AEW's Kenny Omega Gets Candid About Brawl Out, Feelings On CM Punk, His Status As EVP
CM Punk's altercations with AEW stars Jack Perry and The Elite have once again entered the conversation following Punk's recent comments on the matter, and AEW's subsequent airing of his and Perry's scuffle at All In during "AEW Dynamite". Prior to the incident at All In, Punk was also the center of a firestorm following All Out 2022, launching into a verbal tirade against EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks during the post-show presser before what would become known as "Brawl Out".
Omega took the chance to address his side of things during the "Brawl Out" incident involving himself, the Bucks, Punk and Ace Steel during a recent Twitch stream. "I thought my duty as EVP during 'Brawl Out' would be to enter the situation while there was chaos, de-escalate it, and create a peaceful environment for everyone," he said, noting that he was at least able to get Larry — Punk's dog — out of the melee if nothing else.
"Unfortunately, try as I may, things were too chaotic for me to be able to do anything by my own power ... I also thought of myself as a liability because ... I just played a lot of contact sports and I've gotten into jiu-jitsu and boxing and mixed martial arts ... When you're in an environment like that, sometimes emotions get the best of you and people will wanna throw hands. I am unfortunately — or fortunately — a believer of it ... I'm actually a believer of fighting. I am, and that sounds terrible to say which is why, like, don't make me an EVP in 2024. We can't do that stuff anymore. I just feel that sometimes that's how you have to settle things." Omega also noted that he hasn't "had power" within AEW for more than four years, and considers himself a "terrible EVP" undeserving of the title.
Kenny Omega opens up about relationship with CM Punk
Omega admitted that there have been a number of times where he felt that a physical altercation would have been the only way forward when dealing with someone. But cooler heads prevailed and they were able to become better friends through it with a higher degree of respect. He thinks, in a contained scenario, a little tussle can be "conducive for a positive work environment," but that's exactly why he feels he shouldn't have any authority on the matter. Omega further revealed that he and Punk share no further bad blood, at least from his side of things. He even thinks they may have been able to talk things through if it wasn't for another factor.
"It's just mutual respect," he said of his status with Punk, confirming that they had reached out to one another. "We were never bad. Honestly, if it wasn't for a complete other factor, we would have been able to have that talk on the night of 'Brawl Out'. There's no issue between him and I, as far as I know ... I don't wanna seem stand off-ish or secretive about what happened. Yes, there's legalities and all that stuff, but even if there wasn't ... I'm actually not a huge fan of pulling back the curtain on stuff that doesn't need to be public."
Punk has since returned to WWE after AEW fired him with cause following the All In altercation. He is currently out of action with torn triceps, but he has been sustaining a feud with Drew McIntyre by appearing on WWE TV.