According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the investigation into the AEW All Out backstage fight that was conducted by a third party is said to have been completed just last week.
The investigation was concluded with the departure of former AEW producer Ace Steel, the company working on a buy-out of CM Punk’s contract, and the upcoming return of AEW Executive Vice Presidents Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, as revealed in a promotional segment that aired on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Both Don Callis and The Elite were backstage during Dynamite in Norfolk, and Callis was backstage during Rampage in Jacksonville last Friday.
Although it has not been confirmed, it is believed that The Elite will make their return to action at the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view on Saturday, November 19. Perhaps they will do so in a match against Death Triangle, who are the current AEW World Trios Champions.
The rumor that Punk will not be returning to AEW continued to circulate backstage at Dynamite this week, with several high-ranking individuals stating that they believe he will not return. There were also prominent figures who stated that they would not work with Punk, with ROH World Champion Chris Jericho being the name that was brought up the most. If you want to read our new report on Jericho confronting Punk backstage after the All Out incident, you can do so by clicking here.
You can also read our new report regarding people within AEW describing Punk as “desperate” and a “total psycho” by clicking here.
It was also mentioned in the claims being made by Punk’s camp that nobody from AEW had gotten in touch with Punk since the incident. The Observer notes that, as soon as the aftermath of the incident became apparent, attorneys were called in, and everyone involved was instructed not to talk to each other. Every person who was either directly involved or present during the incident, with the exception of Steel’s wife Lucy Guy, has not been given permission to speak publicly about it. However, out of all of the people who witnessed the incident, Steel’s wife is the only one who can publicly give her account of what transpired. Steel’s wife has not spoken out in public either. According to a number of sources, Steel’s wife did not participate in the investigation by being interviewed.
A number of additional people have expressed the hope that they will be able to share their perspectives on the matter at some point in the future; however, now that the investigation has been completed, no one is permitted to publicly discuss anything that is connected to the incident, and they are not supposed to be allowed to talk privately about what took place.
When it was first reported that the two sides were negotiating a buy-out of Punk’s contract a few weeks back, at that point the buy-out was not completed because the two sides were not in agreement on the terms of a non-compete clause, which is essentially a timeframe during which Punk would not be allowed to go to WWE. This was the reason why the buy-out was not completed. Regarding the buy-out of Punk’s contract. Punk claimed that the injury, which resulted in surgery, was made worse in the backstage fight with Omega and The Bucks. Punk suffered a torn triceps in the All Out match with AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Punk and/or Steel possibly working with WWE again has been the subject of much speculation; however, The Observer reports that as of a few days ago, WWE officials had not spoken with either man about the possibility of them returning to the company in any capacity. Due to the fact that Punk is still bound by his contract with AEW, WWE is legally prohibited from communicating with Punk.
Steel just wanted to move on from the situation, but he was “bummed” that it happened, and the online harassment he’s received has been described as “gigantic.” However, this is true not only for Steel, but also for everyone else who was involved in the incident.
Some people saw the Punk injury, which forced him to be sidelined for some time, as an opportunity for time to heal all wounds. This view was shared by some people. But that wasn’t happening, and the dog story then heated things up again, which led to some dissatisfied talent who thought the situation was resolved after the investigation was finished a week ago. Moreover, the dog story led to some upset fans.
