CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley in a hotly contested match to conclude AEW All Out on Sunday, and afterward the lights went out and MJF re-emerged to massive cheers in Punk's hometown as the show went off the air. But today, a day and a half removed from the end of the show, nobody is really talking about that ending. Instead, everybody is talking about what happened after the event.
I've chronicled all the drama that got us here a few weeks ago, and who would've thought that was only the story's beginning? With all these accusations being made online about Punk's role in Colt Cabana's firing, Punk joined the post-show media scrum and immediately jumped on a reporter who he incorrectly believed was still friends with Cabana, and then tore into Cabana (Scott Colton) and offered his version of the story that dissolved their long friendship and left the two of them suing each other.
Punk then continued to rip on "Hangman" Adam Page, accusing him of almost costing AEW their first million-dollar house in Las Vegas for their main event match in May. He alluded to EVPs who didn't know what they were doing, which could've referenced Kenny Omega or the Young Bucks. It was a very shocking scrum appearance that turned into a makeshift shoot interview.
One new bit I learned is the interview that set Punk off about Hangman and his refusing advice (which Punk alludes to with a metaphor about being on a baseball team with Mark McGuire and not asking about his swing). Turns out Hangman was recently asked at a fan convention what kind of advice he would ask Punk or Sting and Hangman's reply about how he's not one to ask for advice didn't sit well with Punk.
Punk also went after some of the reporters in the room, including Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez for pointing out Punk went into business for himself a few weeks ago on AEW Dynamite. Alvarez interrupted to mention that on that same show, he also mentioned that Punk's friends thought he was justified based on the promo Hangman cut a few weeks back, which we covered in the previous post.
But, when Punk left the media scrum, that's when the real fireworks began. According to multiple reports online, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega entered CM Punk's locker room and confronted him about the comments he made, burying them during his scrum appearance. Allegedly, things got heated and CM Punk punched Nick Jackson. Punk's trainer, Ace Steel was also in the room, with his wife, who was there visiting and at the time was watching Punk's dog Larry. Steel allegedly threw a chair, knocking out Matt Jackson and pulled Kenny Omega's hair and bit him. By this point in the night, guys like Hangman and FTR had already left the building.
Reporters in the media scrum noted they noticed a security guard jet out of the scrum during the time when the fight would be taking place:
It looks like Tony Khan wasn't quite aware of what was happening until Chris Jericho informed him later in the scrum.
Nobody in AEW is publicly commenting on the fight. It is believed that there may be some legal action as a result of this, so everybody is being tight-lipped for now.
There are folks in AEW who are taking positions on both sides: thinking Punk should be fired for his actions, thinking the Bucks and Omega should be stripped of their EVP titles due to their actions. I doubt either will happen as these are four of the biggest draws in the company. According to Fightful, "some we spoke with believed that Punk should have expected to be confronted after the things he said. Another person said that Omega and Young Bucks aggressively approached the locker room in what Punk could have construed as a 3-on-1 attack."
There is also a rumor that Punk may have injured his hamstring during this confrontation, first reported by Dave Meltzer.
However, things probably do not look good for Ace Steel. If Khan fires or suspends Steel though, does Punk threaten to walk? I'm sure guys like Jericho tried to cool everybody down, but this is an evolving situation.
If nothing else, it certainly creates a ton of intrigue for tomorrow's AEW Dynamite. The sad part is this completely overshadowed what was a very fun event for the company, and an excellent angle to close the show. There was a ton of great action on the show as well.
Here are the quick results from Cageside Seats:
- CM Punk def. Jon Moxley
- Sting, Darby Allin & Miro def. House of Black
- Chris Jericho def. Bryan Danielson
- Christian Cage def. Jungle Boy
- Toni Storm def. Dr. Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, and Jamie Hayter
- Swerve In Our Glory def. The Acclaimed
- Powerhouse Hobbs def. Ricky Starks
- FTR & Wardlow def. Jay Lethal & Motor City Machine Guns
- Jade Cargill def. Athena
- The Elite def. Hangman Page & Dark Order
- TBA wins the Casino Ladder Match over Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Penta El Zero M, Fenix, Andrade El Ídolo, Rush, and Dante Martin
- Eddie Kingston def. Tomohiro Ishii
- PAC def. Kip Sabian
- HOOK def. Angelo Parker
- Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo def. Ruby Soho & Ortiz
Some cool moments from the show:
Remember WWE Clash at the Castle?
It feels like the massive WWE event, Clash at the Castle, happened a million years ago – but it was actually just this past Saturday.
Here are the quick results:
- WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Drew McIntyre to retain the WWE Universal title
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Liv Morgan def. Shayna Baszler to retain the SmackDown women’s title
- Intercontinental Championship: GUNTHER def. Sheamus to retain the Intercontinental title
- Bayley & Dakota Kai & IYO SKY def. Bianca Belair & Alexa Bliss & Asuka
- Seth Rollins def. Matt Riddle
- Edge & Rey Mysterio def. The Judgment Day
- The Street Profits & Madcap Moss def. Alpha Academy & Austin Theory
I'm still catching up to all the matches but the Sheamus vs. Gunther match was easily one of the best matches of the year in WWE and something that everybody should go out of their way to see.
Also, the main event was a total spectacle and the crowd was absolutely electric in ways we don't see too often in WWE anymore. They were begging for a title change but WWE decided just not to give it to them. In my opinion, I think that was a mistake, and the closing celebration with Drew and Tyson Fury felt super awkward. But, overall it was a fun night. Here are some highlights:
Braun Strowman Returns
The only big story to come out of last night's WWE RAW was the not-so-surprise return of Braun Strowman. Strowman interrupted a four-way number one contenders match for the WWE tag team titles and attacked everybody there.
He is going to be featured on WWE Smackdown going forward.
What's on TV this week?
All eyes are on tomorrow's Dynamite and what the hell the fall out from that post-event fight will be. Will Punk be there? Will the Elite be there? Will MJF address the backstage drama? Here's what's been announced for Buffalo at 8pm on TBS:
- MJF makes his first comments since becoming number one contender.
- ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. Daniel Garcia
- The Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Trent Baretta, Chuck Taylor) vs. Death Triangle (PAC, Penta Zero Miedo, Fenix)
Impact on Thursday on AXS has some New Japan guys coming in:
- Aussie Open vs. Bullet Club
- Chelsea Green vs. Taya Valkyrie
- Eddie Edwards vs. Heath
- Yuya Uemura vs. TBA
WWE Smackdown doesn't have much announced either:
- Roman Reigns and the Bloodline appear
This week's video version of Knotfest Wrestling will happen tomorrow night on the Knotfest Youtube page with hosts Alicia Atout, Colin Young, and Jordan Olds talking all about the crazy stuff happening in the wrestling world.
You can always follow me @robinjection on Instagram and Twitter and @Squaredcirclpit.
