As For Dynamite: Let’s Talk About Collision

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced a new two-hour Saturday show at the Warner Brothers-Discover (WBD) upfronts yesterday called AEW Collision. 

On its face, this seems like good news.

AEW has a huge roster, so the addition of another two-hour “A” show makes sense from the perspective of trying to get people on TV. Plus, I mean, we’re talking about a wrestling company in AEW that makes most of its money through TV rights deals, so the fact that they’re getting more money to produce more TV is great news for the company’s overall business. Also: they’re gonna produce most of these shows live on Saturdays, which ought to help their ticket sales. Going to a three- to four-hour wrestling show on a Saturday is a much easier proposition than are the current three- to four-hour live Wednesday shows.

Friends, we’ve been to Dynamite twice. It was great both times, but it was a loooong night of wrestling -- on a school night! -- both times, too.

But there are a couple of potential issues with Collision, though, not the least of which is potential market oversaturation. Indeed, we’re already seeing this. When AEW plays new markets, they tend to do really well with ticket sales. In fact, they tend to do really, really well. But the enthusiasm and novelty wear off over time, to the point where AEW’s domestic ticket sales have been falling generally, and their house show tickets sales have been actively bad in some areas. 

This is not necessarily some outsized business-model disaster, but it is a potential warning sign. AEW created their House Rules brand to reach out specifically to smaller markets, to reach fans where they live in order to connect with folks in a more intimate way. This is the way independent wrestling has always built its market. AEW doesn’t necessarily need to make money on every show if they’re creating experiences that will build a larger, more loyal fanbase over time. However, they do need to create memorable in-person experiences, and they definitely don’t want to lose, like, tons of money touring, say, the backwoods of Kentucky.

Bands tour to build engagement. So do wrestling companies. But there’s definitely a lower limit on what’s a productive use of one’s time and resources.

The same is true on TV.

When AEW was just on Wednesdays, those Wednesdays were can’t-miss TV. Then they added Rampage on Fridays, and it was like, “Yeah, okay, maybe I have time for this via Video on Demand, but…” 

I’m telling you, I mostly like Rampage, but the reality is that my time is limited. Now we’re adding yet another show on Saturdays -- one that’s gonna conflict with college football, no less -- and it’s like, “Sure. Maybe I’ll watch it on Sundays if the local NFL game isn’t great, but I’m definitely not about to plan my Saturday nights around a TV show.” That’s just not gonna happen.

And how can any of this now be must-see television? It’s five hours per week! 

Friends, that’s something like six full quarters of college football, at least.

With that said, I would totally go see Collision live. Like, I actually can’t wait to catch an episode in person on a Saturday night. That sounds awesome.

I confess that I’m curious to see what AEW does with some of their less-exposed stars as well. Miro, Andrade, Bandido, PAC, Rush, the Dark Order, most of the tag team division. Hell, even current tag champs FTR. Like, there is definitely enough talent to create five hours of content, and some of it will probably be awesome. I’m just saying, five hours per week is a lot of my personal TV time to devote to pro wrestling.

Is CM Punk Coming Back?

I have no idea, and I’m really not all that interested, save to note that Punk comes across like pro wrestling’s Odell Beckham, Jr. Like, the guy clearly has enough talent that he could legitimately be considered the best in the world. And yet, somehow he’s such a toxic combination of injury-prone and hard-to-work-with that this whole “Will he?” or “Won’t he?” thing has become more central to his storyline than his actual work.

Just like Beckham.

I’m tired of it. I mean, I was really annoyed when the Giants let Beckham go, but in the long run, it looks like they did the right thing.

Alas, pro wrestling thrives even more on press rumor mongering than does pro football, to the point where AEW now has an actual problem. They have a good thing going without CM Punk. If they just stay the course from where they are right now, they have more than enough momentum to continue building the company up to and through the big show at All In. Who knows what happens from there, but they ought to have every chance, anyway. However, Punk is such a big name and has commanded so much attention that his potentially not showing up feels at least like a hugely disappointing missed opportunity.

I say this as a guy who doesn’t particularly care for Punk’s schtick.

But they’ve already planned shows in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, and they’ve already built a second show that really should be focused on Punk’s storyline. To say the least, they’d be much, MUCH better off figuring out how to make it work, at least for a little while.

I’ve gotta be honest and say that billionaire Tony Khan has been a lot more patient with this thing than I think a lot of his peers would have been in his position. Most billionaires would, I think, have sicced an army of lawyers on Punk after Brawl Out, seeking to turn him into a burnt-out financial cautionary tale for future malcontents. Most hyper-successful, A+ personality types, that’s just the way they roll. 

Khan, though, seems like he really wants to make this work. To the point that he now has to make it work because he’s created this perception that this is what he wants. 

Friends, TK ought to be trying to plan out an endgame with this whole Punk thing regardless of how it plays out in the short term. Like, do whatever you have to in order to get the guy on board, let him wrestle and do whatever he can to create as much attention as he possibly can, and then announce an injury settlement/retirement from the ring next time he gets injured and can’t compete. 

Bottom line, TK needs a way to declare victory and move on.

It’s just so ugly, and it keeps eating up all the oxygen in the room. Meanwhile, there’s a ton of great stuff actually on TV, and that’s never what folks are talking about in regards to AEW. And sure, publicity is great, but all this craziness has gone way past its useful life.

Eh. What do I know? 

Every week I tell myself I’m never going to write another one of these, and yet here we are.