In 2021, CM Punk made his return to the squared circle as part of All Elite Wrestling after a nearly seven-year absence from the industry. Since joining the company, Punk won the AEW World Championship twice and contributed to the brand's influx of fans. However, it was also filled with injuries and drama, the latter of which has taken the spotlight in the past year. One latest incident was the last straw.
On Saturday, AEW announced that Punk, real name Phil Brooks, was having his contract terminated by the company, effectively immediately, following a week-long investigation. The reason for Punk's termination was due to a backstage physical confrontation involving himself and Jack Perry at their All In pay-per-view event in London, England last Sunday. Punk was fired with cause.
You can read the statement from AEW and its founder, Tony Khan, in the tweet below.
AEW fires CM Punk following backstage incident at All In event
The details of the incident were first reported by Fightful Select (subscription required). During the Zero Hour show, Perry performed a spot on the windshield of a car. Perry approached the broadcast camera and said "It's real glass, cry me a river." This was about a previous report from Fightful Select that revealed that Punk and Perry got into a confrontation over the latter's insistence on using real glass in a segment.
Before the main card, Punk and Perry got into a physical confrontation. In a variety of reports, there were conflicting opinions from the Punk and Perry sides about who was the one who started the fight. What was confirmed was that both were asked to leave Wembley Stadium later on. Punk competed in the show-opening match against Samoa Joe in front of over 80,000 fans. Eventually, both were suspended indefinitely by the company as they investigated the incident, as first reported by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated.
Fightful Select reported this past Thursday that there was footage of the incident, citing that there were cameras throughout Wembley Stadium. Additionally, Fightful Select writes they heard that Punk and Khan had a "contentious" interaction.
This news comes as AEW is in Chicago, Punk's hometown, this weekend. On Saturday, AEW presents its weekly television program, Collision. Then on Sunday, AEW presents its annual pay-per-view event, All Out, at the United Center.
One year ago, Punk got into a backstage brawl with The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and Kenny Omega after he went on a rant on the executive vice presidents of AEW and "Hangman" Adam Page. All four wrestlers were suspended, with the Young Bucks and Omega being stripped of their then-newly won AEW World Trios Championships. Punk was sidelined for much longer, mostly due to getting surgery on a torn triceps.
After two years with AEW, Punk is no longer with the company. Now, his future in professional wrestling is unknown.