Heading into the May 24 episode of AEW Dynamite that kicks off Double or Nothing week in Las Vegas, there’s a lot of uncertainty about the announcement Tony Khan will make during the show — even though, unlike many of Khan’s TV reveals, AEW has been very up front about what it’s about.
The announcement is about the premiere of AEW: Collision, the company’s new Saturday prime time show. The series will debut on June 17, but what Khan will tell AEW fans is where the first episode will take place.
The word is that it’s likely to be the United Center in Chicago, home of the NBA’s Bulls, the NHL’s Blackhawks and the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door card last year. It’s also the big indoor venue in the Windy City, which would make it perfect for the return of CM Punk.
That’s if Punk is indeed returning, which looked like a near certainty a few weeks ago but has since become a bit cloudier. There have been reports that Punk is irritated because Ace Steel, his friend and trainer who was fired in the wake of the post-All Out brawl last year, might not be allowed to be at TV tapings as a producer.
An even bigger question looms over Collision, and really all of AEW’s very ambitious plans for 2023: Do Punk’s co-workers even want him to return, or would they be happier seeing him go and continuing, as they have been since last summer, without him?
FTR surely does, as they have been some of Punk’s closest friends and supporters. The Elite almost certainly does not, as not enough time has passed to heal the wounds from the All Out confrontation.
Perhaps Chris Jericho is cool with it, as he reportedly had a meeting with Punk to help clear the air. That still leaves plenty of other members of the AEW roster whose feelings about the whole ordeal are unknown.
It’s possible they’re getting those feelings out there anonymously. PW Torch’s Wade Keller (h/t Cageside Seats) has “multiple people inside AEW” telling him that “top wrestlers who regularly appear on Dynamite would be relieved if [CM] Punk and AEW parted ways.” Keller has previously suggested that this list includes Jon Moxley, as well as The Elite.
This is why reports of a hard brand split between Dynamite and Collision are so easy to believe. If there’s that much ill will between Punk and big chunks of the roster, it makes sense to keep them apart, as silly as it might seem in other ways. AEW has enough wrestlers under contract to pull it off, especially on the men’s side.
And like any wrestling promotion, AEW isn’t a democracy. Khan will do what he feels is best for business, to borrow a phrase oft uttered by his competition. If he proceeds as expected and announces the United Center as the venue for the Collision premier, it almost certainly means Punk is on his way back, whether he includes that information on Dynamite or not.
It will be the topic of tons more discussion and speculation, which is great for AEW. It might not be as well received in the locker room, and that’s something Khan will have to deal with in the weeks to come.