CM Punk's close friend Ace Steel finally breaks silence on his WWE return

CM Punk's recent return to WWE after a decade has given the company an additional shot of excitement, which was already breaking records with their programming. The 45-year-old's move has opened up the possibility of many dream wrestling matches the fans had given up on.

During an appearance on the Wrestling with Rip Rogers podcast, Punk's close friend and mentor Ace Steel, who trained the Second City Saint at the Steel Dominion wrestling school in Chicago, talked about the controversial star's return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023. The veteran said he was proud of his number-one student.

"I'm very proud of my number one student that I've ever coached in the world for heading back to show the world who the f*** he is... The reason people hate him or whatever is he's not about the bulls***, and the guy doesn't take s***, and he doesn't take it lightly. And when you've had enough s***, you either explode, or you take care of business yourself, and you defend yourself," Ace Steel said. [H/T Wrestling Inc]

Ace Steel talks about the infamous AEW Brawl Out incident involving CM Punk

The Second City Saint's two-year run in All Elite Wrestling was filled with controversies. After a successful first year in the Jacksonville-based company, CM Punk was reportedly involved in a backstage altercation with The Elite at All Out pay-per-view in September 2022. The incident also involved Ace Steel.

Steel talked about the infamous backstage incident, known as the Brawl Out, on the Wrestling with Rip Rogers podcast and said his wife is the only one who could tell the story.

"Well, I worked with a lot of great people, some great, some not so much," he said before explaining his stance on the All Out altercation. "Family still exists in this business, there are things none of us can say, and none of us will, you know, I think my wife's the only one who could probably tell the story since she was there. Maybe someday," Steel said. [H/T Wrestling Inc]

After the incident, CM Punk and The Elite were suspended. The 45-year-old returned to Jacksonville-based promotion in June 2023, but Tony Khan terminated his contract in September after a backstage altercation at the All In 2023 pay-per-view. In the same month, Ace Steel, who worked in AEW as a producer, was also released by All Elite Wrestling.