Kenny Omega wants fans to know that the situation in AEW isn’t “Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks against CM Punk.”
Ahead of AEW Dynamite from Punk’s hometown of Chicago, Omega spoke with SI.com and noted that he is unable to address speculation stemming from the backstage altercation at All Out 2022. He also encouraged fans to “move away from it because there is no information to be released.”
“There are things no one can talk about, so I’d encourage people to let it go,” says Omega. “It doesn’t change that we want a team effort in AEW. I don’t even mean implicitly myself and my opponent. It also means the referee, the fans, the people who set up the ring, everyone–even a technical error can ruin the memory of a match. I can refer back to the exploding barbed wire death match. So I encourage people to move away from it because there is no information to be released. Though I cannot talk about it, I do want the fans to know I still want the best for pro wrestling.”
“This isn’t Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks against CM Punk,” Omega continued. “It is people trying to show off their craft. You can boo Kenny Omega, or the Young Bucks, or CM Punk, but I hope people don’t forget we’re human beings struggling to show our art.”
Omega also spoke about returning to NJPW to face Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom 17.
“I’m returning to New Japan as an ambassador of AEW,” says Omega. “I’m returning to New Japan as an ambassador of pro wrestling. I’m also returning home. I left to start this new, exciting opportunity, but it’s still home. Now the things Will can do are things I cannot. He’s an athletic phenom. But as finely tuned as he is physically, he still hasn’t doesn’t have the knowledge or experience. I pushed my own physical boundaries in All Japan and DDT, but that’s not what I’m known for. My mind is my greatest asset, not my athleticism. That’s what’s allowed [Hiroshi] Tanahashi to have such a long and flavorful career.
“I needed someone to take my place in New Japan, I wanted someone to take my place–and it was Will, Jay [White], and [Kota] Ibushi. Will is the only one to have a problem with that.”
Matt Hardy set the record straight on comments from his most recent podcast where it was misconstrued that he witnessed the backstage fight between CM Punk and The Elite at AEW All Out.
After an earlier story from our website and others took his comments to mean that he was present for the fight, Hardy said otherwise:
My comments from this week’s @matthardypod have been misconstrued. I WAS NOT at All Out 2022. I DID NOT say I witnessed the events at All Out. I witnessed the entire process in real time over the months & stand by my comment that the Elite were not in the wrong.
On the Friday edition of the Extreme Life with Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy said that it’s going to be interesting to see Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks back and that he’s happy they are back.
The comments he said were taken the wrong way are as follows:
“I will say this right here and right now: those guys didn’t do anything wrong in this situation. If anything, they were the victims and I’m telling you that from a first-person perspective. I was there, I witnessed it all.”
In the aforementioned tweet, Hardy said those comments were in regard to the “entire process in real time over the months” but that he stands by his opinion that Omega and the Bucks were not in the wrong.
From the podcast:
“I love all three of those guys. I’ve known Matt & Nick forever. I’ve just gotten to know Kenny while I’ve worked with AEW but I am very happy they are returning to TV and they are back and they are back in the mix. They deserve to be in the mix.”
Hardy was also asked about Colt Cabana appearing on Dynamite this week.
“I was excited for it. It was great. Colt Cabana…he had just been away from AEW for a very long time. It is what it is. I don’t really have to sit here and go into things, but we are in a position right now where he can be back on AEW TV and I’m glad to have him back.”
“I’m glad that their names have been cleared and they are coming back to TV and I’m very happy to see Colt Cabana, who I think is a great human being and also think is a great performer, I’m very happy to see him back on AEW programming.”
The investigation into what happened after the All Out press conference on 9/4 in Chicago was completed last week and ended with Chris Guy (Ace Steel) being let go, the company working on a buy-out of C.M. Punk’s contract with AEW, and with the imminent return of the Young Bucks & Kenny Omega to in-ring activities.
The Bucks, Omega, and Don Callis were all brought to the 10/26 Dynamite tapings in Norfolk, VA. They were at the show but none appeared on television. Early in the show, a video package aired showing a clip of the midnight Japanese time on the night of December 31, 2018, when The Bucks & Adam Page released the BTE episode announcing the birth of AEW, the first public disclosure the company was being formed, the first press conference in Jacksonville from a week later, as well as clips of the Bucks & Omega’s title wins. A quick clip would air followed by graphics where they would then disappear, basically telling the story they were the ones there from the start and had disappeared. The announcers never spoke about it or acknowledged it.
