On the April 10th edition of AEW Dynamite, the company decided to air the backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry at AEW All In London 2024. The altercation was what led to the firing of CM Punk, and this is the first time the footage from Wembley has been made public. There had been multiple reports made on the incident, all with different rumors about what happened.
CM Punk Segment: AEW Dynamite
On last week’s AEW Dynamite, The Young Bucks announced that they will be releasing the All In backstage footage. Many fans believed that this was an attempt for a ratings spike, but reports quickly made it clear that the actual footage would be shown. The likely reason for this is CM Punk’s recent interview with Ariel Helwani, in which he negatively portrayed the company.
The segment started with The Young Bucks doing a backstage promo. They explained how CM Punk and their future opponents, FTR, were good friends in AEW and that this is footage they felt the need to put out.
AEW All In: Footage
The footage started with a verbal exchange between Perry and Punk. There was no audio, so fans had to speculate as to what was said. The altercation took place right after Jack’s match and just before Punk’s. Punk was upset that Jack Perry had used real glass during his match, deeming it unprofessional.
After a heated verbal exchange, Punk seemingly grabbed Perry and began putting him in a chokehold. Samoa Joe, who was right there, instantly broke up the exchange, and they were dragged apart. The immediate reaction from fans was that the company overacted on the situation. Many believed that this was no reason for the company to fire their top star. However, this was not the first altercation that Punk was in during his time in AEW, so that might have had a part to play as well.
Matthew & Nicholas Jackson vs. FTR at #AEWDynasty – will be an absolute WAR!
Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS!@youngbucks | @CashWheelerFTR | @DaxFTR pic.twitter.com/1zU31CHnJl
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 11, 2024
AEW has been criticized recently for not putting focus on its product, and this segment doesn’t help. The All In altercation occurred 8 months before this footage was released. By this point, CM Punk has already signed with WWE and has moved on. It was expected for AEW to have moved on as well, but that simply hasn’t been the case.