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C.M. Punk was slated to face Ricky Starks at All Out this Sunday, but his suspension pending an investigation into his actions last Sunday at All Out has led to an alternate scenario being put in its place. Tony Khan said in his media Q&A yesterday that his goal was to let the fans know before All Out on Sunday whether Punk would be cleared to be on the event.
Punk was involved in an incident backstage with Jack Perry, briefly quit leading to a scramble to prepare for a different opening match at All In, and also lashed out verbally at Khan during the peak of his frustration on Sunday. Our sources believed Punk crossed a line with Khan that he hadn’t before, putting his relationship with Khan in a worse place then ever.
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PWTorch has heard there is an alternate plan in place that is currently expected to play out to set up a match against someone other than Punk and that there is high confidence internally that it will be a satisfying alternative to the Punk scenario that could actually work out better for Starks after All Out compared to what was planned for Starks if he faced Punk. It’s expected to come together as a result the angle on Collision on Saturday night where Starks has challenged Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat to a whipping match for All Out.
If Khan decides to reinstate Punk into that scenario, it will be revealed during Collision. PWTorch’s sources do not expect that to be the case, but since Khan does believe Punk is a valuable main event act, he might be looking for a way to justify reinstating him, especially considering the negative fan reaction so far to the All Out line-up without Punk. However, our sources are saying odds are considerably stronger Punk won’t be put back in the angle on Collision.
There does seem to be less concern, based on the lack of Punk chants from the Chicago crowd at Dynamite on Wednesday, that there will be some sort of fan rebellion if Punk isn’t there on Sunday, though. However, with some fans heckling Khan on Wednesday, Khan might be seeking to try to over-deliver for fans since he hasn’t faced that kind of reaction before from AEW fans.
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OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW media call report: Live notes on Tony Khan’s pro wrestling media session ahead of Sunday’s AEW All Out pay-per-view
No CM Punk on All Out card thank God I didn’t buy a ticket . I’d be pissed