After CM Punk and "Jungle" Jack Perry got into a physical altercation at AEW All In, we quickly started hearing many different sides of what appeared to be a very simple story.
The upstart rookie had gone into business for himself on a live PPV, taunting Punk (who appears somewhat thin-skinned) and later paid for it when the Best in the World confronted him. Things got physical and AEW President Tony Khan - likely encouraged by his EVPs - later terminated Punk's contract.
However, in one of the most perplexing pro wrestling moments ever, Khan suggested that Punk had put his life in danger. Needless to say, fans and wrestlers alike have since mocked the son of billionaire Shahid Khan, but someone who was actually there has finally weighed in.
Samoa Joe wrestled his old Ring of Honor riva, Punk, during All In's opening match shortly after the incident took place. Now, he's very much downplayed what happened moments before.
"For the most part, I haven’t read what’s been portrayed," he tells the New York Post. "There’s been so much said. I’m not the one to go out there and try to debunk everything. I know we had the initial incident. Everybody rallied. Everybody got together. Got their heads together and lined up and got ready to do the show and we went out there and we did the show."
"That really was the focus at that point in time. We got a massive show to do and we got fans out there rabid to see that happen. So it’s important that we step up and do it and it’s important that we did, and I was proud to be a part of that."
As for whether Punk put any lives in danger, including Tony's, Joe added: "That’s up to whoever perceived it. I’m used to that environment. Those things don’t seem very intense to me, but it could be something crazy intense to someone else. I wasn’t really affected by the moment. I was more focused on getting the show back on track and getting us going because it was bell time."
In other words, Tony is just as cowardly and ill-suited for the wrestling business as most suspected! While something had to be done about Punk's increasingly frequent outbursts (regardless of whether The Elite was manipulating events, he should have kept his cool), the handling of this situation by the company's Vince McMahon-equivalent is somewhat laughable.
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