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‘AEW Collision’ Debuts and CM Punk Returns: How Would You Rate the Premiere Episode?

By Michael Fairman

Published

3 years ago

on

Photo: AEW

Saturday night brought with it TNT’s new pro wrestling show AEW: Collision live from the United Center in Chicago, and not only was it the kick-off to the series, but the long-awaited return of CM Punk. So, how did it stack up? Did it disappoint? Did it live up to the hype? Let’s dive into it!

We loved the ‘Collision’ opening to Elton John’s Saturday Night’s (All Right for Fighting) playing against the graphics and the featured wrestling stars.  Then, in a smart move, you don’t waste time, you get to the headliner, and out came CM Punk to address the crowd and the TV audience for the first time in nine months.

This was Phil “CM Punk” Brooks with an edge.  No longer was CM jumping into the audience and into the waiting arms of fans, no, this version had a chip on a shoulder and well, he probably should.  Armed with a red bag supposedly carrying the title he never lost, and some wrestling boots, Punk took to the mic and said that he was tired of being nice.  He goes on to say  that he loves the people, and they love him because he’s unapologetically been himself.  He gloats that his presence makes people feel uncomfortable because he is the truth, and the truth is painful.

In a nod to the backstage brawl with the Young Bucks, Punk said that people can call him whatever they want, but David Zaslav, CEO 0f Warner Bros/Discovery) calls him ‘One Bill Phil’ and that’s because “he is the one true article in a business full of counterfeit bucks.” Ouch!  Punk ended his promo with apologizing for people “who are softer than the wrestlers they like.”  Lastly, he said until someone can fill the boots around his neck, they belong on his feet.  In the end, it made you wonder, will CM turn full heel when he is not wrestling in his hometown of Chicago, or will he remain Punk with an ax to grind?

When it was time for wrestling action, another smart move was at play. Straight out of the gate in the first bout of the new show, a title change occurred.  Luchasaurus with Christian Cage in his corner, faced off with the AEW TNT champ, Wardlow.  In the end, after grabbing a camera from a ringside photographer and smashing it on Warlow’s head, Luchasaurus got the pin and took the title.  Best part: Cage celebrating manically as if he was the one who actually won the damn belt.

Next, in what was the match of the night, it was the in-ring return of Andrade El Idolo (from his torn pec surgery) vs. House of Black’s Buddy Matthews (who also had previous knee surgery).  However, new AEW: Collision announcers, Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness had some problems through the night and one of occurred when Kelly clearly calling Buddy Matthews by the wrong last name.

Back to the action, these men put on a bout that was action-packed, so much so, at one point, it looked liked Andrade had re-injured his pec and Matthews, his knee, as they were attended to by the ringside physicians/AEW officials. This however, occurred during a picture-and-picture commercial break, which was one of the drawbacks of the debut.  In the end, El Idolo got the victory, but we have to say, Buddy Matthews deserves a push! House of Black emerged when the lights went out for a partial additional beatdown of Andrade.

In other bouts, Miro returned and got a huge pop from the crowd in his match with Tony Nese. Chicago-native Skye Blue teamed with Willow Nightingale against the Outcasts, Ruby Soho and AEW Women’s Champ, Toni Storm.  Being we were in Chi-town, Blue scored the pin on Soho with her mother in attendance who slapped Soho and Storm for their ‘shenanigans’. Later, The Acclaimed with Daddy Ass Billy Gunn came to the ring to entertain the crowd since this is where ‘scissoring’ all began.

Courtesy/AEW

The main event featured a trios match-up with FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) teaming with CM Punk (in his first match back after his triceps surgery) vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson and Samoa Joe.  It was a great match that went on for almost 30 minutes and gave all six wrestlers moments to shine.  The pop of all pops occurred when it was Punk vs. Samoa Joe facing off in the ring.  Fans know that these two had a massive feud many years ago, and it has been a long time. almost two decades, since they had been in the ring together and it did not disappoint.  In the end, Punk scored the win for his team pinning Robertson.

All in all, AEW: Collision debut gets an “A” rating from us.  On the things to be fixed: the picture-and-picture commercial break windows looked very small in comparison to the advertisements, and we don’t recall it looking exactly that way on AEW: Dynamite, so at times, it was harder to follow the action.

