As noted, AEW has witnessed recent backstage changes over the last week, including the departure of Dana Massie, wife of Matt Jackson, who stepped down from her position as head of AEW’s merchandising. The decision appears to be linked to the handling of her husband’s backstage altercation with former AEW World Champion CM Punk Dave Meltzer from The Wrestling Observer added more about Massie leaving during the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer stated that Massie, who initially envisioned a long-term commitment to her role, was unhappy due to the events of the past year and how the Young Bucks were vilified without any chance to defend themselves regarding the Brawl Out incident. AEW’s failure to support the Bucks during this period seemingly contributed to Massie’s decision to step down.
While Matt and Nick Jackson opted to re-sign with AEW due to a lucrative offer and perceived financial benefits, Massie did not share the same mentality as the Bucks, who chose to go along with the prevailing situation. Meltzer suggested that the relentless difficulties might have become overwhelming for Massie, especially as she perceived a lack of defense for her family members when they needed it the most.
Meltzer concluded that Punk had also targeted Massie, and she, too, was left without the company’s defense during the challenging aftermath of the altercation. Regardless, Punk is now back in WWE and the Young Bucks remain in AEW, although they have been absent from programming for the past month.
