Original Artwork Jason Jimenez-Garrido
On the April 10, 2024 episode of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ‘Dynamite,’ never-before-seen footage of the incident between ‘Jungleboy’ Jack Perry and CM Punk aired. The result was a viewership rating of 819,000 viewers.
Though this increase in viewership may be a great thing for AEW, it certainly says something about the company that they relied on an ‘exposé’ of Punk in order to get there.
After months of hearing different stories about what went down behind the scenes during the altercation at All In: London, fans have finally received a clear answer.
Just a few days prior on AEW ‘Collision,’ the company began promoting that on the next ‘Dynamite,’ The Young Bucks would present and discuss backstage footage from ‘All In: London’ for the first time.
Fans quickly began to speculate whether or not they’d actually show footage from the altercation that led to Punk being fired and Perry being exiled to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
This all goes back to Aug. 27, 2023, at ‘All In: London,’ a show heavily promoted as ‘The Biggest Event In Wrestling History.’ Punk defended his ‘Real World’s’ championship title against Samoa Joe at the event, in front of a crowd of 81,035 attendees at Wembley Stadium.
The biggest story coming out of the event did not involve the matches themselves however. Instead, social media was buzzing about the rumors that began to spread about the fight.
The incident took place after Perry took a subliminal shot at Punk during his match against Hook, which was caught on the broadcast.
Perry referenced an encounter where Punk allegedly expressed his disapproval towards him wanting to use real glass for a stunt on AEW ‘Collision.’
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, Punk was asked to step in and explain that using real glass could not be allowed. Punk allegedly told Perry that if he had a problem with it, he could stay on the promotion’s other weekly show, ‘Dynamite,’ which he did not handle well.
During his match, Perry yelled “It’s real glass, cry me a river.” into the camera after a stunt involving a car window.
With tensions high, Punk reportedly got into his face as he returned backstage. Witnesses stated that the altercation became physical and led to Punk putting him in a chokehold.
Perry remains suspended. However, due to previous incidents with his involvement, Punk was ultimately fired.
The public statement from AEW owner Tony Khan stated that, “The termination follows a weeklong internal investigation of an incident occurring backstage at AEW – All In London on Sunday, August 27. Following the investigation, the AEW Discipline Committee met and later convened with outside legal counsel before making a unanimous recommendation to Khan that CM Punk be terminated with cause.”
Since his firing, Punk has made a shocking return to the WWE, where he has proven to be a huge ratings draw. Meanwhile, Perry’s suspension has yet to be lifted, and he is currently competing for AEW partner company, NJPW.
Some fans question why the footage is being brought up 7 months after the events, especially with Punk no longer in the company.
According to news outlets, Khan was not happy with Punk commenting on the fight in an interview with Ariel Helwani. Khan retaliated by trying to embarrass Punk with the footage.
However, most believe that the decision had the opposite effect. In fact, it only reinforced Punk’s claims that he’s one of the last remaining box office draws in professional wrestling.
Punk was undoubtedly a huge draw for the company, as proven by data shared by WrestleNomics. Footage of his return to WWE this past November also recorded over 71 million views across all platforms in just two days.
I believe this goes to show that AEW has still not fully recovered from losing their biggest attraction in its short history. Instead of the footage being damning counter evidence against Punk’s, it only served as support for what he said in his interview.
Unless they can maintain the same ratings this week, this move by AEW will only look like a desperation act. It will go to show that the company is still reliant on Punk’s starpower for box office success.
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