WWE veteran blasts Tony Khan amidst rumors of AEW looking to buy out CM Punk's contract

WWE legend Jim Cornette has blasted AEW president Tony Khan for his handling of CM Punk in his company, slamming the idea of buying out his contract.

Punk has been absent from AEW TV since the Brawl Out incident after the All Out pay-per-view, with rumors swirling that the Straight Edge Superstar could be leaving All Elite Wrestling very soon.

One option that has been mentioned is to buy out the rest of CM Punk's contract. However, the main issue regarding this is the fact that the former AEW World Champion would be a free agent and would be allowed to jump ship to WWE if that's what he wanted to do.

Jim Cornette spoke about the news on his Jim Cornette Experience podcast, slamming Tony Khan for not being enough of a leader to keep his locker room in line.

"The one good thing that has happened to this company over the last year, they get a major star. He produces ratings, he produces gates, he produces good television, he produces good matches, and Tony Khan cannot keep his f**king nursery school from f**king this g** d**n deal and p**sing off his star," said the veteran.[From 0:37 to 1:01]

Cornette also took shots at The Elite and stated that the idea of bringing them back over Punk would be a very bad idea:

"And now, instead of telling [The Elite] ‘hey, why don’t you all go back and play with your f**king school girlfriends in Japan because I need real talent because I’m in a promotional war and my ship is taking on water?’ Now he’s going to talk about—to [CM] Punk about a buyout. Does that mean he’s going to bring the other three back? Or will he buy Punk out and just fire the other three for putting him in this position to spend probably a few million dollars at minimum to never have his biggest star on his television again?" [From 1:02 to 1:48]

CM Punk was referenced on AEW TV this past week for the first time since All Out

While it looks as if AEW fans have seen the last of CM Punk, there was one glimmer of hope that shone through on the Title Tuesday edition of Dynamite.

In the lead-up to the ROH World Championship match between Chris Jericho and Dalton Castle, a video package was shown highlighting people who had previously held the title, with Punk being one of them.

This marked the first time that Punk had been mentioned or seen in any capacity since All Out, leading fans to believe that there was some good news around the corner.

This was coupled with the fact that AEW commentator Tony Schiavone mentioned The Elite by name during the match between Death Triangle and Best Friends, marking the first time that they had been mentioned since All Out as well.

Do you think CM Punk will return to AEW? Let us know what you think in the comments section down below!

Please credit the Jim Cornette Experience and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.