SUMMARY
- CM Punk opened up about his AEW brawl against Jack Perry that led to him being fired in September 2023.
- While narrating the brawl he referred to Chael Sonnen's famous quote.
CM Punk opened up about the infamous incident that led to his firing from All Elite Wrestling (AEW). In September 2023, Tony Khan, AEW CEO, claimed he feared for his life when he was around CM Punk. The American pro wrestler made his return to the WWE in November amidst much fanfare. However, months after the controversy, Punk finally talked about his side of the story.
Punk was involved in a legitimate backstage brawl with Jack Perry at AEW All-In in August 2023. This was just over a year after Punk was involved in another legitimate brawl involving Ace Steel, Omega, the Young Bucks, and Christopher Daniels. The incident was dubbed “Brawl Out”.
Statement from All Elite Wrestling and Tony Khan pic.twitter.com/3MtW6MkGDf
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 2, 2023
In his August brawl with Jack Perry, Punk explained that the issue was Perry’s stubbornness. For a promo where Perry had to smash a rental car’s glass, Perry insisted on using real glass instead of fake. Everyone advised him to use the fake one but he refused to listen to them.
CM Punk confronted Jack Perry backstage at AEW All-In and quoted Chael Sonnen
During his appearance on the MMA Hour, Punk opened up about the whole incident in front of Ariel Helwani. In the midst of it, he even quoted former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen’s famous meme.
Punk said, “Jack came back from his match. I was the next match. I’m sitting there. I got people with me… I walk up to him, and I’m just like ‘Jack, why do you insist on doing this dumb internet sh*t on TV?’ He’s just like, ‘If you got a problem about it, do something about it.’ I was just like, ‘Come on, man. I could f*cking kill you. What are we doing?’
“I turned to Tony Khan, This place is a fuckin joke man. You’re a clown. I quit”
-CM Punk via MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani
FUCK YOU CM PUNK🖕
You are nothing special.
I was super happy for your return after 7years but you showed your true colours.— AEWBlog (@AEW_Blog) April 2, 2024
“It’s like Chael says, ‘I can’t let you get close’. You know? I thought I was doing the responsible thing. I didn’t punch anybody. I just choked somebody a little bit. Samoa Joe was there, told me to stop, and then I quit. I turned to Tony, and I said, ‘This place is a f**cking joke, man. You’re a clown, I quit.’”
Further, Punk said that he stayed for a bit to watch the show but left soon after. He wanted to make the security’s job easy and not linger around too much.
Punk also touched upon the topic of Tony Khan feeling scared. He said he could not say much about Tony’s feelings but he did not do anything to make him fear for his life. Punk believes AEW wanted to slander his character.
Chael Sonnen used his often-memed quote against Wanderlei Silva at TUF Brazil
In 2014, Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva were the two coaches at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3. Their bad blood reached a boiling point and the former UFC fighters’ pre-weigh-in altercation turned into an all-out brawl. Sonnen took down Silva who was advancing toward him and then the fighters came in to pull them apart.
Right before Silva was about to make a move on Sonnen, he uttered the famous words, “I can’t let you get close.”
Chael Sonnen explained that he said this according to a piece of advice his father gave him years ago. His father told him not to wait till you are hit first but to wait till they are in arm’s distance.
“A lot of people will say let the other guy throw the first punch; my dad did not believe in that at all,” he explained in an interview with UFC.com. “He said the fight begins as soon as they’re within arms’ reach. There’s a confrontation and they get within arms’ reach, they just started the fight. You don’t have to wait for anything.”
Chael Sonnen’s quote became famous and it was turned into a meme. Even a decade later, personalities like CM Punk are using it to get across their point.