CM Punk reportedly needs surgery and will be gone from AEW for a while (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Meltzer has now confirmed that Punk has a torn left triceps. Whether or not he’s had surgery for the injury remains unknown.

The original story is below this line.

CM Punk was said to be seriously injured during his AEW world championship victory against Jon Moxley at All Out 2022. The injury was apparently bad enough that a title change would be made even if Punk didn’t blow up at the All Out media scrum and get into a backstage fight with the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega.

Punk was indeed stripped of the title on last night’s (Sept. 7) episode of Dynamite, though his name wasn’t mentioned on the broadcast, nor did Tony Khan explain why the decision was made.

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that Punk has a torn muscle in his arm that requires surgery and will put him on the shelf for a long time:

“He may have already undergone surgery. Either way, he’s undergoing surgery. And it was not confirmed to me it was a torn triceps, but it was confirmed to me that it’s surgery for a torn muscle in the arm. So that’s triceps, biceps, maybe pec. But probably triceps. That’s usually about an eight month or so recovery period. So he was gonna be stripped of the title either way.”

Punk had surgery on his foot earlier this year and missed most of the summer as a result. That he already suffered another injury so soon after returning to the ring makes Moxley’s recent words about Punk having a “fragile body” seem somewhat prophetic.

There is an ongoing investigation into the melee between Punk and The Elite that could determine whether or not Punk is fired by Tony Khan. Will this injury further complicate the timing of AEW’s decision on Punk’s future with the company?

Let us know your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, Cagesiders.