Ace Steel has been one of CM Punk’s closest friends for decades, dating back to their time in Ring of Honor. When Punk joined AEW, Steel, who previously served as a coach at the WWE Performance Center, began working as a backstage agent at the upstart promotion. Unfortunately, their time at the promotion became tumultuous when Punk began to find himself at odds with The Elite and other locker room members. Punk infamously let his feelings be known at the 2022 AEW All Out media scrum, and a backstage brawl ensued.
Little is known about what exactly happened during the multi-man altercation. Still, the general belief is that The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Brandon Cutler, and others entered Punk’s locker room to confront him, and things broke down. Descriptions of the incident involve Larry, Punk’s dog, being hit in the face when the door to the room was swung open, incidentally knocking loose one of his teeth. Steel, while trying to defend Punk, allegedly threw a chair during the melee and bit Kenny Omega. Everyone involved was taken off television and stripped of their titles.
Punk was eventually brought back to television on the debut episode of AEW Collision, but Steel was not allowed backstage with him and was forced to work remotely. Once Punk was eventually terminated, Steel was let go not long after.
In an interview on Wrestling With Rip Rogers, Steel was asked about his exit from AEW and Punk’s surprising return to WWE.
“Well, I worked with a lot of great people; some great, some not so much,” he began. “Family still exists in this business. There are things none of us can say, and none of us will; you know, I think actually my wife’s the only one that could probably tell the story since she was there, and maybe someday. As far as that goes, you don’t fuck with family. You just don’t, you just don’t,
“We came out just fine, and I have a great lawyer, Stephen P New, Stephen P New. He’s the man; let’s just put that in the world. Stephen P. New is a gem. He’s for the wrestlers. He’s for the boys. He’s for the right side of the world. So I will give him all the praise in the world while I’m sitting here smiling, and that’s that.”
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