backstage altercation at All Out. Over 1.2 million tuned in for the first quarter of the show and it slowly decreased from there.
Now that it’s confirmed that we won’t be seeing The Elite or CM Punk on TV in the foreseeable future, it’d be interesting to see if the show is able to hold the viewership numbers next week.
An ex-WWE writer is claiming that he’s heard it “sucks backstage” in All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Former WWE writer and actor Freddie Prinze Jr. took to his podcast, “Wrestling With Freddie,” to offer his thoughts on the current backstage environment in AEW.
Prinze stressed that AEW is in desperate need of leadership right now. He added that he has spoken to several people who work for the company, who say that the environment backstage “sucks.”
“It’s bad there, man. There’s no leadership. He was saying stuff in front of his boss that was making Tony cringe and become this shrinking violet, and that’s his boss. So there is no leadership backstage. Things have to be a mess back there.
“They have to find someone that everyone universally respects that can, not have a wrestlers court, but at least, or maybe that’s what they need is a wrestlers court. I mean, one of their EVPs, Adam Page, said he doesn’t need advice. He doesn’t take advice.
“I know a lot of actors that talk like that and they’re in their 20s, and I’m like, ‘Yo man. This is Peter Falk. You like not going to take a minute?’ They said, ‘I’m going to do what brought me here.’ All right, dog. I don’t know what’s going on there. I have a couple of friends who work there who just say it sucks backstage.
“They need leadership or someone from the outside that is in a position of power above the EVPs that ain’t having this or at least can bring people together and say have it, like hash it out right now even if that means you guys gotta throw some punches.
“I’ll drive you to the doctor as soon as it’s over. I don’t know what’s going on there, but if they don’t get their sh*t together, Triple H is going to run away with the wrestling business. Run away with it.”
(via AEW)
There have been several stories coming out of AEW about stars not getting along with one another. One being Sammy Guevara and Eddie Kingston. And of course, the most recent and biggest to date – CM Punk and The Elite.
Punk has been having issues with Hangman Page, and voiced his frustrations with Page in the AEW All Out post-show press conference. During the presser, Punk also took harsh shots at AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.
The then-AEW World Champion and former WWE star stated that The Elite “couldn’t manage a Target.”
Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair has reacted to CM Punk’s recent All Out press conference comments, as well as his brawl with The Elite.
As noted, CM Punk made some pretty strong comments about Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks during his press conference interview after All Out this past weekend.
Shortly after returning backstage, The Elite confronted Punk in his locker room, which led to a brawl.
Speaking on his podcast, “To Be The Man,” Ric Flair offered his thoughts on the entire situation.
In regards to Punk’s comments at the presser, and the AEW World Champion inviting people to come see him if they have a problem with him – Flair loved it.
“I’ve been watching it from afar and it’s very entertaining. If it’s entertainment the fans want, it’s entertainment they’re getting. Punk is giving them a lot of it. We just barely got to say hi [in WWE].
“I was long gone when all the bad blood seemed to appear between he and Hunter, then the lawsuit with the doctor and all that. I wasn’t aware of any of it and saw it like everybody else on social media. I always sided with Hunter on that because I didn’t know the other guy.
“But [Punk] is creating excitement now, and if he’s not afraid to say it – I like the way he said, ‘I’ll walk down the hall and be ready.’ That’s Harley Race talking right there. I don’t know if he’s that tough, but I love that.
“That’s old-time stuff right there. ‘If you got a problem with me, you can find me right there in the building.’ It’s got to be dividing the locker room.’
The Elite certainly took Punk at his word, as they did confront him immediately after his comments, leading to the altercation.
Flair doubled down that he loves that Punk felt strongly enough to speak up on the situation, but was reluctant to take sides in the end, as he has had nothing but pleasant experiences with Omega and The Young Bucks.
“There’s two kinds of brawls. There’s one where a guy will start a fight because he knows it’s gonna get broken up because there’s so many people around. I would think this is probably the situation with these guys.
