Oh boy. Tony Khan is going to have some serious trouble on his hands keeping this company together.
Sports Illustrated has learned that AEW has had to take such action that there is now serious question as to the future of the company, especially in light of budget restructuring with Warner/Discovery.
The following suspensions have already been announced BEFORE an internal company investigation has even started regarding the events of Sunday night and the furor leading up to them:
- AEW World Trios Champion and EVP Matt Jackson
- AEW World Trios Champion and EVP Nick Jackson
- AEW World Trios Champion, EVP, and former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega
- AEW Vice President of Talent Relations Pat Buck
- AEW character and stooge for The Elite Michael Nakazawa
- AEW Executive Producer For Content Brandon Cutler
- Semi-retired AEW wrestler Christopher Daniels
Note two names not on that list. As of about 45 minutes ago, a Zoom call was being made between AEW brass and CM Punk and Ace Steele.
We do know this: CM Punk WILL be stripped of the AEW World Championship (a second time) due to an injury suffered Sunday night. It is not known at present whether Punk suffered the triceps/pectoral injury in the ring or in the backstage fight.
(This is ironic, because Jon Moxley, in his last words before the match in a pre-taped promo/recap segment, said specifically to enjoy Punk while you could, because Punk has a fragile mind, ego, and body.)
What we do not know, at least as of writing (and it will be added after announcement) is whether this does, factually, mean the end of Punk and Steele (who was hired as a coach) with the company.
It basically has to at this point. Just the suspensions of those seven plus the fact they now, for the second time, have to book around a Punk injury, constitute a nuclear strike against the company.
And then there's the legal ramifications, as AEW top legal brass were either at the fight or joined the incident in the middle.
A lot of WWE stans in the IWC have been proclaiming "AEW DED" at almost every turn. This may be the first real chance they are right. Tony Khan has lost the locker room, and now basically has to suspend the largest-scale faction in the company for the first three years of full operation.
He has to rebook the World Championship and probably the World Trios Championship on the fly.
It is now almost obvious that there had to be a time in the three weeks preceding the match on Sunday that the backstage drama surrounding Punk, etc. had Punk blanching to even do the match -- necessitating the four-minute squash which took place on Dynamite in Cleveland.
All Out was an odd pay-per-view in AEW standards, definitely a step below some of the rest.
Stay tuned. More to this and a lot more.
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On Dynamite:
- World Trios Championships vacated -- probably meaning the suspension is at least a month.
- The Death Triangle/Cassidy and Best Friends match scheduled for tonight was made into a World Trios title match...
- ... which the Death Triangle (PAC, Penta El Cero Miedo, and Rey Fenix) won.
- World Championship is vacated.
- Filled with a six-man tournament over three weeks, to culminate at the Grand Slam Dynamite at Arthur Ashe stadium.
- Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page tonight, Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin on Rampage on Friday.
- Next week's Dynamite will have both semifinals. The Danielson/Page winner faces Chris Jericho, the Guevara/Allin winner gets Jon Moxley.
- They gave Danielson/Page about a half hour. Bryan Danielson won a very good match with a bridge pin, clean in the middle.
- The Chip Holder, The Devil Joker MJF, is biding his time and actually starting an angle which might eventually involve him claiming to take the AEW World Championship to WWE!
- No word -- YET -- on a formal firing for CM Punk and/or Ace Steele.
The question, in my mind, is how much does it cost Tony Khan to be rid of them. If I were Punk, the answer is at least the rest of my contract, all medical Bills paid, and my buddy gets taken care of, as well. If he says no, get a lawyer (I wonder if Jim Cornette knows one.) And quadruple that amount for hostile work environment.
ReplyDeleteIt is about the only reason I don't think Punk and Steele are fired already -- and the discussion was that this was to be completely settled Wednesday, and it was not.
DeleteI'm not sure what Punk is entitled to. He called out the Bucks. He challenged the bar to a fight. He blew up the entire card and made it all about him.
If I'm Khan, he's fired for cause. No settlement. So is Steele. Let them sue.