In this WrestleTalk News, Tony Khan breaks silence on CM Punk in AEW, Kevin Owens War
Games plans, more WWE re-signings?!
Subscribe and enable notifications to always on for daily wrestling news videos.
It’s Friday, you know what that means.
I’m going to say the words CM Punk AEW five times into a mirror and see if he appears.
Because 2022’s longest running storyline, the saga of Charles Michael Punk trundles
on as we are still getting to the bottom of the he said/she said at the centre of the
CM Punk debacle in AEW following the backstage lockeroom brawl after All Out which saw Punk,
the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega served with suspensions from the company.
But really it's your old pal Phil who has the biggest question mark hanging over him,
as reports point towards him being done with the company and likely to be bought out of
his contract.
What is driving this story forward really, and part of the reason I’m forever trapped
talking about it on a Friday is that there’s been no clarity from Punk or AEW about what
went on and how that all resolves.
But as ever we have a little bit more info than we had last week, as on the media call
ahead of Full Gear CEO Tony Khan addressed some of the rumors while sort of batting them
away…
When asked to clarify Punk’s status with the company he said:
“I can’t comment on that.
I have nothing but positive things to say about the contributions CM Punk has made in
AEW on screen and I certainly have a lot of positive things to say about the things he
did in AEW to date, but I do understand why you’d ask and I appreciate you asking.”
Kindly f*** off, yours sincerely, Tony.
One of the other aspects of the story is Punk’s media scrum rant which some still believe
there is an extreme outside chance of being a work and Tony brought up whether he knew
it would happen on the same call.
“You were, I don’t wanna comment beyond this but you were sitting five feet and I
did not know…
No I did not know, but I will not comment beyond that”
What’s interesting here is the refusal really to shut the door on Punk in AEW, Tony’s
wishy-washy answers leave the slim chance that Punk and the company could repair the
issue and return to a working relationship.
But that is obviously not where most wrestling pundits think this story is heading.
Also on the call TK refused to comment on the investigation into the Elite that spun
out of the backstage brawl.
Look at him ducking and diving like a true wrestling CEO, I’m very proud.
The mystery has also been perpetuated by the silence from all parties, including Punk who
has been radio silent for the most part, bar an appearance as a commentator at an MMA show
and now an Instagram story.
Punk shared an uplifting post to his stories of his training summary and a sneaky update
on the recovery of his foot injury.
It read “first time doing road work since the broken foot.
For anyone out there going through it: the light at the end of the tunnel is you”.
What you getting into shape for Phil?!
CM Punk AEW return confirmed?!
It was reported earlier this week by Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer that Raw’s Kevin
Owens had unfortunately suffered an MCL sprain in his right knee while working a dark match
with Austin Theory.
According to Meltzer, Owens is currently rehabbing the injury at the WWE PC, with his recovery
timetable being unknown.
KO was reportedly being kept off TV lately, reportedly due to a delay in Owens planned
reunion with Sami Zayn thanks to how over Zayn’s story with the Bloodline has become.
However, this absence was reportedly set to come to an end at next week’s Survivor Series
War Games, with Owens set to become the final teammate of the good guy team facing off against
the Bloodline inside the double cage.
While this news is truly gutting, as that would’ve been amazing, perhaps all is not
as bad as seemed as it has also been reported by Fightful Select that despite the injury,
Owens is still in fact currently on the road with WWE.
As well as that according to PWInsider he is also currently advertised for both this
week’s and next week’s Smackdown.
So maybe, just maybe there is still a slither of hope for an Owens’ War Games appearance.
As is well documented by now, Triple H can’t quite get enough of opening his arms wide
and welcoming in all the wronged talent that were released by his father-in-law.
And now we could be set to add a few more names to the ever-growing list as according
to the Wrestling Observer, NJPW’s Jonah FKA Bronson Reed in NXT, currently has a WWE
contract offer on his table.
However, it is currently unclear whether he will take up the offer or continue his successful
stint in Japan.
So while that one isn’t a guarantee, how about one that is thought to be a “done
deal” within WWE according to Dave Meltzer.
The talent in question being the much rumored Chelsea Green, who along with her husband
Matt Cardona have been the subject of a lot of interest from WWE recently.
Speaking on Green’s status Meltzer said:
“WWE bound, most likely.