“It’s not like they’re walking into the dressing room to talk to Harley Race or Blackjack [Mulligan]. That would take a lot of thinking and talking and walking to talk to Harley Race about something they didn’t like as an individual.
“The fact that Punk said, ‘I’m in the building if you want to find me,’ or something like that, I like that. It’s probably not what Tony [Khan] or anybody wants to hear, but if he has the courage to say that and he feels that strongly about somebody, then I don’t blame him for saying it.
“I like Omega and I like the Young Bucks. They seem like really easy guys to get along with, but I don’t know them that well. For me, it’s how they treat me as an individual, and they treat me great.
“I was able to be around Kenny when he wrestled [Andrade] in Mexico, and the Young Bucks have been awesome, so I don’t know. CM Punk, I don’t know him. But he said it.”
The fallout from CM Punk’s backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks has led to significant changes to future AEW storylines. Jon Moxley is among the wrestlers whose creative plans have been thrown into disarray.
Moxley lost the AEW World Title to Punk in the main event of Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view. However, after the backstage incident between Punk and Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, things were forced to change in a major way.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, there was a longterm storyline in the works for Moxley that had nothing to do with the championship. He was also approved to take time off, as as he alluded to during his promo on Dynamite, when he said he was supposed to be on vacation this week.
As a result of the ongoing investigation into the backstage melee at All Out (and subsequent suspensions that have been levied), AEW President Tony Khan called upon Moxley and Jericho to work Dynamite on short notice.
Another talent meeting that was held prior to Dynamite to address uneasiness in the locker room. Locker room veterans Moxley, Jericho and Bryan Danielson preached unity and reinforced the positive aspects of what has made AEW such a desirable place to work up until recently.
For more on the big shakeup to AEW’s creative plans, check out:
Christian Cage has joined the list of AEW wrestlers who will need to take a long break from AEW programming due to an injury.
The former WWE star competed in a very short match at the All Out PPV. He defeated Jungle Boy with a spear and a killswitch in just 33 seconds. Jungle Boy was attacked by Luchasaurus before the match began.
A lot of people wondered about the length of the bout. After the PPV it was revealed that the wrestling veteran is actually dealing with an injury.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer provided the latest update on Christian recently. He confirmed that the AEW star will be out of action for 6 to 9 months:
“His injury may be the exact same injury as [CM] Punk. So we’re talking again like an eight-month-ish, six-to-nine months of being out.”
CM Punk suffered the injury during his AEW World Championship match against Jon Moxley at All Out. It’s believed that he suffered a torn triceps that will see him stay out of action for the remainder of the year.
Christian has joined the list of AEW stars that are expected to stay out of action for the foreseeable future with Punk and Thunder Rosa.
Chris Jericho was one of the biggest names to join AEW early on. He has been helping the company grow in every way possible since then. Jericho has stepped even more into the leadership role in AEW amidst all the locker room drama. Though despite this, he doesn’t want an official title in the company.
“I don’t need a job title to help the company. I do it every day. Whenever I show up to TV, it’s a constant. Constant working from two o’clock until the show is over. If I’m wrestling or not.” said Chris Jericho, “That’s the way it should be. There’s not a lot of guys that have been doing this as long as I have. In our locker room there’s Sting, there’s Dustin Rhodes and then there’s me.
I’m one of the original AEW guys, probably was very integral in getting the company off the ground in a lot of ways. So I don’t have a problem with giving advice and helping people. It’s what I’m there for. It’s part of my job. Like I said there’s nothing to be written on a business card, you know, Director of EVP or whatever the fuck it is, who cares. I’m Chris Jericho. That trumps all of that.”
You can check out Chris Jericho’s full interview below:
All Elite Wrestling is hitting the reset button amid the fallout from Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view. The World Championship has been vacated. Death Triangle won the vacant Trios Championships on Dynamite. The next few months of storylines are being rewritten due to the company’s top stars serving suspensions.
