Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: all elite wrestling, cm punk
AEW Terminates CM Punk Following "All In" Altercation
After having a second backstage altercation at All In last week in London, AEW has officially terminated CM Punk from the company.
Nearly one year to the date of the infamous Brawl Out fight and a week after having a second backstage alteration at All In in London, AEW has terminated CM Punk. The word came down on Twitter/X this afternoon, a few hours before AEW Collision is set to air live from Chicago, Illinois, the hometown of the show's centerpiece wrestler, as Phil Brooks finds himself out of a job. A short statement was issued by the company on behalf of CEO Tony Khan, following an internal investigation of the events that took place during last week's massive PPV event at Wembley Stadium between Punk and Jack Perry.
No word yet on whether or not Perry will receive any consequences for his role in the matter or if any other talent/staff backstage will be punished in any way. Nor do we know the finer details of what happens with the remainder of Brooks' contract after this, as we're guessing all those details will eventually leak out in the weeks to come. Here's the official statement in full from AEW.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has terminated the wrestler and employment agreements between Philip Brooks (CM Punk) and AEW with cause, effective immediately. The termination was confirmed today by Tony Khan, CEO, General Manager and Head of Creative of AEW.
The termination follows a weeklong internal investigation of an incident occurring backstage at AEW – All In London on Sunday, August 27. Following the investigation, the AEW Discipline Committee met and later convented with outside legal counsel before making a unanimous recommendation to Khan that CM Punk be terminated with cause.
Khan offered the following statement:
"Phil played an important role within AEW and I thank him for his contributions. The termination of his AEW contracts with cause is ultimately my decision, and mine alone. Of course, I wish I didn't have to share this news, which may come as a disappointment to many of our fans. Nevertheless, I am making the decision in the best interests of the many amazing people who make AEW possible every week – our talent, staff, venue operators and many others whose efforts are unsung but essential to bringing our fans great shows on television and at arenas and stadiums throughout the world."
Whether you like CM Punk or hate him, the bottom line is that he had a hell of an impact on the company, for better and worse. In just over two years, Punk managed to debut and bring the company a ton of new eyes, was made its world champion twice, brought in a ton of merch sales, helped successfully launch two different TV shows for the company, had a backstage fight with three of the company's EVP's which led to a suspension, and then a year later picked another fight that has ended his run with the promotion. That's the kind of short run that will be dissected and talked about for years to come, regardless of what you think of him. But what long-term impact it will have on AEW's roster and the company as a whole has yet to be seen.
Meanwhile, let the speculation run rampant about a possible return to WWE.
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