Tony Khan has finally spoken about one of the most controversial moments in AEW history- the media scrum involving CM Punk after AEW All Out 2022.
The incident happened on September 4, 2022. Punk defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship that night. What should have been a celebration turned controversial when Punk went off-script during the press conference. Sitting next to Khan, he openly criticized people like Colt Cabana, Adam Page, and members of The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson).
Things got even worse after the media scrum ended. Reports said The Elite confronted Punk backstage, which led to a real fight. Ace Steel was also involved, and the situation became serious. There were reports of physical altercations as well.
The fallout was serious. Khan stripped Punk of the AEW World Championship and also vacated The Elite’s Trios titles. Everyone involved was suspended while an investigation took place, and Steel was later released. While some people eventually returned, the tension behind the scenes didn’t fully go away, and Punk was eventually released in 2023 after another incident involving Jack Perry.
Tony Khan says AEW stayed strong after CM Punk media scrum
During an interview on The Coach and Bro Show, Khan admitted that the incident changed how he sees the business. It also lit a fire in him to bounce back.
“I came out of that wanting for AEW to succeed and for AEW to continue, more than anything, and what we were able to do to rebound from that. Obviously, I wanted, in a perfect world, everybody to be able to get together and work together. I don’t think that was possible. But I also think that we’ve been able, in the past few years, to really keep AEW strong. To me, that was the most important thing,” Khan said.
Khan admitted that if something like that happened today, he would handle parts of it differently, especially when it comes to communication and management.
“I learned a number of things. I probably would do things differently, say things differently, but like you said, it wasn’t something I was expecting. You’re very experienced in wrestling, and you know that was a very much a welcome to wrestling in some aspects of it, because that was for me. I’d been in wrestling for almost four years at that point, but that was certainly a first for me, and as with all firsts, you’re gonna learn from them and hope not to ever have a repeat,” Khan added.
Khan believes AEW emerged from the situation stronger. For him, the biggest lesson was ensuring the company could survive and keep moving forward.
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