QT Marshall recently opened up about the rumors swirling around his exit from AEW and his relationship with CM Punk and Tony Khan.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Marshall agreed with Punk’s suggestion to be taken off AEW Collision because he didn’t want to be a manager for Powerhouse Hobbs. This sparked speculation that it had negatively impacted his standing with Tony Khan.
During a new interview on the Gabby AF Podcast with Gabby LaSpisa, Marshall addressed the long-standing rumor that Punk was responsible for driving a wedge between him and Khan. Marshall debunked the myth, clarifying that he and Punk actually had a mutual understanding after speaking directly.
“There was a huge misconception that him and I didn’t get along, that he put a wedge between Tony and I,” Marshall explained. “I don’t think that was the case because we actually spoke in Newark… I went right to the source and spoke to him like a man, and he listened to me like a man.”
Marshall revealed that the disagreement over managing Will Hobbs stemmed from their mutual desire for the best path for Hobbs, with Punk wanting to elevate Hobbs in a different direction, while Marshall didn’t want to take on a managerial role.
“We had another person in there, just in case, just so we could talk because I always felt like it’s easier just to do that. We both realized like, oh, he doesn’t want me with Will Hobbs because he saw more for Will, and I didn’t want to be with Will as his manager because I didn’t want to be a manager. That was the end of it, right? Then of course, like a month later, he was kind of gone anyway, so there was that.”
After Punk’s departure from AEW, rumors swirled that Marshall had left the company due to wanting to be a bigger star and that Punk had soured his relationship with Tony Khan. Marshall quickly shut this down. “Couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. While Marshall did leave AEW, it was not due to Punk, and instead, he was in Mexico proving himself by working matches, not chasing stardom.
Marshall made it clear that his decision to leave AEW wasn’t tied to any fallout with Punk or Khan. Instead, it was a personal choice made on his own terms.
