SUMMARY
- CM Punk and Jack Perry were involved in a backstage altercation at AEW All In event in London.
- After this backstage saga, CM Punk was fired from the Tony Khan-led promotion.
All Elite Wrestling has officially released the footage of CM Punk and Jack Perry’s altercation at AEW All In 2023, and it has instantly become the hottest topic of discussion in the industry. The Tony Khan-led promotion aired the video on the April 10 episode of Dynamite, and the entire industry has been talking about their decision to revisit the saga.
As it’s been a long time since the controversy took place, the pro wrestling audience has been lashing out at Tony Khan for going back to the incident. While fans aren’t too happy with this move, people have also been wondering how Punk‘s rivalry with Jack even started. So, let’s check out what led to the infamous altercation between them.
This clip further proves CM Punk was right and he told the truth.
pic.twitter.com/M9oDF0pbBw— Ghost of Madness (@AmbrLeila) April 11, 2024
According to reports, the whole thing started when Perry wanted to use real glass during one of the spots on an AEW Collision episode. On this suggestion from him, people backstage thought it wasn’t a good idea, and when they asked The Chicago-born star about it, The Best in the World agreed to the same opinion.
After this whole discussion came the event days, as Jack Perry was scheduled to face Hook for the FTW Championship at All In. Their match in London had a lot of violent spots, and among one of them, the former ‘Jungle Boy’ was thrown at the windshield of the limousine that he arrived in, eventually smashing it into pieces. But what probably led to the issues was when he did something strange during the bout.
The AEW worker stared into the camera and mouthed, “That’s real glass, go cry me a river.” This was probably what led to the entire altercation, as after this, CM approached Perry backstage, and they had a verbal argument, which then led to an exchange of blows before they were separated by people present there.
Despite this saga, CM Punk went on to have a spectacular fight with Samoa Joe at the event, but it turned out to be the last match of his run in the Jacksonville-based promotion. After this, The Straight Edge Superstar was fired from the company by Tony Khan, and in this way, the backstage fight resulted in the end of Punk’s run as an All Elite Wrestling star.
CM Punk’s backstage altercation with Jack Perry paved the way for his WWE return
As soon as Tony announced the exit of The Best in the World from his organization, a variety of speculations started circulating all over the community. While a lot of people from the industry believed that the departure from AEW might be the end of CM’s run as a professional wrestler, others felt that it might finally open the doors for his return to the Stamford-based promotion.
Eventually, the latter ended up becoming a reality, as CM Punk’s backstage altercation with Jack Perry paved the way for his WWE return. The Straight Edge Superstar made his comeback at Survivor Series 2023. The return itself was one of the greatest in the history of the pro wrestling company, but what made it extra special was that it took place in Chicago, the hometown of Punk.
While fans were positive that CM Punk is on his way to the Triple H-led promotion after leaving AEW, they were left sad after he didn’t show up on the entire show. But it was only until the main event of the event ended, as it was after the finish of the match that the fan-favorite star’s music hit, and the audience went crazy.
The reception the former AEW star got during that appearance was amazing, and WWE continued the hype by booking him pretty well after that. CM was given all the love and respect he truly deserved, and he was even in the final two of the 2024 Royal Rumble, as he was eliminated by the eventual winner, Cody Rhodes, in the high-profile bout with huge stakes.
But during the match, Punk suffered a freak injury, and it took him out of contention to compete at WrestleMania 40. Despite this, the company did their best to make his presence felt throughout the build to The Show of Shows, as the veteran made several on-screen appearances in a variety of roles.
In fact, his involvement with Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre resulted in him getting the opportunity to be on the commentary team for their match at WrestleMania. On Night 2 of the show, Drew won the World Heavyweight title from Rollins, but as he came towards Punk to mock him, the former AEW performer took him out, and that’s when Damian Priest came out to cash in his MITB contract, and became the champ.
With this incident, the rivalry between The Scottish Warrior and CM Punk has probably gone to newer heights, and it seems like they’ll be involved in a high-profile storyline going forward. With CM still out of action due to his injury, it’ll be interesting to see when WWE finally starts building up for a match between these two huge stars of the organization.
Where is Jack Perry after the AEW All In controversy with CM Punk?
Amid the way WWE has handled CM Punk since his return, it’s safe to say that he’s in a great place. But not many are aware of what happened to Jack Perry after the AEW All In controversy, so let’s check out what he’s up to after the whole saga. In terms of association with the company, Jack hasn’t been in Tony Khan’s company since the London saga.
A lot of people wonder if he has also been fired by AEW’s CEO, but that’s not the case, as Perry is still signed with the Jacksonville-based promotion. The former FTW Champion hasn’t appeared in All Elite Wrestling after the controversy with The Straight Edge Superstar, but he made his NJPW debut on January 13, 2024, at Battle in the Valley.
Even though he tore up his AEW contract in the ring and donned an armband reading “scapegoat” during the segment. But as per reports it was all an angle, as Jack and Tony Khan have already settled their differences, and he might make a return to the Jacksonville-based promotion in the near future.
On the contrary, it remains to be seen how Punk responds to AEW airing the footage of their altercation from the event. Will he speak further about everything that transpired on the show in London? If he does, it’ll be interesting to see what happens next in this highly-discussed controversy from the industry.