AEW Collision was supposed to be the show that would lead All Elite Wrestling into a whole new world, but it’s only created more controversy.
CM Punk’s return to the company was reportedly going to be central to the launch of the show, but that return appears to be very much up in the air. Even aside from the uncertainty around Punk, it has now been reported that ticket sales for the first run of shows have been disappointing.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer also addressed the news that AEW has reportedly sent feelers out to Daily’s Place if Punk’s return doesn’t happen, making a show at the United Center in Chicago almost impossible.
Punk famously made his AEW debut at the same venue back in 2021.
“They were told that it would be something that they would know one way or the other within a week. So obviously Daily’s place is being looked at as a backup, I would presume if the CM Punk thing doesn’t happen. No one has said specifically that if Punk doesn’t happen they’re going to Daily’s Place. But the fact that they contacted people at Daily’s Place pretty much tells you that’s probably the case. Without Punk, United Center is probably too big.”
AEW has announced that they will be heading to the following venues for Collision:
- Saturday, June 24 – Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Thursday, June 29 – FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Saturday, July 8 – Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Saturday, July 15 – Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Saturday, July 22 – Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
With regard to ticket sales for the three dates currently available in Hamilton, Toronto, and Newark, Meltzer explained that things are off to a slow start.
“They don’t have a big buzz for Collision because they put three shows on sale, they put Toronto on sale, they put Hamilton on sale, and they put Newark on sale, and Newark has about 3500 tickets out, which is…you would want more. I wouldn’t call it a disaster or anything, but for the New York market, it would be the weakest first day since they’ve been going there.
Toronto was like 1600 and that’s the day before the pay-per-view that sold out instantly. And Toronto is a great market, and I heard from some people in Toronto about the publicity of it, the fact that, like, nobody really knew till Wednesday, and then they sprung up on him as far as the thing and everything but all that.”
AEW Are In A Tough Situation
Looking ahead to the show in Hamilton, Meltzer added that things are even worse with only 600 tickets sold to date.
“It’s like that’s not good in Hamilton, where they’re going on a Thursday. That’s sold in the under 600 range. Really bad advances, which is not a good sign for the excitement, and people aren’t talking about it, and for that reason, I mean the names that were announced and everything like that it’s not enough. And you know you need…if you launched this thing…it’s a really, really tough situation,”
AEW will announce the location for the debut episode of Collision on the May 24th episode of Dynamite.
H/t to WrestlingNews.Co