Major disagreement between The Young Bucks and Tony Khan in AEW - Reports
The backstage footage of the physical altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at AEW All In has now been broadcast, and several hidden aspects are coming out.
One of them is that The Young Bucks, the EVPs of the Jacksonville-based company, did not agree to the footage to be aired, and it was Tony Khan's idea to do so. According to Wade Keller of PWTorch, the decision was entirely Khan's:
"I've been checking with people in AEW and I have been told that this was not something The Bucks were in favor of doing. It wasn't their idea, it was Tony Khan's idea that he wanted this out there," Keller said. [h/t PWTorch.com]
The seeds of the altercation were sowed when at Collision, Punk disagreed with Perry about using real glass for one of his spots. Perry, before taking a suplex from the hood of a car onto the windshield, took a dig at Punk.
There were reports that the two had an altercation backstage, and both wrestlers were suspended from the company, with Punk returning to WWE in 2023. Perry now performs in NJPW.
Rumors about footage of the altercation between Perry and Punk that occurred backstage at All In at The Wembley began a few days ago. The controversy about the altercation had seemingly died down, but CM Punk's interview with Ariel Helwani on MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani stoked the controversy again, possibly being the cause for the footage to be aired in the first place.
Later, Tony Khan confirmed that the footage would be played and there were mixed reactions to the upcoming broadcast.
AEW President Tony Khan justified airing the CM Punk-Jack Perry altercation footage days
Tony Khan, the President of AEW, seemed pretty adamant that he would air the footage, and had even given a quote about it a few days prior, terming it as an instance of them delivering what they promise:
"AEW has a great track record on delivering what we advertise, and it is real footage, The Young Bucks will show backstage footage from All In, the most important event in AEW history–the world record-holder for the most tickets ever sold for any wrestling record, over 81,035 total–and it was an important night backstage, as well," he said.
All in all, it seems this controversy will take a long time to die down and it now seems he was one of the few people who really wanted it aired.