Since he returned to All Elite Wrestling in June, AEW Collision has been the CM Punk show. The self-proclaimed “real” world champion has made just one AEW Dynamite appearance this summer which saw him declare himself “a Collision guy” on the broadcast. While AEW President Tony Khan has emphasized that there is no definitive roster split between AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision, there are some stars that have been essentially exclusive to each program, Punk being at the top of that list. As evident by his social media presence, Punk has taken it upon himself to be the AEW Collision flag-bearer, regularly thanking the roster and the fans for making the Saturday night show a success.
CM Punk Blocks Talent From Working AEW Collision?
As reported by Fightful Select, AEW star Ryan Nemeth was brought to the Greensboro Coliseum this past Saturday for AEW Collision but was sent home shortly after, a coach notifying him that he “wouldn’t be needed.” The report added that CM Punk had confronted Nemeth earlier this summer, not long after his June comeback, as had “took exception” with a tweet that Nemeth shared during Punk’s initial return promo.
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“Literally the softest man alive,” the tweet from Nemeth’s now-deleted account read.
Nemeth reportedly explained himself and the conversation with Punk did not end physical. There is no word on if Punk and Nemeth still have heat with each other or if Nemeth being sent home this past weekend was related to the prior incident with Punk.
A similar situation also unfolded with Hangman Page. According to the Wrestling Observer, Hangman was also brought into Greensboro, North Carolina to record a pre-tape interview that would air on a future AEW Dynamite. Once he arrived, Hangman was said to have been told to not attend the show as the interview would need to be conducted away from the arena.
The Hangman side of this story is still pending confirmation.
It’s worth noting that Punk cut what has been said to be an unscripted promo after AEW Collision went off the air where he joked that Hangman got his nickname due to the fact that his action figures are still hanging from store shelves, as no one buys them.
CM Punk’s Bad Blood History With Hangman Page
While the backstage feud between Punk and Nemeth is new, Punk and Hangman have been butting heads for over a year now.
Their bad blood dates back to the build up to AEW Double or Nothing 2022. Ahead of their scheduled main event title match, Hangman called out Punk for being a hypocrite when it comes to “workers’ rights,” alluding to the rumor that Punk had tried to prevent AEW from re-signing former friend Colt Cabana.
This then led to Punk going into business for himself on an August 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite, going off script by calling out Hangman for a segment that Hangman was not scheduled for. One month later, Hangman was one of many people that Punk put on blast at the AEW All Out 2022 press conference. Punk would get into a legitimate backstage fight with Hangman’s stablemates Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks after that press conference ended.
Ahead of his AEW return in June, Punk added more layers to his beef with Hangman, claiming that Hangman worked stiff against him during their AEW Double or Nothing 2022 match.
