Tony Khan gets honest about CM Punk-Jack Perry incident: "I was scared as hell for a moment there"
CM Punk and Jack Perry's backstage brawl at AEW All In 2023 sent shockwaves through the pro wrestling world. Following the incident, Tony Khan terminated Punk's contract and suspended Perry. The All Elite Wrestling President recently recalled the real-life scuffle in London.
Punk's AEW debut was one of the most blockbuster events in the promotion's history. Sadly, after All Out 2022, The Second City Saint was suspended due to a backstage fiasco with The Elite. He was involved in another real-life fight with Perry soon after his return, leading to his departure in September 2023.
In a recent interview on The Dan Le Batard Show, Tony Khan yet again disclosed that he legitimately feared for his life during the Punk-Perry scuffle.
“Without a doubt, 100%. (…) I was scared as hell for a moment there.” (H/T: EWRESTLINGNEWS)
Besides Tony Khan's statement, very few details are available about The Second City Saint's backstage fight with the former AEW World Tag Team Champion. It will be interesting to see what's next for Punk as his pro wrestling future is up in the air following the incident.
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Tony Khan still maintains that firing CM Punk was one of the hardest things he had to do
Shortly before the September 2, 2023, episode of AEW Collision went on air, Khan addressed the fans in attendance. While the announcement of Punk's firing was met with thundering boos by most viewers, some also praised him for the brave decision.
In the same interview, Khan noted that the fight between CM Punk and Jack Perry was among the most challenging things he had dealt with in his pro wrestling career so far.
“What happened back there was a really hard day for a lot of people. I don’t want to make light of it. It was a really challenging circumstance. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve been through in wrestling.”
Tony Khan further defended his decision to remain quiet about the fiasco while mentioning how other promoters had withheld far more serious things from the fans.
“There are far worse crimes than wrestling promoters than not talking about these kinds of backstage incidents. Believe me. Not talking about this thing would be the least of a wrestling promoter’s misdeeds.” (H/T: EWRESTLINGNEWS)
It remains to be seen if CM Punk can reconcile with the Jacksonville-based promotion at some point. But as they say in pro wrestling, 'Anything can happen.'