Here's How AEW: All-Access Addressed the Brawl Out Incident
AEW: All-Access premiered on Wednesday night on TBS following this week's AEW Dynamite, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at AEW and some of its recent backstage drama. The first episode is set two weeks before the Full Gear 2022 pay-per-view and centers around Adam Cole's recovery from a concussion, Toni Storm's status as "interim" AEW Women's World Champion and The Young Bucks' return from suspension following the infamous "Brawl Out" incident.
For those who missed it, last year's All Out pay-per-view ended with CM Punk winning the AEW World Championship for a second time by defeating Jon Moxley. He then proceeded to air his grievances about the company's leadership in a fiery post-show press conference, specifically calling out The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega as he believed they were spreading rumors about him attempting to get Colt Cabana fired from the promotion over their previous legal issues. The three executive vice presidents confronted Punk in his locker room after his rant, leading to a brawl that involved the four of them, trainer Ace Steel, Punk's dog Larry and a group of producers attempting to break things up. Suspensions were given out in the days that followed and all four wrestlers were stripped of their titles. Neither they nor Tony Khan were able to address the situation publicly due to potential lawsuits.
The show recaps the fallout of the incident with Khan's announcement of the title vacations, but never specifically mentions Punk. The Bucks also refrain from discussing it.
"What happened is definitely going to be a black eye on our career, probably forever. And we don't want to talk about it," Nick Jackson says.
"When we had to vacate the (AEW World Trios Championships), it greatly affected my mental health," Matt Jackson adds. "You work so hard for so long to build up your brand, to be something. I hope that we can continue to build our legacy but I don't know if our career will ever be the same."
Nick notes later in the episode that Matt considered retirement following the incident. However, the pair would return to action at Full Gear alongside Omega to start a Best of Seven Series with Death Triangle over the Trios titles. The three would eventually be down 3-1 in the series before rallying back with three consecutive wins to become two-time champions. They'd then drop the titles to The House of Black at Revolution. Now that Matt is out with a partially torn bicep Omega has pivoted back to his career as a singles wrestler.
