Tony Khan allegedly saw CM Punk's AEW beef as a "Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart thing" - Reports
According to a recent report, Tony Khan allegedly saw CM Punk's beef with The Elite as the rivalry between Shawn Michales and Bret Hart.
The Hitman and HBK started as friends in the WWF. They were in-ring rivals but good pals behind the scenes. But things changed in 1997 and they began feuding in real life. Things got worse after The Montreal Screwjob. Both wrestling legends reconciled and buried the hatchet on the January 4, 2010 episode of Monday Night Raw.
CM Punk and The Elite had some kind of animosity between them, which many people noticed. One of them was Dave Meltzer. He tried to warn Tony Khan of the growing tensions between the two parties before All Out 2022, but the AEW CEO dismissed it saying that a little tension won't do any harm.
"That is an issue, even a night before Brawl Out, Garrett and I talked to Tony, and we brought this up, he thought it was cool. I don't know if it was like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels thing, but that's what he said, he says you like a little tension where fans don't know if it's real or not. He answered that, but I brought it up because I sure as hell knew there were problems," Dave said in Wrestling Observer Radio. [H/T WrestleTalk]
At All Out 2022 post-media scrum, CM Punk had a backstage brawl with The Elite, which got him suspended for nine months.
CM Punk doesn't regret his UFC run
CM Punk had a brief run-in with the largest mixed martial arts company in the world. He only had two matches in the UFC. Addressing his short career in the company, he said he didn't regret it and would do it again.
"I'm glad I did it. Zero regrets, I shouldn't have fought in Chicago because the worst two weeks of my life. I couldn't weigh properly, I'm proud of myself for that. It's easy to lol, make fun of me, and some people look at me and be like, oh embarrassing. I f**king made the weight, I made the walk, I am 100% proud of myself and I would do it again."
The Straight Edge Superstar left WWE in 2014 and joined UFC, but he got to step inside the octagon after two years, in 2016. In his first match, he faced Mickey Gall at UFC 203, which he lost due to a rear-naked choke submission.
His second bout was against Mike Jackson in 2018. He lost this match too via unanimous decision. Later, the match was ruled out as no contest after Jackson tested positive for marijuana use.