Suspended AEW star seemingly breaks silence to address future with promotion following CM Punk and The Elite's backstage altercation

There appears to be some form of an update on the situation with AEW star Ace Steel for the first time since his altercation with CM Punk and The Elite.

Following the Chicago event, the newly crowned AEW Champion took to the press conference to air some grievances. He launched a tirade against Hangman Page, the Elite, and Colt Cabana. He took digs at MJF and insinuated that he had issues with younger workers in the promotion.

His words provoked a confrontation between himself, Ace Steel, and The Elite backstage, resulting in an alleged altercation. During the conflict, it was reported that Steel had bitten Kenny Omega.

Questions remain over when the aforementioned names are slated for their returns, with zero mention of the stars in any programming. Perhaps providing an update on the matter, Steel posted a clip of the song 'Think' by Arethra Franklin.

During the clip, the lyric "freedom" is repeated multiple times, perhaps indicating that the suspension has been lifted or that he may not be with the company anymore.

Before his suspension, Ace Steel worked as a coach and backstage producer. He featured prominently in the lead-up to All Out as he cut an impassioned promo to coax Punk into challenging for the world title once more.

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CM Punk reportedly worked in a prominent backstage role before his suspension from AEW

Steel was not the only one involved in the altercation while holding a role backstage. Of course, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks have worked as EVPs and active performers since co-founding the promotion.

According to Tony Khan, however, CM Punk also worked in a similar capacity to Omega and the Bucks.

"There’s a lot of people… you’d go, whatever their stuff is. I think there’s specific, even if they’re not working in an office job per se you’d go to like a Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley. And of course, people who are working office jobs like Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and... CM Punk," said Khan. [H/T: WrestleTalk]

This led to suggestions that Punk's seemingly throwaway line of "trying to run a business" in his rant was reflective of his backstage role. Time will tell when or if the suspended stars will make their returns to AEW.

What are your thoughts on the situation? Sound off in the comments below.