A tournament of champions is underway to crown a new AEW World Champion. The semi-finals will take place next week on Dynamite. Chris Jericho will battle Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley will face the winner of Friday’s match between Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara. The finals will take place at the Grand Slam edition of Dynamite on September 21st.
Tony Khan books storylines several months in advance, so he’s been forced to scramble and come up with new ideas for remainder of the year. Whatever plans for November’s Full Gear pay-per-view are out the window. A new main event is currently in the works.
(NOTE: the following information contains potential spoilers for the ongoing AEW Tournament of Champions)
Full Gear Main Event
AEW is discussing Jon Moxley vs. MJF as the main event for Full Gear 2022, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. The implication is that Moxley will win the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions. MJF earned a contract to challenge the AEW World Champion by winning the Casino Ladder match at All Out.
As we saw on Wednesday’s Dynamite, the chess pieces are already being put into place for this eventual showdown.
AEW Full Gear takes place Saturday, November 19th from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
Claudio Castagnoli had a crazy first week in AEW. He made his debut at the Forbidden Door PPV defeating Zack Sabre Jr. and went on to compete in the Blood and Guts match only days later. Castagnoli gave fans a number of memorable moments during his very first week, including a giant swing on Chris Jericho from the top of the Blood and Guts cage.
The former WWE star recently appeared on AEW Unrestricted podcast. Speaking about the giant swing he delivered from the top of the cage, Claudio Castagnoli mentioned that it was Chris Jericho’s idea:
“He suggested it. He was like ‘We need to do it at the top of the cage.’ I’m like, ‘Sure, let me go up there and see’ Because it was my first time in that cage or especially on top of that cage. So the place where he suggested, I was like ‘Yes, that is possible,’ but in my mind his body would be almost over the cage for a second there. He was like ‘It’s fine I trust you.’ I am like ‘Yes, I trust myself too but accidents can happen.’ The highest priority is that my opponent is safe.”
‘Alright, We’re Done’: Claudio Castagnoli
However, the roles were reversed as soon as they got onto the top of the cage. Per Claudio Castagnoli, this time it was Jericho who was concerned about the success of the spot and wanted to be done with it:
“When we went and did it though. As soon as I did like one rotation I was like, ‘oh yeah, this is fine. We’re good. I can do this for a long time.’ But that’s when then Chris on the other hand was like, ‘No, no, we’re done. This is good. This is good.’ Because all he saw was obviously you know, being 20, 30 feet up in the air, seeing the crowd below him. He was kind of like, ‘Alright, we’re done.’”
Thankfully both the stars were unscathed coming out of the spot. You can relive the amazing moment from Blood and Guts below:
CM Punk will not be returning to All Elite Wrestling any time soon, if ever. Punk was on top of the world after defeating Jon Moxley to reclaim the AEW World Championship in the main event of Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view from Chicago. It would all come crashing down soon after that.
Aside from all the drama resulting in his post-show media scrum appearance, SEScoops has learned that Punk was injured during his match against Moxley. He’ll require surgery which will keep the 2-time AEW World Champion out of action for the remainder of the year.
Six to Nine Months
Punk tore a muscle in his arm after hitting a tope suicida (suicide dive) on Moxley mid-way through the bout, as first reported by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. It’s unclear if the injury affects his triceps, biceps, or pectoral muscle, but he’s expected to miss 6-9 months of ring time.
Meltzer added that Punk’s injury and guaranteed layoff time made Tony Khan’s decision to strip him of the AEW world title a no-brainer. It’s possible that Khan will decide Punk is not worth the trouble he brings.
“Punk’s out for eight months, or whatever it’s going to be, six months/eight months, whatever. If he’s not let go, and a lot of people don’t want him back.”
Dave Meltzer.
The Fight
Punk has been stripped of the AEW World Championship, in part due to his comments at the All Out media scrum and his participation in the backstage fight.
In his report, Meltzer noted that Punk didn’t feel respected, as his philosophy when it comes to wrestling differs from how the Elite do things.
Meltzer said that Ace Steel’s side of the story is that he grabbed and bit Kenny Omega, because Omega was trying to pull CM Punk off of Nick Jackson.
