Samoa Joe on CM Punk and Jack Perry’s AEW ALL IN Altercation: “It Wasn’t That Type of Fight.”

Samoa Joe starts fights inside the squared circle, but he stops them backstage. This past August at AEW ALL IN: London, Joe was reportedly instrumental in separating CM Punk and Jack Perry, two men that had got into a heated physical altercation moments before the pay-per-view went on the air. The incident stemmed from Perry making a televised reference to a behind-the-scenes disagreement between himself and Punk, a nod that Punk did not take kindly to. As tensions were high, Joe reportedly helped get the situation under control and even was able to convince Punk, who was threatening to walk out, to follow through with their scheduled AEW ALL IN: London match.

Samoa Joe Downplays Severity of ALL IN: London Incident

Chatter about AEW ALL IN: London‘s backstage woes continues, but Samoa Joe is unsure why.

“There was a little bit of an incident. We got it broken up. We went out there and wrestled. That’s the gist of it. Everybody wants it to be a lot more than what it is, but that’s what it was. To speak any more on it would be pointless,” Joe told ESPN. “Trust me, it wasn’t that type of a fight.”

Regardless of perspective, the consequences from CM Punk and Jack Perry’s confrontation rippled throughout the wrestling world. Punk was fired from AEW as a result and is now back in WWE where he is the odds-on favorite to win the Men’s Royal Rumble Match and subsequently headline WWE WrestleMania 40. Perry all but disappeared from professional wrestling for the rest of 2023 as he was suspended by AEW. He has since resurfaced in New Japan Pro Wrestling where he attacked Shota Umino and tore up his AEW contract on the televised broadcast.

“I’ve seen fights break out. Stuff happens. But again, that’s me,” Joe continued. “I’ve been in these situations, I’ve seen that. I’ll find it funny when people are like, ‘Oh, Joe’s cool with it.’ I mean, nah man, it was a high-stress situation, but I mean, it’s one I’ve seen happen many times. We get it squashed out. We had a show to do. We had [81,035] fans waiting out there. That was my focus, because that’s what it was about at that moment. We’re about to go out and have the best night of our lives.”

Joe defends his AEW World Championship against Hook on AEW Dynamite tonight at 8 PM ET on TBS.