CM Punk could have avoided his backstage issues with The Elite if WWE Superstar was in AEW, feels veteran

Had it not been for the backstage tension between CM Punk and The Elite, the Straight Edge Superstar would probably still be a part of AEW today. But if a current WWE Superstar was still in All Elite Wrestling, could all of this have been avoided?

The fallout from last year's 'Brawl Out' incident sadly didn't get sorted out in the year that went by, and on the anniversary weekend of the now infamous incident, CM Punk was fired by Tony Khan from All Elite Wrestling.

It was news that sent shockwaves through the wrestling world, but speaking on his podcast, Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru, the legendary manager speculated that perhaps everything could have been prevented had Cody Rhodes still been in AEW.

"If Cody [Rhodes] was still [in AEW] and [CM] Punk was there, rather than them be in one or the other, do you think they would have had the trouble?... I mean once that it was established 'okay, we're all going to be working here together,' then do do you think of all of the EVP's, Cody would seem, would have been the level-headed one with a wrestling business background that Punk could have spoken to and could have potentially been the Sami Zayn of the group and get everyone back on the same page before it got to the point of no return?" [21:27-22:08]

How has the AEW locker room reacted to CM Punk's departure?

Being the controversial figure that he is, CM Punk certainly made an impact, in both good and bad ways, on the AEW locker room. But now that he isn't a part of the company anymore, how have people reacted?

During the All Out post-show media scrum, ROH Tag Team Champion Adam Cole said that the locker room is extremely high-spirited and that everyone is looking forward to the future as AEW looks set to close out the fall season with the third-annual Grand Slam in New York, WrestleDream in Seattle, and Full Gear in Los Angeles.

Matt Hardy backed up this sentiment on his own podcast, claiming that the vibe backstage at All Out, as well as the following week's Dynamite and Rampage shows, was very positive and that the company is in a very healthy place.

However, not everyone shared those thoughts. Andrade El Idolo and Ricky Starks have both shared positive messages about CM Punk on social media. FTR was visibly upset at All Out following Punk's departure, and Brody King of the House of Black was also frustrated at the news.

Do you think CM Punk should have been fired? Let us know in the comments section below!

Please credit "Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.