CM Punk and Jack Perry were involved in a backstage altercation this past Sunday, moments before AEW: All In London went live on pay-per-view. The confrontation between the two men came as Punk was entering the Gorilla position for his show opening match against Samoa Joe, and Perry was returning to the back after losing the FTW Championship to HOOK.
Punk and Perry began exchanging words over an unscripted line the former Jungle Boy shot at the camera during his match against HOOK about the use of real glass, something he and Punk had previously disagreed over. Things proceeded to get physical as they began shoving each other, and eventually, Punk caught Perry in some kind of chokehold.
Earlier today on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez shared what he has heard about what went down between Punk and Perry and noted that AEW President Tony Khan was in the Gorilla position area when things broke down. Haus of Wrestling has been able to independently confirm that, as well. The action apparently got close to enough to Khan that monitors were knocked down onto him.
Alvarez stated that Khan saw the whole thing play out, but Haus of Wrestling is told that Khan may not have seen the actual altercation take place, which is possibly why there is an internal investigation into what happened. It is worth mentioning that Alvarez describes what went down as happening very quickly, with Samoa Joe and others in the area swiftly breaking things up.
Alvarez went on to say that Punk said he wanted to quit the company, which is in line with our initial reporting that his future with AEW and pro wrestling is questionable. PWTorch has also reported that Punk threatened to quit immediately following the altercation and “chewed out” Khan with harsh comments. Haus of Wrestling has heard Punk said he felt like he was working at a zoo, but there are other interpretations of exactly what was exchanged.
Due to Punk’s frustration with what was going on, Alvarez said FTR and The Young Bucks were asked if they could go on first but responded saying they were not ready to do so. The trios match competitors were then approached about going first and seemed up to it before Joe was able to get things under control, and he and Punk went out to wrestle first, as scheduled.