If you thought CM Punk‘s 2022 was full of controversy, 2023 has been even worse.
He has already been involved in multiple backstage altercations, with the latest pitting CM Punk against Jack Perry in a series of backstage battles.
As with the dirt sheets reporting, we will never know exactly what is true. However, we can piece together the key details of what happens, looking at the details confirmed by multiple sources.
In this article, we’ll look at what people from both sides of the camp say about the CM Punk vs Jack Perry feud, trying to figure out exactly what happened after AEW All In 2023.
CM Punk Stopped Jack Perry From Going Through Glass
A few weeks ago, Jack Perry attempted to go through glass during a segment on AEW Collision.
He was set to go on holiday the week after, and the idea was for him to be written off the show with this big bump – likely with Hook putting him through a car windshield.
There are multiple versions of what happened next.
The initial story was that multiple people, including Tony Schiavone and AEW doctors, told Perry it was a bad idea. When he didn’t listen, CM Punk was asked to step in and stop the angle, which caused friction between him and Perry (Jack Perry had been on The Elite’s side since All Out 2022).
The second was that Tony Khan approved the spot, but by the time it came to do the angle on Collision, CM Punk told Jack Perry that “We don’t do that on Collision”.
At this point, it in unknown which story if more accurate.
Jack Perry Called Out CM Punk During The All In Pre-Show
Jack Perry defended his FTW Championship against Hook at All In. He took his time in front of the 81,035 fans at Wembley Stadium to call out CM Punk, referencing their previous encounter.
He entered the match in a black limousine, before smashing Hook through the windscreen with a suplex.
He then took the time to look dead into the camera, saying “Real glass. Go cry me a river” – a clear reference to his argument with CM Punk.
This helped escalate the argument into a fight, once the match was over.
CM Punk vs Jack Perry Fight
CM Punk started a fight with Jack Perry at All In, threatening to miss his match with Samoa Joe.
Punk vs Joe was the first match at All In, with 81,000+ fans excited to see this rivalry enter its six main-event level match.
However, it nearly didn’t happen.
There are multiple versions of what happened at the event. According to Nick Hausman, Jack Perry came backstage and made a beeline straight to Punk.
He allegedly asked Punk to “do something about it”, following him calling out Punk on camera. Punk then put Perry in a chokehold, before it was broken up by Samoa Joe.
However, Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline has another side of the story. In his version, Punk accosted Perry, asking if he “had a problem” with him. Punk then claimed he could “beat up” Perry, before pushing him and getting him into a chokehold.
This was then broken up, and Punk threatened to quit the company and miss out on his match at Wembley Stadium.
As The Elite vs Bullet Club Gold & Takeshita prepared to open the show, Samoa Joe managed to convince CM Punk to continue with their match, not wanting to go home without his big match.
CM Punk then left the stadium, after consulting security. He then went back to his hotel and purchased Nandos for a select number of colleagues in AEW.
Miro then talked to CM Punk, before Punk threatened to “take things outside” with the Bulgarian. Miro then walked away, not engaging physically with Punk at all.
It was later confirmed by Sports Illustrated that both CM Punk and Jack Perry had been suspended, pending investigation.
CM Punk will likely miss the All Out show in Chicago.