It Could Be Said #48 Tony Khan Will Leave Chicago A Badly Diminished Figure

Will looks at the aftermath of Tony Khan's decision to fire CM Punk from AEW

When I read that Tony Khan had fired troublesome superstar CM Punk, my mind was cast back to when Steve McClaren decided that dropping outgoing captain David Beckham from the entire squad would be one of his first actions as England football manager.

It was spun as sending a message that he, unlike his predecessor, was not going to be dictated to by his superstars but would take real charge of an underperforming side. Over the years that followed we would learn that ‘golden balls’ had fallen out of favour with the biggest personalities in the dressing room, and that this was more McClaren’s way of appeasing the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Rio Ferdinand.

I can’t help but think that is what we’re seeing from Tony Khan today. This is not the act of a strong man, in charge of his company, but someone whose authority and leadership has long ago been consumed by the internal politics backstage. It goes without saying that CM Punk shouldn’t be picking fights with the likes of Jungle Boy or Ryan Nemeth backstage, but equally, why were they trying to provoke one of AEW’s biggest superstars? It all feels eerily reminiscent of WCW in 1998, where the promotion has divided into different factions, with lesser talent seeking to pop their patrons backstage by antagonising the other camp. Eric Bischoff making an example of Sean Waltman, Ric Flair or Raven didn’t exactly help restore his authority either.

It’s easy to forget that shortly before last year’s All Out, Khan himself was openly revelling in the backstage drama, believing that it would lead to better business for the promotion. Not only was the build to CM Punk’s match with Jon Moxley dominated by insider comments, but Khan was about to bring back MJF after he walked out on the promotion in May following a worked-shoot angle. He would even compare his promotion to 1997 WWF, telling Dave Meltzer that he much like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, backstage rivalries can add edge to the onscreen product. That a day after that interview, Khan was forced to sit there as CM Punk methodically moved from addressing the traitors to the liars in a press conference for the ages, showed how he had been playing with forces he couldn’t comprehend.

But even after first The Elite and then CM Punk were brought back from suspension, he couldn’t help himself. Reserving Punk for Saturday nights made sense, as he needed to give fans some reason to check out what are the eleventh and twelfth hours of first-run programming on American television from WWE or AEW each week. But the decision to build the identity of Collision around not Punk’s persona and storylines, but instead his real-life objections to The Elite and their approach to pro wrestling, ensured that the backstage feud would not just continue but grow into something that would pit different elements of his fanbase against each other.

More broadly Khan sold both sides a bill of goods by seemingly promising them that they wouldn’t have to interact with each other. But it’s simply not possible for Punk to remove himself from his enemies, given how woven into the very fabric of the promotion they are. Up and down AEW, many of the key backstage roles are performed by friends and family of The Elite, handed out back before Tony Khan became more hands on. Punk butting heads with staffers ranging from the Head of Talent Relations to whoever books wrestlers travel, because they both happened to be friends of The Young Bucks, underlined that Punk couldn’t survive in AEW without reaching some sort of accommodation with them. Khan should have made sure that Punk understood and accepted that, before he let him come back to the promotion.

But that means Khan should also have instructed the Young Bucks to meet with Punk and resolve their differences. That after all is what they claimed to be trying to do when they unprofessionally barged into his dressing room after All Out 2022 rather than wait for Khan to finish the rest of the press conference and deal with the issue himself. Instead by all accounts they’ve since repeatedly refused to engage with Punk, ignoring their responsibilities as Executive Vice-Presidents to ensure a key superstar is comfortable with the management structure they helped set up. They didn’t have to work a feud with him if they really didn’t want to, but it is literally their job as management to quash the backstage feud with Punk.

When it’s all said and done, CM Punk will be fine. His initial run in AEW was fantastic with a series of fun matches where he played the veteran babyface, blood feuds with Eddie Kingston and MJF for the ages, and clinching the world title for the first time in nine years. This latest ‘summer of punk’ saw him decisively answer critics who claimed he was physically feeble, as he became the workhorse of Collision, a show his star power secured respectable viewing figures against fearsome competition. He even managed to end one of his greatest feuds ever as he hit the Pepsi Plunge on Samoa Joe in front of approximately 90,000 fans. Maybe he’ll go back to WWE and have a few matches there. Maybe Khan will come to regret firing him, and bring him back after a few months, like he did Ace Steele this year.

But Tony Khan has been badly diminished by this experience. He mishandled the initial arguments between CM Punk and The Elite, not moving fast enough to quash any misunderstandings about Colt Cabana (who Khan clearly doesn’t rate himself). He mishandled the press conference by not intervening as Punk went on his tirade and should have been much firmer with The Elite that their behaviour in rushing into Punk’s dressing room was unprofessional. Likewise, he should have made clear to both sides that Punk coming back could only work if they both agreed to put their differences to one side and make clear to their allies and cronies that they were to not try and start things with the other camp.

Even now one must ask questions about this announcement. How has it escalated from Khan refusing to rule out Punk appearing on All Out, to him being fired the day before the pay per view? Why was the announcement rushed out on a Saturday? Was someone close to Khan worried that two nights of the Chicago crowd chanting ‘We Want Punk’ might make him stay his hand, and pull back from the brink? What happens the next time performers start agitating for releases to go back to WWE, has a threshold for poor behaviour been established that will ensure they get their exit papers?

Punk polarising the promotion around him, is only one symptom of how AEW has been engulfed with cliques, as major stars get to do what they want, with who they want, whether it makes sense for the promotion or not. Why are Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson heels despite being two of the most popular babyfaces in the promotion? Why is Chris Jericho dicking around with Sammy Guevara and Don Callis in increasingly nonsensical storylines? Why has Kenny Omega gotten to team with Kota Ibushi in his last two marquee matches despite Ibushi being unknown to the AEW audience and a shell of his former self?

Well, because they wanted it that way, and Tony Khan wouldn’t say no to them. Less than a week after his vision and risk-taking secured AEW a genuine world record for most tickets sold to a pro wrestling event, Khan has never looked weaker and more exposed.

Steve McClaren removing David Beckham from the England squad to appease other big personalities in the squad, spoke to a structural issue within that team, that all the players socialised only with players from their club side whilst on international duty. Tony Khan has similarly failed to address the fact that he’s allowed cliques led by his major stars to dominate his promotion. Firing CM Punk will no more set AEW back on the correct course, than removing David Beckham made England a winning team. We should all hope Khan finds the strength and self-awareness within himself to address the real issues AEW is facing, before its too late.