Dax Harwood discusses his relationship with Colt Cabana.
The infamous CM Punk press conference at AEW All Out began with Punk taking aim at Colt Cabana. The former friends turned into enemies after Cabana sued Punk for over $1 million following their court victory against WWE doctor Christopher Amann in August 2018. Punk countersued and the lawsuits were eventually settled and dismissed in September 2019.
When Punk joined AEW in August 2021, Cabana started appearing less regularly on television. Cabana's contract expired for two days in early 2022, but he was re-signed and moved to the ROH brand. Tony Khan denied that CM Punk had asked for Cabana to be moved.
Speaking on FTR, Dax Harwood, one of Punk's top friends in AEW, was asked about Cabana and his relationship with him.
"I don't know Colt very well. The very first day we were in the company, I could be wrong, I felt Colt didn't like us. There are some people who didn't like us. I remember that he made fun of my accent the very first day, and I wasn't very happy with that. I take offense to that, and maybe I shouldn't, but if people knew my backstory and how hard I worked to get the education that I got -- I was in college, my mom and dad both lost their jobs within a month of each other, I had nobody to help me with rent or books or food or anything. I had to work three jobs, plus wrestling on the weekends, just so I could pay for college, and I paid for my own college. I got a degree at UNCW [University of North Carolina Wilmington], a bachelor's in English and a bachelor's in business communication. It was all through my efforts. If people saw the sleepless nights that I had, the nights that I cried because I was worried that I wouldn't get this or the nights that I had negative dollars in my bank account because I was paying for books and putting things on credit cards, I think maybe they could understand it then, but for him to make fun of my accent, because the connotation is, if you're a southerner, you're stupid, that bothers me. Maybe I shouldn't let it bother me. That was the very first run in I had with Colt. Other than that, I never really had a conversation with him, never talked to him, nothing like that," he recalled.
When asked if people were talking about what would happen to Colt when Punk arrived or what happened when Colt stopped appearing on TV, Dax said, "Absolutely not. No one said anything to me. I heard nothing. When he first got there, no one said anything. To be honest, I really had no idea there was any kind of problem between the two. I knew there were issues with the lawsuit with the doctor, but I had no idea the extent of the problems they may have had, and I never cared to ask because it's none of my business. That kind of stuff, I don't worry about. No one ever said anything to me, and I say no one, Punk included, Colt included. They never mentioned any kind of ill feelings towards one another."
Cabana returned to AEW television on the November 2 episode of AEW Dynamite to challenge Chris Jericho for the ROH World Title.
Punk hasn't been on AEW TV since AEW All Out when he won the AEW World Title from Jon Moxley, but suffered an injury in the match and was then suspended for his role in an altercation with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson). Fans can read Dax's comments on the Punk's final months in AEW by clicking here.
The full episode of FTR drops on Thursday, December 29 on all podcast platforms. Fans can check it out at FTR With Dax or on YouTube at Watch Dax. Fans can also subscribe to AdFreeShows for early access to a plethora of podcasts including shows with Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Eric Bischoff, and more.
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