At AEW All Out 2022, CM Punk, sitting alongside Tony Khan, engaged in the most contentious press conference in pro wrestling history. During his time behind the table, Punk took aim at Colt Cabana, The Young Bucks, and other members of the AEW team he felt were creating problems for the company. Following his appearance, a brawl broke out in the backstage area involving Punk, his friend Ace Steel, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and more. All involved were stripped of their titles, taken off TV, and made to sign NDAs about the incident.
On today’s episode of Rumor & Innuendo, Punk and Steel’s lawyer, Stephen P. New, was asked how long after the AEW All Out incident he became involved with the case and what he thought about how it had been reported on.
“I was involved in that situation very early on, and so even before Ace and Punk reached out a good bit later, I had been aware of what was going on,” he said. “And in terms of what was being publicly reported, who knows where all; I mean, it’s pro wrestling, who knows where all of those stories were coming from? Some seem to be very accurate and seem to come from, you know, people with knowledge, and some seem to be fairly off base.”
Almost exactly after the All Out incident, Punk was terminated by AEW following another incident backstage at All In with Jack Perry. I pressed New on whether Punk had to sign a non-compete or NDA as part of his release, which has been heavily rumored.
“I can’t really speak to that with respect to Punk,” he replied. “What I can say is that the contracts vary for whether or not non-competes remain in place. The types of terminations and that kind of thing, but in terms of him specifically, there’s no way that I can get into that.”
Following Punk’s termination from the company, AEW President Tony Khan issued both a written a video statement to the fans. During his video address on AEW Collision, Khan infamously stated that “my life was in danger at a wrestling show” due to his proximity to the incident. I asked New how he felt about the charged comment Khan made about his client.
“He’s welcome to comment on however he felt about whatever,” he replied.
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