It’s been a bumpy couple of weeks for All Elite Wrestling. Right as the company was beginning to recover from its plethora of talent injuries, reports circulated of various backstage feuds that were dividing the roster. First, CM Punk reportedly went off-script on a live episode of AEW Dynamite to air his issues with Hangman Page. Days after that, stories emerged about Thunder Rosa having real-life heat with both Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter. Just recently, Eddie Kingston and Sammy Guevara’s tensions resulted in a quiet suspension for the former and a cancellation of their planned match at AEW All Out next month.
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These internal conflicts resulted in AEW President Tony Khan calling a mandatory talent meeting ahead of AEW Dynamite earlier this week. This meeting saw Khan, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and others address the AEW locker room. Those that spoke addressed rumors of miscommunication between talent and management, formally introduced the new AEW coaches, and spoke of WWE’s alleged contract tampering with their roster.
While this meeting was described as “very animated and impassioned,” there was a general feeling that some of the biggest issues were not resolved during it, with the main one being the CM Punk and Colt Cabana situation. The former friends had a major falling out a couple of years ago and are not on speaking terms. Despite Cabana being involved in AEW for over a year longer than Punk, some speculated on Cabana’s longevity in the company if it came down to a “me or him” situation with Punk.
Cabana remains with AEW but has been removed from the Dark Order and transitioned to the Ring of Honor roster. Hangman Page has frequently worked with the Dark Order on AEW television and likely took issue with Punk possibly having an influence on Cabana’s status shift, as many believe his “workers’ rights” comment to Punk during an old AEW Dynamite promo was in reference to this.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the situation with Punk, Hangman, and Cabana was not addressed at the talent meeting. Cabana was not present at the meeting as he was in Germany at the time, promoting the upcoming AEW Fight Forever console video game.
Despite recent tensions, AEW has a big couple of weeks ahead. Next Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite hosts the highly-anticipated clash between Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega, as the two stand opposite each other in trios action. From there, the company heads to Chicago for AEW All Out, but has yet to announce that show’s main event match.
