Dax Harwood of FTR is starting a new podcast with co-host Matt Koon for Ad-Free Shows. And while many in AEW remain tight-lipped about the ‘CM Punk Situation’ in AEW, Harwood is dedicating an entire podcast episode to it!
For those unaware, CM Punk has been MIA since his world title win against Jon Moxley at AEW All Out, in September of 2022. This is due to comments he made at the post-show media scrum, in which he called members of The Elite ‘Children’ who ‘couldn’t manage a Target.’ Punk also called ‘Hangman’ Adam Page ‘an empty-headed f*cking dumb f*ck.’
Punk also had words for Colt Cabana and others. The situation was a bleak one, made even worse by an alleged ‘backstage melee’ that occurred between Punk, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Ace Steele, Ace Steele’s wife, and Larry the Dog. It’s alleged that punches were thrown, chairs were also, um, thrown, and arms were bitten. It was a very volatile situation that resulted in the suspension of The Elite and the banishing of Punk.
There are still so many questions that have yet to be answered regarding that night in Chicago. It looks like it may still be sometime before fans get answers, but Harwood is certainly open to giving his own opinion about the situation.
Punk’s Love for AEW
Harwood spoke in-depth about how much Punk loved being in AEW.
“Punk was still so joyous and happy to be in the wrestling business,” Harwood stated. “To be honest, he told me, when they were going to put the belt on him, that he didn’t want the belt. He said, ‘I just want to have fun,’ but he understood that Tony putting the belt on him would put AEW in a better light. He took it, begrudgingly a little bit, but he took the belt.
At the time, he was taking me, Cash, Max [MJF], Wardlow, Hobbs, I’m missing so many guys, he was taking us out to eat, always paying for it. He bought all the girls in the locker room Starbucks gift cards and had one of the girls hand them out, anonymously, and didn’t say who they were from, but it was from him, just because he loved the atmosphere and loved being there. He also loved the work the girls were putting in. He thought they were busting their ass to try and get the attention that WWE’s women’s division was getting.”
CM Punk vs ‘Hangman’ Adam Page
That love for wrestling was obvious in many of the interviews and promo segments that Punk offered, but it seemed as though things took a turn during Punk’s program with Hangman Adam Page. Punk alleges that Hangman went “off script” during a promo segment between the two, and that’s when things began going downhill.
“After the promo segment, I went to Punk and I said, ‘that was really good, that was a great segment,” Harwood shared. “They got the fans to react. It’s hard sometimes to get the fans to react to a babyface-babyface match. I thought it was a great segment. He was like, ‘Ahhh, I’m kind of feeling a certain way about it.’ I had no inkling that anything went wrong or went sideways or anything like that.”
But sideways it did go; the result of which being Punk no longer in AEW for the time being. Harwood said that he had no idea about the fight that happened backstage until Punk actually called him to explain the situation.
“All the boys in the locker room were drinking and having a good time, and we were hugging, I have picture of me and Jay Lethal on the ground together just laughing our ass off,” Harwood remembered. “I had my wife and daughter there, Cash had his girlfriend. It was such a great time. After our match was over, I shower up, we had a couple of drinks with the guys real quick, grab my girls, and head back to the hotel. I was laying in bed and I got a text from one of the wrestlers that said, ‘is this shit true?’ I had no idea what he was talking about.
Right after that, I got a call from my buddy CM Punk and he told me what happened. I said, ‘You’re lying to me dude. There is no way that happened.’ He was covered in blood from the match. He Face-Timed me, it was that night. He said, ‘I want to let you know, you’re going to hear some things. I want you to hear it from me. This is what happened.’ I said, ‘Dude, are you okay? Do you need anything? I’ll come right now to help you out, get you cleaned.’ ‘No, no, everything is fine, it’s died down, we’re good.’ That’s when I first heard about it.”
“Nobody Knows the Full Story”
Harwood referenced the fact that all sorts of wrestling news sites picked up the story; it was one of the biggest from 2022. But, he said, nobody has the full story. Nobody even knows the full story.
“Obviously, I wasn’t there,” he admitted. “Who I perceive to be God is the only person who really knows the truth. Everyone is going to have their own version in their head. We’ve all done it before, we’ve made what we perceive to be the truth. What I’ve heard that is reported, there are elements of truth in it, but then there are also some things that raise a red flag to me. It seems like we’re only getting a portion of the story or what this journalist wants to put out, whether he has a bias or grudge against one of the parties, that’s just how I felt. I also knew that I didn’t know the whole story.
I also felt that the stories that I heard from a few people, I don’t feel like they would blatantly lie to me. I do think there are bits of truth, but I also believe that some fans have read too much into it and I think they should let what happened, happen, and it die down. When it’s all said and done, I can’t tell you that I know 100% of the truth and I can’t tell you that the journalist reporting is 100% of the truth. I know what I perceive to be the truth and from the things I’ve read and heard, there is partial truth and partial things that are a bit exaggerated.”
Dax Wants Punk Back in AEW
People may never know the full story of what happened that night in Chicago. But, Harwood is of the belief that there are still bridges to be mended, and money to be made. He wants to see CM Punk back in AEW.
“I can tell you what I hope, because I don’t know,” he said. “Everyone knows about the legalities of the situation and no one is really expressing what is going to happen, what has happened, and what won’t happen. I can tell you, all I can be truthful about, I can only tell you what I know and what I perceive to know, I hope that he comes back. I feel that AEW should have the Young Bucks in their locker room. AEW should have Kenny Omega in the locker room. I know that I feel AEW should have CM Punk in the locker room. With those four entities, it makes our talent roster so much deeper and better. It’s four guys who want to be the best. Regardless of what any of us think personally, I know that we all want to be the best and I know we all want the best for professional wrestling. It’s given us a life that we could never have otherwise.”
The stories that could be told if Punk were to return to AEW could light the business on fire, once again. They could blur the lines between reality and fiction. They could fill those elements of AEW that some people feel the company is missing. It would be a story worth telling. It would be the biggest story of 2023 (probably). It would be a happy ending to this otherwise sad, weird story. That’s what Harwood wants. And it’s what many AEW fans want as well.
This is my plea to all four guys. Please find a way to make it work. If we can make it work, we can set up the future of professional wrestling for a long time and we can change the course of professional wrestling for a very long time. When you think about it, unselfishly, we’re doing this for 20-30 years down the road so guys and girls can make a living.
– Dax Harwood
You can check out Harwood’s new podcast, ‘FTR with Dax‘ when it premieres on Thursday, December 29.
Special thanks to Jeremy Lambert with Fightful for the transcribed quotes