12 Exact Moments AEW Booking Stopped Making Sense
9. CM Punk’s Collision (June 17, 2023)
‘CM Punk’s Collision’ is a strange thing to hold nostalgia for. It only happened two years ago, for one, and was it that good?
It was refreshing, a welcome shift from the often frenzied, numbing pacing of Dynamite, on which too many angles aren’t registered for long enough. But how good was it, really?
Beyond the overlong main event matches, the storytelling was baffling - one long unkept promise. CM Punk unveiled an AEW World title with a spray-painted ‘X’ on it, proclaiming himself to be the Real World champion. Naturally, fans expected a unification match against recognised World champion MJF. This, astonishingly, was never formalised nor even planned - so why did Punk, who asserted a degree of creative control, do this?
It was difficult to interpret as anything other than a political power play. Which, factoring in the rumours of certain talents being banned from the building, might sum up CM Punk’s Collision generally.
Why did Tony Khan approve it? You don’t tease or hint at matches you have no intention of delivering. That’s the first rule of promotion. Did Khan just expect everybody to magically get along?
That might read as snarky, but honestly, it’s not untrue. Khan booked his show in the summer of 2023 with total naivety. It was almost cruel to his fanbase, but eventually, at least until 2025, scorned fans taught themselves not to get excited.
Cloaked by a darkened cloud the entire time - a happy ending to the unresolved CM Punk Vs. the Elite feud was never remotely likely - the early days of Collision were beyond untenable. A source of anxiety, not escapism.