7 months ago
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After footage of the infamous All In 2023 scuffle between CM Punk and Jack Perry controversially aired on the April 10 episode of "AEW Dynamite," the wrestling community was seemingly set ablaze. Everybody seems to have an opinion on both the backstage altercation itself and the decision to air the video, but if Perry's actions at NJPW's Windy City Riot show Friday night are an indicator, AEW has no intention of easing off the gas.
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Perry made his entrance in Chicago with his back turned to the crowd. Draped over his shoulders was the Chicago flag — something CM Punk has popularized in the sphere of professional wrestling. Perry dramatically dropped the flag to reveal the words "cry me a river" painted in white on the back of his leather jacket. During his subsequent match with Shota Umino, Perry rubbed more salt into the reopened wound by attempting the GTS, Punk's signature move — Umino reversed into a DDT, however, before hitting a Death Rider to win the match.
Jack Perry with the Cry Me A River jacket tonight! pic.twitter.com/ZBQeTgBSbK
— Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) April 13, 2024
Perry's All In encounter with Punk led to Perry's indefinite suspension, as well as Punk's dismissal from AEW, back in September 2023. According to Punk, the fight started over a disagreement on whether to use real glass during a match, with Perry aggressively disregarding anybody who disagreed with his idea. Perry would go on to look into the camera while fighting around a car on the All In pre-show and say "Real glass, cry me a river"; this enraged Punk, who can be seen in the footage confronting Perry and then shoving him, initiating the physical conflict. Tony Khan would publicly announce Punk's dismissal shortly thereafter. He returned to WWE in November, while Perry popped up in NJPW with his current "Scapegoat" nickname in January and joined the House of Torture faction. Perry is widely expected to be on his way back to AEW programming as part of the Young Bucks angle that provided the justification for airing the footage Wednesday night.
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