Samoa Joe: CM Punk incident at AEW All didn’t seem very intense to me

AEW is doing a lot of media in support of their annual “Grand Slam” show tomorrow (Sept. 20) at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.

That means opportunities for reporters and interviewers to ask about things like CM Punk. And since one of the men in the main event of Dynamite Grand Slam is Samoa Joe, who was Punk’s opponent immediately after the incidents backstage at All In in Wembley Stadium on Aug. 27 which ultimately led to his firing, and who was praised in reports for getting the show back on track despite whatever drama occurred…

The New York Post’s Joseph Staszewski asked Joe if those reports about what went on between Punk and Jack Perry, and Punk and AEW owner/president/booker Tony Khan, were accurate, or if there was anything he’s “want to set a record straight on?”

Joe replied:

“For the most part, I haven’t read what’s been portrayed. There’s been so much said. I’m not the one to go out there and try to debunk everything. I know we had the initial incident. Everybody rallied. Everybody got together. Got their heads together and lined up and got ready to do the show and we went out there and we did the show.

“That really was the focus at that point in time. We got a massive show to do and we got fans out there rabid to see that happen. So it’s important that we step up and do it and it’s important that we did and I was proud to be a part of that.”

In his remarks explaining the decision to fire Punk, Khan infamously stated that he felt his life was in danger backstage in London. When Staszewski asked him if the scene was “as intense as it sounded in that moment”, Joe said:

“That’s up to whoever perceived it. I’m used to that environment. Those things don’t seem very intense to me, but it could be something crazy intense to someone else. I wasn’t really affected by the moment. I was more focused on getting the show back on track and getting us going because it was bell time.”

Joe’s focus on his own perceptions and experiences, and desire to not validate or invalidate the perceptions and experiences of others, was also evident when Staszewski tried to ask him if he feels Punk has been generally “misunderstood or misportrayed”. Here’s how Joe answered that:

“I’d imagine there are tons of things that are misunderstood or portrayed about him. Now, what those things are it’s who’s representing in what way. I can’t really give you a blanket statement as far as what those things are. For the most part, our relationship has been very, especially for these years, has been very non-wrestling related. It’s just been extraneous stuff outside of the world of wrestling and talking about life stuff.”

You can check out The New York Post’s entire story on their interview with Samoa Joe, which also features a lot of talk about him challenging MJF for the AEW World title tomorrow night in New York City and some about his time working with the late Bray Wyatt in WWE, here.