CM Punk and The Elite stripped of AEW championships and removed from Dynamite opening over ‘backstage fight’

CM Punk and The Elite stripped of AEW championships and removed from Dynamite opening over ‘backstage fight’
CM Punk, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks have been stripped of their respective AEW titles on Dynamite over an alleged backstage fight following Sunday night’s All Out press conference. After Sunday’s AEW All Out pay-per-view went off air, WWE legend CM Punk used the media scrum to launch an astonishing verbal attack on the company’s management as All Elite Wrestling owner Tony Khan sat by his side, accusing ‘irresponsible’ executive vice presidents for spreading ‘lies and bullshit’ to the media. As reported by Fightful Select and the Wrestling Observer , the EVP trio – known collectively as The Elite – were involved in an altercation after Punk allegedly hit out at Matt Jackson, with Punk’s friend Ace Steel allegedly throwing a chair at Matt’s brother Nick and biting Omega.
On Wednesday night’s episode of Dynamite, Khan opened the show with a brief, pre-taped statement addressing the title picture, with Punk’s AEW World Championship and The Elite’s Trios Championship now vacated, although he didn’t give an on-air reason for the move. Death Triangle would win the latter in the opening match of the night as they defeated Best Friends and Orange Cassidy. Meanwhile, Bryan Danielson went on to beat Hangman Page in the opening round of the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions, with the winner facing Chris Jericho in the semi-final.
On Rampage this Friday, Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin will face off with the winner facing Jon Moxley next week, and the final will take place at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on September 3. Sports Illustrated reports that the punishments will involve ‘suspensions for every person involved’, including Matt and Nick Jackson, Omega, Pat Buck, Christopher Daniels, Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa. Sources were quoted by the publication as saying that Punk and Ace Steel would either both be among those suspended, or could leave the company in the near future.
It’s said there will be ‘an external third-party investigation’ to determine exactly what happened behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated adds that Punk and AEW boss Tony Khan met on Tuesday to discuss what will happen next. The company – and the wrestlers involved – are yet to comment on the alleged fight, or the reported suspensions.
There had been previous reports with sources suggesting Punk may have had a role to play in getting his former friend Cabana – real name Scott Colton – taken off air in AEW. Pat McAfee leaves WWE SmackDown as Triple H confirms commentator's exit WWE star Mandy Rose poses totally nude with NXT titles for racy poolside celebration The Simpsons showrunner reveals wildest 'prediction' that accidentally 'came true' The pair were close friends for years, but they fell out following their legal battle against WWE doctor Chris Amann in 2014, and Cabana later sued Punk to try and get his legal fees paid. Over the weekend, Punk told reporters: ‘The fact that I have to sit up here because we have irresponsible people who call themselves EVPs and couldn’t f***ing manage Target, and they spread lies and bulls**t and put into a medium that I got somebody fired when I have f**k all to do with him.
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co. uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you. MORE : CM Punk blasts AEW management for ‘spreading bulls**t’ to media in front of boss Tony Khan in F-bomb littered rant MORE : Former WWE star Ruby Soho suffers broken nose and gets dropped on her head in brutal AEW All Out match.