Update on CM Punk’s AEW status and what happened with Ace Steel prior to Collision announcement

As previously noted, AEW officially confirmed the new weekly Collision show for Saturday nights but there was no mention of CM Punk despite rumors of him being the show’s focal point. Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com tweeted that “there is definitely a story with this CM Punk deal” and said “it’s not impossible that this deal has fallen through” during his podcast.

According to Nick Hausman (HausOfWrestling.com), AEW actually re-hired Ace Steel “several months ago” but he hasn’t been actively working while backstage at shows. Steel had been let go following his role in Punk’s altercation with The Elite but was apparently re-hired a short time later. Steel was reportedly told that he would be working creatively with AEW President Tony Khan but due to potential backstage heat, Steel was working remotely for the past few months.

There was said to have been an understanding that Steel would return to the road as an agent for AEW Collision but the decision was made on Tuesday to not bring him back in that capacity. Hausman noted that Punk learned about the situation a short time later and after “some miscommunication” between lawyers, Punk was pulled from Wednesday’s Collision announcement.

Hausman also noted the following…

“Punk is still with AEW and it sounds like he is motivated, and wanting to help the company’s growth however he can. Punk’s relationship with Tony Khan also appears to be on sound footing, with no issues between the two men, and communication remaining open.”