The AEW world just received some shocking news, as All Elite Wrestling has issued a statement on the status of CM Punk. In the statement, AEW reveals they have terminated the employee agreement between AEW and CM Punk (Phillip Brooks) with cause. AEW held a weeklong internal investigation regarding the incident that happened at All In London between Punk and Jack Perry, though Perry isn’t mentioned in the statement. It was later reported that both stars were suspended, but after a meeting with the AEW Discipline Committee, the decision was made by Khan to part ways with Punk moving forward. You can find the full statement below.
“All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has terminated the wrestler and employment agreements between Phillip Brooks (CM Punk) and AEW with cause, effective immediately. The termination was confirmed today by Tony Khan, CEO, General Manager and Head of Creative AEW.
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The termination follows a weeklong internet investigation of an incident occurring backstage at AEW – All In London on Sunday, August 27. Following the investigation, the AEW Discipline Committee met and later convened with outside legal counsel before making a unanimous recommendation to Khan that CM Punk be terminated with cause.
Khan offered the following statement: “Phil played an important role within AEW and I thank him for his contributions. The termination of his AEW contracts with cause is ultimately my decision and mine alone. Of course, I wish I didn’t have to share this news, which may come as a disappointment to many of our fans.
Nevertheless, I am making the decision in the best interests of the many amazing people who make AEW possible every week – our talent, staff, venue operators and many others whose efforts are unsung but essential to bringing our fans great shows on television and at arenas and stadiums throughout the world.”
This comes as a big blow to AEW Collision, as that show was largely built around Punk. Since the show launched, Collision featured Punk prominently, and the latest match to come out of that was the well-received Punk vs Samoa Joe match that happened at All In. It was expected for Punk to take on Ricky Starks at All Out before the incident, but plans have obviously changed.
Khan has issued a statement, but with Collision airing tonight, it will be interesting to see if AEW acknowledges what happened on TV. It’s a shame that things came to this, as Punk’s return to wrestling was one of the must-see TV events in AEW history, and this is assuredly not the way anyone wanted things to end.
