During the latest episode of AEW Dynamite, the promotion showcased the footage from CM Punk and Jack Perry’s All In 2023 incident.
Pwinsider is reporting that despite rumors to the contrary, The Young Bucks were fine with their promo and the AEW All In footage segment on Dynamite.
The Young Bucks didn’t have any issue with the creative regarding the segment. The idea came from AEW President Tony Khan but Matt and Nick Jackson were fine with the idea as they used it to build their match with FTR. It also helped open the door for the return of Perry, who they helped get signed to AEW. The Young Bucks have had issues with Punk in the past and didn’t have a problem with taking the shots at him.
Most of the reactions to the footage were said to be “tepid,” with many seeing what they expected to see. The footage segment was said to be a “one-night ratings ploy.”
The morale backstage at AEW Dynamite had dropped after the footage aired, with most worried about the “social media bulls*it” that would follow.
The feeling backstage is that now it’s more important than ever to deliver a big event with AEW Dynasty 2024, and they don’t think the pay-per-view schedule being released today was an accident.
Khan birthed the All In footage idea following Punk’s interview with Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” podcast and the subsequent barbs from WWE during WrestleMania 40 weekend.
The plans were confirmed late last week and the decision to promote the footage right after WrestleMania 40 was clearly timed and was planned in advance.
FTR agreed after they were informed about the decision to promote the footage. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler believed that it would be acceptable if it generated buzz for their match and storyline with The Young Bucks. Nobody has heard of any issues between Punk and FTR over the footage thus far.
Several people discussed the matter in WWE, although sources were mostly “exhausted” after WrestleMania 40 week. None of them were said to be surprised by what was shown and Punk is not expected to get any punishment over the incident.
Some WWE Superstars called the video a “self-own,” while others didn’t care and watched out of curiosity.
A veteran wrestler who has been in WWE and AEW noted that it wasn’t anything worse than what happened during the Monday Night Wars, and there are plenty of similar examples from that period.
The hope backstage in AEW is that the footage segment will help bring Perry back to AEW, especially if the crowd reacts favorably, provided he wrestles in Chicago, IL. AEW reportedly plans on having Perry capitalize on the buzz.
Certain people in AEW wished that “someone else would have got that TV time” while others felt they were in a “no-win situation” after the multiple shots and references from WWE last weekend.
The AEW roster doesn’t believe the footage segment was a “company killer” and most agreed that AEW expected the hyperbole and reactions it received from people online. It certainly got people here on eWn and other websites talking, which means they accomplished their goal.
It is to be noted that the reactions were based on responses available and thus subjective.
