Several big name veteran wrestlers talk about how AEW and Tony Khan can react and grow from the controversies with CM Punk

The fallout from the firing of C.M. Punk from AEW isn’t entirely clear yet as AEW adjusts the main event scene, redirects wrestlers who were slated to face Punk in coming months, and adjust the identity of their Saturday series, AEW Collision. The locker room is also adjusting, as a leadership void opened up in Punk’s absence behind the scenes, not just on TV. Wrestlers are also keeping an eye on whether Tony Khan adjusts his leadership style in the wake of the Punk situation.

Veteran wrestler and trainer Al Snow suggests Tony Khan aim more for being respected than being liked after the difficulty he had with C.M. Punk.

“Punk’s got a very strong personality,” Snow told Forbes. “The problem with Punk is you have to have strong leadership, and you have to have as strong a personality as the talent do. And that’s where things can go astray. I think Tony Khan’s a really good guy, but I think for the sake of AEW in these situations—they always come up, the Punk situation is not an unusual circumstance—we’ve had those type of things happen here. But there’s a certain modicum of respect that I have, and as a result, I’m able to direct those people even when those situations occur.

“I don’t worry about being liked, I worry about being respected. I think Tony wants to be liked, and he should be more focused on being respected. There were lots of times I didn’t like Vince McMahon. He can be an incredible bully. He could be nasty. I’ve always respected him. Always.”

Kevin Nash said on the Kliq This podcast that Khan would benefit from having a deputy working between him and the wrestlers with a strong personality who can demand respect from wrestlers or hold then accountable.

“I just think that Tony Khan needs to get somebody there to be the heater,” Nash said. “He needs to bring somebody in. Vince wouldn’t put up with that shit. It’s disrespectful to Tony. To me, Punk is almost a bully at this point because he knows that Tony is not, that’s just not in his DNA.”

Regarding Punk, Nash said he thinks Punk needs counseling.“Honest to God, I mean, this is in all seriousness, what I take from this whole thing is he needs serious help,” Nash said. “He needs mental help. When it becomes destructive, when there’s a chance this costs you millions of dollars and you just continue to push and push and push. They have to (let him go). I’ll tell you right now man, if I would have broke in and saw some mother—-er doing that sh–, I would have said, ‘Oh if he can get away with that, well f—, then I’m going to do it.” [h/t WrestlingNews.co]

Bryan Danielson told Sports Illustrated that a loss of a top wrestler like Punk can either bring a locker room together or divide it

“In any job, when you lose somebody who’s very important, or you lose somebody you really like working with, that’s hard,” Danielson said. “But everyone keeps doing the job. And any time there is loss or controversy or struggle inside an organization, it’s a chance to bring people closer. It’s also a chance to divide people.

“So you have this thing where you can use struggle to make your life worse, or you can use struggle to make your life better. When I lost my father, I came out on the backside. I was worse. Struggling with my depression, I’ve come out of it better. So how you approach something and how you learn from something, that’s what makes the difference.”

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