On October 19th it was reported that Ace Steel had been released by All Elite Wrestling following his involvement in the brawl that followed the post-All Out media scrum.
The brawl had been sparked by an explosive appearance by CM Punk in front of the media following his victory over Jon Moxley in the All Out main event to claim the AEW World Championship for the second time. In the media scrum, Punk opened fire on Adam Page, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and Colt Cabana.
With tensions high there was a melee backstage which reportedly saw Punk associate and backstage figure Ace Steel throw a chair and bite Kenny Omega.
An investigation was launched via a third party to get to the bottom of the matter, and a number of personnel including Steel were suspended.
Ace Steel Thought AEW Job Was Safe
In a recent post on social media Ace Steel hinted that “freedom” was coming sharing a clip of 1980s smash hit film The Blues Brothers, which features Aretha Franklin singing her hit song Think. In the clip, the cast sing the word “freedom” repeatedly.
This led some fans to question whether Steel had been released a week ago, or at the very least knew he would be leaving the company. Responding to a user on F4Wonline.com Dave Meltzer noted that that Steel was actually surprised by his release and had expected to remain with AEW.
“Nope, he actually thought the opposite and was surprised.”
With Ace Steel no longer with AEW, it has also been reported that CM Punk could be on his way out. It has been suggested that it is “doubtful” that Punk will remain with the company. The report also states that Punk is in talks with the company over a contract buy-out. However, these talks are being held up the issue of a non-compete clause. According to the report, this implies that AEW are wary of interest in Punk from WWE.