Today is set to be a significant day for AEW, with major changes in store for the company.
Warner Bros. Discovery are presenting their Upfronts presentation this morning from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and it’s believed that a new AEW TV deal, or perhaps just the new weekly AEW Collision show, will be announced then.
We’ve noted how CM Punk’s AEW return is to coincide with the premiere of AEW Collision, with the premiere episode airing on Saturday, June 17 from the United Center in Chicago. The premiere will reportedly have a theme of “The Second Coming,” which is related to the premiere episode of AEW Rampage on August 21, 2021, which was billed as “The First Dance” for Punk’s AEW debut. The Rampage premiere also took place at the United Center in Punk’s hometown.
Regarding Punk, Andrew Zarian noted that his return is set to be announced imminently, most likely today and if not today, then in the coming days. “As far as I know, CM Punk’s return will be announced most likely [on Wednesday, May 17], and if not [then], most likely very soon, in the coming days. This is big,” Zarian said on the “We’re Live, Pal!” show.
It was previously reported that a soft roster split was likely for Dynamite and Collision, which would allow talents that did not get along to work shows when necessary without the likelihood of the backstage conflict that plagued AEW in 2022. However, a new report from Fightful Select notes that AEW talents are expecting a hard brand split instead, with the exception of many AEW champions. Word is that there will be additional exceptions here & there. It’s not clear exactly how the split will be determined, and if there will be some sort of AEW Draft, but the working plan as of this week is to do a firm brand split, with some rare exceptions.
AEW bringing back several previously absent wrestlers has been planned out, and word is that these returns were based on strategic timing to go along with Collision. Miro and Thunder Rosa returning last week were directly related to the new show. It was noted that in addition to talent that naturally needs more TV time, several returning wrestlers look to benefit from this move.
There’s also a working plan to film AEW Rampage with the Dynamite tapings each week, and to film ROH TV with the weekly Collision tapings.
Regarding the look and feel of Collision, word is that there appears to be some WCW Nitro influence to early graphics tied to the production of the show.
As seen at this link, AEW President Tony Khan appeared on last week’s Dynamite to tease the arrival of the new show. Khan called on fans to tune into TNT today for an important announcement, but did not give a time, and the TNT schedule still has not been updated accordingly, as of this writing. Khan then said a follow-up to the announcement is planned for TBS later tonight during the live Dynamite episode.
There have been conflicting reports on if a new AEW – WBD TV deal/extension will be announced today, or if just the new show will be revealed, or some sort of deal that includes streaming rights to shows and pay-per-view events, which could explain why Dark and Dark: Elevation were recently pulled from YouTube and FITE. The current four-year AEW – WBD extension, which was announced in January 2020, runs through the end of this year with an option year for the network. The extension called for $175 million total with an option year at “a significantly increased price.”
For those who missed them, you can click here for a previous report on Collision plans, AEW brand split rumors, and more, or you can click here for a report on AEW possibly reigniting a historic pro wrestling feud for Collision.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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