Another CM Punk situation brewing in AEW? Tony Khan needs to do damage control before it's too late
Former AEW World Champion CM Punk’s departure was marred with controversy. His signing in 2021 was seen as the ultimate equalizer to WWE’s dominance, but that turned sour in a short time.
The thing with CM Punk is he is a larger-than-life character and, knowing his personality, will not take kindly to anyone who either questions or criticizes him. That is well deserved, too, as he has earned that respect wherever he went. However, that was not the case when he decided to sign up with AEW. The Elite, which consists of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, were not impressed with the Second City Saint’s antics.
CM Punk eventually got into a backstage physical altercation with The Elite as he thought they were spreading rumors about him getting Colt Cabana fired from AEW. That led to Tony Khan suspending him.
He did come back nine months later, and by the looks of things, matters were still the same, and he started to make even more enemies with his backstage behavior. Some reports said a few names were prohibited from wrestling on the newly launched Collision show.
One thing led to another, and the telling blow was when the Best in the World got into another physical altercation backstage, this time with Jack Perry. Tony Khan, who had supported CM Punk all this time, had no choice but to fire him.
What is telling is that TK did not involve himself much when things were in their infancy, and that should teach him a lesson as another similar situation is threatening to arise in the land of the Elite. This time, it involved newly signed Adam Copeland and Ricky Starks.
Will Adam Copeland vs. Ricky Starks be CM Punk 2.0?
Adam Copeland seemingly made fun of Ricky Starks when he called him a ‘Vanilla Midget’ on Collision last week. To his credit, Starks took it well, but all does not seem right between the two.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said that the two men went off script during Saturday’s show and are legitimately mad at each other.
“It was awkward. I mean, it was very clear that something got started, and they were, at that point, it was not scripted. One of them got a little bit mad and the other one got mad back, I mean, you can make it work, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it wasn’t smooth, I was like ‘Where is this going?’ They’re professionals, and they finished it. It was just brutal.”
If what Meltzer said is true, Tony Khan should step in, given that the situation is in its infancy. Having recently lost two big names in Punk and Jade Cargill, TK cannot afford another similar scenario.
Given that Adam Copeland is his latest marquee signing and Ricky Starks is a legitimate up-and-coming talent, AEW leadership should make sure that they solve this matter quickly and let bygones be bygones.