AEW Collision is official, and there’s some confusion around CM Punk’s involvement.
Fightful reported this morning that a hard brand split (excluding champions and special exceptions) was planned. One outlet disputed that claim, but we’re told that AEW talent were told on May 17 that concerns regarding which show they’ll be on. We’re told specifically as of today, “all recognized champions in AEW or any other major wrestling organization” are exempt from the splits.
CM Punk was not featured in the Upfronts or the press release, though it had been reported that he was planned for them. The Upfronts themselves were filmed ahead of time, and WBD made the decision not to feature talent due to the writer’s strike. WBD released a statement claiming that Punk was “not affiliated with AEW Collision,” but as of today, we’re told that there are still plans with CM Punk. Punk was actively included in the press release and was removed by this morning. We’re told that there were “active content plans with Punk as of this week,” though it was noted that as with anything else, that can change.
Punk’s involvement in AEW has featured regular contact with owner Tony Khan. We’re told that Punk himself didn’t want to be announced for the Collision brand well ahead of time, but don’t know if that played any role in the altered press release.
Those that we’ve spoken to had heard weeks ago that Punk was also encouraging Ace Steel to be brought into the fold for Collision as well. We haven’t confirmed whether or not he’ll be back following the series of events surrounding the Brawl Out situation. We’d also been told that Punk was keen on and pushing for FTR and Andrade being involved with Collision, which is the plan.
The working plan has been for an early episode of Collision to take place at the United Center, though that hasn’t been announced.
