Reviewing AEW Collision's Premiere Episode

I remember being excited over the premiere of AEW Collision, especially due to what would come with the show. Based on what I read, this show is part of AEW's equivalent of a "brand split," if you will. The idea is due to some growing tensions between some members of the AEW roster, so the company decided to add a second two-hour program with a separate roster from their flagship show, Dynamite--with the move also including the shutdown of web shows Dark and Dark: Elevation. The last few weeks prior to the premiere saw announcements regarding future destinations for the show, as well as the site of the premiere episode: Chicago.

With that part said, let's address the elephant in the room.

I cringed when I heard that the first Collision would be in Chicago, because I knew it meant the inevitable announcement that CM Punk would be back. Once he kicked off the show and started talking, the cringing continued. I'm going to be completely blunt: I am absolutely pissed that Punk's back. He throws yet another ego-centric hissy fit, yet not only does AEW allow him back with open arms, he cuts a promo and buries the entire roster, acting like nothing's happened. Even worse, again, this was in Chicago. The setting gave Punk a truly safe space for him to spout whatever bullshit that came out of his mouth, and the hometown crowd ate it up like it was deep dish pizza.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. All of the racist things that have been said about Sasha Banks, Trinity (the former Naomi), Ivelisse, and Thunder Rosa ("ungrateful," "crybaby," "disrespectful")? They actually fit Punk, not the four women I mentioned. Punk later teamed with FTR (the reigning AEW World Tag Team Champions) in defeating Samoa Joe, Juice Robinson, and Jay White, in a stellar main event match.

Collision's first title match also saw a title change, as Luchasaurus defeated Wardlow to capture the TNT Championship, thanks to Christian Cage's outside interference. I figured Luchasaurus would win for two reasons: one, he had to finally benefit from turning against Jungleboy in favor of Christian, and two, this was the first episode of Collision. Something had to happen to get buzz for the show. We also saw Miro make his first AEW appearance in such a long time, and it was a victory over Tony Nese. I was so happy to see Miro back, but I'm going to be honest, because this was the Collision premiere, and it was going to be full of surprises, I was kinda expecting Miro's wife, CJ Perry (the former Lana in WWE) to make an appearance. I am still holding out hope that we see CJ appear alongside her husband in AEW.

On to a Chicago native who I was actually happy to see on Collision: Skye Blue. Earlier this week, Skye Blue had her shot at the AEW Women's World Championship on Dynamite, but she came up short against champion Toni Storm, mainly thanks to Toni's "Outcasts" cohort, Ruby Soho. A post-match assault also brought out Willow Nightingale to come to her aid, and it led to that tag team bout. Similar to the Dynamite match, Skye Blue's mother (who was referred to as "Mama Blue") was in attendance, and after being attacked by the Outcasts on Dynamite, she struck back against them (literally) on Collision, which saw Skye and Willow victorious.

Elsewhere, The Acclaimed emerged and participated in the show's first "scissoring," which also involved Tony Schiavone. We also received a number of announcements, including the return of Scorpio Sky, who hadn't been seenon AEW television in almost a year, and following Taya Valkyrie's confrontation with TBS Champion Kris Statlander, the two women will face off for the title on the next edition of Dynamite. Taya challenged then-champion Jade Cargill at Double or Nothing, but lost again, and it was followed by Kris returning from injury and answering Jade's open challenge, resulting in Kris winning the title and ending Jade's lengthy unbeaten streak. The victory has drawn some "evil envy" from Taya, and this upcoming encounter should be interesting.

Also, Collision has its own announcers, as Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness will serve as the announce duo on the program, though Jim Ross joined in during the main event. Again, this is definitely AEW's equivalent of WWE's brand split, and I am here for it. I'm interested to see how far they go with this whole thing, but for now, I'm just happy that Collision serves as a Saturday wrestling program for AEW.