Dutch Mantell On How Tony Khan Worked Himself Into A Shoot

It's been a difficult week or so for AEW CEO Tony Khan behind the curtain, and now a wrestling veteran has pointed the blame directly at his door. 

"Tony [Khan] worked himself into a shoot here. That's what they did," Dutch Mantell said on "Story Time with Dutch Mantell." "He let that locker room dissent fester and fester and fester, then it finally come up into this big blister, and all it needed was a little prick, and it's gonna go everywhere. And that's what happened."

It had been reported that tensions were already running high between certain talent in the company, but things came to a head during and after the All Out pay-per-view post-show media scrum, when newly-crowned AEW World Champion CM Punk took his seat next to Khan for his segment of the press conference and immediately berated his former Scott Colton, better known to fans as Colt Cabana. Punk continued, furthering his real-life beef with "Hangman" Adam Page, before taking shots at AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). Punk's comments about the EVPs reportedly caused a skirmish when he returned to the locker room involving Punk, his friend Ace Steel, Omega, and The Bucks. 

As a result, Khan took action, and it was announced on last week's "AEW Dynamite" that Punk — who's future with the company currently remains unknown — was stripped of the AEW World Championship, with Omega and The Bucks likewise being stripped of their newly-won  AEW World Trios Championship, as well as reportedly being suspended for an unspecified amount of time. 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Story Time with Dutch Mantell" and give a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.