In a year that featured some pretty incredible returns, debuts, and shocking booking decisions, no story garnered more interest – and was more impactful – across the professional wrestling landscape in 2023 than the “Brawl In” between “Jungle Boy” Jack Pery and CM Punk ahead of the former's match with Samoa Joe at All In 2023.
On paper, it makes sense, right? After dominating headlines in the fall of 2022 for fighting with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks at All Out, and becoming a popular topic of conversation when he returned to the ring as part of the launch of Collision in 2023, Punk finally stepped over the line at AEW's biggest show ever and was fired a week later after making Tony Khan fear for his life at Wembley Stadium.
While all parties involved have tried to move on, with Punk making his return to WWE at Survivor Series and AEW switching champions at Worlds End from MJF to Joe, DJ Whoo Kid reopened the conversation a few weeks back when he explained what he saw at Wembley, and described the event as a bloody brawl in the vein of old ECW.
Asked about what he saw at All In during an interview with ESPN ahead of his AEW World Championship match with HOOK, Joe provided some additional insight into the incident, and needless to say, he was much less dramatic than Top Dolla's personal DJ.
“There was a little bit of an incident. We got it broken up. We went out there and wrestled, man,” Samoa Joe told ESPN. “That's the gist of it. Everybody wants it to be a lot more than what it is, but that's what it was. And to speak any more on it would be pointless unless you're trying to get a scorecard and stuff — but trust me, it wasn't that type of a fight.”
Asked if it was a big deal by ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Joe said no, as in professional wrestling, things happen.
“Not to me. I've seen fights break out. Stuff happens,” Joe noted. “But again, that's me. I've been in these situations, I've seen that. I'll find it funny when people are like, ‘Oh, Joe's cool with it.' I mean, nah man, it was a high-stress situation. Sure. But I mean, it's one I've seen happen many times. We get it squashed out. We had a show to do. We had [81,035] fans waiting out there. And that was my focus, because that's what it was about at that moment. We're about to go out and have the best night of our lives.”
Will fans ever know exactly what happened at All In? Frankly, that depends on how long Tony Khan locked everyone up on NDAs. Fortunately, as fans learned from DJ Whoo Kid's comments, every single person who was backstage wasn't forced to sign a vow of silence on the event, so who knows, maybe there will be a tell-all story written on the event at some point in the future, even if the sources are kept anonymous for the sake of legal protections.
Samoa Joe weighs in on Tony Khan's HOOK-Jinder Mahal discourse.
Elsewhere in his conversation with Marc Raimondi of ESPN, Samoa Joe was asked about Tony Khan's tweets regarding HOOK and Jinder Mahal, which holds particular significance, considering he's the one who has to wrestle the FTW Champion this week on Dynamite. While Joe sees no issue with HOOK as a challenger, as he's got a near-unblemished record, he was amused by the online discourse all the same.
“I don't know. That had nothing to do with me. I mean, that's just really a cute little debate,” Samoa Joe told ESPN. “I'm glad everybody's chimed in on it. But on paper, Hook sounds like the perfect challenger. I mean, he's 29-1. He's got the stats, but let's see if he's got the heart. And I think that's what this match is really about. We've set a new standard for who will get the championship shots around here. And it's gonna bring up a lot of discussion and disagreements. So, I more than welcome this opening chapter. And as for Hook, I mean, he's a tremendous young athlete. When you look at this guy, you look at a guy with limitless potential. He has the pedigree. We will take him in and find out what he's made of.”
After watching Mahal take a pretty big loss to Seth Rollins on RAW, leaving the World Heavyweight Champion injured as a result, could TK use this match to make a statement, putting over Hook and making him the new AEW World Champion to capitalize on social media drama? I mean, sure, anything is possible, but frankly, that would feel like an incredibly reactionary move. Considering Joe's stature as a champion and a dominant in-ring performer, it's safe to say he should still be considered a heavy favorite in the match.
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