Earlier today I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with former AEW and NXT superstar Bobby Fish, who was kind enough to give me some insight on a number of hot-button industry topics, most notably whether he sensed any backstage tension in AEW prior to the events of the media scrum and brawl that happened after last weekend’s ALL OUT pay-per-view.
Additionally, Fish defended President Tony Khan for the criticism he has received for not defending his EVPs from the comments made by CM Punk during the now infamous media scrum before speaking about Punk’s unlikability. He also looks back at the weird ending to their matchup last year. Highlights, including the full video interview, can be found below.
When I asked Fish whether he felt any tension or animosity brewing in the locker room that could have foreshadowed the backstage incident at ALL OUT he says that because of the injury angle and his wedding he wasn’t in the locker room for the last couple months, but didn’t feel like things were that bad. He adds that certain parties involved in the fight did have their own locker room and separated themselves from the boys:
That will be hard for me to comment on because I was not in the locker room the last couple months that I was there. And since they had booked the the angle, we had an angle going forward. And then they changed gears and decided to book the injury angle with me and Darby. You know, I let them know like, “Hey, I’m off in two weeks, four weeks, because I’m getting married and we’re going on our honeymoon. It was like they had lost track of that. So they booked this injury angle. So now I’m off TV for like a month. When I did come back then the injury happened with Kyle and Cole. I pitched ideas for myself individually, those didn’t come to fruition. So, you know, I really wasn’t in that locker room the last month and a half air prior to that, I will say no, I didn’t feel like there was anything brewing. I think you know, track record would prove that anytime anyone is separated in the locker room, you know, and now there were definitely certain people within the company who had their own locker room. The people that you mentioned before involved in the altercation, or whatever it was, they all had their own separate locker. I don’t know, it’s just kind of my feeling that once you separate yourself from the boys, can you really be considered one of the boys? And, you know, I might be in the minority. I might be in the majority. I don’t know. But I know that like the separation always felt a little bit weird to me. But it was what it was, as far as anything brewing between them. I never picked anything up. But Phil just has a way about him. That is you know, to me unlikable.
Defends Tony Khan for not sticking up for the AEW EVPs in the moment Punk went off on them at the ALL OUT media scrum, saying that he was caught just as off guard as everyone else:
I would think so. I don’t know how it can’t but at the same time in Tony’s defense, I’m sure it caught him off guard too. How many times in our in our lives are we not necessarily prepared for something unexpected and then you do become that deer in the headlights for a little while and you’re trying to process and you’re trying to do it as quickly as you can but sometimes, you don’t. You just you can’t make up your mind, you’re indecisive, and then you just, you don’t decide to do anything. It’s actually pretty interesting. The match that I had with punk where things got wonky at the end of that match with the kickout on the GTS, which isn’t even his move.
Parts II and III of my interview with Fish will drop later today.