CM Punk says AEW ‘is not a real business,’ discusses Tony Khan’s leadership
CM Punk opened up about his time in AEW during a long interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour Monday, tackling everything from his backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In, his issues with Hangman Page, and what it was like working for Tony Khan.
Here’s some of the key quotes from the interview:
On his experience last summer at AEW All In at London’s Wembley Stadium:
“There’s nobody there to pick me up and it’s not a big deal. I just got on the Tube and I was like, ‘Adventure.’ That part was fun but it’s completely irresponsible as a company to leave somebody stranded at the airport.”
When asked about Jack Perry’s “cry me a river” line at the event:
“There’s all these rumors about NDAs. There’s a big difference between not being allowed to talk about some shit or just not wanting to talk about some shit. I don’t necessarily want to litigate this again.
Tony’s big idea (for Collision) was (a) separate show. We’re going to separate everybody and I said that’ll never work, just let me go, just get me out of here.”
Punk continued to talk about how he asked Tony Khan for his release after All Out 2022:
“These guys don’t want me here. This isn’t a real business, this isn’t a business predicated on making money, drawing money, selling tickets, you know. It’s not what it was sold to me as, so let me go. ‘Oh, I can’t let you go, I’m going to do a new show.’
And then the second day we have this show, I’m sitting in catering minding my own business, Tony Schiavone comes and gets me and he’s like, ‘Hey, I really need your help.’ I was like, ‘What?’ And he’s like, ‘Jack is cussing me out, and he’s cussed out Mike Mansury, and cussing out Darryl from production, and he’s cussing out the doctor right now.’
I was immediately like, the dude isn’t supposed to be here. I was told people are getting separated so there’s not problems and you don’t want me involved in this.”
Punk continued to say he told Perry that several people told him he couldn’t break a rental car window with a pipe and that if he wanted to do that, he could do it on Wednesday. Punk said Perry seemed to have no problem with this at the time.
“It’s very much who he is friends with and things never got squashed. Nobody’s in charge and it turned into what it turned into.”
After Perry said the line at All Out, Punk says he approached Tony Khan about it.
I went to Tony (Khan) and was like, ‘Please handle that. Like, please.’ And he was like, ‘What do you want me to do?’ I’m like, ‘I’m not telling you what to do, just be the boss, please.’
On the altercation backstage with Perry at All In:
“I thought i was doing a responsible thing. I didn’t punch anybody, I just choked somebody a little bit. Samoa Joe was there, told me to stop, and then I quit. I turned to Tony (Khan) and said this place is a f*cking joke man, you’re a clown, I quit. Went to my room, then Joe and Jerry Lynn came and got me and were like, “Lets just go and kill it.”
When asked about Khan’s comments about being afraid for his life, Punk responded:
“I can’t tell you what Tony felt or what he was thinking but I never did anything to make him fear for his life but he’s who he is.
There was a concerted effort to, I guess, slander me and try to ruin my character. And that’s kind of the genesis of all the drama. Like, don’t do that, why are you doing that to a guy who works for your company? Why are you lying? Why are you spreading lies and rumors and bullshit about your top guy?”
When asked what working for Khan is like, Punk responded:
“Man, that’s a loaded question because I don’t want this to be…I don’t like the drama but the truth is the truth, he is not a boss, he’s a nice guy and I think ultimately that is a detriment to the company, but it’s not my company.”
Regarding the controversial Hangman Page promo:
“He thinks that I got one of his friends who hasn’t been fired, fired. I went to Tony and the lawyer and I said, ‘You need to fix that because if I do you’re not going to like the way I fix it.’ And I thought I was being professional by not just murdering him on television.
With me, respect is the default. I respect everybody until you do something that makes me lose my respect for you. I had never done anything to any of those guys. If they are basing how their attitude is towards me based on some bullshit their friend told them, well, I can’t help you. But I’ve got plenty of friends who don’t like certain people and I keep relationships business. And everything fell off the rails from there, it’s a shame, it’s really a shame.”
Punk confirmed that he’s not able to talk about what happened after his post-event media scrum at AEW All Out 2022. He would only say:
“I didn’t have to sign an NDA for anything I did wrong (laughs).”
Punk later said he didn’t talk with anyone from AEW for six months after All Out.
“I think the positives definitely out weigh the negatives. I thought I was coming in to help, to help business, if I could teach something great and I think I was just brought in for other reasons. There business, and I know a lot of people are going to be upset, it’s not a real business. It’s not about selling tickets, it’s not about drawing money, it’s not about making money, it’s just not.”
When asked what the company is about, Punk responded:
“I don’t know. I think just having good matches, maybe? And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Punk later said that he believes Khan likely wishes he was still in AEW, but that others didn’t want him there. When asked if he felt they didn’t want him there from the beginning, Punk responded that he believes they didn’t.
Regarding Colt Cabana, Punk said he’ll “probably not” ever bury the hatchet with his former friend:
“I was at the curtain watching the show and he came up to me and he was, ‘Hey, can we talk so it’s not weird between us,’ and I just said, ‘I will never talk to you without a lawyer present.”
Punk also said that AJ Lee will “probably not” ever return to television.
He later said of AEW:
“When it comes to AEW and all that, I genuinely don’t regret my time there, I’m just brutally honest about some things. And you ask questions and you’re a real journalist so I’ll gleefully go ahead and answer it.
It’s done. I hope they’re happy, I known I am and I would like to leave it at that.
I understand fans and the tribalism, because I’m a Blackhawks fan, I’m a Chicago Cubs fan, so I will always troll and needle White Sox fans, or Blues fans, or Predators fans you know? But some of the shit was so outlandish, talking about my dog and all this awful stuff.”