Steel also mentioned wanting to protect his wife, who was also in the room at the time.
Last night’s AEW Dynamite was the first show since All Out 2022, and the first after what happened following the Pay Per View.
During the post-All Out media scrum, CM Punk had explosive comments about AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, as well as Colt Cabana and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page.
Backstage, Punk and his trainer Ace Steel engaged in a fight with Omega and the Bucks.
Talent Meeting
With AEW under scrutiny, a talent-wide meeting was held prior to last night’s episode of Dynamite.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports that Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, and Jon Moxley led the meeting, which included wrestlers, referees, coaches, and announcers.
It was reported that Chris Jericho has been commended by the talent for his professionalism and demeanor following the CM Punk/Elite controversy.
This meeting comes weeks after an AEW talent meeting last month to address reports of issues within the company.
What’s next?
During this week’s AEW Dynamite, Tony Khan confirmed that CM Punk has been stripped of the AEW World Championship and that the Elite have been stripped of the AEW Trios Tag Team Championships.
The Death Triangle won the vacant AEW Trios Tag Titles during Dynamite with a win over Best Friends and Orange Cassidy.
A new AEW World Champion will be crowned at the Grand Slam Dynamite on September 21.
Both Claudio Castagnoli and Brodie Lee came from nothing and became big stars in wrestling. The two shared a lot of steps in this journey and Castagnoli has a lot of fond memories of working with the late star.
The AEW star shared some of these memories during his appearance on AEW Unrestricted podcast. He was asked about his experience of having the first ever Steel Cage match in the history of Chikara with Brodie. Replying to it, the BCC member first recalled how Lee used to stay with him everytime he visited the Philly area:
“Oh, it was awesome. Back then, Brodie came down from Rochester all the time to the Philly area for Chikara and Ring of Honor. Towards the end of my Ring of Honor run he was there. Every time Brodie came into town, he stayed at my place.
I remember one of my first paychecks from Japan, I bought a new bed. I could finally afford it. I saved my old mattress though, so he could sleep on it. Because he would just sleep on the couch. So then he had like his own bed.”
‘We Always Had A Laugh’: Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio Castagnoli then mentioned how they had a lot of fun working together. The cage match between the two was no different:
“We always had a laugh. We always had fun when we had our matches because we would always try to do something crazy.
To have the steel cage match, the first ever was a lot of fun. He still accused me every time he’s got the chance to of whipping him into the cage too hard and thus, he got color which was a big no no at the super PG Chikara. He would remind me every single time that I made him bleed. It was because I was shutting him too hard. Not so sure about that.”
Last night’s AEW Dynamite was the first show after All Out 2022, but the Pay Per View has been overshadowed by what happened after.
In the post-show media scrum, CM Punk had some explosive comments about AEW EVPs the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, accusing them of spreading false information about him.
Punk also took aim at his former best friend Colt Cabana, as well as ‘Hangman’ Adam Page.
The Fight
In addition to comments, Punk was involved in a backstage fight at the All Out post-show media scrum.
Several reports have stated that Punk was the one to throw the first punch, hitting Matt Jackson, while his trainer Ace Steel would hit Nick Jackson in the eye with a chair.
Steel is also reported to have bit and pulled the hair of Kenny Omega.
AEW Dynamite
The Bucks, Omega, and CM Punk are four of the biggest names in AEW, but none were featured on last night’s Dynamite.
AEW’s production team also worked quickly to remove Punk and the Elite from the opening video package, which had featured all four men prominently until this week.
During his announcement that the AEW World Championship and AEW World Trios Championships had been vacated, Tony Khan did not reference any of the suspended individuals by name.
New AEW World Trios Champions were crowned during Dynamite, with a new AEW World Champion set to be crowned during the Grand Slam special edition of Dynamite in two weeks on September 21.
Ricky Starks is considered a future world champion by many and so fans were left surprised over his quick loss to Will Hobbs at All Out.
