5 times AEW stars publicly called out wrestling veterans - CM Punk blasts Eric Bischoff, Kenny Omega lashes out at Disco Inferno

Pro Wrestling is subjective and can become a heated topic of debate across promotions like WWE and AEW. Everyone from fans to competitors has made their opinions known at some stage or another. All Elite Wrestling, in particular, finds itself under a lot of scrutiny.

While debates between fans populate all forms of social media, it's the banter between industry veterans and today's wrestlers that catches the eye.

The likes of CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks have embroiled themselves in heated debates. While there have been many such instances, here are only five examples of veterans and AEW stars exchanging barbs publicly.

#5 AEW EVP Kenny Omega blasted Disco Inferno for his comments about Stardom wrestlers

Before AEW, Kenny Omega spent most of his career in various Japanese promotions, honing his craft as he rose to stardom. As such, he has developed an affinity for the many talents that hail from his former playground.

Back when former WCW Cruiserweight Champion Disco Inferno took to Twitter to mock Japanese stars Mei Suruga and AZM, The Cleaner hit back, as seen in the tweet above.

Suruga and AZM were incorporating the referee during their match at a Stardom event, provoking the mocking reply of Disco.

This provoked Omega into dubbing him an "un-athletic enhancement" talent while claiming that the veteran was trying to drag the female stars down.

#4 CM Punk mocked WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff on Twitter

Eric Bischoff led WCW against WWF/E in the 90s

Wrestling veteran Eric Bischoff have often criticized AEW programming. CM Punk found himself at the forefront of such criticism for his November 2021 comments where-in he said he no longer believes casual fans exist.

Bischoff took exception to the AEW star's claims, slamming the Straight Edge Superstar as delusional and questioning his experience within the TV business.

Punk took to Twitter to retort, laying into Bischoff and branding him an "old head" and encouraging users not to amplify their opinions:

"Wrestling Twitter needs to stop amplifying all the old head bad faith bad take carny dipsh*ts. They had their moment in the sun. Let them die in the dark with their ego podcasts. Quote me."

As Bischoff responded by quoting Punk from one of his earlier interviews, things further escalated. However, the latter is yet to replay the latest jab at him.

#3 The Young Bucks target naysayer veterans and their podcasts

The Young Bucks' Twitter bio has become an extension of their wrestling personas over the past few years. The BTE creators have used their platform to take shots at WWE rivals like New Day and progress storylines such as their ongoing arc with Adam Cole and reDRagon.

Yet, sometimes they use their bio to aim at their critics. They did as much when they adapted a quote from The Joker from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself burying us on a podcast," the bio said.

They used the aforementioned quote to target wrestling veterans who have expressed negative opinions about the Jackson brothers on podcasts, one prime example being Jim Cornette. He regularly cracks on at the "Hardly Boys," referring to Matt and Nick Jackson.

#2 CM Punk took shots toward Hulk Hogan

CM Punk has not held back from criticizing Hogan

Fans who have bore witness to CM Punk's pipebomb promo in WWE will have a better guess at whether or not the former WWE Champion is a big fan of Hulk Hogan.

Anyone who needs further clarification can listen to Barstool Rasslin'. The AEW star had a scathing review of the Hulkster, labeling the controversial legend a "piece of sh**" and alluding to Steve Austin being the bigger star.

"Like you can make the argument, that, oh no, Hulk Hogan is a bigger star than Steve Austin, but then you look at business periods and eras and box office receipts and like all that other stuff. I think Hogan is a piece of s***. So, obviously, I'm going to be like Steve Austin, yay, but that's another podcast," Punk said.

Hogan never responded to Punk's jibes.

#1 Kenny Omega and Jim Cornette had an infamous internet feud

Jim Cornette believes in a more traditional style of wrestling

On several occasions, Jim Cornette has made it clear that he is not a fan of Kenny Omega's style of wrestling. It would be fair to say that the latter's criticisms have often gotten to The Cleaner, as he has hit back several times.

Occasionally, Omega can be seen as the aggravator of their feud. One such example of this was during a Q&A, he was asked about criticisms of the AEW women's division. In his reply, he referred to Jim Cornette's "wheezing" habit from the latter's podcasts.

This, of course, sparked a response from Cornette. The WWE Hall of Famer retweeted a video of Kenny Omega working a wrestling match with fellow AEW star Riho when she was nine years old, with the caption: "What great art."

Kenny has since apologized for his comments, realizing they may have been insensitive given the impact COVID has had on the world. Cornette, however, refused to accept the apology, and their feud continued.