This past Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite opened with current AEW World Champion CM Punk addressing the state of the promotion during his absence, with the key focus being on AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley, although in a moment that now appears to have been unplanned, Punk called out former AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page for a rematch.
The slightly awkward call-out led to a number of reports emerging regarding backstage heat between Punk and Page, with one report noting that Punk refused to lose to Page when the pair met for the AEW World Championship earlier this year, and another stating they wouldn’t have been surprised had Punk not shown up for work this Wednesday.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has now provided an interesting update on the situation, revealing that Colt Cabana’s current status with AEW/ROH played a factor in drama backstage. Additionally, Meltzer notes that should the situation not be resolved soon, multiple AEW talents are likely to reach their breaking point.
“Right now there is a ton of backstage drama involving many of the top guys that has gotten much worse in recent weeks. There’s a part of me where I just think Tony Khan needs to sit everyone down and air everything out before it gets worse. The big thing that started all this is that Colt Cabana is not in the Dark Order with no angle and stopped being brought to television. He was going to be cut but Khan signed him for ROH. This is really the catalyst of everything although different people have different stories as to why it happened, including Page and Punk. But even if that didn’t happen, it was probably going to happen for something else just given the nature of the different personalities involved. It feels like a number of people are close to their breaking point if things don’t get settled.”
-WON
Punk was originally scheduled to face AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley at the upcoming All Out PPV in Chicago to crown an Undisputed AEW World Champion, although their showdown has now officially been moved to next week’s Dynamite.
Whether the rescheduling came as a result of this backstage turmoil remains to be seen, but its certainly a situation worth keeping your eyes on as we get closer to All Out. As always, we’ll aim to provide any updates regarding this developing situation as soon as we hear more.
