CM Punk was terminated by AEW following an investigation into a backstage altercation at All In with Jack Perry, where Tony Khan, Samoa Joe, and others were present. In the months since Punk has returned to WWE, Joe has become AEW World Champion, and Perry has debuted as AEW’s “scapegoat” in NJPW. Shortly after the announcement that Punk had been terminated, Khan released a video statement on AEW Collision where he infamously said the following.
“I’ve been going to wrestling shows for over 30 years,” he stated. “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.”
Recently, DJ Whoo Kid, who escorted Swerve Strickland to the ring at All In, gave insight into the fight between Punk and Perry, which he claims he saw firsthand. The hip-hop star confirmed that it was a wild and tense scene and noted that a “big Hawaiian” got everyone in line and back on track to do the show. Many have inferred that Kid was talking about Joe and how he was the man to restore order during the chaos.
In an interview with ESPN, Joe was asked to give his perspective on how things between Punk and Perry played out.
“There was a little bit of an incident. We got it broken up,” he began. “We went out there and wrestled, man. That’s the gist of it. Everybody wants it to be a lot more than what it is, but that’s what it was. And to speak any more on it would be pointless unless you’re trying to get a scorecard and stuff — but trust me, it wasn’t that type of a fight.”
The AEW World Champion was then pressed on whether he felt the altercation was “a big deal.”
“Not to me,” Joe stated. “I’ve seen fights break out. Stuff happens. But again, that’s me. I’ve been in these situations; I’ve seen that. I’ll find it funny when people are like, ‘Oh, Joe’s cool with it.’ I mean, nah, man, it was a high-stress situation. Sure. But I mean, it’s one I’ve seen happen many times. We get it squashed out. We had a show to do. We had [81,035] fans waiting out there. And that was my focus because that’s what it was about at that moment. We’re about to go out and have the best night of our lives.”
While Khan may have felt his life was in danger, it does not sound as if Joe shared the same concern. Knowing that Joe was undaunted by the situation, he was asked if it was true that he served as “the voice of reason” during the melee.
“Hey, listen, we all understood that there was something to be done,” Joe shot back. “There was a mission ahead of us, and everybody just got focused. And hey, if I was a part of that, cool. But my intention was to get out there and get this show on the road.”