The debut episode of AEW Collision was a successful one when it comes to TV ratings.
Per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, the June 17 premiere of AEW’s new Saturday night prime time show saw 816,000 viewers tune in for a card headlined by the return of CM Punk. It also scored a 0.33 mark in the crucial 18-49 demographic, making it the No. 3 cable original for the night, behind only UFC Fight Night and the College World Series on ESPN.
Those numbers were essentially on par with what AEW Dynamite pulls in, as AEW’s existing ‘A’ show had 832,000 viewers last week (June 14). Dynamite’s rating in the 18-49 demo tends to be slightly lower than the Collision debut.
While the ratings numbers are certainly a positive for AEW as it doubles the amount of live wrestling it broadcasts each week (Rampage will continue to be pre-recorded most weeks), the true tests for Collision lie ahead once the summer is over. There are several headwinds the show will face come the fall, including increased competition from sports like college football and the fact that Saturday night simply isn’t a strong TV night all around.
In addition, Collision will need to be moved from its normal 8-10 p.m. time slot on occasion due to TNT’s own obligations to live sports. While Warner Bros. Discovery and AEW haven’t discussed how often this will happen, an examination of the past few years suggests it will occur around once a month on average.
Finally, while AEW will undoubtedly continue to push Punk as the big draw for the show — he’s once again part of the main event for the upcoming June 24 episode — the hype and curiosity around him will naturally settle down a bit now that he’s back. So while the numbers look good for Collision out of the gate, where they end up on a regular basis over the next few months will be much more telling.