AEW's Tony Khan Declines To Comment On CM Punk In Wake Of Explosive Helwani Interview

CM Punk returned to wrestling in 2021 under the AEW umbrella, but mounting issues eventually led to Punk being fired by AEW CEO Tony Khan in September 2023. These not-so-old wounds were reopened by Punk in a recent interview on "The MMA Hour" with Ariel Helwani, in which Punk had a lot to say about AEW, its EVPs, and Khan in particular, saying that he was less of a boss and more of a nice guy.

In Khan's first public appearance since Punk's interview — on the media call to promote the upcoming ROH Supercard of Event on April 5 — he was asked by Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald if he had any thoughts on Punk's comments.

"I'd prefer not to talk about that," Khan said. "I think I'd really rather focus on the card and Supercard of Honor, but thanks for asking."

It was an unsurprising dodge from Khan, who has made a point of answering with some variation on "no comment" when asked about the various incidents regarding Punk going back to the infamous "Brawl Out" altercation in 2022. Khan also declined comment on Punk multiple times prior to Punk's return on the first episode of "AEW Collision," following a controversial Punk promo after "Collision," following Punk's firing after his backstage encounter with Jack Perry at All In, and following Punk's return to WWE in November — he did finally go on the record regarding Punk a few days after the aforementioned return.

Despite never mentioning Punk by name, AEW TNT Champion Adam Copeland opened up the April 3 edition of "AEW Dynamite" with an in-ring promo that focused on calling out all of the "negative BS" that had gone on the days prior, while also reminding people that AEW is "where the best wrestle."