“As much empathy as I have for Tony, and I’m really trying to put myself in his shoes — because I’ve been in that type of situation — but, you’ve gotta make a stand,” Bischoff stressed. “Being wishy-washy and saying ‘we’re not really sure’ … you owe it to your audience to either say ‘yes, he will,’ or ‘no, he won’t.’ 

“And there’s nothing wrong with [making] a compromise,” Bischoff continued. “Because he [Punk] was advertised for the show — let him work the show and then suspend him. But this whole, ‘I don’t know if he will or won’t’ … that’s weak.”

Bischoff reiterated that “a vast majority of the audience” would respect Tony Khan for “having a backbone” and taking a stance one way or another about Punk. Furthermore, he believes Khan would be holding Punk accountable for his alleged actions at All In, rather than setting a wrong precedent for the rest of the roster. And in the event that Khan does suspend Punk for All Out, he’d be opening the doors to severe backlash, Bischoff opined. 

“If Tony decides not to put him [Punk] on [at All Out], he’s going to look horrible, because people are gonna know, ‘Wait a minute … you knew all this stuff … and you didn’t tell us till the last minute?'”

If Punk does indeed work All Out, there’s no word on his opponent for Sunday’s show. It was previously reportedly that Punk vs. Ricky Starks was planned for the pay-per-view, but the match was nixed after Punk’s alleged actions at All In. Starks would instead be wrestling Ricky Steamboat in a Strap Match at the United Center.