AEW Meeting Between CM Punk, Tony Khan, And The Elite Was Reportedly Called Off

Ever since CM Punk lambasted The Elite in his infamous rant during the post-All Out press conference and subsequently brawled with them backstage, AEW fans have wanted to see one thing above anything else: the real-life hostility between Punk and the company's EVPs incorporated into an on-camera storyline. Now, Punk has been fired from AEW in the wake of another backstage altercation at All In last weekend, and the door to a Punk vs. Elite feud has very likely been closed forever. But according to a new report, the two sides had plans for an attempted reconciliation prior to All In — the failure of which may have had drastic implications for the end of Punk's AEW career.

Haus of Wrestling reports that there was a meeting scheduled to take place prior to the Wembley Stadium show that would have included Punk, "relevant members of The Elite" — presumably Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and "Hangman" Adam Page — and AEW CEO Tony Khan. The exact date of the supposed meeting is unclear, but Haus of Wrestling believes it would have taken place in Atlanta, which suggests it may have been planned for sometime around August 23, when Duluth, Georgia played host to a live "AEW Dynamite" as well as a taping of "AEW Collision."

The report claims that the purpose of the meeting was to "bury the hatchet" between the two camps, but that at the last minute, The Elite canceled. Haus of Wrestling says the abrupt cancelation "appears to have added to Punk's overall frustrations with the situation" heading into All In, where he ended up getting into an altercation with Jack Perry, a known friend of the Bucks, that was caught on video. Khan, in his address to the "Collision" audience Saturday night, mere hours after firing Punk, said the situation endangered the safety of people backstage as well as Khan himself, and thus forced Punk's termination.