CM Punk Regrets AEW Backstage Brawl: ‘I Handled It the Wrong Way’

In his first interview since the backstage brawl with his colleagues that led to his suspension, AEW wrestler CM Punk said he regrets how he handled the situation and has apologized to CEO and president Tony Khan. 

During a press conference following the All Out pay-per-view in September, Punk took aim at AEW wrestlers and executive vice presidents Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), alleging that they had leaked inaccurate information to the media. (Punk called them “irresponsible people who call themselves EVPs and couldn’t f-–ing manage a Target.”) After the press conference, The Young Bucks and Omega confronted Punk in his locker room and a fight ensued, with Punk reportedly throwing the first punch. 

“The first thing I said to Tony when I sat down with him and spoke to him after it was, ‘Man, I'm really sorry I put you in that position,’” Punk said in an interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi published Friday. “I apologize for the [media] scrum. But when you’ve watched that scrum, you’re looking at a very, very frustrated guy who had told people. That’s not the first time he heard all that. It’s not the first time lawyers were told all that. And I was just looking for something to be done and nothing got done. So, if you want something done right, you got to do it yourself. And I just didn’t approach it in the right manner, but tension was high. I was very, very pissed. I pretty much knew that I had just injured myself again. I was hurt, and I was disappointed. Yeah, it’s very easy for me to say I regret that and I handled it the wrong way, 100%.”

Punk also downplayed the severity of the brawl. 

“I don’t think what happened was a big deal …” Punk said. “This has happened in the last 10 months in hockey, in basketball, in baseball, in just about every sport. And it’s covered and it’s gone the next day. I think because I have injured my tricep and I’ve been out for so long, I think it has been exacerbated. I think it’s been exacerbated by people spreading lies about the whole thing. And when, in reality, my attitude is, well, s— happens.”

Punk, Omega and the Jackson brothers were all suspended by AEW after the fight. Ace Steel, an AEW producer and longtime friend of Punk’s who allegedly bit Omega during the fracas, was released by the company after a third-party investigation. (He has since been re-hired.) Omega and the Bucks returned two months later. Punk, who tore his triceps during his match at All Out, has kept a low profile since the brawl. He was initially expected to leave the company as a result of the incident but instead will be the star of AEW’s newest weekly show, Collision, which will debut on Saturday.