"He may have already been taken care of" - WWE veteran speculates on the outcome of the investigation following The Elite-CM Punk debacle
CM Punk may possibly be on his way out of AEW, and if so, WWE veteran Dutch Mantell believes that the star might have gotten a sizable amount of money out of the unfortunate event.
Many veterans have advocated for CM Punk's side, despite the online sentiment seemingly favoring The Elite. Some have even speculated that the Second City Saint will or have already levied legal action against the Jacksonville-based Promotion.
During the recent episode of Storytime with Dutch Mantell, the veteran pointed out that he doesn't believe we've heard the end of the AEW internal investigation.
"We hadn’t heard the end of that. That’s not going to end there. I think Punk – and he may have already been taken care of, I think they’ve already handled Punk’s departure financially and legally because they don’t want him going through a long drawn out court case ‘cause it makes AEW look bad. So my guess is that he threatened to sue – which I think he did – and I think they now made a settlement," Dutch Mantell said. (00:32 onward).
While it's unclear whether or not Punk is still a part of AEW, some members of the roster have already begun to comment on the infamous "Brawl Out." However, WWE veteran Matt Hardy recently clarified what many believed was an damning statement against CM Punk.
Have you missed out on AEW Rampage? Catch up on the show's results here.
Dutch Mantell speculated what he believes caused conflict between both CM Punk and the Young Bucks
Despite the multitude of reports, fans have still not given a verified account of what really happened between Punk and The Elite after they entered his locker room.
Many have given their take, and multiple leaks have been published, but so far, it seems that the story will not be settled anytime soon.
In the same episode, Mantell also notably declared that he wasn't in favor of how AEW handled the issues between Punk and The Elite.
"I don’t like the way they handled it. I think CM Punk had more of a case than the Young Bucks did, because they don’t want anybody to tell them what to do – by the same token, Punk don’t want anybody telling him what to do. But you’re in wrestling, that’s your job!" (02:34 onward)
Tony Khan also notably continues to avoid giving a straight answer when it comes to CM Punk's AEW status. Unfortunately, at this stage, it seems like the war of egos might just have cost Khan his most profitable star.
Please credit Storytime with Dutch Mantell and give a H/T credit to Sportskeeda if you use quotes from this article.