AEW fans haven't seen The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) on television since All Out, and that might not change anytime soon. The three men were allegedly involved in a backstage altercation with CM Punk and Ace Steel after the self-proclaimed Best In The World went nuclear during his media scrum following the pay-per-view on September 4. Punk blasted the EVPs of AEW, which include Omega and The Young Bucks, and implored anyone who had a problem with him to find him and deal with it.
The Elite allegedly took Punk up on that within minutes of him leaving the media scrum, and a brawl reportedly broke out. Tony Khan stripped Omega and The Young Bucks of the trios titles that were debuted at All Out, while Punk vacated the World Championship due to an injury sustained during his main event match with Jon Moxley. The ramifications of the alleged fight have been far-reaching, with The Elite being held off television while internal investigations were conducted.
In the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer offered the following update about why Omega and The Young Bucks are "on hold": "Regarding the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, they all hadn't heard anything from the company at least as of a few days ago." He continued, writing that "the belief is that their situation is on hold pending potential legal action, which unless cleared up, could delay things for some time and there is also a second hold up that hasn't been made clear."
AEW Soldiers On Without The Elite (& Punk)
On paper, Omega, Matt and Nick Jackson, and CM Punk are four of the biggest stars in AEW. Losing them in one fell swoop could have been a brutal blow to Khan's wrestling promotion. Instead, All Elite Wrestling has soldered on, racking up a million-dollar gate during the Grand Slam edition of Dynamite and putting on several shows that averaged more than one million viewers. Rampage is still struggling, but that would be the case even with The Elite and Punk active.
Several other stars have stepped up to the plate in the wake of All Out's events. Moxley remains AEW's true MVP, while MJF has made the most of his shocking return at the last pay-per-view. Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia have also been given prominent spots on Dynamite, while established stars like Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson continue to have great matches with younger talents. The company still has numerous underutilized stars who could be a boon for ratings, but Punk's and the alleged conflict they caused at All Out forced AEW into scramble mode. Perhaps the most significant indicator of where the company stands in the eyes of fans will be how well the Full Gear pay-per-view sells on November 19.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter