Booker T Weighs In On AEW Airing Backstage Footage From All In

A dark cloud still lingers over AEW from the backstage fight at All In: London in August 2023 involving CM Punk and Jack Perry, which led to Perry's suspension and Punk's public firing. While Punk has moved on with his career in WWE, on the April 10 "AEW Dynamite," footage of his altercation with Perry was controversially aired on live television. On his podcast "The Hall of Fame," WWE Hall of Famer Booker T was very candid about his opinion on the decision to show the footage, having sharp words for the company,  "To put the footage out like that is kind of desperate," the five-time WCW Champion said. "It's a desperate move to actually show that footage."

The decorated wrestling legend commented that this move does nothing positive for AEW, and may actually backfire by pushing away fans, "No matter what, it's not gonna endear those Punk fans to still watch AEW — to stick around and wanna be a part of that thing. It's gonna run those Punk fans off more than it's gonna keep them around. Just talking about CM Punk from that side over there is a bad look for those guys, cause I would imagine there's still a lot of CM Punk fans that still watch that show and go support it."

Booker joins the same camp as several high-profile wrestling industry names, including Eric Bischoff and D-Von Dudley, who have recently voiced their disapproval of AEW's contentious tactic to draw viewers. 

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Hall of Fame" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.