Tony Khan Reiterates That CM Punk Didn't Ask For Colt Cabana To Be Removed From AEW Roster

Tony Khan has stated once again that CM Punk did not ask for Colt Cabana to be removed from the AEW roster, saying at the post-Full Gear media scrum: 

"No. No, he never asked for that. The first time it came up, I think you asked me on a scrum call and I wasn't looking at you face-to-face, it was before Death Before Dishonor, I think. He never asked me that. I could have probably addressed it then and I just didn't comment on it because I wanted to keep talking about the wrestling that was on the show because Colt Cabana was wrestling on the show. You weren't asking me specifically about the show, so I didn't answer that there."

Cabana and CM Punk were previously friends but their friendship collapsed over legal fees stemming from the civil lawsuit filed against them by now-former WWE doctor Chris Amann. Their dislike is seemingly so visceral that speculation suggested Punk was involved in AEW's initial decision to not renew Cabana's contract and when there was resistance to that, Boom Boom's banishment to Ring of Honor. 

Tony Khan and CM Punk have previously denied the two-time AEW World Champion was involved with Cabana being moved but that hasn't changed many AEW talents' opinions and they still believe Punk had something to do with Cabana's banishment. 

This point of view was then only reinforced after Tony Khan brought Cabana back to AEW TV to face Chris Jericho on November 2 at a time when Punk looks to be on his way out of the door. 

Khan addressed Cabana's return later in the media scrum, adding: 

"As far as the match with Chris in Baltimore, I thought it made a lot of sense because we had the Ring of Honor Championship Series and Chris Jericho is wrestling so many of the great names in Ring of Honor and when you talk about great people who have won championships in Ring of Honor, we brought in Bandido, Dalton Castle, a lot of great people. When we've been booking the shows, I've been using Colt Cabana both as a coach and a wrestler in Ring of Honor. I looked at the roster and he's a very logical challenger because, not only has he held the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship, but he's also somebody who has been wrestling in the 2022 Ring of Honor, is undefeated, so I thought he would be a logical challenger for Chris. It's also a good match."

Cabana remains under contract with Ring of Honor. CM Punk, meanwhile, looks unlikely to return to All Elite Wrestling and both parties are reportedly in talks over a contract buyout. 

H/T to Fightful