>>16461547CM Punk was still hired in AEW when Fish got released/have his contract extension denied.
The persistent rumor is Fish got him fired for the heat he got for kicking out of his finisher unannounced. In the match Punk hit it, but struggled a bit to cover him immediately after so it's. and there was a mixed signals given according to Fish which made him try a kick out which the ref counted anyway.
The dumb part is that the match and finish being a bit more scuffed told a better story for the match because the cover up was slightly delayed, imho. Punk wasn't exactly the ripped roided Punk he is now in WWE so him coming to close finish seemed like a much deserved fair rub for Fish who was being lost in the shuffle of AEW roster bloat. But it was considered a bad move by some because you don't bury someones finisher they are trying to protect.
Fish goes to detail about it around 5:00 mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnQf93bPwMoAt 7:45 he talks about what the fall out was and how he perceived the follow up right after the match as politicking
Obviously Fish doesn't like Phil and talks shit about his martial arts skills and athleticism so he's not a 100% reliable witness either.
