If AEW, Tony Khan, or the rest of the locker room needed a wake-up call, there may be none bigger than the reported ease at which their shows have operated over the past couple of weeks as names like CM Punk, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and others have been on leave due to suspension. Reports are that the backstage morale in AEW is much better since those talents were suspended for their involvement in an alleged backstage melee and that has to be a sign worth paying attention to.

AEW held another mandatory talent meeting on Wednesday prior to their historic episode of Dynamite where three different title belts changed hands. It is being said that these talent meetings are happening with more frequency and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Ringside News): reports that "A longtime AEW talent that we spoke with said the last three weeks have been much more laid back than how things were in the weeks that led up to AEW All Out." He adds, "Another veteran claimed that the locker room has been the best over the last three tapings than it's been in quite a while."

Related: CM Punk Not Expected To Return To AEW

While the report didn't go so far as to mention a name, the assumption seems to be that it is CM Punk's absence that is making the biggest difference. There were previous reports that he did not make a lot of friends backstage and his comments following the All Out pay-per-view seemed to corroborate that fact. He mentioned working with "children" and a "bunch of pricks" during his media conference. Sapp reports, "An AEW source we spoke to used the term 'addition by subtraction,' but wouldn't specify who they meant specifically in that regard."

Is AEW Better Off?

It might be unfair to say for certain that Punk is the subtraction from backstage that seems to have put the roster in better spirits, but if it is him, is it fair to say that AEW is better off if he doesn't return? Reports on Thursday also indicated that he's certainly not guaranteed to return and that a buyout of his contract is a possibility. If Khan knows that a happy locker room exists without one or two people behind the scenes stirring the pot, perhaps he'll side with the majority.

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