CM Punk and Colt Cabana's former friendship has seemingly been at the center of AEW's most hotly debated controversy. To add some insight into the state of the two stars' current relationship, WCW legend Konnan recalled a conversation he allegedly had with Cabana shortly after Punk was signed.
Colt Cabana and CM Punk have a storied history. The two were trained by the recently released Ace Steel and notably captured the ROH Tag Team Championships together during the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, after a hefty legal altercation following Punk's WWE departure, their friendship ended.
During a recent episode of Keepin' It 100, Konnan stated that it seemed like Colt Cabana knew he'd be fired from AEW soon because of CM Punk's presence.
"When I saw Colt Cabana backstage, I remember asking him: ‘Yo, what’s up with you now that Punk’s back?’ and he goes ‘Yeah man, we’re not really talking.’ Come on dude! After all these years and you guys were boys? ‘Yeah man, he still won’t talk to me.’ He would kind of look around, right, like he knew – now that I look back – he knew he was probably gonna get the axe from Punk." (15:15 onward)
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Despite Cabana's recent appearance on AEW Dynamite, according to a report, the star's return was only a one-off and a way for Tony Khan to improve backstage morale. However, Cabana is still under contract with Tony Khan and is expected to continue working with ROH.
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Konnan also believes that Colt Cabana's absence from AEW was likely due to backstage politics that CM Punk might have kicked off
While its never been confirmed, many fans online believe that CM Punk had a hand in Colt Cabana's AEW disappearance and delegation to Ring of Honor. However, Punk notably shot this notion down during his infamous post-All Out rant.
Continuing on the same episode of Keepin' It 100, Konnan stated that he was happy to see Colt Cabana back in AEW and that he looked good in his match with Chris Jericho.
"Now that I think back to that day, I remember telling him: ‘Bro, you can’t even sit down and just say hey, let’s reset our relationship?’ He says ‘Nah man, he won’t even talk to me.’ But anyways, I was happy to see him back, because obviously he was a victim of some sort of chicanery there – politics – and he looked good. Jericho did a great job of making him look good." (15:55 onward).
It remains to be seen if CM Punk will end up returning or not, but the star has reportedly "caught the wrestling bug", which could land him back in the squared circle regardless. Only time will tell, but so far the reports are either conflicting or seemingly one-sided.