What is AEW Collision's Backstage Environment Like Without CM Punk? (Exclusive)

Ryan Nemeth compares his experiences with the show.

By Liam Crowley

All Elite Wrestling parted ways with CM Punk this past September. The Second City Saint ended a seven-year sabbatical from professional wrestling in August 2021 when he joined AEW, and his signing helped usher in the company's first golden era. The sunshine and rainbows did eventually fade, as an ill-timed broken foot days after Punk became AEW World Champion sent frustrations flaring. When he eventually returned from his injury, nothing was ever truly the same. Tensions boiled over weeks into Punk's AEW comeback, culminating in the infamous AEW All Out press conference.

Another injury put Punk out of action for the next nine months. When the time for this comeback came around, it happened on AEW Collision, a new primetime program for Tony Khan's young company. AEW Collision was being built around Punk, both on-screen and behind-the-scenes, as he assumed significant creative control over the product.

That control included dictating who could or could not be on the show. Adversaries like Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks and "Hangman" Adam Page were kept away from AEW Collision while friends like FTR became essentially exclusive to the new brand. As the weeks went on, more names found themselves "banned" (for lack of a better term) from AEW Collision, including AEW Head of Talent Relations Christopher Daniels, Jack Perry, and Ryan Nemeth.

How Has AEW Collision Changed Since CM Punk Left?

CM-PUNK-RYAN-NEMETH-HANGMAN-PAGE-AEW-COLLISION
(Photo: AEW)

AEW Collision's doors are now open.Speaking to ComicBook.com, AEW star Ryan Nemeth shared insight on his recent experiences on the Saturday show.

"I can answer this only from my personal experience. Currently, when I'm backstage at Collision, I am allowed to be there and work," Nemeth said. "And when someone else worked there I wasn't. I wouldn't know what the environment was like because the environment for me back then was like, 'Hey, everybody. Bye, everybody.'"

According to reports, Punk confronted Nemeth backstage at AEW Dynamite on June 21st, 2023 over a tweet he shared during Punk's AEW Collision debut just days prior. The conversation was described as "awkward and weird." Later reports noted that Punk specified that he did not want Nemeth present at AEW Collision in any capacity going forward.

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"Maybe you'll ask someone else that question and they'll say a whole different answer," Nemeth said when asked about AEW Collision's backstage environment. "I was on great terms and friends with a certain person for years, and then suddenly I wasn't and didn't know why. Collision currently is great. Currently, I really enjoy Collision and all the other parts of AEW."

Nemeth wrestled his first AEW Collision match this past November, two months after Punk was fired from AEW.

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