It’s been talked about within the company as it’s something that is happening.
“Can’t confirm a contract signing, but can confirm that they are talking about it
as if it is a done deal, within the company.”
Despite Green looking on the verge of WWE , Cardona’s chances of re-signing are less
nailed on as he has made it clear he does not want to become Zack Ryder again, however,
that hasn’t stopped him teasing fans on social media.
By now we’ve become accustomed to current Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns
taking the odd PLE off, usually only showing up for the ‘big’ ones and missing the
likes of Extreme Rules and Hell in a Cell.
Well it looks like we can add February’s Elimination Chamber to that list, as the poster
of the event has been revealed and there is nare a Tribal Chief in sight.
While this is not a massive shocker, it does effectively dampen the expectation that we
could see a Roman Reigns vs Sami Zayn title match at the show, which was speculated due
to it taking place in Zayn’s hometown of Montreal.
It also means that post-Rumble, Reigns is unlikely to defend his title until WrestleMania
39 in Hollywood.
It’s not like anyone expected Reigns to lose his titles before then anyway but I do
hope that they have something big planned for Zayn on February 18th.
Despite the most prominent news from TK’s press conference unsurprisingly being CM Punk
related, another question going into it was the current status of the still current AEW
Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa.
Rosa is expected to miss the rest of the year with an ongoing back injury and has not appeared
on TV since just prior to All Out in September.
Despite this, Rosa is in fact still the current champion with Toni Storm holding the interim
Women’s title ever since.
The decision to persist with the interim title has been argued publicly by Storm who recently
commented on the situation via an interview with The Ringer’s Cameron Hawkins.
“Personally, I think she should just come to work and defend her championship like she’s
supposed to, like a champion should.
But if the injury lingers too long, I believe she should probably be stripped.”
As for TK, when asked about Rosa he said (per WrestlingInc) “I am trying to give Thunder
Rosa every chance to come back and defend the championship.
But eventually you would have to crown a lineal champion”.
Another highlight of TK’s Full Gear presser was a much appreciated update into the current
health of the currently sidelined ‘Hangman’ Adam Page.
Page has been out of action since October 18th with a concussion following a very scary
lariat spot from Jon Moxley during the main event.
While the concussion diagnosis was quite frankly a relief at the time considering how severe
it initially looked, fans have feared for Page’s health since, especially considering
Page’s former rival Adam Cole’s lengthy ongoing absence due to his own concussion
suffered back at Forbidden Door in June.
Thankfully however, Tony Khan has shed light on Page’s current status saying Page is
“doing well and is looking forward to his in-ring return”.
Despite the lack of timeframe given on a return by Khan it’s great news nevertheless to
know that Page is well and on his way back to our screens.
With Full Gear only a day away, could there be some troubling news for one of the show’s
marquee matches?
According to Fightful Select The Acclaimed’s Anthony Bowens seemed to have “aggravated
his shoulder” during his match with Swerve Strickland on Dynamite.
This was later confirmed by Bowens on Twitter who uploaded a photo of himself visiting the
Rolling Stone building in New York City while sporting an arm sling.
However, Fightful does note that it is currently unclear whether the injury is “legit or
if it’s being worked into a story” as Swerve was targeting the arm throughout the
match, which would point towards this being an angle.
If so, fair play to Bowens for keeping Kayfabe alive on Twitter.
As is tradition in AEW around this time of year, a World Championship eliminator tournament
has been held, the conclusion of which typically comes at the Full Gear PPV.
And that was set to be the case once again this year, however, things have now changed
and now the tournament’s final will take place on next week’s edition of Dynamite
from Chicago, Illinois.
The change was revealed at Tony Khan’s pre Full Gear press conference, with the reasoning
behind it being an unspecified injury to Ricky Starks.
As a result, Starks was unable to be cleared for his match with Lance Archer which was
set to take place on the November 11th edition of Rampage.
The Starks vs Archer match is now set for tonight’s episode of Rampage, with the winner
facing Brian Cage on the Full Gear Zero Hour pre-show.
The winner of that will of course face Ethan Page next week for a shot at the AEW World
Championship in the future.
The delay of the whole thing seems to suggest Starks may be in for a successful run in the
tournament… but that’s sheer speculation on my part, he could just get squashed on
Rampage.