Backstage news on Matt Hardy's alleged incident with CM Punk
Matt Hardy was allegedly one of the names barred from AEW Collision by CM Punk. While the promotion has not confirmed this version of events, a recent report claims to have the reason provided to Hardy.
Since his debut in AEW, Matt has become a prominent name in the promotion. Due to this, it seemed like a no-brainer that he'd be involved in Collision soon. However, Hardy was surprisingly prevented from competing on the show.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer recounted the timeline of events behind Hardy's barring from the show:
"Essentially, in recent weeks, Matt Hardy was booked for a Collision taping but was later told not to go into the building. He was told it was related to CM Punk and while the story was not talked about heavily, it was mentioned as one of those things that happened."
In closing, Meltzer also noted that CM Punk's party still denied that The Second City Saint was to blame. Those close to Punk similarly denied his involvement in Ryan Nemeth's barring from the show.
Missed out on Saturday's AEW Collision? Catch up with the results right here.
AEW allegedly tried to keep the Matt Hardy and Christopher Daniels altercations under wraps
Matt Hardy was notably not the only veteran barred from appearing at AEW Collision, as Christopher Daniels suffered the same fate. Daniels is notably the Head of Talent Relations for the promotion, which made his case bizarre to many.
During the same edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer revealed that AEW hoped to keep Matt Hardy and Christopher Daniels' situations a secret:
"Both the Hardy and Daniels incidents were largely kept quiet. I don’t want to say they weren’t a big deal, because they were talked about internally, but for whatever reason, when it came to other talent in the company, I don’t think the Daniels' story got out. Because keeping the Head of Talent Relations from going to buildings was something that people clearly didn’t want the outside world to know about."
In conclusion, Meltzer noted that Hardy's alleged barring was known backstage. Many of the talent were allegedly unhappy about it, but uncertain of the validity of the news since it came to them from a third-hand party.