CM Punk returned to All Elite Wrestling this past Saturday night on the debut episode of AEW: Collision. With a live microphone in hand, The Second City Saint did his best to allude to his issues with The Elite, while also trying to build interest in an AEW World Championship match against MJF. While some attention was paid to Punk reigniting his feud with Friedman, the vast majority of attention was given to the lines in his promo that appeared to be directed at The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, and Colt Cabana.
Punk pointed out that Warner Brothers Discovery CEO David Zaslav has given him the nickname “One Bill Phil,” in part because he is not a “Counterfit Buck,” but also because AEW’s new TV rights deal could reportedly be worth upwards of one billion dollars. A key to the success of that deal is said to be tied to AEW: Collision’s ability to draw eyeballs, which Punk is hoping to do.
Another notable line from the promo came when Punk said that many who feel he owes them an apology are as “soft” as their favorite wrestlers. Of the lines in the promo, that was the one that some backstage reportedly viewed hypocritically based on previous comments Punk has made.
Not much is known about the actual altercation that played out backstage at All Out between Punk, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and others. One thing we do know is that, based on sources I spoke with back in October 2022, a few days after the brawl, CM Punk’s dog, Larry, went to a pre-scheduled veterinarian appointment and it was discovered that two of his teeth had been knocked loose and had to be removed. From what I was told at the time, it sounds like Punk’s locker room door was kicked open, and accidentally swung into the face of Larry, causing the teeth to become loose.
Earlier today, Punk’s wife, AJ Mendez, formally AJ Lee in WWE, shared a photo of Larry on her Instagram page wearing his dad’s new Larry-inspired AEW shirt. While doing so, she seemingly gave a nod of the hat to my reporting and gave validity to the account.
“Larry in a Larry-sized Larry logo shirt,” she added to the photo. “Please note his accurate missing teefs.”