Earlier today, Haus of Wrestling reported that Christopher Daniels and Ryan Nemeth were asked not to come to Collision this week due to issues with CM Punk. Daniels was involved in the post-AEW All Out altercation last year, and since long-time friend Ace Steel, who was also involved, was not allowed to return backstage to AEW Collision, Punk asked that Daniels not be allowed backstage either.
Nemeth’s issues with Punk stem from a tweet earlier this year where the brother of Dolph Ziggler alluded to the “Real” AEW World Champion being “the softest man alive.” Punk is said to be looking to keep drama out of the Collision locker room and, for that reason, asked that Nemeth not be allowed backstage at Collision.
PWTorch has put out a report confirming what Haus of Wrestling reported, that Punk is looking to keep drama out of the Collision locker room, and that the tweet is at the heart of the issue between the two men. Their report also describes a backstage confrontation at the June 21 AEW Dynamite taping regarding the social media post. Punk was not announced for the show but made a surprise appearance since The Elite was not scheduled for the show, and it was the episode following Collision’s debut.
Based on their report, Punk “angrily and aggressively” confronted Nemeth backstage, getting within inches of his face and asking if they needed to step outside. Punk was upset about the tweet inflaming existing tensions among roster members and felt the social post served as bad optics for the company. The exchange was described as “awkward and weird” and then moved to the hallway, where Punk continued “berating” Nemeth.
Nemeth apparently tried to defend his “soft” comment by noting Punk took the “first shot” at The Young Bucks but was met by Punk reiterating much of what he said earlier about existing tensions and optics. Nemeth eventually asked if he should not comment on things Punk says on AEW TV and was told by Punk that it would be a good idea. The two men then shook hands, but tensions remained, and Nemeth has since deactivated his X account.
Haus of Wrestling can confirm that the confrontation did happen but have learned a few more details about how it played out. As we were told, Punk requested Nemeth call him soft to his face, to which Nemeth declined. Punk then acknowledged that he knew about Nemeth’s lack of TV time and that he thought the young star was trying to win points with the EVPs. When it was agreed that no violence between them would be necessary, Punk asked Nemeth to stop tweeting negative things so everyone could start moving on from the negativity. This is slightly different than the Torch report about whose idea it was for Nemeth not to tweet about AEW and/or Punk issues. We were also told it ended with a handshake.