Well, folks, last night’s “AEW Dynamite” stirred up quite the hornet’s nest by deciding to air that real-deal security footage of the backstage kerfuffle between CM Punk and Jack Perry at last year’s AEW All In. Let me tell you, it’s got the wrestling world chattering like a Sunday social.
According to the folks over at Fightful Select, the reaction was what you’d call “tepid.” It seems the AEW backstage atmosphere took a bit of a nosedive post-segment, not so much about what was shown, but more about bracing for the Twitter storm that was sure to follow. Some of the talent felt like the TV time could’ve been spent showcasing other wrestlers, but hey, the clip was all about hyping up that upcoming tag team rematch between the Young Bucks and FTR.
Speaking of the Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson, those rascals, they were the ones who brought us the clip, and it looks like they were cool with how it all played out. And FTR? Those good buddies of Punk threw down a promo of their own right after, keeping the drama rolling.
Now, flip the script over to WWE, and you’ve got some folks calling it a “self-own” while others are just shrugging it off, busy dusting off from the WrestleMania 40 hullabaloo. Over there, CM Punk isn’t catching any flak for the footage; it’s business as usual, just another day in the soap opera of wrestling.
And get this, one seasoned pro who’s seen the insides of both AEW and WWE reckons this whole shebang is just par for the course, reminiscent of the old Monday Night Wars stunts. It’s like grandpop used to say, “It’s all smoke and mirrors until the next show.”