Dave Meltzer believes he was “far too kind” with his reporting of CM Punk‘s actions at AEW All In.
Punk was fired from AEW on September 1st due to the events that took place backstage at All In. Ahead of his match with Samoa Joe, the Second City Saint was involved in an altercation with Jack Perry that had to be broken up.
Following the show, Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that one version of events claimed Punk shoved Perry, sucker punched him and “went for a choke.”
Tony Khan witnessed the events and yelled a Punk to let Perry go, and when the pair were separated, Punk seemingly “lunged in Khan’s direction.”
Now, in the aftermath of Punk’s release from the company, Meltzer has claimed he was actually “far too kind” in his initial reporting. Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, he said Punk’s actions against Khan were “more than lunging.”
“Throughout this whole ordeal, you [Bryan Alvarez] and I were far too kind to him. That’s the reality, we were far too kind.
“I always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, I always tried to give his side. But they didn’t want to hear it, they just wanted to go, ‘Oh you are after him,’ and everything like that.
“Lunging was far too kind. If you saw the actual wording of what was said, I was toning it down. It was more than lunging.”
During the same episode, Meltzer also claimed many people thought Punk “wanted out” of the company after The Elite re-signed with multi-year deals.
Tony Khan “feared for his life” during CM Punk incident
The latest edition of Collision opened with a video from Khan explaining that the decision to terminate Punk with cause had been made following the advisement of a disciplinary committee.
He went on to give some details of the backstage incident, saying it not only endangered backstage staff but for the first time in his 30 years of attending wrestling events, made him fear for his own safety and even his life.
AEW GM @TonyKhan opens #AEWCollisionpic.twitter.com/1UeMHipSsu
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) September 3, 2023
With CM Punk now a part of WWE, Tony Khan was asked for his thoughts on the matter.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the original source and give an H/T to Inside The Ropes for the transcription.