CM Punk talks All In altercation, Tony Khan, and what’s wrong with AEW

During a lengthy appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani yesterday afternoon, CM Punk went into as much detail as he could about things he could talk about from his time in AEW.

Punk described what led to his altercation with Jack Perry at All In, saying there was already some history there dating back to an episode of Collision where Perry wanted to smash the window of a rental car as part of a storyline.

Tony Schiavone was the one who alerted Punk about it and Tony said that Perry had been cussing him, the doctor, and producers who all shot down the idea. Punk went over to Perry to explain to him that it should not be done and if he was interested, he could do it on a Wednesday on the other show.

This led to Punk and Perry having a little scuffle at All In, with Punk saying he did not punch Perry but choked him a little bit until it was broken up by Samoa Joe and others.

“I turned to Tony Khan, this place is a f*cking joke man. You’re a clown. I quit,” Punk recalled telling Tony Khan.

But producer Jerry Lynn and Samoa Joe convinced him to go out and wrestle, knowing full well it was his last match with the company. He did admit that it was the right thing to do for referee Paul Turner, for Samoa Joe, for Jerry Lynn, and for the thousands who paid money to see him.

Punk said he does not regret going to AEW as he made a lot of friends along the way but is sure that many in there didn’t want him around. Asked about Tony Khan, Punk described him as a good person, but not a boss, and ultimately that works against the company.

He described the chaos and rudderless ship backstage, with no one taking ownership and having the balls to stand up to those who make a mess and also talked in length about what happened with Hangman Page.

Punk could not talk about Brawl Out as he was forced to sign an NDA by Tony Khan and refused to confirm or deny if his torn tricep came in the match against Moxley or in the backstage altercation with The Elite.

The former AEW champion said that AEW is not a “real business” and they are not there to sell out arenas and make money. When asked what kind of business AEW is, Punk said, “I don’t know. Having good matches, maybe?”