Will Ospreay had a front-row seat backstage for the infamous CM Punk-Jack Perry confrontation at AEW All In 2023.
During an interview with Ariel Helwani on Tuesday (see video below), Ospreay recalled being backstage at Wembley Stadium when the incident unfolded. Ospreay was preparing for his match against Chris Jericho at the time and initially thought the commotion he heard was part of a promo.
“I was there at the Punk and Jack Perry thing. I was going over the match in my head and I was sat there thinking to myself, ‘Oh, I need to get this right, this right,’ and I was making sure that everything was going on in my head,” Ospreay said. “And I heard a commotion and I thought they were cutting the promo. So I got out of dodge, and then I saw Punk walk past me and I was like, ‘Oh no, I know exactly what’s happened.’”
The backstage altercation took place shortly after Perry’s match against HOOK on the Zero Hour pre-show and just before Punk was scheduled to open the main card against Samoa Joe.
For Ospreay, witnessing the situation firsthand was particularly surreal after previously following the backstage drama surrounding AEW online.
“So it was funny because it was one of those things where you obviously read all the time on the internet, and then just to see it happen in front of you, it was just kind of like, ‘Oh, that’s lame,’” he recalled.
The confrontation ultimately led to Punk’s termination from AEW days later. Perry was suspended following the incident before eventually returning to television the following year.
Ospreay is now preparing for another major match at Wembley Stadium. At this Sunday’s AEW All In, he will challenge Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship.
Make sure to check back here at WrestlingHeadlines.com on 8/30 for live AEW All In: London Results.