Fightful Select provided some update on the situation and addressed some rumors that have been going on about the status of the AEW star.
They confirmed that the rumors of the former FTW champion being injured are not true and he is ‘healthy and good to go.’
In midst of all the backstage drama going on in AEW, some speculated that Starks might have asked for his release too. There were other rumors that said that he has signed a contract extension with the company recently but both are incorrect.
The All Out match between Ricky Starks and Will Hobbs originally had more time allotted to it. There is no word on why it was cut short. The current working plan is for Hobbs to get a push after his victory.
Ricky Starks won the FTW championship by dethroning Brian Cage in July 2021. He defended the title a number of times in the following year before dropping it to Hook in July this year at Fight For The Fallen.
During a post-match interview with Tony Schiavone, fellow Team Taz member Will Hobbs snapped and attacked Starks. The two have been feuding ever since.
The main event of this week’s Dynamite from Buffalo saw the crowning of a new champion. Danial Garcia beat Wheeler Yuta to become the new ROH Pure champion.
After the match, Yuta’s BCC teammate Bryan Danielson came out to congratulate Garcia. Chris Jericho also came out and stood at the ramp.
Once the cameras stopped rolling, Danielson hyped up Danial Garcia’s hometown crowd over his title win.
When the new ROH champion started celebrating with Bryan, Chris Jericho asked ‘What are you doing?’ The Buffalo crowd then chanted ‘You’re a wrestler’ to Garcia.
Garcia seemed torn between Jericho and Bryan for a moment but he shrugged and continue celebrating his title victory with Danielson. This led to Jericho storming back up the ramp while shaking his head in disapproval before leaving.
Rapper WESTSIDEGUNN who is also from Buffalo then came out in the ring to celebrate with Danial Garcia. Garcia cut a promo and said that it’s a big night for both AEW and wrestling and sent the crowd home happy.
Garcia wasn’t the only new champion crowned during the night. AEW also crowned new Trios Champions after the suspension of The Elite.
After a couple months of absence MJF finally returned to AEW at All Out and confronted the former AEW world champion CM Punk.
This week’s episode of Dynamite opened with Tony Khan addressing the future of the trios titles and the world title after the backstage drama that unfolded at the PPV on Sunday night.
MJF made his way to the ring after TK and addressed the fans for the first time in months. He got the Buffalo crowd behind him by wearing a Josh Allen shirt.
The AEW star mentioned how he said some offensive stuff when the fans last saw him. The crowd responded with ‘You were right’ chants. MJF claimed that he didn’t mean it and he loves AEW which led to an AEW chant.
MJF then explained why he isn’t a part of the announced tournament to crown the new AEW world champion. He mentioned that he already has a guaranteed world title shot after winning the Casino Ladder Match:
“You might think we’re in dark times, but we’re not.” said MJF, “What we need is leadership. I’m not saying I’m Moses, I’m better than Moses,”
When Jon Moxley came out to call MJF on his bullshit, MJF showed his true colors very quickly. He explained that he was going to use the world title as a bargaining chip for the 2024 bidding war.
The young star said that in 2024, he would go to WWE with his best friend Cody Rhodes and the ‘only Khan that matters’ because ‘that’s what’s best for business.’
He then teased a confrontation with Mox but MJF eventually backed off. He headed back to the ramp, leaving Mox to cut a promo about the AEW title.
Prior to this week’s newsworthy edition of AEW Dynamite on TBS, AEW taped Dark Elevation matches that will air in the future on their YouTube channel.
SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay sent in the following results. If using these results elsewhere, please give credit to both SEScoops and Ella Jay.
AEW Dark Elevation Results
Nyla Rose & Marina Shafir defeat JC Storm & A Local Talent Julia Hart defeated Tiara James Dante Martin & Matt Sydal defeat Zack Clayton & Serpentico Athena defeated Emi Sakura Brody King & Buddy Matthews defeat Kubes and Isiah Prince Hikaru Shida defeated Christina Marie John Silver defeated Ryan Nemeth The Butcher & The Blade defeated Aaron Solo & Nick Commorado
This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite opened with Tony Khan addressing the audience with a pre-taped segment.
