The “Press Conference from Hell,” as one witty Twitter fan called it, following All-Elite Wrestling’s All-Out pay-per-view on Sept. 4 – and the backstage fight that followed – was the end result of growing tensions in the AEW locker room and a star who felt he had been wronged, scapegoated and wasn’t appreciated by younger talent.
Reports from Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer, wrestlers who have spoken on the subject and others who have talked about the company in interviews and social media, painted a picture of a company and a locker room that was coming to a boiling point over the departure of Colt Cabana, a lack of TV time for a growing roster and a locker room that was split in different ways.
CM Punk
Wrestlers who had worked with Punk previously weren’t surprised at his “receipt” promo aimed at Adam “Hangman” Page three weeks ago. Punk was still upset over a cryptic promo Page gave in May when the two were building to the main event of the Double or Nothing PPV, where Punk won the AEW World title from Page.
Page spoke about Punk as being a fraud when it came to “worker’s rights” and backstage talent. Fans at home thought Page was trying to build some intrigue into the match beyond a babyface vs. babyface match, but the locker room and reporters who knew of the situation involving Cabana understood what the promo was about -rumors that Punk had Cabana fired over a lawsuit. Cabana and Punk were friends until WWE and a doctor with the company sued both after Punk had accused WWE and its medical personnel of negligent medical care on Cabana’s podcast. The messy list of events resulted in Cabana suing Punk.
The Cabana rumors became a thorn in Punk’s side that festered too long. But despite the Page promo, and Punk blasting a fan on live TV for heckling him by chanting Cabana, a fallout between AEW and Punk seemed ridiculous.
Punk achieved folk hero status since his return to AEW at the First Dance Rampage show in Sept 2021, selling out the United Center in Chicago without any official announcement. He headlined multiple PPVs, shook off a decade of ring rust for some of his best promos and matches in his career and seemed to be enjoying himself on a nightly basis. In a post on Instagram two weeks ago, he said the past 12 months were the best year he ever had in his career.
Punk was no longer a gritty anti-hero, or a rebel heel against the establishment. He was Dusty Rhodes or Magnum TA. The business had molded itself in his image while he was away, even if he didn’t build AEW and hadn’t appeared in a ring outside WWE since the mid 2000s. He was beloved by the owner of the company and the fans who chanted his name during every appearance.
Punk’s top-guy status, white hat babyface role, new world title and the calming storm following the Cabana controversy should have put things to rest. It didn’t. That made his press conference rant – and the brawl that followed – all the more confusing. But the warning signs were there. Punk had become closer to FTR backstage, who had their own issues with AEW management. His snapping at a fan during a live Dynamite, his receipt on Page, only served to keep the Cabana story alive and keep Punk tied to it.
Khan attempted to put the issue to rest, whether it convinced the majority of the locker room or not. Khan told Forbes he made the decision to part with Cabana and Punk played no part in the decision. According to Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cabana had told Khan last fall he would not want to work in the same company as Punk.
Despite Khan’s statement, Punk was still agitated by the subject. While doing an in-ring angle and promo with his friend and AEW producer Ace Steel, Punk lashed out at a fan who was heckling him with a “Colt Cabana” chant in a spontaneous and angry way before continuing his promo and then offering a quick apology.
This wasn’t the end. Punk immediately brought Cabana to the forefront of the All Out press conference, questioning reporter Nick Hausman about his relationship with Cabana before going into details about Cabana’s lawsuit against him. He also said court discovery during the lawsuit revealed Cabana shared a bank account with his mom.
Punk then went on to accuse “the EVPs’ – Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson – of planting stories about him in wrestling media. Fightful Select wrote a few hours after the show had ended that it was the first site to break the news that the locker room was upset over Cabana being let go. The story said none of the company EVP’s – the Young Bucks or Kenny Omega – had been a source for the story.
