Since returning from injury earlier this month, CM Punk has found himself at the center of online controversy. Punk opened his return promo by calling out “Hangman” Adam Page in a moment that was reportedly unscripted. Punk reportedly took issue with material that Hangman had used in a prior promo, where he alluded to Punk’s tensions with former friend Colt Cabana. Weeks after this now-infamous promo, more reports have surfaced about Punk’s backstage reputation in All Elite Wrestling, including some that have claimed that the Second City Saint is unhappy and has even considered quitting the company altogether.
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Two men that have consistently come to the defense of Punk are Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood, collectively known as FTR. Harwood sarcastically responded to the “unhappy” rumors with a social media post of himself and Punk smiling together.
Speaking in an interview with DAZN ahead of AEW All Out, FTR qualified where they believe the Punk locker room rumors stem from.
“I think it’s a lot of things from the past, mostly. I think there’s a lot of old grudges. I think there’s a lot of old biases,” Wheeler said. “I think there’s a lot of unresolved issues that are tainting how people react to seeing him now sometimes because he’s been nothing but nice and helpful to anybody that wants it. I know there’s underlying animosity between… Once you’re in wrestling for so long, and especially at the top of it, there’s gonna be guys who don’t get along because you’re all vying for the same thing. You all want the same title. Egos are going to hit. It’s inevitable. I know there’s going to be old tension. But as far as how he is as a person now, he couldn’t be more inviting. He couldn’t be more company-oriented as far as what he’s thinking and anything to the contrary; I really think it’s uneducated to go off of it because there’s only been one side [and] that’s all been the negative stuff.”
“Sometimes passion gets mistaken for being an a–hole because you just want the best,” Harwood added. “He wants the best for AEW. He wants the best for himself as well. We all do. But he wants the best for AEW and puts AEW above himself.”
Wheeler and Harwood continued by saying they believe people are viewing the situation with the wrong mindset.
“Over time, you’ll see that he has been well-meaning,” Wheeler continued. “He has been doing some good stuff, and as I said, anything to the contrary is, in my opinion, just people being childish and behaving like middle-schoolers.”
“And I’ll close on CM Punk with this, and we’ll move on,” Harwood added. “I wish a lot of people, a lot of the guys, look at it instead of saying, ‘Oh my God, this guy from WWE is here in AEW, and he might be taking my spot,’ to say, ‘Oh my God, this is a guy who has a legit Hall of Fame background, a guy who has drawn money, who’s made money for a big company, who doesn’t want to go back to the big company.’”
FTR teams with Wardlow to face Jay Lethal and the Motor City Machine Guns this Sunday at AEW All Out.
