Firing Local Hero CM Punk Lands Tony Khan in Deep Trouble in Chicago

Fans throng wrestling events to catch a glimpse of their favorite superstars. In the WWE, fans adore stars like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Cody Rhodes to name a few.

Similarly, for AEW, their top star is, or should we say was CM Punk. As of yesterday, the promotion relieved Punk from his duties. And fans didn’t take that well as they unleashed their anger on CEO Tony Khan.

Tony Khan subject to jeers in Chicago after firing CM Punk

It’s been just 3 months since CM Punk made his return to AEW after a 9-month absence. Nevertheless, his tenure has come to an end. Fans couldn’t believe the news after it surfaced. However, they knew something like this was on the cards due to his backstage brawl with Jack Perry.

At AEW’s record-breaking PPV ‘All In’, CM Punk faced Samoa Joe for the Real World Championship, which he convincingly won after a bloodied bout. But right before the match, he got into a squabble with Perry, which turned into a brawl. The wrestling promotion ordered Perry to leave the stadium after the fight while Punk wrestled in the aforementioned match.

Then just yesterday AEW put out an official statement on their Twitter account stating that Punk’s wrestling and employment agreements have both been terminated following a week-long investigation into the backstage incident.

ALSO READ: ‘Samoa Joe Is Killing Him’: Blood Unleashed as CM Punk Gets Busted Open at AEW All In, Fans Show No Sympathy

In that statement, Khan also thanked Punk for his contributions to AEW and made it clear that Punk’s termination was entirely his decision. And once the fans got to know of it, they went berserk on social media. Not just that, but when Khan came out to address the crowd in Chicago before the start of Collision, they angrily booed him, showing their support for Punk. Chicago also happens to be Punk’s hometown, so Khan definitely didn’t time this termination well.

But let’s take a look at what exactly happened backstage that night at ‘All In’.

CM Punk got into a full-on brawl backstage with Jack Perry

This is not the first time CM Punk has gotten into a backstage altercation. Back in 2022, after the post-event media scrum for ‘All Out’, Punk got into a brawl with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Following that backstage fight, Punk was stripped of his AEW World Championship and was also suspended.

But seems like Punk never learned from his last mistake as he once again got into a backstage brawl, this time prior to the event with Jack Perry. Just a few weeks ago, Punk had a disagreement with Perry over a backstage segment in which both were involved.

Watch This Story: 50 Years of The Rock: Dwayne Johnson’s Greatest Achievements in WWE

Perry wanted to use actual glass while Punk flatly refused to be part of the madness due to the increased chance of injury. This disagreement would later take the shape of an altercation that happened prior to Punk’s title match at ‘All In’. But do you guys think Tony Khan was too harsh in firing CM Punk from AEW? What did you make of the Chicago crowd’s reaction? Let us know in the comments section below.