Mark Henry seemingly shares his thoughts on the incident involving CM Punk and Jack Perry.
At AEW All In, CM Punk and Jack Perry were reportedly involved in a backstage confrontation. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp first reported the news. Tony Khan then confirmed that there was an incident, but he did not name Perry or Punk. The two stars were reportedly suspended following the confrontation.
Speaking with Dave LaGreca on Busted Open, Henry and LeGreca discussed the bad publicity AEW was getting coming out of AEW All In due to the reported confrontation between Punk and Perry. LeGreca noted that you don't want to let the bad publicity take away from the historic show. Henry then described how maturity comes with experience and, sometimes, a kick in the behind.
"Maturity comes with experience. Look what we’re talking about. We’re talking about a company that’s still young. My wife told me yesterday, she said, ‘Our kids are awesome, but they’re still kids, and they’re immature. They need grace and guidance and a kick in the ass every now and then.’ I’ve given them grace. Tony’s given them grace. He’s given them guidance. When is the kick in the ass coming? Sometimes, you need it. I had it. Didn’t want it. Didn’t like it. I don’t know if it can be explained any better. Sometimes, you need forgiveness. You always need forgiveness, and you also need a second chance. You need grace. But ultimately, Dave, when you make mistakes, there has to be consequences for your mistakes. Otherwise, you’re gonna do it again because there’s no consequences," Henry said.
LaGreca noted that, as a leader, people will take advantage of you if you're soft. He stated that leaders have to be strong, and they need to know when it's necessary to take things to the next level. Henry emphasized that, sometimes, it's important to make a business decision to get everyone on the same page.
“They’ll manipulate you. You’re thinking, ‘You know what, I get along with this person. They co-sign for my philosophies, and my ideals, and they say, ‘Hey, man, I’m always here for you. Listen, whatever you need, brother, I’m here.’ Then they do all of that, and then they try to turn you against everybody else. That’s manipulation. Sometimes, you gotta be able to say, ‘You know what? This is a business decision. I love you like a brother, but I can’t co-sign for that, and this is what we’re gonna do from here on out.’ Once everybody is in alignment, and you know that, wow, even the number one friend can get disciplined, it’s an awesome thing. Then everybody can run with the understanding that we’re working for the company, we’re working for the business," Henry said.
When LaGreca highlighted AEW's impressive growth, Henry drew a comparison between Tony Khan and Vince McMahon, given their positions with their respective companies. The veteran also made it clear that WWE and AEW can't truly be compared, as WWE had a head start, but AEW's success is evident.
"He’s done stuff that nobody’s ever done. I think the only person that probably has faced what Tony is facing is Vince. They may be the only two conglomerates, like big, big business that have faced those issues. Vince got a 50-something year jump. So you can’t compare the trio because there were things that were ironed out already before Vince Jr. took it. Tony had to eat all of those mistakes. He’s gotta make all of those decisions on the fly, and he’s succeeding. Look at what he’s doing," Henry said.
Henry did not explicitly name Punk or Perry. Likewise, he did not specifically bring up the report that the two men have been suspended following the confrontation.
Fightful will continue to monitor the situation and provide information as it becomes available.
MJF commented on being a leader in AEW. Click here to see what he had to say.
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