The event that shocked the world at All Out is still being talked about. It’s of course only natural, the events surrounding the AEW event are shocking and at the same time telling of what’s sadly transpiring as of late in the AEW locker room.
Just this week a story developed also between Sammy Guevara and Andrade El Idolo…a real life beef that resulted in punishments to Andrade. He was sent home while Guevara was still included in Wednesday’s show.
It’s funny, but it still seems so odd that real life fights can break out in an industry that’s based on fighting albeit scripted fighting. The results are not at all left to chance, but that doesn’t take into account the egos that build behind the scenes.
Fame can do that to you; success can as well. Perhaps that’s why it always seemed that Vince McMahon had more of a handle on all of those egos, or at least it seems so now. There was that iron fist he ruled with that often got him in trouble, but in the end, the environment he created over in WWE was one that in the end respected the boss, and if something did occur as in the walk out of Steve Austin back in 2002, the screw job of Bret Hart in 1997, and the walk out of Sasha Banks and Naomi…they seem to be one-offs that occurred but were dealt with severely.
It seems as though many of the instances in AEW we are privy to aren’t handled with the same amount of force, and as I’ve stated in recent columns, perhaps Tony Khan needs to change the way things are being done behind the scenes and a ceiling needs to be placed on some of these egos that are building and building over time.
It’s odd, but what started as the greener pastures of the pro wrestling industry is in its third year—at the start of its third year—and it is being shown to have quite a few cracks in its surface. And overall that’s sad because a lot of epic talents are being overshadowed.
In the case of CM Punk, you have a man that put in his time, he did great things in this industry but was severely burned by it as well, and every facet of it. This was made clear in comments he made during the infamous media scrum following the All Out event. He unleashed not only on certain individuals within the company he was wrestling for, but at the media and the fans that believe the hype built by that media as well.
We can’t say that he was wrong, or at least I can’t. The cracks were put on display and no matter how we feel about the EVPs of the company, perhaps the way things were run or are being run in the company isn’t necessarily the way a pro wrestling company should be run.
AEW was born out of frustration…frustration at not making it in the big leagues of a sport these men dedicated their lives to (a group of men that included Cody Rhodes; coincidentally he left the company in 2021 as well). Collectively, they wanted to put forth a company that was the alternative to the conglomerate WWE and they did, starting with great success.
But it was as that success snowballed that things started to overcomplicate themselves, and particularly the ways in which the company was being run, in perhaps a way that set them apart from WWE, was in turn not going to work out for the long haul; it would be their downfall.
Now since the media scum and the ensuing fight behind the scenes between CM Punk, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks (as well as other AEW personnel), AEW has changed its scope, placing many of its homegrown stars and stars that have been with the company since its first year, at the forefront of its programming.
I mean we saw Brian Cage on Dynamite in a match for the first time in only God knows how long this week. Wheeler Yuta and MJF put on a clinic worthy of great praise, and The Acclaimed are finally being shown in the light they deserve, with Swerve being given the chance to shine in the heel role he is so perfect at.
There are indeed great things developing at the company since the turmoil, but yet still overshadowing the company it still is, that turmoil, and it seems we’re even further from getting the answers we want.
You have to understand, we’re talking about four of the biggest faces in AEW, and the biggest faces in independent wrestling for the last decade or so. Kenny Omega is perhaps one of the greatest to ever do it, a super-talented individual, charismatic to the bone and a contender for a future spot on the Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling.
CM Punk is a legend, as stated, and he deserves his respect and his say. He did take AEW to heights it hadn’t yet seen with his debut in Chicago in 2021. And the Young Bucks, well anyone who knows what they’re talking about know how important they are.
As a journalist I can’t be biased, but as a pro wrestling fan I respect and love all four men, so it’s hard for me and anyone who loves all four men to imagine that this could have happened. It’s actually sad, if you will permit me the emotion.
What’s even sadder is the fallout online; the people making claims and sharing opinions that are only poisonous.
Yes, we want to know what’s going on, we want to get the answers, but our ultimate goal here is to see all four men where they belong. I’ll even be as bold to say that where they belong is in the pro wrestling ring, and maybe that ring isn’t in AEW anymore.
The old adage is never say never in pro wrestling, so I won’t, but it seems like that light at the end of this tunnel is far off indeed.
Especially with the news that was broken by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. He stated: “One person has threatened legal action and been uncooperative.”
So essentially because of this threat of legal action, the entirety of the investigation is being held up, so it cannot continue. The investigation was being conducted by a third party, as reports have suggested and numerous ones at that.
We must understand, there are legal ramifications here. Men were hit, property was damaged, and someone was bitten for crying out loud! Bitten!! It is a mess both for the company and really for each man’s reputation involved. We can definitely understand why someone is threatening to sue.
But answers aren’t something we’re likely to get any time soon…not on the question of when we’ll see these men again, or if we will or even where, and not to mention the exact details and insider information on the case.
Reports have flooded in stating that CM Punk has been released or rather isn’t with the company, and the other three men have been simply suspended…. There have even been reports that Omega and the Bucks sent out feelers to WWE, although that was reportedly debunked by fightful.com.
As a journalist I hate ending a piece on an uncertainty, but folks, I have absolutely no other recourse. Hopefully we see these men soon, and doing what they were born to do.
