CM Punk courtesy of WWE.com
Originally published April 11, 2024.
The following content reflects my personal opinion and should be interpreted as such. Any views expressed here are solely mine and do not represent any official stance. This opinion piece is intended for entertainment and discussion purposes only, and should not be construed as factual information or professional advice. Reader discretion is advised.
Alright, I get it — seeing that headline might set some folks on fire, but hear me out. CM Punk? Not your typical bad guy. He’s just straight-up honest, and you know what? Some folks just can’t handle that level of realness.
As you all may have seen, the footage from AEW’s ‘All In’ PPV from August 2023 during last night’s episode of Dynamite left a bad taste in the mouths of some people. While some felt that Punk lied and threw the first punch at Jack Perry, others believe that Punk found himself in a situation he shouldn’t have been in and defended himself the best way he knew how ultimately STANDING ON BUSINESS. I happen to be one of the latter.
On April 2nd, after several years, Punk sat down with sports journalist Ariel Helwani to discuss several matters that had transpired since their last interview. Topics ranged from talks of returning to WWE after a decade, addressing the sexual misconduct allegations against WWE’s former chairman and CEO, Vincent McMahon, to sharing insights on the younger generation of wrestlers that he’s had the pleasure of working with since his return. Ultimately, fans were eager to hear about his time at AEW and the behind-the-scenes happenings at AEW’s ‘All In’ event at Wembley Stadium in London, England. At first, Punk discussed an incident that occurred before the PPV, where he had a conversation with Perry at the request of Tony Schiavone. He elaborated that after engaging in discussions with other AEW employees, Schiavone approached him, hoping to dissuade the young wrestler from attempting a risky stunt that included real glass during the PPV.
I was told people are getting separated so there are no problems. You don’t want me involved in this. Just like everything I explained before, y’all need to handle this. If you don’t, I’m going to handle it and you’re not going to like the way I handle it.’ He’s [Tony] begging me. He drags me out of catering … I walk up to Jack, he’s sitting in the car. What he wanted to do was smash the window of the rental car with a pipe. I was like, ‘It’s a rental car.’ I very politely, because I like Jack, ‘Doc has told you no. Darryl [Marshall] has told you no. Mike [Mansury] has told you no. Schiavone has told you no. Now, I have to tell you no. Apparently, you’ve cussed them all out. I’m telling you no. We don’t do that here. [If] you want to do this, go to Wednesday and do it.
Punk elaborated that Perry gave him the impression that he understood his concerns, and there would not be any further issues with the idea of performing the stunt with real glass. However, on the day of ‘All In,’ after being stranded at the airport (which was completely unprofessional, by the way), Punk’s mind was mainly focused on his first international Pay-Per-View show in years, facing off against a man he had never defeated until that moment, Samoa Joe. Perry had a scheduled match with AEW’s current FTW Champion, HOOK, during the zero-hour show, where he performed the stunt he had been practicing all along, using real glass.
Now, here’s the thing: whether people believe Perry’s “Real Glass. Go cry me a river” shot was directed at Punk or the others who advised against the stunt is beside the point. The fact is, Perry was warned by several individuals not to go through with it. Instead of heeding the advice from those with more experience in the business than he’s been alive, he chose to shoot on live air—an absolute jerk move.
Punk told Helwani that he was watching the match and was ultimately waiting for Perry to return from the ring to ask him why he chose to go through with the stunt after being politely asked not to. And as expected, things went left:
“Jack came back from his match. I’m the next match, I’m sitting there. I got people with me … I walk up to him and I’m like, ‘Jack, why do you insist on doing this dumb internet shit on TV?’ He’s like, if you have a problem, do something about it.’ I was like, ‘Come on man. I can fucking kill you. What are we doing? … I thought I was doing the responsible thing. I didn’t punch anybody. I just choked somebody a little bit. Samoa Joe was there, [and] told me to stop. I quit. I turned to Tony and said, ‘This place is a fucking joke. You’re a clown. I quit.’ I went to my room, Joe and Jerry Lynn came and got me and we’re like, ‘Let’s go out there and kill it.’ I was too fired up. I’m fired up now. I’m probably going to regret talking about all this shit, but that’s what happened.”
So fast forward to last night, the EVPs of AEW, The Young Bucks, decided it was the perfect time to do a show-and-tell and reveal the footage from the backstage incident. And like most folks, myself included, I thought it was a troll move and that they weren’t going to show the actual footage because, again, why wait 8 months to show footage that you held in your arsenal this whole time? Anyway, the non-audible footage showed a seemingly calm Punk approaching Perry, talking to him. By the looks of the other people in the footage, there was no loud yelling or profanities thrown because no one’s body language appeared anxious or on edge. After a few seconds, however, Punk is seen pushing Perry away from him before grabbing ahold of him in a chokehold and then letting him go. Punk is then seen talking to someone off-screen, later confirmed as AEW’s president and founder, Tony Khan, before walking out of the camera’s view. A few moments later, Punk comes out and performs (what we later find out) his very last match as an AEW wrestler.
Now that we’ve covered all that, here’s what I think: CM Punk has a reputation for being a tough guy to be around, and although I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him, I can see why that might be true. Many people in the industry are all about throwing rocks and then hiding their hands. But there are only a select few who say what they mean and mean what they say, and Punk is certainly one of those few. You either respect it or you don’t. There was absolutely nothing in that footage that contradicted his interview with Helwani. He explained that he spoke to Perry before the PPV, at the request of others, which proves he did not initiate the conversation on his own. He talked about the unprofessionalism of being stranded at an airport in a foreign country, especially as the top wrestler and the main draw for that particular PPV. This highlights the company’s incompetence and pettiness. And he walked us all through the incident, play by play, which was later confirmed by the same video that was supposed to contradict him?
I’m all for drama and messiness in sports, just like the next hot-blooded babe. It reminds us that the messiest person you’ll ever know will probably have a penis. But if we’re going to be messy and take shots at former employees, can we at least do it with a bit more common sense and less goofiness? I genuinely enjoy AEW’s products, and I believe the company has the potential to shake the foundation of WWE if they play their cards right. However, I’m not sure how that’ll be possible if the president is acting like Joe Goldberg.
If you haven’t had the chance to watch CM Punk’s full in-depth interview with Ariel Helwani, I’m not sure why you haven’t, but you can catch the entire interview down below.
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