CM Punk & Others Reportedly Signed NDAs Regarding AEW All Out Brawl

CM Punk and his friend Ace Steel were reportedly involved in a backstage scuffle with Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson after the All Out 2022 post-show media scrum. The skirmish allegedly came as a result of Punk calling out The Elite during the press conference. According to this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Punk and AEW CEO Tony Khan made an agreement, which involved both parties and "key participants" in the brawl signing NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) preventing them from speaking publicly about the incident. The Punk-Khan deal also supposedly involved "things protecting AEW legally" against Punk walking out on the company. It's said that everyone involved in the situation ended up on the same page.

Punk and The Elite disappeared from AEW programming following the alleged All Out fracas, with Punk being stripped of the AEW World Championship and The Young Bucks and Omega being stripped of the AEW World Trios Championship by Khan. It was never disclosed why those decisions were made. The Elite returned to AEW at the Full Gear pay-per-view a few months later, but Punk has yet to return — The Chicago-born wrestler has reportedly been dealing with a triceps injury since his AEW World Championship triumph against Jon Moxley at All Out.

It has been reported that Punk is set to make a return at the promotion's first "AEW Collison" show on Saturday, June 17. The two-time AEW World Champion was allegedly featured on promotional material for the announcement of the new weekly Saturday show at Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023. However, it's claimed that Punk's name was removed before the reveal due to a "situation" that occurred. Khan announced this week that the debut episode of "Collision" will take place at the United Center in Punk's hometown of Chicago, Illinois.