CM Punk revealed he called Tony Khan a "clown" when quitting AEW minutes before taking part in a match at a packed Wembley Stadium.
The wrestling icon - who returned to WWE last November after nine years - was a guest on The MMA Hour on Monday (April 1) as he discussed his controversial departure from Khan's company with the show's host Ariel Helwani.
Tony is the son of billionaire Shahid Khan, who owns NFL franchise the Jacksonville Jaguars as well as Premier League side Fulham. The American became the owner and president of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, which has since become the second biggest wrestling organisation in the world.
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SkyPunk, 45, joined AEW in 2021 after seven years away from the wrestling business and became a two-time world champion in the organisation.
However, rivalries with a number of fellow wrestlers soured his time at AEW which came to a head at the company's pay-per-view event All In at Wembley last August.
Prior to his match with Samoa Joe, Punk got into it with wrestler Jack Perry who aimed an indirect jab at him during his match as he admitted the situation became physical between the pair.
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He told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour: "Jack came back from his match, I was the next match, and I've got people with me. I'm not going to say who they are, because I've got a lot of friends that work there and I don't want them to be punished for being friends with me.
"I walk up and I'm like, "why do you insist on doing this dumb internet s*** on TV?" And he was like 'well if you've got a problem do something about it' and I'm like 'come on man, I'd f***ing kill you, what are we doing?'"
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The Chicago native said instead of punching Perry, he proceeded to choke him as he jokingly claimed: "I thought I was doing the responsible thing".
He continued: "I didn't punch anybody, I just choked somebody a little bit. Samoa Joe was there, told me to stop, then I quit.
"I turned to Tony, I said this place is a f***ing joke man, you're a clown, I quit." Punk's departure allowed for his return to WWE at Survivor Series after nine years in what many regard as one of the greatest wrestling combacks of all-time.
