CM Punk Texted With Former WWE GM Following AEW All Out

It's been nearly three months since the infamous post-All Out backstage altercation involving CM Punk and The Elite, but it remains as hot a topic in the wrestling community as it did when it happened, especially with The Elite's return this weekend at Full Gear. The latest to offer up some perspective on what transpired is WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long. In an exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, Long revealed that he spoke to Punk "right after the [media scrum]" through text message.

"He's a straight-up guy, and if he feels that something is wrong, he's just going to speak about it," Long said. "And what I'm proud of is he's a guy that can speak. A lot of guys can't open their mouths and speak because they're worried about their jobs. So Punk wasn't worried about his job. He's said if he doesn't wrestle another day in his life, I think he's pretty much set." Long added, "So for him to be able to speak up and let the people in the company know just exactly what's going on and how he really feels, and there's a lot of guys I know would like to express how they really feel, but they can't."

The former "SmackDown" General Manager recalls that Punk seemed "okay" at the time of their exchange and was surprised Long reached out on a non-holiday, which is when they usually communicate. "I just told him, 'Congratulations, man. You did it again.'" Rumblings of talks between Punk and AEW on a potential contract buyout recently surfaced, but Tony Khan has also been unwilling to address Punk's overall status with the company, for better or worse. Punk is currently recovering from a triceps injury he suffered during his match with Jon Moxley at All Out.