Shortly after last year's All Out brawl involving CM Punk and The Elite, it was widely reported that an enraged Chris Jericho had described the Best in the World as a "cancer" to the AEW locker room.
We may never know how true that was (it did come across like typical dirt sheet nonsense), but it appears Le Champion has had a change of heart about his old WWE rival.
During the latest Talk Is Jericho podcast, he started by revealing what sort of impact the alleged fight between Punk and Jack Perry had on the show. "[It] kind of throws things off. That definitely kind of threw a monkey wrench into some things."
It doesn't sound like Jericho witnessed the altercation but he'd go on to shed some light on the final conversation he had with the "Real" AEW World Champion before Tony Khan made the controversial decision to fire him.
"I don't want to dwell on this or talk about it, but I should address it, of course," he says. "CM Punk is no longer with AEW and Wembley was his last match...what a way to go out if you're going to go out. I did speak to him briefly. I was going to do a Frankensteiner off the top, and I know that he does that sometimes."
"So I was just curious if he was doing it. So I went and talked to him for a bit, and asked him if he was doing it. He wasn't. Then I told him I was going to do the GTS with a straight face and I think for a second he thought that I was going to and I was joking, of course. So yeah, I did see him that day."
As for how he feels about Punk's departure, Jericho added: "It's a regretful moment what happened. But Tony Khan made his decision. And like I said, CM Punk was a big part of AEW for the time he was here, and if you're going to go out, he went out on top for sure by having this good match with Samoa Joe in...the highest-selling ticket seller of all time. So. That's my thoughts on that."
It's still unclear what comes next for Punk, though rumours are swirling he may be heading to WWE. Many fans are hoping that will be the case, but there have been conflicting reports about whether he has a non-compete clause in his contract (which, seeing as he was fired, has surely been voided).
As for Jericho, it currently looks like he plans to end his in-ring career in AEW. His thoughts on this subject are definitely insightful, anyway, and it's a shame we never got to see him and Punk cross paths in the ring again.