The situation surrounding the AEW World Championship is a little clearer now following Tony Khan’s comments at AEW Dynamite.
Following CM Punk’s victory at AEW All Out, Tony Khan took to the ring tonight to announce that the AEW World Championship has been vacated, with no exact reasoning behind the move given.
With the title now once again open, a Grand Slam Tournament of Champions will take place, featuring Hangman Page, Bryan Danielson, Darby Allin, Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley all competing for the vacant title. The finals of the tournament will crown a new AEW World Champion, and will be held at AEW Dynamite’s Grand Slam episode on September 21, 2022.
The news comes after reports began surfacing this week that Punk had been hurt at some point on the night of AEW All Out’s pay-per-view. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful previously reported that, according to sources, Punk hurt his arm on a dive during his match with Moxley. He was said to be icing it after the bout and “hurt” before the melee.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that Punk’s injury is serious, and with Punk reportedly not even in Buffalo with All Elite Wrestling, it isn’t too shocking that Khan would vacate the championship.
#AEW President & CEO @TonyKhan is here to address both the #AEW World Championship & #AEW World Trios Championship. Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS right now! pic.twitter.com/jZbNwOQgZL
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 8, 2022
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