Khan announced that following the events of this past weekend at All Out, he has been forced to vacate both the AEW World Trios Championship and the AEW World Championship.
Khan went on to announce that new Trios Champions would be decided this week as PAC and Death Triangle will take on the Best Friends to crown new champions. This follows The Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega) becoming the first-ever AEW Trios Champions at All Out when they defeated “Hangman” Adam Page and the Dark Order.
However, the real life fight that happened backstage between The Elite and CM Punk and Ace Steel forced Khan’s hand.
CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at All Out. However, his participation in the backstage fight (as well as the fact that he suffered an injury in his match with Moxley) also forced Khan’s hand here as it relates to the world title.
A new AEW World Champion will be crowned at AEW Dynamite in two weeks at AEW Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The tournament begins tonight on Dynamite.
Participants in the tournament include: “Hangman” Adam Page, Bryan Danielson, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley.
Make sure to check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news. Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
AEW President Tony Khan has announced that he will address the AEW Championship and the Trios Championships tonight on Dynamite.
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (The Elite) became the inaugural Trios Champions at All Out by defeating Dark Order and Hangman Adam Page. CM Punk once again became AEW Champion by defeating Jon Moxley in the main event of the PPV.
Jon had previously demolished Punk on a recent episode of Dynamite to unify the Interim and AEW Championships. AEW producer Ace Steel hyped up Punk on last week’s show and his inspirational speech led to The Best in the World accepting a rematch for the title at All Out. MJF then returned after Punk won the title and had a stare-down with him to close the PPV.
After the PPV, instead of talking about winning the title, CM Punk arrived at the media scrum and brought up Colt Cabana’s name on his own after seeing Wrestling Inc’s Nick Hausman. The champion ranted for close to twenty minutes about Colt, Hangman, and the EVPs all while his boss Tony Khan sat beside him.
The backstage drama then reached an absurd level with The Elite storming into the AEW Champion’s locker room. A brawl ensued that has already resulted in the suspensions of The Elite and several others. Ace Steel reportedly hurled a chair that clocked Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks in the face with a chair.
Whoever made this CM Punk – Dark Side Of The Ring parody deserves a bloody raise… pic.twitter.com/NlcODNdD6K
As of now, there has been no update on where CM Punk stands with the company. It was also reported today that Punk suffered a serious injury during the title match and would have likely had to vacate the title again regardless of the brawl following All Out.
Tony Khan took to Twitter to announce some plans for tonight’s highly anticipated episode of AEW Dynamite. He said that he will address the situation regarding the championships tonight on Dynamite. It will be interesting to see if both the AEW Championship and Trios Championships are vacated on tonight’s episode of Dynamite.
Thank you everyone who watches @AEWonTV! Tonight LIVE on @TBSNetwork on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite I’ll address the@AEW World Championship +@AEW World Trios Championship! Please join us on TBS tonight on #AEW Dynamite for a great wrestling show live @ 8pm ET/7pm CT TONIGHT!
At AEW All Out 2022, CM Punk captured his second AEW World Championship, dethroning Jon Moxley in their rematch.
Punk’s win has been overshadowed by what happened after All Out, as he had fiery comments for Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Colt Cabana, and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page in the post-show media scrum.
A fight broke out pitting Punk and trainer Ace Steel against Omega and the Bucks, which has reportedly led to suspensions for all involved.
Injured
CM Punk match may have been overshadowed by his actions out of the ring, but the AEW World Champion isn’t just facing a possible firing from the company.
Dave Meltzer reports that Punk is injured, which is believed to have happened after hitting a tope suicida during his All Out main event with Moxley.
It had been rumored since Sunday that Punk may have been injured in the match.
Meltzer added that no matter what punishment Punk receives for his role in the media scrum fight, the AEW World Championship situation will be addressed on tonight’s Dynamite.
