AEW finally said enough is enough with CM Punk — and fired him.
The professional wrestling promotion officially terminated its agreement with the two-time AEW world champion on Saturday, nearly a week after his second backstage incident in the past year.
Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, got into a physical altercation with fellow AEW star Jack Perry backstage prior to his match with Samoa Joe at the All In pay-per-view at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
“All Elite Wrestling (AEW) terminated the wrestler and employment agreement between Philip Brooks (CM Punk) and AEW with cause, effective immediately,” the company said in a statement.
“The termination follows a weeklong internal investigation of an incident occurring back stage at AEW – All In London on Sunday, August 27. Following the investigation, the AEW Discipline Committee met and later convened with outside legal counsel before making a unanimous recommendation to Khan that CM Punk be terminated with cause.”
Khan thanked Punk, 44, for his contributions in a statement and said, “The termination of his AEW contracts with cause is ultimately my decision, and mine alone.”
“I wish I didn’t have to share this news, which may come as a disappointment to many of our fans,” Khan said. “Nevertheless, I am making the decision in the best interest of the many amazing people who make AEW possible every week.”
Punk and Perry’s altercation reportedly stemmed from a disagreement over the use of real glass during a segment at an “AEW Collision” show — on which Punk is the headliner — this summer.
Punk, after AEW reportedly green-lit the spot, rejected the 26-year-old Perry’s idea to use the real thing, and that didn’t sit well with the young performer as it was not used.
Perry, the son of former “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Luke Perry, appeared to reference the incident during his match against Hook on the All In pre-show as the two fought on top of a limo.
“It’s real glass, go cry me river,” Perry said right to the camera.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Punk went nose-to-nose with Perry in an aggressive way once he got to the backstage area as Punk was scheduled to wrestle Joe next to open the main card.
Punk asked Perry if he had a problem, and Perry replied he was just trying to get heat as a heel with the comment.
Punk, according to an account from the Observer, pushed Perry hard, got in his face, sucker-punched him and went for a choke.
Once they were separated, Punk reportedly lunged in Khan’s direction and said “I quit,” knocking over monitors in the process.
According to Fightful Select, video footage of the incident was available from the security camera at Wembley Stadium.
AEW will hold the All Out pay-per-view at the United Center on Sunday in Punk’s hometown of Chicago.
Punk also got into a backstage brawl with The Elite, following his explosive press conference, after the All Out pay-per-view last September that led to suspension for all parties involved.
It’s been a rocky road for Punk since returning to professional wrestling in August 2021 after a seven-year hiatus from the industry.
The former WWE star was a consistent draw for AEW and has put on some great matches when he was active, but was injured after both his AEW world championship wins, first, a foot injury in June 2021 that kept him out a month, and then a torn triceps that put him on the self from September 2021 until he returned in June 2023.
Punk was currently in a storyline, saying he was the “real world champion,” as he had to vacate the title after each injury and was never beaten for it.
Even when Punk did return, there was still a belief, including from the company’s executive vice presidents Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson that tension between him and The Elite continued.
Punk said during an ESPN interview in June that he and The Elite — at that time — had not talked since their brawl following All Out.
According to Haus of Wrestling, a meeting between Punk, The Elite and Khan was supposed to take place before All In to try to improve the relationship between the two sides, but the Elite’s camp called the meeting off at the last minute.
Now nearly a year to the day after their brawl, The Elite signed multi-year extensions with AEW, and Punk’s wrestling career could be over.
