More notes on the CM Punk/Hangman Page issues

AEW World Champion CM Punk reportedly came close to no-showing last night’s House of The Dragon edition of AEW Dynamite from Charleston, WV, and he has reportedly threatened to quit the company.

We noted earlier how Punk reportedly went into business for himself during the opening Dynamite promo where he took shots at “Hangman” Page. It was reported that Punk’s comments came as a surprise, and that there are no plans for a Page vs. Punk rematch at AEW All Out next month. A new report from Fightful Select confirms that the Punk comments were not planned.

It was also noted earlier today how there were some issues between Punk and Page during the build to their match at AEW Double Or Nothing earlier this year, and it’s been said that they did not see eye-to-eye on some promo material that was used in the Dynamite build to that match. This new report notes that the issues were so bad that Punk met with AEW higher-ups about the context of Page’s promo.

A new report from Voices of Wrestling notes that after the meeting in May, Punk reportedly told others that he would never “do the job” or lose to Page.

Regarding last night’s Dynamite, multiple sources within AEW have said that they feel the situation was “unfair” to Page if he wasn’t aware of it ahead of time. One source said, “Even if he was aware of it, what would he have done? Charged to the ring past Tony (Khan)? Interrupted a promo he knew he wasn’t supposed to be a part of? There was no way Hangman could have ‘won’ in that situation.”

Page was backstage during the promo, but there’s no word yet on how he responded, if he responded in any particular way. Sources noted that Page is not a confrontational person, and is generally well-liked among the others on the roster.

There’s a belief among multiple AEW wrestlers that Punk believed Page went into business for himself during the Double Or Nothing build, and that Punk may have seen last night’s Dynamite promo as a “receipt” to Page for what he previously said. It should be noted that this is locker room speculation, and not something Punk has said to anyone directly.

From Punk’s end of things, Page’s previous promo alluded to his issues with Colt Cabana, and came during a week where Punk wasn’t at Dynamite, while Punk’s shot at Page happened while Page was backstage.

AEW sources report that Punk has often verbally expressed his displeasure, including recently, and so blatantly that they thought he might end up quitting the company.

Sources close to Punk said he might have almost decided to stay home instead of coming to last night’s dynamite, but they don’t think he would have quit. There’s been no indication that Punk plans on leaving AEW, but one veteran talent said they have heard of “threats being levied.”

We noted before how Punk vs. Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley in the title unification match was originally announced for AEW All Out during last night’s Dynamite, but after an angle between the two, the match was booked for next Wednesday’s Dynamite. Word now is that Moxley vs. Punk taking place on August 24 was a late decision. It wasn’t clear how late the decision was made, and it also remains to be seen what led to Punk’s current frustrations and how that would have led to him hypothetically no-showing Dynamite, whether it’s the change in the match, Page’s jab back in May, or something else.