CM Punk’s return to All Elite Wrestling was the definitive story of the AEW Collision premiere on Saturday.
Punk returned as the prodigal son to the United Center on Saturday after nearly 9 months away from the ring due to a torn tricep and the infamous Brawl Out/Gripe Bomb at All Out 2022 The crowd was red hot for the King of Chicago to return to the ring.
In usual Punk fashion, he seemingly did not hold back about his issues with the locker room (The Young Bucks in particular), his role in AEW, gunning for the title he never lost and quickly re-establishing himself as one of, if not the main guy in the company and that this was his show.
And the AEW Collision premiere definitely Punk’s show, and not for the obvious reason.
It’s no secret that there’s been a long rumored “brand split” in AEW. Talents not on Team Punk would stay on Dynamite, while those friendly to the Second City Saint would work Saturdays, with some cross-over, of course.
Yet, the real “split” here seemingly is wrestling philosophy.
This past week Dynamite from Washington D.C. was a 100 mph, non-stop two-hour adrenaline rush. It felt like vintage AEW combined with elements of ECW, PWG and the more spot-oriented Ring of Honor shows. Essentially, it felt like a show that reflected the style of The Elite and Black Pool Combat Club with a healthy dose of MJF mixed in.
Meanwhile, the AEW Collision premiere felt more like the strong style, bring the stiff-era of Ring of Honor mixed with the more high impact New Japan strong style mixed with hints of old school Jim Crockett Promotions. In short, the polar opposite of Dynamite and a show that reflects the styles of Punk, Samoa Joe, FTR, Jay White and others.
Even from an aesthetic and pacing style, these two shows feel radically different. Dynamite felt like there was adrenaline injected right into the show’s soul. Everything felt fast, electric, and dare I say dynamic. Collision, meanwhile felt more polished, deliberate and intense. Moments were given time to breathe and matches were given longer runtimes than Dynamite normally does.
So while there might not be an official roster split yet, we’re definitely seeing two very distinct wrestling philosophies being employed on these shows — and that’s a good thing.
Remember when WWE originally split the brands? The Smackdown 6 carried things with high work rate matches as opposed to the heavily promo-driven sports entertainment of RAW? It was a great difference and Smackdown was such a fun watch at the time. When did things go south for those shows? When they became carbon copies of the other.
If Collision is truly Punk’s show and Dynamite is The Elite’s, this could be a good formula for AEW. It obviously allows for the loaded roster of AEW to have more primetime television opportunities. It allows for talent to work styles that benefit them and not stick out like a sore thumb. It also allows for freshness of the shows. Punk won’t be on every minute of AEW television and neither will The Elite. And the moment they do cross the streams, well my friends we are the winners there (if it indeed ever happens).
Quick Thoughts on the AEW Collision Premiere:
*CM Punk’s promo was vintage Punk. He was able to babyface himself to the right people and heel himself to the right people. The MJF title stuff is very intriguing. Will he go for MJF at Wembley? I’d personally rather for CMFTR vs. The Elite, but then again that match can happen down the road for another big show as that issue is not something people will forget.
*CM Punk in the ring was used smartly. He took heavy shots from Samoa Joe, and was able to hold his own against the younger and faster Bullet Club Gold. The trio of he and FTR works well and they should really keep that together until the wheels fall off.
*While this may have been Punk’s homecoming show, it was Samoa Joe who came off as the star in the main event. Joe wrestled with a nasty power and tenacity that we haven’t seen in a minute. He looks motivated and refreshed and ready to be a world killer.
*Wardlow dropping the TNT Title sucks. Don’t get me wrong the match with he and Luchasaurus was good, but man can this dude get some consistency with the title.
*If you were wondering, it seems we saw who’s going to be in the Owen Hart Cup finals– Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks. Not mad about it.
*Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue vs. Toni Storm & Ruby Soho was a ton of fun. Willow and Skye are right on the cusp of being super over babyfaces that AEW need to get behind.
*Miro looked like vintage Miro. Please give us Miro vs. Samoa Joe.
*Buddy Matthews vs. Andrade was an absolute train wreck of a match in the best possible way. It was stiff, violent, and intense and that allowed for the mistakes and miscues. Andrade looks like more of a star now than he ever has in AEW (although they should’ve had him take the TNT Title off Sammy back in 2021) and him and friends vs. House of Black will be great.
*Finally, I enjoyed the commentary team of Nigel McGuinness and Kevin Kelly. Reminded me of old school ROH mixed with New Japan. Kelly is fantastic and it’s great to have him as more of a fixture in AEW.
