Legend goes off at Tony Khan for firing CM Punk; brings up Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon's equation
A wrestling legend has compared Tony Khan's handling of CM Punk in AEW to the way Vince McMahon handled Shawn Michaels in WWE during the 1990s, and they have come to an interesting conclusion.
Khan fired Punk from All Elite Wrestling on September 2nd, 2023 following an incident that occurred backstage at the All In event in London, England. However, this was an incident that followed a series of problems relating to the former AEW World Champion during his time with the company.
But this isn't the first time that a top star has been something of a headache to their boss, as Shawn Michaels was notorious during the 1990s for being hard to deal with, forcing Vince McMahon to change multiple plans during his time as the WWE Champion.
During a recent edition of Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray compared the two relationships to see where Tony Khan went wrong in his handling of CM Punk. Here's what he had to say:
"Let's take a look at history for one second and learn from it," Ray said. "Back in the day, how big of a headache was Shawn Michaels to Vince McMahon? Did Vince ever fire Shawn? [No] He dealt with him. He did the best he could with him. He tolerated. He did everything he possibly could, and look where Shawn is today as far as his standing within the WWE." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
The WWE Hall of Famer went on to conclude his comparison by claiming that Tony Khan is more than capable of dealing with people who are nice to him. However, when it's the opposite way around, he doesn't know how to handle it:
"Do I think Punk is Shawn Michaels? No, but I can compare Punk to Shawn Michaels as far as being that kind of star. And you, as an owner, have to know how to deal with certain wrestling personalities. There's only one type of wrestling personality I believe Tony Khan can handle and deal with—the kind that wants to be friends with him." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
CM Punk will return to a venue this year where a major moment in his AEW career took place
It was recently announced that CM Punk would return to action during WWE's Holiday Tour of the United States, with Dominik Mysterio being his first opponent. Punk and Mysterio will face each other at Madison Square Garden on December 26th, but he will also return to another very famous building.
A few days later, Punk will wrestle Dominik at The KIA Forum in Los Angeles, California, the same building that recently hosted AEW's Full Gear pay-per-view. However, The KIA Forum was extremely significant in Punk's All Elite Wrestling career.
The KIA Forum was the same place that CM Punk broke his foot, mere days after dethroning Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship. Punk would be out of action for two months, missing a blockbuster clash with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the process.
What do you think would have happened if CM Punk didn't break his foot? Let us know in the comments section below!