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Tony Khan appeared at the start of AEW Dynamite as promised to address the situation surrounding the AEW World Championship and AEW World Trios Championships. Khan revealed that both titles would be vacated, but did not mention CM Punk, Kenny Omega, or The Young Bucks by name. All four men, and some others, are currently suspended as the company investigates a backstage altercation that took place between them last Sunday. All four were also removed from the Dynamite intro video.
“I’ve been forced to vacate the AEW World Championship and the AEW World Trios Championship,” Khan said. He explained that the new Trios Champions would be crowned tonight in the match between Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends vs. Death Triangle. The AEW Championship will be decided in a tournament to conclude at Grand Slam later this month, Hangman Page, Bryan Danielson, Sammy Guevara, and Darby Allin will compere in the first round, with Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho getting byes until the second round. Khan promised AEW Would be at its best over the next few weeks and ended the segment. Notably, Khan was booed at several points during his statement.
At the All Out post-PPV media scrum on Sunday, CM Punk unleashed on ex-friend Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, and The Elite. Punk started the conference addressing his longstanding beef with Cabana and his belief that the wrestling media was irresponsibly spreading rumors that Punk wanted to get Cabana fired from AEW. Punk blamed those rumors on Page, who alluded to the situation during a promo against Punk during their world championship feud months ago, and The Elite, who he accused of leaking the story to the press. However, several of the reporters who reported on the Cabana situation have since said their information did not come from that group. Punk also attacked The Elite’s management skills as EVPS of the company they co-founded and claimed none of them, particularly Page, had ever accomplished anything in the wrestling business. Punk accused them of trying to sabotage his position as top babyface in AEW, and hurled various other insults at the group.
Throughout the rant, Tony Khan just kind of sat that, looking bewildered, and only made a few half-hearted attempts to change the subject. As owner of the company and head of creative, it was Khan’s responsibility to take control of that situation, but for whatever reason, he didn’t appear to even try. After Punk left the scrum, where Khan remained, a violent altercation between The Elite vs. Punk and hanger-on Ace Steel reportedly occurred backstage. Omega and the Bucks are reported to have confronted Punk in his locker room, where the fight soon broke out, though there are mixed reports as to who “started” it. During the brawl, backstage producer Steel is reported to have struck Nick Jackson in the eye with a steel chair and bitten and pulled the hair of Kenny Omega. By Wednesday morning, it was being widely reported that everyone involved in the altercation, including officials who tried to break up the fight, had been suspended, with Punk’s future with the company in question. That question still remains, as well as the fate of The Elite, but we do now know that there will be new champions crowned.
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