Konnan says AEW cannot afford to lose top stars to WWE due to real-life heat

With a controversial AEW star seemingly on his way back to the promotion, the possibility of other top names leaving seems to be increasing. Wrestling veteran Konnan shared his thoughts on the matter, saying that the company cannot afford to lose three of its most popular stars for the sake of one.

It's no secret that The Elite have had backstage issues with former AEW Champion CM Punk. The infamous brawl following All Out 2022 saw both parties suffer suspensions, with The Second City Saint still yet to make a return.

However, Punk's return seems all but imminent at this point. Despite this, the trio of Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson are reportedly not willing to work with The Voice of the Voiceless, leading many to speculate that the AEW EVPs could be heading out as Punk heads back in.

Patrick The Heel

@patricktheheel

Honestly, IF the rumor is true, that CM Punk will be confined to the Saturday show, to keep The Elite & whoever away from each other, INSTEAD of addressing the issue so that they can even be in the same building

Tony Khan deserves whatever possible bad that comes out of that.

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Honestly, IF the rumor is true, that CM Punk will be confined to the Saturday show, to keep The Elite & whoever away from each other, INSTEAD of addressing the issue so that they can even be in the same building

Tony Khan deserves whatever possible bad that comes out of that. https://t.co/9bRpOSoUVN

In a Keepin' It 100 video uploaded to YouTube, Konnan said the following about this situation:

“Who knows what problems they’ve had with CM Punk that we don’t know about that they’re like ‘We can’t work with this guy’. Because CM Punk does have a history of being toxic, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega don’t. […] The problem is that if you let The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega go and WWE picks them up, that might be something you may not be able to come back from.” [02:45 onwards]

While The Elite jumping over to WWE would be a massive get for the Stamford-based promotion, the hole they would leave behind would be an incredibly difficult puzzle for Tony Khan to solve.

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CM Punk attempts to bury the hatchet with another AEW star

The Elite aren't the only ones that have had real-life heat with CM Punk. Chris Jericho and The Straight Edge Superstar have also been at each other's throats. To ease the tension, a meeting was set up between the two former world champs.

According to a source close to Wade Keller of PWTorch, the meeting went well. Both men kept their cool in the interaction, indicating that they could have a professional relationship once Punk returns.

Just Alyx

@JustAlyxCentral

As much as I admire Chris Jericho for being an adult and offering to work with CM Punk as his first feud back, AEW is well aware of what match fans really want to see.

Also, the idea of a soft brand split so the Elite and CM Punk can all work in the same company is STUPID! That… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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As much as I admire Chris Jericho for being an adult and offering to work with CM Punk as his first feud back, AEW is well aware of what match fans really want to see.

Also, the idea of a soft brand split so the Elite and CM Punk can all work in the same company is STUPID! That… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/RynyOGLkoV

Whether this materializes into an on-screen feud between the two top stars is yet to be seen. Nonetheless, there is definitely money to be made here as the blend between real-life and kayfabe drama regularly makes for great television.

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