When it comes to the All Out backstage altercation from early September, many AEW employees have been quiet. However, Fightful Select reports that more people are speaking up now that former producer Ace Steel was fired on Tuesday of this week, as was previously reported today.
Everyone agrees that Steel’s departure was inevitable, and if there hadn’t been ongoing legal repercussions, it would have happened the week after the All Out incident. Most people believed they had finished working with Steel by the time of the TV tapings the following week. Additionally, it was claimed that Steel’s proximity to longtime friend CM Punk during the incident complicated matters.
The “writing was on the wall” right after the All Out incident, when the bite marks on Kenny Omega were still apparent, according to a longtime AEW talent who had been friendly with Steel. Omega had the bite marks on him for the entire following week, including his trip to Japan.
A veteran talent pointed out that the decision to release Steel was an easy one and that bringing him back into the locker room, with or without Punk, might have stirred up tempers. Another performer claimed that following the talent meeting that was held by Bryan Danielson, ROH World Champion Chris Jericho, and AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, the situation had not been much of a talking point in recent weeks. One talent described the situation as “biting people bad.”
The most significant change to the All Out situation was Steel’s departure. In addition to Steel’s release this week, other noteworthy events included Punk appearing in a ROH World Title video, The Elite being mentioned on AEW Dynamite commentary for the first time since the incident, and The Young Bucks appearing in an AEW Rampage commercial. The Young Bucks, Punk, and Omega are still missing from the Dynamite intro.
The first discussion, action, or optimism regarding “potential returns,” though this was left vague, occurred on Tuesday. The parties involved are in contact with AEW more frequently than they have in the past, but the circumstances surrounding that were not mentioned.
It was previously stated that the third-party investigation into the All Out incident had “stalled everything” due to the threat of legal action. PWInsider and Dave Meltzer both confirmed Steel’s release today, and it was also mentioned that “a lot of other stuff” is happening in relation to the fallout from the independent investigation.
