Airing the infamous backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry made a lot of sense, AEW President Tony Khan has claimed.
The footage was broadcast on the April 10, edition of AEW Dynamite and was presented as The Young Bucks explaining why they lost to FTR at All In 2023. Many believe that the footage was actually aired in response to Punk’s comments made on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour podcast. Punk was hardly complimentary of AEW during his appearance on the show.
Whatever the reason for the footage being aired, it seems to have backfired on Tony Khan. Many believe that the decision to air the footage has done more damage to AEW’s reputation than anything shown in the clip regarding Punk’s behavior.
On the Chris Russell Show, Khan was asked whether he regrets airing the footage in hindsight and believes that bringing the altercation to light was the right call.
“I think it made a lot of sense… We’ve seen the Young Bucks change a lot. We saw them get really dark during the retirement run of Sting. They’ve only gotten darker and more twisted. That’s why they felt like they should play the tape.”
Khan also brought up Jack Perry who hasn’t appeared for AEW since All In but has used his suspension to reinvigorate his career as the ‘Scapegoat.’
“It was fascinating to see after the tape played, the reaction Jack Perry got at New Japan. He got the reaction of a superstar. That is not altogether unexpected and it’s something very interesting, perhaps a side effect of this.”
One name Khan didn’t bring up when discussing the footage is CM Punk himself. The backstage fight would see Punk be suspended from AEW for the second time in under a year and was ultimately released.
Punk has since returned to WWE where his conduct is said to be exemplary as he’s been eager to get involved and help at the WWE Performance Center. And while Khan doesn’t want to bring Punk up by name, it’s clear that the memory of the Best in the World remains with AEW.