Hangman Page reportedly isn’t the only one who’s been sent home from Collision

After CM Punk reacted to Hangman Page supporters in the crowd at the Aug. 12 taping of AEW Collision in Greensboro, North Carolina by taking a shot at Page in an in-ring promo after the show went off the air, there was much discussion of whether Punk was just having fun “working the marks”, setting the stage for a pro wrestling program with Hangman & his friends in The Elite, or a sign of lingering animus between the two sides of last year’s much-covered drama.

Most sources, including PWInsider, shot down the storyline idea. In support of that last theory came a Wrestling Observer report that Page was booked to film a Dynamite segment at Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday night, but was told he couldn’t be at the Collision taping.

Page seemed to be referring to that incident in an Instagram Story of what looked like a hotel room with a Greensboro location tag and the song “My Kink is Karma” by Chappell Roan.

Fightful Select then noted that Page wasn’t the only person turned away from the building in Greensboro. Ryan Nemeth was brought into town for the tapings, which also included upcoming episodes of Ring of Honor’s streaming show. Upon arriving at the Coliseum, however, Nemeth was allegedly told by a coach that he wouldn’t be needed. A flight was then been booked for him to fly home.

That report points out that Nemeth is a regular on The Young Bucks’ YouTube series, Being The Elite. It also said that Nemeth’s tweet alluding to Punk as “the softest man alive” after his AEW return promo led to a meeting between the two men. Things remained calm when Dolph Ziggler’s younger brother explained his since-deleted message, but apparently that may not have resolved the issue.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer directly made the connection between Nemeth’s tweet and his being turned away Saturday night. Meltzer & Bryan Alvarez also said Nemeth & Page aren’t the only ones this has happened to in Collision’s brief history. On past Saturdays Matt Hardy and Christopher Daniels — whose corporate title with AEW is Manager of Talent Relations — have also been sent home after being booked to do something at a Collision/ROH taping.

Both men have long-standing relationships with Matt & Nick Jackson, which is why Meltzer added, “Everyone believes that it’s Punk. I’m sure that [AEW owner] Tony [Khan] will say it’s not Punk, just like he did before [about Colt Cabana last year in the lead-up to Brawl Out].”

Reporting on this story has of course become a huge part of the story, with Punk and others accusing Meltzer of only getting information from those close to The Bucks. In the months following the events after All Out 2022, reports came out from other outlets sourced to Punk’s camp. We’ll see if one of those is forthcoming after Punk’s remarks Saturday set off this latest flurry of news about AEW’s seemingly never-ending behind-the-scenes drama.

UPDATE: It’s here!