A logical return would be at Full Gear on 11/19 in Newark, NJ, in a match against trios champions Penta & Fenix & Pac since the Bucks & Omega had just won the tournament to become the first champions when they were suspended. There has been nothing said or hinted to me that would be the time or place or match. But it does seem to make the most sense as a first match back.
Although it is not clear if he was being serious, Kenny Omega told the AEW roster at a backstage meeting last month that he would not have hired 80% of them.
AEW held a mandatory talent meeting before the August 25 edition of AEW Dynamite to address rumors of unrest backstage, alleged contract tampering from WWE, and concerns about information being leaked to the media.
Our own Dave Meltzer addressed Omega’s comments during the meeting in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“Also surfacing was a story that at the company meeting called several weeks back that the part of the speech by Omega that was described as a pep talk and tough love but that some were irked by a line he said that eight out of ten of the people there he wouldn’t have hired,” Meltzer wrote.
One version of the story states that Omega was clearly joking when he made the comment. Omega was looking at Will Ospreay when he said it and then admitted he wasn’t being serious. Others were not happy with what he said, however.
“Several told us it was something totally misinterpreted and taken out of context but others didn’t like it. He also did say that the overall energy and locker room at the start of the company was more positive, perhaps in trying to recreate that time and place with the current roster,” Meltzer continued.
Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, CM Punk, and Ace Steel remain under suspension as AEW’s third-party investigation into the altercation backstage at All Out continues. Pat Buck, Brandon Cutler, Christopher Daniels, and Michael Nakazawa all had their suspensions lifted earlier this week.
The post-show brawl involving a number of wrestlers and office people in AEW after the All Out show has led to a lot of uncertainty, with C.M. Punk, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks all removed from the advertising for all shows going forward, including the 11/19 Full Gear PPV show in Newark, NJ.
With Punk, this was inevitable. Punk underwent surgery for his torn left triceps within days of the injury which took place a few minutes into his match with Jon Moxley when he landed the tope’. His doctor recommended the surgery as soon as possible to avoid atrophy of the triceps muscle.
In a sense, the injury is a blessing if Tony Khan is interested in keeping Punk in the company. Khan has remained quiet on the situation and it is doubtful that will change. Whatever decisions he makes will likely be done with no fanfare. There are likely legal issues at stake as there were threats of lawsuits being bandied about during and after the situation.
Punk being brought back now would not be viewed favorably by a lot of talent, but that reaction would likely dissipate with time six to nine months from now. That’s not to say Khan would bring him back, but he is a top draw, historically the biggest draw, and ratings are more important from now until the completion of the next media rights deal than at any time in company history past the first three months. With that said, if he was brought back, which is a big if, he may not be back in time to make a difference before the new television deal is completed.
Christopher Daniels and Michael Nakazawa are no longer suspended from AEW.
They join Pat Buck and Brandon Cutler, whose suspensions were also lifted recently. Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, Ace Steel, and CM Punk remain suspended as the investigation into the backstage altercation following the All Out media scrum continues.
Our own Dave Meltzer commented on the matter during the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Christopher Daniels, Pat Buck, Brandon Cutler, and Michael Nakazawa are off suspension because I guess the investigation showed they were only trying to break up the fight,” Meltzer said. “Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, CM Punk, and Ace Steel’s status is still up in the air.”
Daniels, Nakazawa, and Omega are all in Japan currently. Nakazawa and Daniels are advertised for the Tokyo Game Show 2022 where they will be promoting the AEW Fight Forever video game. Omega is not advertised for the event, however. He was at Sega’s head office on Monday and Kota Ibushi posted pictures of the two of them together on social media yesterday.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is believed to have “seen everything as it happened” regarding the backstage altercation between CM Punk, Ace Steel and the Elite at AEW All Out.
Our own Dave Meltzer reported in Friday’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW has hired an independent firm to investigate the matter. The firm will be conducting interviews with Punk, Steel, Pat Buck, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Christopher Daniels, Michael Nakazawa, and Brandon Cutler. Additionally, MJF is one of a number of “neutral parties” who will also be interviewed.
“The company has brought in an independent firm to investigate and do video interviews with everyone in the room, which included all the names mentioned above, as well as many others, including a number of neutral parties who were in the room and were believed to have seen everything as it happened. The key names that would have included were Max “MJF” Friedman and AEW and Jacksonville Jaguars Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh,” Meltzer wrote.
MJF returned to AEW after a three-month absence at All Out. While under a mask, he won the Casino Ladder match earlier in the show before unmasking after Punk’s victory over Jon Moxley in the main event.
Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite was perhaps one of the most anticipated ever. It follows what has been a wild week in pro wrestling.
After AEW ALL OUT 2022, CM Punk had the most controversial media scrum ever, that led to a backstage fight between The Elite and CM Punk/Ace Steel. On today’s show, Tony Khan made a massive announcement regarding the championship belts. We also had a buzzworthy promo from MJF and so much more.
Join Denise Salcedo on Speak Now Pro Wrestling as she breaks it all down.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back including the latest updates on the CM Punk fight backstage at All Out, who was there who could be a deciding factor, suspension updates, Dynamite tonight, CM Punk’s injury and why we probably need a new champion regardless, all the news, NXT 2.0 review and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to discuss including Lance’s thoughts on All Out, CM Punk and the post-show presser, the fight, RAW from Monday night and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
WRESTLING OBSERVER LIVE with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about today including all of Bryan’s memories of the presser, the fight, what we know and don’t know and how that plays into Wednesday night, Bryan addresses CM Punk, your questions answered and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Being the Elite this week featured footage from The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega backstage at AEW All Out. The video does not address the backstage altercation with CM Punk and Ace Steel, however.
Opening —
The Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler discussed their 10-day travel loop to start the episode.
Private Party —
Private Party were shown in the back. They said they needed to go to someone for advice, possibly alluding to Matt Hardy, when they were interrupted by Jose the Assistant.
Private Party left with Jose as Hardy was shown watching from afar in the background.
Kenny Omega doesn’t need the shoulder brace anymore —
The Bucks told Omega before their match on Dynamite that he no longer needs the shoulder brace he had been wearing.
Highlights of The Elite vs. The United Empire were then shown.
The Young Bucks on Thursday —
In footage from Thursday morning, Matt Jackson discussed various injuries he and his brother Nick have as they played slot games in a casino.
This is followed by footage of them signing autographs and going shopping.
The Bucks were also shown being scanned for an action figure.
The Young Bucks on Friday —
Footage from the following day was shown.
The Bucks looked at the new shoes that they would wear at All Out.
Footage of The Bucks and Omega watching The Best Friends vs. Hangman Page and Dark Order was shown.
Peter Avalon —
Peter Avalon was shown hurt in the back after a match. Leva Bates ran in to assist him but she was then told that Tony Khan needed her. She dropped Avalon and ran off-screen.
JD Drake then entered the scene and helped Avalon back up.
John Silver vacates BTE Championship at AEW Fan Fest —
Footage from the AEW Fan Fest was shown.
John Silver got up on stage and said he had “lost his smile” and would have to vacate the BTE Championship. He said the only way he could regain his smile is if he went to the White Sox game and threw out the first pitch. He then left to go do that.
Kip Sabian and Christopher Daniels then played a game of Blackjack for the “interim” BTE Championship.
Sabian would win the contest. Leva Bates then issued a challenge for a title match right then and there.
Bates and Kabian then played a game where they had to wear glasses that make everything look upside down and then pour water from one bottle to another.
Sabian somehow managed to do this perfectly and successfully defended his title.
Highlights from AEW All Out —
Highlights of the finals of the Trios Championship tournament from AEW All Out were shown.
The Dark Order and Young Bucks backstage at AEW All Out —
Alex Reynolds is shown on crutches in the locker room. Evil Uno feels kissing his foot might make the injury better. As he goes to do so, however, The Young Bucks enter the scene.
The Bucks praised The Dark Order’s performance and brought them several boxes of shoes as a gift. Michael Nakazawa comically dropped them all on Reynolds’ injured foot.
Neither the Bucks nor Dark Order knew where Hangman Page went. Silver complained about how sore his neck is after Hangman accidentally hit him with the Buckshot Lariat on Sunday.
In a post-credit scene, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Don Callis are shown eating pizza in the back.
Nick Jackson is shown biting the paper plate to close the show. .
Yes, there was a pay-per-view before last night’s scrum.
AEW All Out 2022 continued the streak of excellent pay-per-views from the company, with many matches delivering and one completely blowing everything out of the water. People will likely focus on the events in the hours following All Out, but for this article I’ll focus on the show itself.
The big news, of course, is CM Punk…regaining the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley after losing it to him in quick fashion a week ago. I don’t know if the story heading into this match was necessary, as I think the match itself was strong anyway based on CM Punk facing Jon Moxley, a fresh match. But a great promo by Ace Steel on Wednesday’s Dynamite led to Sunday’s great main event, which ended up being a mix of both Punk and Mox’s styles.
