Earlier today, CM Punk was terminated from All Elite Wrestling following an internal investigation into a backstage altercation between him and Jack Perry at AEW: All In London. Punk’s removal from the AEW roster left many Chicago fans and those traveling in from out of town to see Punk in action upset. So, with that in mind, AEW President Tony Khan kicked off tonight’s episode of AEW: Dynamite by addressing the audience directly.
“Welcome to AEW: Collision,” Khan began. “Today, I had to make one of the toughest decisions of my professional career. Today, I terminated Phil Brooks, CM Punk, for cause. This stems from a backstage incident at AEW: All In last Sunday. The incident was regrettable, and it endangered people backstage. That includes the production staff, the people who helped put the show on every week, innocent people who had nothing to do with it.
“I’ve been going to wrestling shows for over 30 years. I’ve been producing them on this network for nearly four years. Never, in all that time, have I ever felt, until last Sunday, that my security, my safety, my life was in danger at a wrestling show. I don’t think anybody should feel that way at work. I don’t think the people I work with should feel that way, and I had to make a very difficult choice today.
“It came at the recommendation of a Discipline Committee here in AEW, as well as outside legal counsel who delivered a unanimous recommendation, and I have followed up on that recommendation. I’m sorry to any fans who are upset by this. I’m sorry to anyone who’s upset by this. Despite that, we’re going to have a great show tonight on Collision, and we’re going to have a great AEW All Out pay-per-view tomorrow here in Chicago.
“Last weekend was the greatest weekend in AEW history. This is the greatest week in AEW history. We’re going to continue the great momentum here tonight on Collision and tomorrow night on All Out pay-per-view.”
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