25 Worst Wrestling Moments Of 2023

11. The Concept Of CM Punk's Collision

CM Punk's run on Collision was short but featured regularly solid promos and matches from the 'Best In The World', but the whole concept behind him being sent to a new show to work with cherry-picked superstars was flawed from the beginning. It only existed because of the problems that festered between Punk and some of the big hitters on AEW's roster, so it was hard to ever see this ending well for anyone.

The aftermath of 'Brawl Out' required Tony Khan to either fire Punk or to get all of the relevant parties into a room to squash their beef for the good of the company. There was more money and prestige in a feud between Punk and The Elite than is fathomable; For another example of money being left on the table, CM Punk and Bryan Danielson have never headlined a PPV on WWE or AEW.

There was something to be salvaged here, but just sending Punk to a new show was never going to be the solution.

There are positives to be taken from Punk's time on Collision. He had a great feud with Ricky Starks that ended with his absoluteness triumphing over Punk in the Owen Hart Cup Final, The Gunn Club looked like megastars, and there was a short and sweet rivalry with Samoa Joe that culminated in their banger at Wembley Stadium for All In.

However, this was never built to last. Jack Perry, Ryan Nemeth and Christopher Daniels were all accused of being stooges for people from Dynamite/AEW's head office, and the tensions continued to mount. This all came to a head with Perry's "real glass, cry me a river" comments and the subsequent fight with Punk in London, but the idea that time would heal such a massive issue was fanciful at best.