Top AEW star comes out in support of Tony Khan days after CM Punk calls him a "clown"
Former AEW star CM Punk went viral for controversial comments on Tony Khan this week. Now a current AEW star has gone public with a behind-the-scenes story in support of his boss.
Punk spoke to Ariel Helwani for an explosive interview during WrestleMania Week. The Second City Saint made telling remarks on his AEW run, and spoke out about Khan, calling him "a clown" at one point. This led to immediate reactions from fans and wrestlers on social media, and the discussion is still going on days later amid WrestleMania buzz.
Khan was asked about the "clown" jab during the ROH Supercard of Honor media call. Later during the show, he tweeted about new ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe using Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Back My Bullets" for his entrance to the main event win over Eddie Kingston. Longtime CM Punk friend Dax Harwood took to X to reveal the story behind the use of the song:
"Tony and I worked together on getting this song for Mark. It was so important for Tony to have this song on such a special night for Pugh family. Maybe I shouldn't share this, but Tony's exact words to me were... 'This is the best $___ I've ever spent.' That's the kind of boss we work for," Dax Harwood wrote.
Cody Rhodes even addressed Khan and The Elite during his appearance on The MMA Hour. The former All Elite Wrestling EVP also said his wife was treated bad while they were with the company.
AEW and ROH congratulate the new World Champion
The main event of the 17th annual ROH Supercard of Honor event saw Mark Briscoe capture the Ring of Honor World Championship. The tag team legend pinned Eddie Kingston after a 24-minute match to get the win.
Briscoe is a ROH Hall of Famer, along with his late brother Jay Briscoe, and he has held numerous titles over the years. However, this is his first-ever reign with the World Championship. Jay was a two-time ROH World Champion.
AEW and ROH tweeted the following graphic to congratulate the 39-year-old, who went into the inaugural and only Ring of Honor Hall of Fame Class in 2022, along with Cary Silkin, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Samoa Joe.
Mark's last ROH TV match was a win over Serpentico in January, but he will likely appear on the Thursday show more often now that he is champion. It remains to be seen if the title win will impact his regular appearances on AEW TV.