History
On February 15, 2023, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) filed to trademark the name "Collision", hinting at a possible new in-ring television series in addition to their other programs, AEW Dynamite on TBS and AEW Rampage on TNT. [1] Another trademark for the name was filed on April 28, leading to the belief that this would be the name of an upcoming Saturday TV show. [2]
On May 17, 2023, AEW and broadcast partner Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced a third weekly television show titled AEW Collision to air live on TNT as a two-hour show on Saturdays starting June 17, 2023, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). [3] This is AEW's second weekly professional wrestling program to currently air on TNT after Rampage and fourth overall wrestling show in general to air on TNT after Rampage, Dynamite (which aired on TNT from October 2019 to December 2021), and the former World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro (which aired on TNT from September 1995 to March 2001) and the first wrestling show in a Saturday night time slot to air on a network founded by Ted Turner since the end of WCW Saturday Night on August 19, 2000. [4] It was also revealed that AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), would move its tapings for ROH Honor Club TV to coincide with Collision, with ROH's show being taped after the live broadcast of Collision. [5]
In preparation for the debut of Collision, AEW's YouTube programs, AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation , were canceled. This was due to an amended deal with WBD, in which all of AEW's programs would air exclusively on their channels. [6] It was also reported that Rampage would begin showcasing younger AEW wrestlers and unsigned independent wrestlers, essentially becoming what Dark and Elevation were for the company. [7]
Prior to the official announcement of Collision, there had been speculation that the inaugural episode would be held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. It was also speculated that it would feature the return of CM Punk, as the United Center is where Punk had made his AEW debut for the second episode of Rampage in August 2021. Since September 2022, Punk had been inactive due to both an injury and also a suspension as a result of the legitimate backstage altercation that occurred during the All Out post-event media scrum. Following the announcement of Collision, however, it was reported that there were still issues regarding Punk's return to AEW, with WBD denying his involvement with the show, but on May 24, 2023, it was reported that the issues had been settled. [8] AEW president Tony Khan then confirmed that the first episode would be held at the United Center, [9] and feature the return of Punk to AEW. [10] Although Punk was brought back to be the centerpiece of the show, he would be fired that September after another legitimate backstage altercation that occurred at All In. [11]
In speaking with the media on May 25 in promotion for AEW's Double or Nothing pay-per-view (PPV) that weekend, Khan clarified that Collision was not part of a new or extended deal with WBD, and instead, it was added on to their current contract, with AEW receiving a monetary increase from WBD for the show. Khan also confirmed that WBD reached out to AEW with the opportunity for another show, and that it was WBD's Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav's idea for there to be more AEW content on TNT. [12] It had also been speculated that with the addition of Collision, AEW would do some form of a roster split, similar to WWE's brand extension, in which half of the roster would perform exclusively on Dynamite while the other half would exclusively appear on Collision. In an appearance on the Barstool Rasslin' podcast on June 13, Khan said that there would not be a hard split where wrestlers would exclusively appear on only one program. Instead, he said some wrestlers would be featured exclusively on certain shows for a certain period of time, but there could be opportunities for storylines to cross between Dynamite and Collision. He also confirmed that all AEW champions would continue to appear on all AEW programming. [13]
On June 16, a day before Collision's debut, Khan confirmed that the show's commentary team would consist of Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness, with Jim Ross occasionally sitting in on main events. [14] On October 14, Tony Schiavone was confirmed to join the commentary team. [15] This remained until March 8, 2024, when Kelly's AEW contract was terminated. [16]
Beginning with the August 5, 2023, episode, Collision airs against WWE's monthly pay-per-views, which are typically held on Saturdays at 8 p.m ET, starting with SummerSlam. [17] Additionally, due to AEW's pay-per-view Full Gear being held on Saturday, November 18, 2023, that weekend's episode of Collision was instead held the night before on Friday, November 17 at 8 p.m. ET, [18] which put it head-to-head against WWE's Friday night program, SmackDown . [19]
On occasion, AEW has not taped episodes of Collision due to scheduling conflicts. For example, as a result of AEW's PPV event, Worlds End, being held during Collision's Saturday night time slot on December 30, 2023, Collision was not held that week. [20] An episode of Collision was also not held on March 23, 2024, due to the NCAA March Madness coverage occurring that night. [21]
Collision aired live on Friday, September 6 alongside Rampage, a day before All Out and competed again with SmackDown which held its series finale on Fox. [22] With the return of Saturday Night's Main Event on December 14 airing on NBC, it is expected Collision will go head-to-head with WWE's revived program. [23]
On October 2, 2024, AEW announced a new media rights deal with WBD, wherein AEW's television programs Dynamite and Collision would be simulcast on WBD's streaming service Max and their respective TV channels beginning in January 2025. The first broadcast of Collision to simulcast on TNT and Max will be the January 4, 2025, episode. [24]
