The post-All Out backstage brawl is either the most well-booked fight we’ll never see or the most bizarre legit donnybrook of all time.
Reports came out last Friday that AEW is working on a buyout of CM Punk’s contract. Even more reports on Wednesday confirmed The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) were backstage at Dynamite and are returning soon.
But wait, there’s more.
WrestlingInc.com reported on Wednesday that when the door of Punk’s locker room was kicked in, it accidentally hit his dog, Larry, in the mouth. A few days later, at a pre-scheduled vet appointment, an exam revealed two of Larry’s teeth were knocked loose and had to be removed.
Larry’s role in the Labor Day weekend brawl has seemingly evolved every few weeks. At first, Ace Steel’s girlfriend was watching Larry. Then, Kenny Omega moved Larry to get him out of harm’s way, only to get bit by Ace Steel. Now, his teeth were knocked loose.
But wait, there’s even more.
Fightful.com reported on Friday that Chris Jericho confronted CM Punk after the brawl, calling him a cancer in the locker room and a detriment to the company.
The Wrestling Observer also reported on Friday that many of the top names in AEW refuse to work with CM Punk if he returns, and The Elite’s camp denies that Larry was hurt.
If Larry was hurt, why didn’t CM Punk lead with that when news of the brawl first surfaced. Perhaps, Punk kept quiet as instructed by AEW until The Elite promo aired on television.
If Larry was harmed, it would behoove The Elite to deny, deny, deny. News of Larry’s chompers getting knocked out on day one as opposed to week 7 would automatically paint CM Punk as the victim in the court of public opinion.
Legal implications and the fact that wrestlers exaggerate more than anyone you will ever meet means we will never know what really occurred in CM Punk’s locker room that night. There is too much conjecture and secondhand information for anyone on the outside looking in to support one side over the other.
Based on what we’ve seen with our own eyes, three things are clear.
Adam Page was wrong for making things public with his shoot promo on the May 25 episode of Dynamite.
CM Punk was wrong for burying the world at the press conference two weeks after he went off-script to make Page look bad in August.
Tony Khan was wrong for not cutting off CM Punk at the press conference. Vince McMahon would have stopped it before Punk finished his first muffin.
In the end, I’m a dog person. For little Larry’s sake, I hope the reports of him getting hurt are untrue. Punk stated in a 2021 interview about how he came to adopt Larry that he suspects prior abuse.
My wife and I adopted two dogs who were rescued from an abusive home. Despite the strides they’ve made in a loving environment, the abuse always stays with them in some way.
Whether you’re all in with The Elite or support CM Punk in this brawl fiasco, you do you. I stand with Larry.
Ringside Logic 