AEW Wrestler Sends Complaint Over Abuse They Suffered In The Company

CM Punk’s issues in AEW are still being felt.

We know that while CM Punk was in AEW things did not always go according to plan. He had a backstage altercation with The Elite that led to multiple people being suspended. When Collision was started it was dubbed “Punk’s show” and that he was able to say who was or was not allowed at the show. Then there was the Jak Perry incident that ultimately led to him being fired by the company. Now more Punk drama is turning back up.

According to a new report from Fightful, they state that they have obtained a complaint sent to numerous All Elite Wrestling executives back in September, in which Ryan Nemeth had outlined and highlighted a timeline of abuse, harassment, and threats while working for AEW.

The complaint itself was dated September 12 and noted that although the abuse came from CM Punk/Phil Brooks, who is now signed to WWE, the real issue was how AEW failed to respond to incidents that occurred and was encouraged to cut a promo antagonizing Punk.  Nemeth included emails, texts, phone call logs, and other records. In this complaint, CM Punk is referred to as “a former AEW talent who also had an undisclosed (i.e. not publicly known) Executive/Producer/Manager title with AEW.”

On April 16, 2023, Nemeth claims that he contacted AEW Lega rep at the time Megha Parekh with concerns that he was being targeted by Brooks. He then notes that on June 21, 2023, Brooks threatened him in the locker room. He claims that Tony Schiovane, Parekh, and the Young Bucks all showed him empathy, and says was assured him that his relationship with AEW wouldn’t be impacted. Yet after the incident, he was not booked for two months, and that he was contacted by Jon Moxley. Moxley said that this did not sit right with him and supported Nemeth through the timeline.

It was noted that on July 17, 2023, Nemeth contacted Parekh to communicate that he was upset AEW had not responded to the June locker room incident, and he believed he had been “silently fired.” He believed that this exclusive paid-per-appearance deal would be allowed to expire. Nemeth claims he felt as if he was being punished, but was once again assured that speaking up would not impact his job. Reportedly the Punk confrontation stemmed from a tweet of Nemeth’s in which he called Punk “Litterally the softest man alive.” Nemeth claims to have sent that Tweet in character.

Nemeth was then booked for the first time in two months on August 12. Upon arriving in Greensboro for the AEW show, Nemeth was asked to leave. AEW’s Pat Buck had originally told Nemether that there was travel confusion before confirming it was Punk who demanded he be removed from the venue. This was reportedly not just a thing Nemeth faced as a number of talents were kept off shows at the demand of Punk. Nemeth claims to have an audio recording of some of his interactions on that day.

Nemeth says he once again contacted Parakh pleading that action be taken. He was then flown to the August 16 show. He stated in the document he was “ordered to verbally antagonize the “World Champion” (Brooks is AEW Collision World Champion at the time) in a promo in front of the live crowd, taped for AEW programming.

Nemeth claims that he spoke to AEW legal and HR that day and there was no appropriate response to anything on the situation. Megha Parekh had abruptly left her role in AEW legal, and Nemeth was now having to deal with Chris Peck and Margaret Stalvey. After Punk’s incident with Jack Perry at ALL IN in 2023, Nemeth was asked to speak to outside counsel as they were now investigating the situation. Nemeth notes how he let them know that he had already been speaking up regarding the pattern of behavior for months, and was concerned about being made the fall guy for Punk’s behavior.

Those that Fightful spoke to stated how they just wanted to hear different people out regarding Punk’s future with AEW and not looking into Nemeth’s claims regarding Punk. Nemeth says he’s told that his contract will not be left to expire while continuing to communicate his concerns of such.

Nemeth then worked for AEW on November 18, 2023, the week CM Punk would return to WWE. He claims that he believed Tony Khan and AEW held him responsible for having CM Punk fired and leading to his return to WWE. Nemeth’s contract with the company would later expire in March of 2024. He says that Sonya Dutt had made repeated creative pitches for him that went ignored.

After completing his outlined timeline, Nemeth says that AEW Legal rep Chris Peck communicated a settlement interest that would equal approximately three years of his salary, dependent on him signing an NDA on the matter itself. Nemeth claims that he appreciated the offer and wanted to look it over with his own legal counsel, yet the offer has since been no longer an option. The documents claim that Peck told Nemeth that he’d “be placed in an antagonistic position to Megha if things ever escalated to arbitration.” Yet Nemeth claimed to have always had a positive and respectful working relationship with Parekh. Nemeth has also claimed that Peck threatened to sue him in response to sending the aforementioned timeline.

Nemeth now claims that he’s met with mental health professionals over the matter and is seeking policy change along with the financial consideration that was discussed. He noted that he felt the roster in AEW was of amazing people who deserve a safer environment and didn’t think Punk was the catalyst for the contrary, as he thinks it would likely be someone else.  He claims that his concerns fell on deaf ears to Chris Peck and AEW along with others that have communicated those issues to Peck.

The document noted that AEW Legal and HR received the timeline, but not Peck himself as things had reached a stonewall with him. He also made it known that Megha Parekh, the Young Bucks, and Jon Moxley were helpful during the situation. Nemeth did speak with Tony Khan and others months ago, and Khan had entertained the idea of Nemeth returning to AEW. Yet at the time, Nemeth did not wish to.

Fightful claims that they have reached out to AEw for comment on this situation and have not heard anything back.