Real reason why Tony Khan is not stopping CM Punk from sending AEW stars home - Reports

There seems to be a lot of backstage turmoil in AEW following the latest edition of Collision that aired on August 12, 2023. CM Punk reportedly stopped several stars from being at the show's venue.

Following last Saturday's show, reports surfaced that AEW Head of Talent Relations Christopher Daniels wasn't allowed to attend the event despite being a key backstage figure. This was followed by rumors about Ryan Nemeth being sent home, Matt Hardy not being allowed in the building, and "Hangman" Adam Page having to go to a separate venue to film a backstage promo.

Many believe CM Punk was responsible for the abovementioned development, given his alleged beef with The Elite. On the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that not allowing the faction's allies to be present at Collision's venue was a way to keep Punk happy leading up to AEW's TV contract talks.

"[CM Punk] has the power obviously to do things like that [remove people from the building], and they are doing everything they can to keep him happy because when you are a draw in this business, and they feel that he is indispensable or close to indispensable because they allow him to do this because they are trying to launch this show on Saturdays [Collision]. The feeling is, obviously, having him is more important than having a situation where the head of talent relations can go to a show. They feel it's more important to keep CM Punk happy because of the attempt to launch on Saturdays." [11:36 - 12:19]

Meltzer added that this was pretty common in wrestling as the top draws in companies contribute significantly to their financial success. Hence, promotions often aim to please such stars in different ways.

"That's not unusual in this business (...) when Hulk Hogan got mad at George Scott, George Scott was gone as booker [in 1986]. That's just how wrestling has always been, the top draws will always have that power, and it's a unique situation because of the feeling that they're trying to get this big, giant television deal, and the Saturday show is very, very important, and they clearly believe that [CM Punk] needs to be on the Saturday show, or there is a great chance that the show will do lower numbers and in the long-run."

The veteran journalist also explained how the absence of a top star like Punk could hurt the Tony Khan-led organization.

"Those lower numbers will mean less money when they do the new contract renewal, at the expense of the locker room and everything else." [12:20 - 13:16]

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CM Punk has been challenged to a match at AEW All In

Despite the differences between 'Team CM Punk' and 'Team Elite,' the company has booked them on the same card multiple times, with AEW All In at Wembley Stadium being the perfect example.

Punk hasn't been officially added to the high-profile show at the time of writing. But that hasn't stopped an old rival of his from challenging him to a showdown at All Elite Wrestling's biggest show ever.

The star in question is Samoa Joe, who called out Punk on a recent edition of Collision. The ROH World TV Champion is seemingly not content with how his match with Punk in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament ended. Punk rolled up Joe in the semi-final to advance to the next round, marking the first time the former AEW World Champion had beaten The Samoan Submission Machine.

Do you think CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe will happen at AEW All In? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit Wrestling Observer Radio and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.