Ace Steel Reportedly Not In Attendance For Collision Debut Or Any AEW Shows

CM Punk and Ace Steel are back to work for AEW, however the latter is not expected to be backstage anytime soon.

In the wake of "AEW Collision" premiering on Saturday, Fightful Select reported that Steel was not in attendance for the event at the United Center despite being in Chicago. In fact, Steel is signed to the company and is helping with Punk's storylines, but he's not expected to be at any AEW events in the near future.

Steel previously served as a producer for AEW from March until September 2022 before the All Out locker room brawl that also involved CM Punk and The Elite. It's been reported that Steel bit Kenny Omega during the skirmish, which resulted in Steel temporarily being fired. At some point this year, Steel was said to have been hired back to help in a creative capacity, but he has not been spotted backstage despite that.

When "Collision" was announced in May, Punk was noticeably absent from promotional materials. It was then reported that there was a hang-up as it related to Steel's role in the company. Whatever the issue was, it appeared to be ironed out rather quickly as Tony Khan started promoting Punk's return on the May 31 episode of "Dynamite."

Steel and Punk have a long history as friends as the former has been credited as one of Punk's trainers. The 50-year-old previously wrestled for Ring of Honor and OVW prior to working as a WWE producer from 2019 until his release in early 2022.