The new announce team seemed to have some trouble fluidly tossing to breaks. Jim Ross joining the announce team was difficult to listen to, as his voice was nearly gone. and it has been reported he had hurt himself earlier in the day in a fall and was not feeling well. Ross later took to Twitter and shared: “I apologize for the way I sounded tonight. Going to step away to heal. Thanks for your support.”  The crowd in Chicago was super hot, and at times, the audio from the announce team was hard to hear because of it and the production.

When all was said and done, this was a victory for wrestling fans everywhere … to have a new show on Saturday Night’s … which looks like it will be driven by CM Punk as the headliner.

Let us know what you thought of the premiere of AEW: Collision in the comment section below. Then, check out our latest episode of “What’s Up? Wrestling” which streamed immediately following “Collision” where we discussed our immediate reactions to ‘Collision’, Punk’s return and more.

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AEW

AEW Honors Ted Turner with 10-Bell Salute

Published

2 months ago

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May 7, 2026

By

Ted Turner, the billionaire businessman, who turned a struggling Atlanta news station into a media empire with first 24-hour news channel, CNN, died on Wednesday, May 6 at the age of 87.  Turner died reportedly ‘surrounded by his family.”

However, Turner’s impact is felt far and wide with how he revolutionized cable television as we know. One such way is how Turner believed in professional wrestling, when other network executives didn’t. Turner, who helped launch TNT and TBS, and purchased World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the late 1980s and gave it a primetime slot.

Through his leadership, the landscape of pro wrestling was changed forever, leading to the infamous Monday Night Wars” between the WWE and WCW with their flagship shows, Monday Night Nitro vs. Monday Night Raw. Since 2019, wrestling has been back on TNT and TBS in a big way with AEW’s Dynamite and AEW Collision.

Photo: WCW

TED TURNER BELIEVED IN PRO WRESTLING

Last night, All Elite Wrestling opened its broadcast with a tribute to Turner, which led to the 10-bell salute, which is given to someone from the world of professional wrestling had passed on.

AEW commentator Tony Schiavone said at the top of the special three-hour Dynamite and Collision episode. “Ted Turner believed in pro wrestling. He believed in you, the fans, and he believed that pro wrestling belonged on national television.” Schiavone who was also a commentator for WCW noted that it was because of Turner’s vision that pro wrestling found a home on TBS and later in the 90s with TNT, sharing, “Generations of fans around the world knew that we were destination viewing.”

Schavione recalled, “I knew that firsthand. I began in the studio in TBS in 1985. Decades later, because of the foundation that was laid by Ted Turner, we still survive today through the leadership of Tony Khan in AEW, through the leadership of Warner Discovery, wrestling still survives.”

STING RECALLS TED TURNER STANDING UP TO EXECS

Suddenly, in a special appearance, pro wrestling and WCW legend, Sting, came to the ring and addressed the crowd in Charleston, South Carolina and at home. “Can you imagine having an all-in billionaire who absolutely loved pro wrestling? I can’t believe what (Turner) did for us. He was completely committed to us, devoted to us in every conceivable way.”

Sting went on to tell the story of how Turner stood up to the executives at CNN Towers.  ‘We don’t know about this whole pro wrestling thing. I think it’s time to cut them off because we’re always in the red, Ted would share. “I’d look at all of them and say, you wrestlers just keep on doing what you’re doing because I got some deep pockets.’”

“There wouldn’t be a TNT title, there wouldn’t be a Sting. There wouldn’t be a Darby Allin. There wouldn’t be a Tony Schiavone here tonight. You wouldn’t be here tonight. So, thank you, once again, Ted,” Sting said as he concluded his comments. Moments later came the emotional ten-bell salute (you can watch it below)

Earlier on Wednesday, AEW president Tony Khan shared his own tribute on X, expressing, “It’s a very sad day in the world of television and certainly in the world of professional wrestling. The man who gave us this platform, the man who created TBS and TNT and so many great television channels and so many great concepts in the field of television, the late great Mr. Ted Turner has passed.”

So, what are your thoughts on the passing of Ted Turner? How without the billionaire’s love of pro wrestling, WCW and now AEW would not have had the platform they have to bring fans around the world the sports entertainment shows that they love? Comment below.

