AEW: How Long CM Punk Will Potentially Be Gone Due to Injury

By Connor Casey

CM Punk was at the center of controversy after Sunday's All Out pay-per-view after firing off numerous explosive comments about Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks during a post-show scrum. A brawl took place in his locker room involving himself, Ace Steel and the EVPs after he made his comments to the media, though there are conflicting stories over who started the incident. It was reported on Tuesday that The Elite, Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa, Christopher Daniels and Pat Buck (the latter four were trying to break up the fight) had all been hit with suspensions but it wasn't confirmed at the time if Punk or Steel would even remain with the company. 

The Bucks, Omega and Punk were nowhere to be found on AEW Dynamite this week, even getting pulled from the opening signature. Tony Khan explained at the start of the episode that the four had been stripped of the trios and world championship as a result of their actions and immediately went to work on crowning new champions. Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez then reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Punk's surgery-requiring arm injury will keep him on the shelf for up to eight months regardless of whether or not the company decides to let him go.

"He may have already undergone surgery, but either way he's undergoing surgery," Meltzer said. "It was not confirmed to me it was a torn triceps, but it was confirmed to me that it's surgery for a torn muscle in the arm, so it's triceps/biceps, maybe pec, but probably triceps. And that's usually about an eight-month recovery period. So he was gonna be stripped of the title either way (regardless of the fight).

"Punk's out for eight months, or whatever it's going to be, six months/eight months, whatever. If he's not let go. And a lot of people don't want him back," he added. 

A legal situation stemming from the fight is currently pending. Meltzer noted elsewhere in the episode that he was not legally able to directly address Punk and The Elite, which is why he didn't directly mention the four during his address to the fans. Death Triangle would win the Trios Championships later in the night by beating The Best Friends, while a six-man tournament was announced to crown the next AEW World Champion at AEW Grand Slam later this month.

h/t WrestleTalk

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