Of course, the show ended with the return of MJF, who revealed himself to be the masked mystery Joker participant in the ladder match that opened the show. The ladder match had some cool spots, but was overshadowed by the angle that ended the match, with Stokely Hathaway and his new clients (W. Morrissey, Colten & Austin Gunn, Lee Moriarty, and Ethan Page) arriving in ski masks to lay everyone out and hand the victory (and the future World title match) to MJF, who is now likely to headline the next title match against CM Punk.
I don’t know about all of this Pillman-esque stuff that has been going on in the months following Double or Nothing, but I do know this: MJF is the future world champion heel that the company needs to focus on next. It’s clear he’s someone special, regardless of where he may go in a couple of years. It’s the match to make, and it’s the time to crown MJF, whenever that time may be.
The match that stole the show was none other than the AEW World Tag Team title match between Swerve in Our Glory and The Acclaimed. I don’t know how this translated to TV, but the heat for this match live was unreal and better than anything at Clash at the Castle, which had a pretty hot crowd! Chicago so desperately wanted for The Acclaimed to win, and it made the match all that much hotter following each nearfall. The pop for that win would have been something that Steve Austin and The Rock in their heyday could only dream of.
That didn’t happen, as Keith Lee and Swerve Scott walked out as champions. But these two teams did something I thought absolutely wasn’t possible: they had a better match than Sheamus and Gunther from the previous day’s Clash at the Catle. And you have to give The Acclaimed massive credit, as a lot of people were skeptical about them getting the title shot. Now everyone wants them as champions, and you know what? Perhaps it is time after all.
The Elite (Young Bucks and a ripped Kenny Omega) are in fact the first-ever AEW World Trios Tag Team Champions, defeating Hangman Page and The Dark Order in an excellent match, just one hot nearfall after another. It’s fitting they are the first champions, as there’s really no one else that can carry the banner for trios wrestling like they will. I’ve enjoyed the storyline between The Elite and Hangman Page, and no doubt their long-running story will continue.
One trios team that seems unlikely to challenge The Elite is The House of Black, who lost to Miro, Sting, and Darby Allin in the co-main event, with Allin pinning Malakai Black clean with a coffin drop. After the match, The House of Black hugged as the crowd gave Black a standing ovation. What does this mean? Who knows. There’s rumors, and while this all looked like the swan song for Black, it may have been something else. Who knows, it’s wrestling.
Jurassic Express is over, with Luchasaurus attacking Jungle Boy in the aisle as he was heading to the ring for his match against Christian Cage, slamming him off the announce stage and powerbombing him through a table before sending him in the ring to Christian. Despite barely being able to get up, Jungle Boy preserered, but ultimately lost after an unprettier. This is another one in the “there will be more to this” department, as clearly the two aren’t going to move on after such a short match, and with Luchasurus’ turn, Jungle Boy has matches down the line with two of his former friends.
Jade Cargill retained the TBS Championship against Athena. Some spots looked off, but this ended quickly anyway with Cargill pinning Athena to continue her long winning streak. It was the right call, as Cargill has an awesome presence that no one really has in the company. Question is, who will be the person that eventually beats her? Are they in the company now or somewhere else?
Bryan Danielson was not successful in dodging the Judas Effect, losing to ‘Lionheart’ Chris Jericho in a match that was good, but felt a little flat with the ending. I was expecting Danielson to kick out, but he didn’t ,which surprised me. But it also tells me this is likely the start of a rivalry that’s just beginning, and it’s likely we’ll see more matches between the two down the road.
The final two matches to cap off the main card had Powerhouse Hobbs defeat Ricky Starks in five minutes, a surprising result given the feud. Again, probably more to this. Finally, FTR & Wardlow defeated Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machine Guns, which was also a fun match capped off with a cute segment in the end that had Harwood’s daughter pin Sonjay Dutt.
Oh, and there’s the four pre-show matches! Tomohiro Ishii and Eddie Kingston delivered exactly what you think they would do, chopping each other silly and fighting each other until one finally could no longer go, and that ended up being Ishii. This was excellent. Kip Sabian and PAC also had a great match, with PAC looking as he always does, and Sabian keeping up with him, also looking great here. Hook beat Angelo Parker in quick fashion, and finally, Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo defeated Ruby Soho and Ortiz in a really fun opener that had some cool spots, a great way to start the show.