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AEW

Chris Jericho Returns After Year-Long Absence on ‘AEW Dynamite’ Ending WWE Speculation

Published

3 months ago

on

April 2, 2026

By

After month of rumors and reports, Chris Jericho is home on AEW.  The moment occurred on last night’s April 1 episode of AEW Dynamite live from Winnipeg, Canada.

Jericho, the pro wrestler/actor/musician has been off AEW programming since a year ago in April, amid speculation he would be returning for one final run in the WWE.

However, last night was a homecoming for Chris, who has been with AEW from the very beginning in 2019. His signing with the company made him one of its top stars out of the gate and he became the inaugural AEW world champion.

Photo: AEW

In the set-up on ‘Dynamite’ Jericho kicked-off the show as he interrupted Tony Schiavone, who was in the ring getting ready to bring out MJF and Kenny Omega for their AEW World Championship Match contract signing ahead of AEW’s Dynasty pay-per-view next weekend

As Jericho came out to his theme song from his band Fozzy, “Judas” the chants of the chorus got louder.  Once he was in the ring, Jericho simply addressed the crows by saying,“Winnipeg … AEW … I’m home.” Then, he dropped the mic and made his exit.

After the show, Jericho took to his Instagram account and showed how he was in the parking garage at the MTs Centre in Winnipeg and how in 50 minutes he was going to shock the world with his return on ‘Dynamite’

Chris was last his ‘The Learning Tree’ faction, but it disbanded soon after he lost the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship to Bandido at last year’s AEW Dynasty pay-per-view.

As an actor, Jericho was seen last week on CBS’ Tracker as villain Virgil Dean and will be seen in the new AppleTV+ series, Margo’s Got Money Troubles which drops on April 15.

So, what did you think of the arrival of Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite, after a year away? Do you think Chris will be a babyface or heel for his new run on AEW? Weigh-in via the comment section. In case you missed it, and what has been all the buzz for the last 24 hours, check it out below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chris Jericho (@chrisjerichofozzy)

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AEW

‘American Gladiators’ Revival Drops Official Trailer, New Theme Song by Jelly Roll, Names of ‘Gladiators”

Published

3 months ago

on

April 1, 2026

By

The season one trailer of Prime Video’s reboot of the iconic physical competition series, American Gladiators has been released which features a new theme song by Grammy Award-winning superstar, Jelly Roll and the official Gladiator names of the cast which includes plenty of pro wrestlers, finesse experts, and more. Fans can Pre-Save “Rise Up” from Jelly Roll only on Amazon Music now.

As previously reported, WWE’s Mike ‘Miz” Mizanin is the host along with Rosci Diaz. The first three episodes of the series will premiere on Friday, April 17, 2026,, followed by three new episodes releasing Friday April 24, and the final four episodes releasing on Friday May 1.  All ten episodes will debut exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Each episode of the fan-favorite competition features amateur male and female Contenders from across the nation stepping into the Arena to face 16 powerful new American Gladiators.

Courtesy/Prime Video

From classic events like Joust, Powerball, Hang Tough, and The Wall, to high-impact new events including The Ring and Collision, every showdown demands strength, strategy, and pure grit. Only one man and one woman will conquer the Arena, claim $100,000, and earn the title of American Gladiator Champion.

Season One Official Gladiator Names
Abigail Lay – “Blaze, Ayinde Warren – “Neon”, Dani Means – “Voltage”, Dani Speegle – “Crush”, Drew Aggouras – “Ace, Emily Nelson – “Striker”, Eric Bugenhagen – “The Bull”, Fessy Shafaat – “Mayhem”, Jason Peele – “Eagle,” Jessica Roden – “Supernova”, Jessie Godderz – “Steel”, Joseph Hall – “Lightning”, Kailey Latimer – “Hurricane”, Lu Faustin – “Empire” Michael Wardlow – “Fang” and Sydney Hunter – “Huntress”.

American Gladiators is created and executive produced by Johnny C. Ferraro. Daniel Calin serves as the series Showrunner and Executive Producer, alongside Barry Poznick. Susan Janis-Mashayekhi, Sarah Happel Jackson and Adam Cooper serve as co-executive producers. The series is directed by Ramy Romany. American Gladiators is produced by Amazon MGM Studios.

So, what do you think about how the American Gladiators reboot is shaping up? Weigh-in via the comment section, but first check out the trailer below.

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