[CM Punk, Tony Khan & Journalists]
I'll start, Nick
Um, show of hands
Who here fancies themselves as a journalist?
You're a journalist, Nick? Alright
I try my best OK
No, real, real quick
You still do improv?
No, not a little bit
No? No
When you did improv, who did you do improv with?
I did it with uh, uh Scott Colton
Mm, OK, so you fancy yourself a journalist, would you say you're friends with Scott Colton?
Uh, no, I haven't talked to Scott in some time
So you're not friends with him?
Uh, no, no, Scott and I do not see eye to eye
Oh, wow. Well, that makes two of us
My point is, if you fancy yourself a journalist, even if its for the silly world of professional wrestling and you have journalistic integrity. People who report things, mostly that are bullshit and slanderous lies against myself, if you are friends with somebody who blew my spot, if you're not friends with them, I apologize
It's OK
But you should probably disclose who you're friends with
I'm not friends with him, of course not
I haven't had anything to do with Scott Colton in almost a decade. Probably wanted nothing to do with him even longer than that. It's fucking unfortunate that I have to come up here and speak on this when I'm on my time and this is a fucking business. Uh, why I'm a grown ass adult man and I decide not to be friends with somebody is nobody else's fucking business. But my friends, if I fall backwards, will catch me. Scott Colton, I felt, never would have. My problem was, I wanted to bring a guy with me to the top that did not want to see me at the top, OK? You call it jealousy, you call it envy, whatever the fuck it is. My relationship with Scott Colton ended long before I paid all of his bills. I have every receipt, I have every invoice, I have every email. I have the email where he says, and I quote; "I agree to go our separate ways. I will get my own lawyer and you do not have to pay anymore." That's an email that I have, and the only reason the public did not see it is because when I finally had to countersue him through discovery, we discovered he shared a bank account with his mother. That's a fact. And as soon as we discovered that fact and we subpoenaed old Marsha, he sent the email; "Oh, can we please drop all this?". Now, it's 2022, I haven't been friends with this guy since at least 2014, late 2013, and the fact that I have to sit up here because we have irresponsible who call themselves EVP's and couldn't fucking manage a Target, and they spread lies and bullshit, and, and put into the media that I got somebody fired when I have fuck all to do with him. Want nothing to do with him. Do not care where he works, where he doesn't work, where he eats, where he sleeps, and the fact that I have to get up here and do this in 2022 is fucking embarrassing. And if y'all are at fault, fuck you. If you're not, I apologize. But, what did I ever do in this world to deserve an empty-headed fucking dumbfuck like "Hangman" Adam Page to go out on national television and fucking go in to business for himself, for what? What did I do, Dave? What did I ever do? Didn't do a Goddamn thing. What's your name sir?
? D'Angelo
Fuck the Pittsburgh Penguins, what are you doing man? What are you doing?
I'm from Pittsburgh
I made it really clear in Forbes, and I just wanna make it clear again, Nick-
It's not his position to make it very fucking clear. There's people who call themselves EVP's that should've fucking known better. This shit was none of their business. I understand sticking up for your fucking friends, I fucking get it. I stuck up for that guy more that anybody, OK? I paid his bills, until I didn't, and it was my decision not to-
Yeah, but I should've no commented it when Nick first said it, it's my fault, and if I hadn't- It's my fault. It's my fault. I should've just taken it head on cause he never said anything.
I appreciate that, I appreciate that, but I'm, but I'm trying to run a fucking business, and when somebody who hasn't done a damn thing in this business jeopardizes the first million dollar house that this company has ever drawn off of my back and goes on national television and does that, it's a disgrace to this industry, it's a disgrace to this company. Now, we're far beyond apologies, right? I gave him a fucking chance, it did not get handled, and you saw what I had to do, which is very regrettable, lowering myself to his fucking level. But, that's where we're at right now. And I will still walk up and down this hallway and say if you have a fucking problem with me, take it up with me, let's fucking go. What's your question, Nick?
Ah, uh- First of all, you're always very nice to me, and thank you. Um, I wanted to ask about MJF obviously, uh, he played a voicemail from you before he came out. Obviously confronted you, uh, Punk. Um, why now?Why is MJF back in the fold now? How do you both feel about him being around? How do you feel about the time he spent away? All of that.
Well, if I may, I'm the one who asked him to come back because, uh, MJF's a big star in this company and this is one of the biggest events. A year ago, CM Punk debuted here, and I thought it was right for the fans. And like I said, for the fans, I thought the best thing that we could do as a company was bring MJF back, and-
Because he wants me to work with pricks, constantly. That's, that's what it is.
Nevertheless, uh, two of the top wrestlers in the world, MJF and CM Punk, could be a big match down the line
Oh, sorry to keep bringing this fucking up, but, I've never spoken his word in I don't know how long so I'm a little fucking pissed off about it
It-it's fine
When it came down that he was going to sue me, I asked to talk to him, he refused. I asked for mediation, it was denied. I offered him money, he said it was not enough. He went ahead with the lawsuit ensued. It's his fucking funeral. I don't care. He shares a bank account with his mother, that tells you all you need to know about what kind of character that is.
You are always very nice to me, thank you
I appreciate it, Nick. I'm sorry if I'm a little fucking snippy
That's fine, that's fine
I'm hurt, I'm old and I'm fucking tired, and I work with fucking children
I respect the situation
I regret not answering your question the first time you asked it
And I only asked it because I have some familiarity and just wanted some clarification on the story. I didn't break the story
I should've just taken it head on like I did with Blake and Forbes recently-
We're all learning here, Tony, it's OK.
Thanks, thanks
Thank you, guys
This is from Mindy's Bakery, by the way. It's a great place in Chicago if you like pastries and baked goods, I suggest you go there. They're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, though.
Sorry about all that, man
It's OK
Alright, thanks
So I've asked questions of presidential candidates in my old life, I don't think I've ever been as nervous as I am right now, but, I'll direct this one to Tony. Um, you saw the reaction MJF got when he came back out at the end of the night. Do you have any worries that, um, well he was cheered in Chicago, while CM Punk, hometown guy, is in the ring. Do you have any worries about, um, MJF kind of, he got pure boos before, he was one of the last pure heels left in wrestling that didn't try to get cheered, and now he's sort of set up as this anti-authority figure. Do you worry about what that means for the psychology going forward, especially when he's gonna take on Punk?
I think the fans want to see great wrestling matches. MJF's the top wrestler, CM Punk's the world champion, the top wrestler in the world, and I think having the top contenders, whoever came out of this match tonight, MJF sets up as a great challenger, and now CM Punk is the world champion. MJF being back, a lot of fans were excited to see it, but anytime somebody makes a comeback in the world of wrestling, generally, you get a really big reaction. Am I worried about it? No, not really. Like, we have one of the most charismatic popular professional wrestlers in the world right here, and frankly, the fans can react however they want. That's what's great about AEW and pro wrestling. We're not trying to tell people what to think. This is a really compelling story, people were emotionally moved. People are calling that a great ending, and I'm really glad people liked it, but the fact is, it was a great match & it was a great ending, and now we'll see what happens on Wednesday.
Is that gonna headline ?, that match?
I'm not gonna comment on it