Punk is reported to be at home in Chicago, and is not scheduled to appear at tonight’s AEW Dynamite in Buffalo, New York.
Change of Plans
Addressing a CM Punk injury is just the latest change of plans made for tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
With reports that everyone involved in the fight after All Out is suspended, Tony Khan has had to book multiple last-minute appearances.
It was reported earlier today that Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley are set to appear on Dynamite, despite not previously being advertised for the show.
Kris Statlander has undergone knee surgery that will keep her out of action for the remainder of the year. Statlander was climbing the ranks in AEW’s Women’s division before sustaining an injury at the August 5th AEW Dark tapings. The company confirmed her injury on the August 10th edition of Dynamite.
Statlander reached the #2 spot in the rankings, which put her within striking distance of a title match. Unfortunately, she won’t be wrestling again any time soon.
On August 11th, she took to social media to address the news of her injury.
“Welp. One knee fixed, one to go. After the first knee injury I came back stronger and better than ever so it’s all over for you all when I come back from this one. I’m sorry to let you all done once again. I’ll be back bigger, more powerful, and more than a woman.”
Kris Statlander Injury Update
Statlander underwent knee surgery earlier today, based on her posts on social media. This is her second major knee injury since joined AEW.
I must’ve been thinking of you when I got injured, because you make my knees weak. Xoxo pic.twitter.com/MlX4UhYMwY
Amid the chaos surrounding the events that transpired following Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view, another performer has quiet been granted a release from the company.
Malakai Black, leader of the House of Black faction, is reportedly done with All Elite Wrestling. The Dutch-born star joined the promotion back in 2021, where he began a hot feud with Cody Rhodes. He also built the House of Black, a menacing faction comprised of Brody King, Buddy Matthews and Julia Hart.
In recent weeks, it’s been reported that Black has been dealing with personal issues and was considering taking a hiatus from pro wrestling. On Wednesday, Fightful reported that AEW talent is of the belief that Black has been granted a ‘conditional’ release. Although the terms of the release have not been made public, one would assume AEW President Tony Khan has allowed him to leave AEW with the condition that he cannot sign with WWE until the duration of their original agreement.
Just weeks ago (late July), Khan stated, on Busted Open Radio, “Malakai Black has almost five years left on his deal. I wouldn’t expect him going anywhere anytime soon.”
The news comes after Black bowed and waved goodbye to the Chicago crowd following the House of Black’s loss to Sting, Miro, and Darby Allin at Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view.
The faction hit an unfortunate rough patch with Black being banged up and Buddy Matthews going down with injury, which kept them from any major storylines on AEW programming.
AEW has yet to confirm the release of Black publicly, but with the ongoing drama between CM Punk and The Elite, it’s understandable that announcing the loss of a big star is not their top priority.
Eddie Kingston is not shy about letting it be known which fellow All Elite Wrestling (AEW) stars he doesn’t like.
Kingston was recently a guest on Busted Open Radio, and actually revealed several people within the company he legitimately doesn’t like.
He commented on how fans think a lot of what he does and says is a work, but proceeded to confirm he legitimately doesn’t like several of AEW’s top stars.
“People think a lot of the stuff I do is a work or whatever they want to call it right? Everybody likes to use insider terms. Everybody loves to be in the know and all the dirt sheets and all that stuff, right? I’ll give it to you plain and simple.
“I don’t like Jericho. I don’t like Bryan. I don’t like Claudio. I don’t like Punk. Those are the people I don’t like in this company. There’s nothing you can say or do or tell me that makes them different to me.”
Eddie Kingston & Chris Jericho
Kingston was pressed on why he doesn’t like those stars, but was reluctant to give any insight. He prefers to keep some things behind the curtain, unlike others who he says gets things leaked out to the media.
“I’m gonna keep that to myself because people don’t need to know inside baseball. No offense to the fans, but the curtain doesn’t have to be getting pushed back all the time.
“Look at the people who let stuff leak out. They need it leaked out so they can have interest in them. I don’t need anything leaked out about me for the people to relate to me, to like me, to hate me, whatever you want.”