So yes, fifteen matches overall. That is a lot! The good news for All Out is that the pacing was good, and five hours flew by pretty quickly. Five hours is a very long time for a wrestling show, but if the wrestling is good and everything winds up pacing well, then there isn’t much of a problem. The show capped off an extremely busy and newsworthy weekend that, while I am glad I experienced it live and with people from this website, doesn’t need to be repeated for a long while.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including a TON of backstage drama in AEW stemming from CM Punk’s comments at the post-show presser, all the matches and angles on the show, injuries and potential injuries, some notes from World’s Collide and tons more. A PACKED show, so check it out~!
After winning the AEW World Championship in the main event of All Out, CM Punk continued to make headlines at the post-show media scrum.
There was a moment near the start of the scrum where Punk questioned if one of the reporters was friends with Colt Cabana. That led to Punk addressing his issues with Cabana, Hangman Page, and “irresponsible people who call themselves EVPs.”
I haven’t had anything to do with Scott Colton [Colt Cabana] in almost a decade. Probably wanted nothing to do with him even longer than that. It’s f*cking unfortunate that I have to come up here and speak on this when I’m on my time and this is a f*cking business. Why I’m a grown ass adult man and I decide not to be friends with somebody is nobody else’s f*cking business. But my friends, if I fall backwards, will catch me. Scott Colton, I felt, never would have.
My problem was I wanted to bring a guy with me to the top that did not want to see me at the top, okay? You [can] call it jealousy, you call it envy, whatever the f*ck it is. My relationship with Scott Colton ended long before I paid all of his bills. I have every receipt. I have every invoice. I have every email. I have the email where he says — and I quote, ‘I agree to go our separate ways, I will get my own lawyer and you do not have to pay anymore.’ That’s an email that I have. And the only reason the public did not see is because when I finally had to countersue him, through discovery we discovered he shared a bank account with his mother. That’s a fact. And as soon as we discovered that fact and we subpoenaed ol’ Marcia, he sent the email ‘Oh, can we please drop all this?’
Now, it’s 2022. I haven’t been friends with this guy since at least 2014, late 2013. The fact that I have to sit up here because we have irresponsible people who call themselves EVPs and couldn’t f*cking manage a Target and they spread lies and bullsh*t and put into the media that I got somebody fired when I have f*ck all to do with him, want nothing to do with him, do not care where he works, where he doesn’t work, where he eats, where he sleeps. And the fact that I have to get up here and do this in 2022 is f*cking embarrassing. And if y’all are at fault, f*ck you. If you’re not, I apologize.
What did I ever do in this world to deserve an empty-headed f*cking dumb f*ck like Hangman Adam Page to go out on national television and f*cking go into business for himself? For what? What did I do? What did I ever do? Didn’t do a goddamn thing.
It’s not [Tony Khan’s] position to make it very f*cking clear [that Punk didn’t have anything to do with Cabana being moved to ROH]. There’s people who call themselves EVPs that should have f*cking known better. This sh*t was none of their business. I understand sticking up for your f*cking friends, I f*cking get it, I stuck up for that guy [Cabana] more than anybody. Okay? I paid his bills until I didn’t and it was my decision not to.
I’m trying to run a f*cking business. And when somebody who hasn’t done a damn thing in this business jeopardizes the first $1 million house that this company has ever drawn off of my back and goes on national television and does that, it’s a disgrace to this industry, it’s a disgrace to this company. Now, we’re far beyond apologies. I gave him a f*cking chance. It did not get handled, and you saw what I had to do, which is very regrettable, lowering myself to his f*cking level. But that’s where we’re at right now. And I will still walk up and down this hallway and say, ‘If you have a f*cking problem with me, take it up with me.’ Let’s f*cking go.
Punk said later in the scrum that Cabana doesn’t deserve to have Punk say his name. Punk said Vince McMahon and Cabana are the two people who have made the most money off of the name CM Punk.
This May, Cabana signed a new contract with AEW and it was noted that he was “earmarked” to be part of the ROH roster. Dave Meltzer wrote at the time that Cabana being moved to ROH “may be in some form be related to his issues” with Punk. Meltzer wrote that AEW EVPs The Young Bucks pushed for Cabana to be signed to the new deal.
Punk saying that Page went into business for himself is a reference to a promo that Page cut prior to their AEW World Championship match at Double or Nothing this May. During the promo, Page talked about saving AEW from Punk.
Punk defeated Page to win the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing but had to vacate the title just days later due to a broken foot. After losing a unification match to interim champion Jon Moxley on Dynamite two weeks ago, Punk defeated Moxley at All Out to again become AEW World Champion.
