Tony Khan should have fired CM Punk a lot sooner, according to WWE veteran
AEW President Tony Khan made a shocking announcement last week by releasing CM Punk. WWE veteran Eric Bischoff has now expressed his opinion that the move should have been made sooner.
The controversy surrounding CM Punk's departure from AEW began after an alleged backstage altercation with Jack Perry at the Wembley Stadium at All In. On Collision, Tony Khan made the shocking announcement that Punk had been terminated with cause due to safety concerns.
Speaking on the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff shared his opinion on Tony Khan's decision to fire Punk from his promotion:
"I think it would've been better, in the long run, had Tony made this same decision months ago, when Punk had his meltdown at the press conference and made Tony look like a complete buffoon in the process. I would've pulled the trigger then, had it been me, but it wasn't me, and I wasn't familiar with all the circumstances, all of the issues. There's a lot of things I didn't know, and still don't know," Bischoff said. (H/T- Wrestling Inc.)
The incident that Bischoff referred to occurred at the All Out pay-per-view in September 2022. CM Punk launched a verbal attack on Hangman Adam Page and The Elite during the post-show media scrum, with Tony Khan by his side.
This resulted in a backstage brawl involving Punk, Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and other AEW stars.
AEW President Tony Khan comments on firing CM Punk from his promotion
AEW fired former WWE Superstar CM Punk after an investigation into a backstage altercation with Jack Perry at All In 2023. This was Punk's second backstage altercation in the promotion.
During the post-All Out media scrum, Tony Khan said firing CM Punk was “the right move.”
"I don't want to discuss the terms of the separation in that sense. I very much want to thank CM Punk, Phil, for everything he did in AEW as a wrestler. I don't think it was an easy decision for anybody on the discipline committee, or the outside counsel, or for me to do something like that. I do think it was the right move. As far as what's going to happen in the future, I can't speak to that. I'm not the attorney who interpret all that language," he said.
Several WWE Hall of Famers, such as Mark Henry and Kevin Nash, have also shared their thoughts on Punk's departure.
Do you think it was the right call to fire CM Punk from AEW? Sound off in the comments section below.