Tony Khan addresses CM Punk firing on AEW Collision

Tony Khan opened AEW Collision on Saturday and addressed the termination of CM Punk’s contract.

Khan opened the show saying he had to make “one of the toughest decisions in my personal career” by terminating Punk for cause following an altercation with Jack Perry that took place at All In last Sunday.

“The incident was regrettable and it endangered people backstage,” Khan said. “That includes the production staff who put the show on every week, innocent people who had nothing to do with it.”

“I’ve been going to wrestling shows for over 30 years. I’ve been producing them on this network for four years. Never in all that time have I ever felt until last Sunday that my security, my safety, my life was in danger at a wrestling show,” Khan continued. “I don’t feel anyone should feel that way at work. I don’t think the people I work with should feel that way and I had to make a very difficult choice today.”

Khan said that the termination came at the unanimous recommendation of AEW’s Discipline Committee and “outside legal counsel”. He apologized to any fans upset at Punk’s firing before transitioning to footage from All In.

Prior to the start of Collision, Khan appeared in front of the crowd and talked about growing up in Illinois before making the same points regarding Punk’s firing. The Chicago crowd gave Khan a mixed reaction with many boos as he was giving the speech.

AEW announced on Saturday that following the investigation involving Punk and Perry, Khan decided to terminate the contracts of CM Punk with cause. He had been with the company since 2021.