Punk’s rant took more shots at the Elite and Cabana, Hangman Adam Page and the lack of appreciation younger wrestlers had in the feedback he was willing to give. He took aim at MJF in kayfabe, saying “the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it.” Ironic, since he had metaphorically dumped a gallon of gasoline on Khan’s yard before dropping a lit cigarette. Punk said if anyone had a problem with what he said, they could come talk – and they did.
Reports vary, but Nick and Matt Jackson went to Punk’s locker room. Either together or arriving later, Kenny Omega was there as well as several producers. Punk, Steel, the Jacksons, Omega, Christopher Daniels and Pat Buck were suspended for the fight that started and the pull-apart that occurred afterward. A member of AEW’s legal team witnessed the fight as well as several other wrestlers who weren’t considered friends of either Punk or the Young Bucks.
Khan held meetings with Punk and the Elite on the Monday following the fight. Rumors began to come out that Punk and Steel had been fired, but that didn’t occur. The company has hired a third party to investigate the incident. This could be due to the threat of lawsuits being made during and after the fight by a participant.
The details of the brawl have yet to be confirmed, but different versions have come out on the internet from the perspectives of those siding with Punk and those with the Elite. The details that are not in dispute are the following: Nick Jackson took a chair to his eye. Ace Steel bit Kenny Omega and pulled him by the hair. The Jacksons approached Punk after the press conference almost immediately and came to his locker room unannounced. There was a pull apart that involved several producers who were also suspended. There were multiple witnesses to the event.
The overwhelming response from the locker room was Punk should be fired. His press conference rant buried the company, possibly slandered or libeled Cabana, blasted one of the company’s stars in Hangman Page, and did it while embarrassing the company’s owner who shook his head in disbelief while Punk ranted. Not to mention his shots at The Elite, who worked to get many of the company’s young stars over and whose work over the last decade made the company’s existence a reality. The Elite are responsible for making a second major wrestling promotion possible in the U.S., something that was unthinkable in 2015.
Meltzer said during Wrestling Observer Live last week that the investigation and the lack of details available was frustrating and disconcerting. That if this happened with a pro sports team, the details would already be out and this appeared to be an older school wrestling mentality of keeping it in house. But the situation is being handled in a manner closer to Vince McMahon’s investigation by the WWE Board of Directors and not a regular HR investigation handled by a company or even a team issue which would be handled by a coaching staff. All of those involved have been suspended and told not to discuss the fight with anyone. Like the McMahon investigation, a third-party has been brought in. That AEW is being this cautious and thorough shows how serious the incident is.
AEW is exercising extreme caution with how it proceeds and has given no indication when its investigation will be complete. Meltzer said the company would most likely not diverge any details on the brawl, but would leak out eventually once the investigation is complete.
AEW locker room issues
Over the past year the locker room has been divided into different camps, with “AEW originals,” wrestlers who came to the company from the indies or who started with the company at the beginning (The Elite, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, etc.), who were wistful for the early days of the promotion when talent was more cooperative and worked as a team.
Some wrestlers have been frustrated by their lack of TV time, given the large roster and the three hours of TV AEW has to try to fit in everyone (AEW produces shows on YouTube as well). Many in the locker room became disillusioned with their lack of TV time. Multiple talents told me within the last month that many of the WWE wrestlers who came to AEW assumed the worst when certain booking decisions were made and that they were getting the short-end of the stick in a game of politics anytime something didn’t go the way they wanted or expected.
“Some people came here after years of having promises fall through or things not working out,” one wrestler said. Multiple talent said some WWE talent felt those same machinations in WWE – years worth of revolving door politics – were occurring in AEW, and it put them on the defensive or made them question booking decisions as being political. AEW’s longterm booking focus is also different for those who worked under the McMahons, who often changed TV shows up to the time of airing.
Wrestlers were with the company from the beginning were wistful for its early days, when the company started Dynamite in October of 2019, and the locker room was loaded with younger wrestlers and a team-first work ethic.
