Tony Khan is pleased that things are easier backstage these days in AEW, compared to the era of the company when CM Punk was around. Speaking on the AEW All In: London 2024 post-show media scrum, Khan shared that dealing with the AEW roster, especially those who are regulars on Collision, is proving to be a far easier task now compared to 365 days ago.
“I think it’s a lot easier flow between the two shows than it was a year ago. I think the locker room is in a much better place than it was a year ago, as evidenced by when we came up here versus what happened a year ago. And I think it’s a much easier job I have dealing. Because I had to deal with the people on Collision last year and it’s a much easier meeting process to put the TV together than it was a year ago at this time too.”
The ‘what happened a year ago’ Khan is referencing is the infamous backstage altercation at All In: London 2023 between CM Punk and Jack Perry. Rather than celebrate last year’s event, which remains AEW’s highest-attended show, Khan started the 2023 media scrum by addressing the backstage drama and made clear that he would not be taking questions on the matter.
AEW Collision was launched, in part, to keep Punk and The Elite separate, a necessary side-effect of Punk’s previous backstage drama from AEW All Out 2022. The Chicago-Made star was supposed to be the ‘face’ of the show, which has managed without him following his termination from AEW in September 2023.
Khan isn’t the only one to reference the backstage drama that overshadowed much of AEW All In: London 2023. Earlier this year, Punk, who returned to WWE last November, criticized AEW in an interview with Ariel Helwani, going as far as to say Khan isn’t a real boss. Shortly after, AEW would air footage of the backstage altercation from All In: London 2023 on AEW Dynamite. Khan justified the decision at the time, saying it was solely to give fans the best show he could.
