Tony Khan addresses firing Punk in front of crowd in Chicago before Collision goes live on TNT

AEW owner and booker Tony Khan addressed the fans in Chicago before Collision tonight, letting them know it was a tough decision to fire CM Punk but saying he did so to keep people in his company safe.

Khan did not mention Punk by name during his roughly five-minute speech. The United Center crowd in Chicago heavily booed Khan at the start. After they settled down, Khan turned part of the crowd back in his favor by taking about All In and All Out starting in Chicago and the importance of tradition.

The crowd mostly booed Khan when he got into the meat of his speech: why he fired Punk. Khan mostly stayed within the confines of his statement from Saturday afternoon. Khan talked about his disciplinary committee, mostly made up of lawyers. Khan indicated outside counsel was brought in for the review. The recommendation to part ways with Punk was unanimous, but the decision ultimately was his.

Khan said he had never experienced the type of outburst at a wrestling show like he did at All In in London last weekend. The incident put people who work in AEW in jeopardy, and he can’t have that in his wrestling company.

Khan apologized to the fans numerous times during his speech, saying it was one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make. And he really didn’t want to announce it in Chicago of all places (Punk, Phil Brooks, is from Chicago).

Collision started in the arena about a minute late. Khan made a pre-recorded statement at the start of Collision, which the crowd inside the building did not see.

The crowd was subdued before the show started. There was no dark match, which can be explained by Khan coming out for his speech.

(PWTorch contributor Eric Krol posted Khan’s speech in seven parts on TwitterX: LINK.)