This was the subject of a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 7, before Dynamite when veterans Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley spoke. Jericho and Moxley have been with the company since its first PPV, and Danielson joined last year after over a decade in WWE. The reason for the meeting was to get the locker room on the same page and focus itself as a team again, like it was in the earlier days of the promotion. All three are well respected, two have been with the company since its first PPV, and all three know the frustrations of the wrestling business and can relate to the rest of the roster.
Most notable at the meeting was Moxley, who didn’t speak at the meeting two weeks ago that was arranged by Tony Khan. Moxley would later cut a promo in the first quarter hour of Dynamite that some called the best of his career and considered a rallying cry for himself and the promotion. Moxley is known to keep to himself. His quiet and stoic style fit his Midwest working class Cincinnati street upbringing. That Mox talked at the meeting surprised many, but his passion for the company and its future came through, especially during his promo on the show.
FTR and the Young Bucks
Most emblematic of the backstage issues has been the ongoing problems between the Young Bucks and FTR. Rumored issues between the two tag teams – especially from FTR member Dax Harwood – were spinning the rumor mill for months and became more public after Harwood blasted Meltzer on Twitter on Aug. 5.
Meltzer, through a quote tweet, said fans who felt FTR were being buried by the Bucks were “Alex Jones types.” Dax responded with an expletive and said he should try getting both sides of the story. Ironically, Harwood refused to share his side when he was prompted by several fans in his replies.
FTR and Punk had taken to each other backstage. The three were photographed wearing tribute gear to Bret Hart and were on a six-man tag together when Punk broke his foot. Harwood’s issues with the Bucks pre-date those Punk had with Page and the EVPs, but they came to a more volatile boil. Harwood’s seeming inference that him and his partner Cash Wheeler are being buried by the EVPs is nonsensical given the TV time and the massive babyface push they’ve received.
As a tag team, FTR has six losses in its two years since joining AEW – the last coming in February against Jon Moxley and CM Punk. They hold three world titles (ROH, New Japan’s IWGP and Mexico’s AAA) while Dax has been featured in numerous singles matches, including an ROH title match on AEW Rampage on Sept. 9. They have split two matches with the Young Bucks, and FTR’s other losses are to top teams in the company, including Santana and Ortiz and the Lucha Brothers.
The Young Bucks have lost four times since March – they lost the AEW tag titles to Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee, lost to Jurassic Express, the Hardys and FTR.
Where AEW goes from here
The problems AEW has currently would have been called “Monday” during WCW’s most profitable days, not to mention the snake-pit WWE could be after it became the only major company in the business. One veteran I talked to recently said the company is still the best he’s worked for in terms of environment.
AEW was bound to hiccup at some point. Communication issues have been a problem for over a year, but the company is now working to sort those out. Many of the issues were natural problems that occur when opening s new promotion – especially one that has to produce 52 weeks of TV a year. Wrestlers are taking on leadership roles and Khan has promoted people the roster looks up to in key positions.
What happens with the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega remains another question. Firing the three could result in a revolt. The locker room is far more aligned with The Elite than they are with Punk. Wrestlers are certainly aware how important the Jacksons and Omega are to the business.
Given the seriousness of the investigation, what Punk said at the press conference and what happened following it, it’s hard to imagine Punk continuing to wrestle in AEW. Alvarez on WOL described their situation as “volatile” and that he couldn’t see either side working together again in the same company. It’s a strange situation given how The Elite worked to court Punk to AEW before the company officially started. Punk would publicly rip Cody Rhodes for trying to negotiate with him over phone text and not meet face to face.
The biggest concerns for AEW aren’t Punk, but Warner Bros. Discovery and its massive dollar loss following its pulling films from its HBO Max streaming service, as well as other cost saving measures that sent warning bells to Wall Street and cost the company a quarter of its value. AEW is still in a great position to negotiate – it has a hot product, is one of the leading shows on Wednesdays, and WBD had made sports non-scripted programming its top signing priority. It wants to work a new deal with the NBA before its contract expires in 2024. This looking ahead could be good news for AEW, whose current TV deal expires the same year.
