CM Punk and Jack Perry have been suspended by AEW following their backstage altercation at Sunday’s All In pay-per-view.
Bryan Alvarez from F4Wonline first reported yesterday morning that there were rumors of a double-suspenion, which has been officially confirmed today by Sports Illustrated. This effects major plans for Punk, who was expected to play a big role on this week’s AEW programming leading to All Out in Chicago on September 3rd.
If you missed it, CM Punk got into a physical altercation with Jack Perry backstage at Sunday’s AEW All In pay-per-view moments before Punk’s opening matchup with Samoa Joe. This stemmed from an incident that occurred backstage at Collision several weeks ago, where Punk shot down Perry’s idea of using real glass in an angle. You can read about that here.
Perry made reference to this during his pre-show FTW Championship match with HOOK, where real glass was used in a car spot. Perry said, “Real Glass Cry Me A River,” a clear shot at the Second City Saint.
The altercation did get physical but there have been several accounts as to what happened. One source told Fightful Select with “100% certainty” that Perry did not throw a punch, and that Punk put him in a choke. There are other accounts that say that a shoving exchange took place, that Punk pie-faced Perry, or that Perry shoulder bumped Punk. Haus of Wrestling’s report saying that both were eventually asked to leave by security has been confirmed by multiple outlets.
AEW President Tony Khan addressed the incident during the post-All In media scrum. He said that he was aware that something happened, and that the incident was under investigation. Punk has reportedly not spoken to Khan since the incident.
F4WOnline’s Bryan Alvarez reported today that the belief is that both Perry and Punk will be suspended for the altercation, which means that neither will be able to work this Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view in Chicago. No one has confirmed his report as of yet.
PW Torch has since added some additional details, which have been confirmed by Fightful. Punk apparently threatened to quit after the incident, but managed to pull himself together and do the match with Joe. The report adds that he has since told some people that he “hates this place” because of all the drama. It is mentioned that many people in AEW say Punk is just as responsible for the drama.
Neither Punk or Perry attended the AEW All In afterparty. Punk left London Monday afternoon.
Wrestling Headlines will keep you updated as this is an ongoing story.