AEW Terminates CM Punk’s Contract

As noted before, CM Punk and Jack Perry were involved in a backstage physical altercation incident at this past Sunday’s AEW All In event at Wembley Stadium in London, England resulting in their suspensions from the company. Besides Punk’s backstage incident with Perry, Punk had also gotten into a heated confrontation with AEW CEO Tony Khan and had been involved in several other recent backstage-related incidents over not wanting certain people working at his Collision brand.

AEW announced earlier today that they have officially terminated Punk’s contract with the company following their investigation into the recent incident at their All In event.

Official press release:

Statement from All Elite Wrestling and Tony Khan

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has terminated the wrestler and employment agreements between Phillip Brooks (CM Punk) and AEW with cause, effective immediately. The termination was confirmed today by Tony Khan, CEO, General Manager, and Head of Creative of AEW.

The termination follows a weeklong internal investigation of an incident occurring back stage at AEW – All In London on Sunday, August 27. Following the investigation, the AEW Discipline Committee met and later convened with outside legal counsel before making a unanimous recommendation to Khan that CM Punk be terminated with cause.
Khan offered the following statement:

“Phil played an important role within AEW and I thank him for his contributions. The termination of his AEW contracts with cause was ultimately my decision, and mine alone. Of course, I wish I did not have to share this news, which may come as a disappointment to many of our fans. Nevertheless, I am making the decision in the best interests of the many amazing people who make AEW possible every week – our talent, staff, venue operators, and others whose efforts are unsung but essential to bringing our great shows on television and at arena and stadiums throughout the world.”

Prior to his firing, Punk had been with AEW since August of 2021.