Wrestlers Are Not Holding Back On CM Punk & Jack Perry's AEW All In Altercation Footage

The All In altercation between former AEW wrestler CM Punk and — now back with WWE — and "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry was again the talk of the wrestling world, nearly eight months later, after it was announced during WrestleMania weekend that The Young Bucks would present backstage footage of the altercation it live on-air. In what turned out not to be a swerve, the footage was indeed shown on "AEW Dynamite." It showed Punk confronting Perry, pushing him, then putting him in a chokehold after the two appeared to have exchanged words following Perry's match. Punk also appeared to yell at AEW President Tony Khan, who is off-screen in the majority of the video. The incident took place after Perry slammed his All In opponent, HOOK, through the windshield of a vehicle, then said, "Real glass. Cry me a river" to the camera.

Punk has publicly said he told Perry it would be dangerous to utilize real glass in matches, and was against him using a rental car for the spot. The altercation led to Punk getting fired from the company with cause, with Khan appearing before an episode of "AEW Collision" in Punk's hometown of Chicago to say he "feared for his life." The decision to release the video came after Punk appeared on the "MMA Hour" and ran down AEW and his time there, as well as Khan himself. Punk said Khan is a "nice guy, but not a boss" during the interview. He said he believes Khan is a "detriment to the company," and he never did anything to make his former employer "fear for his life."

The decision to release footage of the incident, long after the fact, was polarizing not just with wrestling fans, but with wrestlers themselves, especially within WWE, where Punk returned at Survivor Series: War Games. Many stars, including Punk himself as well as his current rival, Drew McIntyre, took to social media to subtly address Khan's decision.

There was, of course, a response backstage after the airing of the controversial footage on "Dynamite." According to a Fightful Select report, the response was "tepid" and the backstage attitude was "deflated" following the segment where the Young Bucks presented the video. The report said that it wasn't entirely due to Khan's decision to make the footage public, but rather the knowledge of the inevitable "online backlash" that would follow the segment. According to Fightful Select, some talent in AEW expressed their opinions that the time devoted to the Perry-Punk video, neither of whom are on AEW television, could have "been better utilized by someone else." While the report mentions the general backstage atmosphere, no specific AEW talent have come out publicly on social media to comment on the decision or the footage itself.

Matt and Nick Jackson were reportedly fine with the segment, as was FTR, who are known friends of Punk, who responded to the airing of the clip in storyline in the ring immediately following it being shown. The Young Bucks said that they showed the footage because they believed FTR orchestrated the entire brawl to distract them from their own match, in which FTR got the win over them.

In their segment, Cash Wheeler asked why The Bucks were showing the footage in the first place and what they were trying to accomplish. He said he was done with the entire situation. He said FTR will beat The Bucks in their match at the upcoming Dynasty pay-per-view, because they're sick of them being petty. Dax Harwood said their match isn't about All In or anything that happened backstage, and The Bucks are just trying to blow the roof off the foundation of AEW and are more concerned about their EVP status.

If there was anyone outside of CM Punk who was going to have a comment about the "Brawl In" footage airing, it would be his current rival, Drew McIntyre. "The Scottish Warrior" has had heat with "The Second City Saint" since Punk returned at Survivor Series and in storyline, McIntyre was the person to injure Punk at the Royal Rumble. McIntyre reportedly even stormed out of the arena following Punk's return. Their feud came to a head at WrestleMania 40 after McIntyre captured the World Heavyweight Championship from Seth Rollins, and Punk was on commentary for the match. Following the win, McIntyre took the title and sat on the announce desk, bad-mouthing and gesturing at Punk. When he stood up, Punk swept his legs from underneath him and beat him down, allowing an opening for Damian Priest to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and take McIntyre's newly-won title for himself.

Even prior to WrestleMania, McIntyre was constantly trolling Punk, not just online and in promos, but in interviews as well. Back in March, when speaking to The Ringer, McIntyre referenced the "Brawl In" incident. He said that he didn't believe Punk would ever be in physical condition to wrestler him because "he's literally made of glass, real glass" and McIntyre would "break him." On Wednesday, a half hour before "Dynamite" went on the air, McIntyre was back at it again on X, referencing the fact the video was to be shown later that night.

"Time for tape study," McIntyre posted. "Where can I hurt him? Weak spots? What's his hand speed like? I want to humiliate... Damian Priest."

Time for tape study:

Where can I hurt him?
Weak spots?
What's his hand speed like?

I want to humiliate...Damian Priest.

— Drew (@DMcIntyreWWE) April 10, 2024