May 17th should have been a banner day in the life of AEW, but due to uncertainty over CM Punk’s expected return, things went off the rails in a big way.
It has long been believed that Punk will make his long-awaited return to the company on the debut episode of the new Saturday night show Collision. It has been reported that this first episode will come live from the United Center and be dubbed “The Second Coming.” The star made his AEW debut in the same building.
However, when the show was announced there was no mention of Punk, and it was revealed that this wasn’t the original plan. Instead, he had been edited out of press releases, and all of the promotional material featuring his image was removed.
Further reports stated that this was due to a clash between Punk and AEW over the return of Ace Steel, who lost his job following the brawl at All Out.
It has been announced that the location for the debut episode of Collision will be revealed on the May 24th episode of Dynamite by Tony Khan, and this announcement will also confirm whether CM Punk is involved. If the show is coming from anywhere other than Chicago, it is almost guaranteed that Punk won’t be there.
CM Punk Holds Productive Conversations With AEW
As rumours run wild a new report from Fightful Select has offered an update on the situation. The report addresses speculation that Punk has been sent legal papers by the company, and while they weren’t legal threats, it appears they were incredibly important and involved guarantees over his future conduct. Fightful states that the papers covered “speaking about certain subjects, disparagement clauses, and ensuring he appears at scheduled television dates.”
Fightful adds that there have been “productive conversations” over the last week involving Punk, and people close to him believe he will be at Collision on June 17th.
While Fightful wasn’t explicitly told that Daily’s Place had been looked at as a potential backup location, they confirm other venues have been discussed.
AEW talents are also yet to receive travel information for the debut edition of Collision.