In a shocking turn of events, AEW has broadcasted the infamous footage featuring their former crown jewel CM Punk. The incident took place at Wembley Stadium last August and led to Punk’s departure from the company.
The video showed the Chicago-based star aggressively shoving Perry and seemingly putting him in a chokehold before being pushed away by other wrestlers. The decision to air the footage during an episode of AEW Dynamite appears to have backfired. Fans responded by chanting Punk’s name and questioning Tony Khan‘s motives. And not just that, it has also drawn an out-pour of dislikes within a few hours.
AEW faces the wrath of the fans
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AEW aired the footage on Dynamite as part of the build-up to a match between The Young Bucks and FTR. The former have had their own issues with CM Punk. The backstage showdown in the video took place just moments before CM Punk’s match against Samoa Joe, which turned out to be his final appearance in AEW. While the motive might’ve been to show Punk in a poor light, the idea has backfired. And now AEW is facing severe backlash as the YouTube video of the segment has already amassed 2462 dislikes with just 781 likes at the time of writing.
Exposing Punk is going really well for AEW pic.twitter.com/29Wj64Uymq
— ISO Wrestling (@italkwrasslin) April 11, 2024
If this wasn’t enough, CM Punk took to Instagram to respond. He posted a photo of George W. Bush with a thumbs-up gesture and the caption “Mission accomplished.” It’s clear that the leaked video didn’t bother the WWE star as he remains confident in his intentions and actions. After all, he has already opened up about his experience with AEW.
CM Punk tells all in a candid appearance during The MMA Hour
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In one of the most talked about editions of The MMA Hour, CM Punk talked about the atmosphere in AEW. He also pointed out that Tony Khan was an incompetent boss. The Chicago Made said he doesn’t understand Tony Khan’s words. When Punk was fired from AEW, the owner of the corporation revealed that he feared for his life and therefore decided to get rid of Punk, which, according to Phil Brooks himself (his real name), was a lie.
CM Punk also stressed that both AEW and WWE have different paths. But in AEW, they don’t see wrestling as a business. And in the end, it has to be, because both the company and the payments to wrestlers must be maintained from something. In All Elite, the vision is only to make dream matches, but they don’t make long-term stories that can make money as WWE does. The WWE star also admitted that Khan’s “a nice guy” but his inability to differentiate between personal and professional relationships with talent remains a deterrent to running the promotion efficiently.
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Nevertheless, public opinion has made itself known as the released footage from AEW has garnered dislikes aplenty. What do you make of the immense backlash that the video has garnered? Let us know in the comments section below.