There seems to be quite a bit of turmoil backstage within AEW at the moment. Kingston has had his fair share of issues backstage, and now with the ongoing situation between CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks, it will be interesting to see how this affects the company overall moving forward.
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks have been suspended by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) for their participation in a physical altercation with CM Punk this past weekend.
Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, and Brandon Cutler have all been issued suspensions.
The report also suggests that Punk and Ace Steel are expected to either be amongst those suspended, or will no longer be with the company by the end of today (Wednesday, September 7, 2022).
This past weekend at the All Out pay-per-view (PPV), CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Title.
He spoke alongside AEW president Tony Khan in the post-show press conference, where he made some very scathing comments about Omega, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and more.
Shortly after Punk’s comments, Omega and The Young Bucks confronted Punk in his locker room. This led to a physical altercation between Omega, The Young Bucks, Punk, and Ace Steel.
The Sports Illustrated report notes that Punk and Khan had a meeting on Tuesday to discuss Punk’s status with the company, as well as how a potential “exit could be handled.” It was also noted that an external third-party investigation into the backstage altercation will be conducted.
AEW star Darby Allin has confirmed that he will make his next Nitro Circus appearance on Friday, September 9, in Brooklyn as part of the Nitro Circus Live: Good, Bad & Rad 2022 tour.
Allin tweeted, “THIS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 9th LIVE IN BROOKLYN AT MAIMONIDES PARK ILL BE AT NITRO CIRCUS USE CODE AEWFAN AT CHECKOUT TO SAVE 30% ON TICKETS!”
At one of the recent events, the AEW star attempted to do a backflip on a tricycle while riding down a big air ramp. The first attempt failed as he didn’t complete a full rotation and ended up landing on his back. The second attempt saw him land the trick before wiping out.
Allin’s Latest Match
Allin was most recently in action at this past Sunday’s AEW pay-per-view, All Out, when he teamed with Sting and Miro to go against The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) that saw the babyfaces go over as Allin won the bout for his team as he pinned Black with the Last Supper.
We got @DarbyAllin + some special guests are coming out to select shows for the last weekend of tour in New York! ?
Former WCW president Eric Bischoff believes CM Punk disrespected All Elite Wrestling (AEW) president Tony Khan with his recent media scrum comments.
Recently, CM Punk reportedly got into a physical altercation with The Young Bucks backstage at All Out. The backstage drama that has been going on within AEW has caused quite a stir within the professional wrestling community.
Shortly after the All Out pay-per-view (PPV), where Punk recaptured the AEW World Title, Punk made some harsh comments towards AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, firing back at what he feels has been disrespectful rhetoric towards him as of late.
These comments seemingly fueled The Elite to confront Punk in his locker room afterwards, sparking the altercation.
Bischoff believes Punk was very disrespectful to Tony Khan, who was seated next to the AEW World Champion the entire time, with his media scrum rant.
“He’s paying that cat lots of money,” Bischoff said. “He’s paying CM Punk a fortune and CM Punk is cutting his balls off, not only in front of everybody else in the roster, the executive team, the production team, oh, by the way, his business partners, you know, like Warner Discovery, potential advertisers, potential sponsors, maybe even if need be, a potential network to sell their show to should something go wrong with the Warner Discovery merger. For what reason?”
The former WCW president did admit that, if this was all a part of an elaborate storyline, he’d be fully behind the idea. However, if this is truly Punk airing out dirty laundry publicly, he feels bad for Khan.
“If there was money in it, if it was part of a story, and everybody I just mentioned including TV partners are on board and understand what you’re doing, have had it man. It could work. I’ll be your biggest fan.
“I’ll support taking a risk like that because you have to take big risks to gain big rewards. You just do.
“Not all of them work out, but you gotta try, and if that’s what they’re doing, hats off if everybody’s on board, but if Punk is just venting his spleen, spreading the heat around the entire roster, instead of focusing on his opponent which is business, man, I feel bad for Tony.”
