Fightful Select is reporting that more people are talking Ace Steel was released on Tuesday from AEW. He had worked as a producer backstage.
The report notes the following:
-There was said to be “a unanimous consensus” that Steel’s departure was expected. Also if there had had not been pending legal issues, he would have been released the week of the backstage fight that took place at All Out. The following week, most everyone thought that they were effectively done working with Steel. It was also said that Steel being a long-time friend to CM Punk complicated things.
-One longtime AEW talent that had been on good terms with Steel said the “writing was on the wall” immediately after the altercation when the bite marks on Kenny Omega were very visible.
-A veteran talent said releasing Steel was a no-brainer, and bringing him back into the locker room, with or without Punk could have caused a ton of frustration. Another talent said the situation has not been talked about much in recent weeks, especially after a talent meeting that was led by Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley.
-Steel’s departure marked the most movement on the situation. Not only was Steel released this week, but The Elite was mentioned on AEW Dynamite during commentary for the first time since the incident, and Punk was featured in a ROH World Title video, and The Young Bucks were seen in a commercial for AEW Rampage. However, Punk, Omega and The Young Bucks still have not been added back to the Dynamite intro.
-However, Tuesday also marked the first time there has been talk, or movement, or optimism on “potential returns,” though that was said to have been left vague. It was noted the parties involved are more in contact with AEW now than they have been.