Dave Meltzer Breaks Down Ryan Nemeth's AEW Complaint, Issues With CM Punk

Yesterday afternoon, a report emerged detailing allegations from former AEW star Ryan Nemeth, who said that the promotion failed to adequately address his complaints of harassment at the hands of CM Punk. During today's "Wrestling Observer Radio," co-hosts Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez broke down the timeline of the report and offered their own perspective.

Even before Punk made his return to AEW last summer, Nemeth reportedly alerted former AEW Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh that he had concerns he'd be targeted by Punk, likely due to his friendship with Matt and Nick Jackson of the Young Bucks. Then, on the night Punk returned, Nemeth made a post on social media calling Punk "the softest man alive," referencing Punk's promo from that night. This later led to a confrontation backstage, with Nemeth alleging that Punk threatened him.

"A couple people had told me about it and then they were like, 'Don't worry, it's all settled. It's just a little disagreement,'" Meltzer said. "Then a couple days later, I kind of heard that it's anything but settled."

Despite receiving support from some members of the AEW staff, Nemeth claimed he was not booked by the promotion for two months after his confrontation with Punk. That changed in August, when Nemeth was flown in for a taping of "AEW Collision" — a show that largely centered around Punk at the time.

According to Meltzer, Punk saw Nemeth at the hotel talent was staying at for the taping. Shortly after that, Nemeth was contacted and informed that his booking was made in error and he wouldn't be needed for the event. Nemeth was reportedly told later that it was actually because of Punk's presence.

That incident reportedly happened the same week that other AEW stars, including "Hangman" Adam Page and Talent Relations Manager Christopher Daniels, were told they could not show up to a "Collision" taping because of friction with Punk. In the report, it was emphasized that Nemeth doesn't necessarily believe Punk asked for himself or anyone else to be removed, and the decision may have been made by someone else in AEW.

Shortly after this, Nemeth was brought into another taping, and the wrestler claims that he was told to cut a promo with Punk as his target. That same day, Nemeth spoke to AEW's HR team, but did not receive a response in a timely manner. Nemeth was later interviewed as part of the investigation into Punk's altercation with Jack Perry that same month.

Around this time, Nemeth received a response from AEW's legal team, which no longer included Parekh, who Nemeth had previously felt comfortable dealing with. The wrestler was made an offer which entailed signing a non-disclosure agreement in return for a payment equal to three years of salary. However, that offer was soon taken off the table, and the report states that Nemeth is not sure why, but he would like the company to make the offer valid once again.

"The reasons that are unclear is that Punk was gone, so ... [AEW] wanted [Nemeth] to quietly go away," Meltzer said. "Once Punk was gone, they figured, 'What's the point of the NDA?'"

Speaking about Parekh's departure from the company, Meltzer stated that the reasons behind the decision were never publicly disclosed. However, he pointed out that Parekh left in the midst of all the issues surrounding Punk.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.