CM Punk Addresses AEW Airing His All In Altercation With Jack Perry: "Thanks Guys"

Months later, CM Punk has addressed All Elite Wrestling airing footage earlier this year of his altercation with Jack Perry backstage at All In 2023, noting it wasn't going to help the promotion or harm him.

Comparing the All In footage to his upcoming match with Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam, Punk stated on the SI Media podcast: 

"It's kind of like - I have to wrestle Drew McIntyre, right? Just this garbage person that I don't want in my life. But this is the fight game, it's the sh*t talk business. It's just like fighting in the UFC. You see these guys ripping at each other, ugly press conferences, getting personal. And it's just like, I don't necessarily enjoy that energy. But the payoff is, I get to go in a ring and I get to blacken eyes and chip teeth and make Drew sob and do whatever else in my head that I hope to do to him.

"So it felt really ugly. But then I was just like - why? Showing that footage isn't going to help them or hurt me, so I was just like whatever. Being the top draw in two different companies is pretty wild. Like, thanks guys."

All Elite Wrestling opted to air the All In footage in the days after Punk aired dirty laundry about AEW and gave his side of the altercation with Jack Perry. It was reported soon after that Tony Khan was "furious" with Punk's comments and the promotion was looking to "embarrass" Punk with the CCTV footage. 

After the footage aired on Dynamite, much of the reaction was "Is that it?" but the situation does appear to have helped Jack Perry as he received a big pop for his AEW return and he now finds himself as a member of The Elite in high-profile angles and he is the reigning TNT Champion. 

Punk was fired with cause by AEW in September 2023 due to the All In altercation and other incidents backstage at the Wembley Stadium show. Despite the manner of his exit, Punk isn't rooting against All Elite Wrestling. 

"I don't root against them. I think it's easy to be able to say like, 'Oh, can't wait until something bad happens to them.' But the reality is, there's a lot of people backstage that earn a paycheck. I still have friends that work there, so it's not like I'm hoping somebody loses their job or everybody loses their job or something like that. It's just - I look at it like it's just not the same business that I'm in. And if you're trying to get paid and you can go there, go get paid. Congratulations," Punk added on the SI Media podcast. 

Punk being friends with AEW talent was showcased earlier this week when he shared a photo of him with Brody King and Darby Allin, possibly from San Diego Comic-Con. 

H/T F4WOnline