“AEW Collision” has an announce team and it has some names you’re very familiar with.
As the new weekly series is set to premiere tomorrow night, AEW fans have been left to wonder who would be jumping behind the commentary booth for the new program. Tony Khan made it official on Friday that Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness and Jim Ross will be steering the ship for “Collision” with Ross being labeled as the expert analyst for the trio.
#AEWCollision debuts TOMORROW NIGHT on @TNTdrama at 8pm ET/7pm CT at the @UnitedCenter in Chicago!
We're going to have a great announce team on Saturday Nights with your new weekly commentary team @realkevinkelly + @McGuinnessNigel, joined by expert analysis from legend @JRsBBQ!
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) June 16, 2023
This means that the “AEW Dynamite” team will remain as Taz, Excalibur and Tony Schiavone and ROH will continue to have Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman. It’s unknown if this will cause changes for the “AEW Rampage” crew which has been an amalgamation of Excalibur, Ross and Schiavone.
Interestingly, it seems as though Kevin Kelly’s appointment as AEW Collision’s play-by-play commentator has potentially lead to his exit from New Japan Pro Wrestling.
AEW Collision Will Reunite Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness
What shouldn’t be remissed from Tony Khan’s commentary reveal is that it reunites Kevin Kelly with Nigel McGuinness, both of which have their roots in Ring Of Honor. All three men have also had their respective tenures with WWE as Ross established himself as one of the greatest to ever don a headset behind the table at “WWE Raw” while Kelly was primarily a backstage interviewer and McGuinness really showed his talent at NXT. In a 2012 interview with Bleacher Report, Kelly talked about the potential for McGuinness behind the announce desk.
“Take a guy who’s never done announcing, drop him into the booth on a brand new show and then have that guy hit a home run. That’s Nigel McGuinness. I never gelled with someone so quickly. From the start, we never step on each other, pick up each other’s thoughts and bring the audience something they can’t get anywhere else. I have been so impressed with Nigel and his dry wit kills me in-between segments. I have incredible respect and admiration for Nigel and the best is yet to come.”