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I write about men in tights and the money they make for men in suits.
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CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe at AEW Collision.
With a sense of urgency hovering over AEW on Saturday nights, AEW Collision has settled into the 600,000-range through one month of programming.
AEW Collision drew 580,000 viewers, up 28% from Week 3. Collision garnered a 0.21 rating in 18-49, up 62% from the week prior. Collision ranked No. 5 on cable.
Collision’s fourth week was a significant litmus test for the new, but already struggling show. Collision’s viewership has seen steep dropoffs in each of its first three weeks, going from an impressive 816,000 in its premiere to a scary-low 452,000 viewers last week. Viewership eroded so quickly, AEW apologists have already began piecing together DVR numbers save face.
No such DVR excuses existed for SmackDown, which pulled nearly one million viewers in 18-49 for the Bloodline’s Tribal Court. At its peak, the broadcast drew almost three million viewers during the critically acclaimed segment. Adding DVR numbers to such meaty ratings would have been like pouring syrup on a birthday cake.
AEW Collision Week 4 Ratings
- AEW Collision Total Viewership | 580,000
- AEW Collision 18-49 Rating | 0.21
A pivotal Week 4 broadcast of AEW Collision was headlined by CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe. The match served as Internet Wrestling Catnip, tailor-made for AEW’s hardcore audience. Collision doubled down on IWC comfort food with a near half-hour banger of a tag team match between FTR and Bullet Club Gold (Jay White and Juice Robinson).
AEW Collision had a daunting night, both in terms of televised competition and live attendance. By bell time, under 2,000 tickets had been distributed inside the Brandt Center in Regina. There might have been more people inside the Octagon during Robbie Lawler’s retirement speech. Of course, Collision faced tough head-to-head competition from UFC 290 prelims on ABC and ESPN.
“It’s really tough competition for the show, but this is the one where—you know—it’s a number everyone’s going to look at because this is probably the real defining number of Collision,” said Dave Meltzer on “Wrestling Observer Radio.”
Last week’s 452,000 viewers for Collision mirrored that of AEW Rampage, a lame-duck entity which drew 450,000 viewers on June 30. It’s is safe to assume that Collision—a show built around CM Punk—is AEW’s new B-show, and one that effectively cannibalized Rampage. But the closer Collision’s viewership comes to Rampage, the more it will come off as more of a C+ show.
Collision drew a solid number on the strength of a nostalgic, pay-per-view caliber feud between two old ROH rivals in CM Punk and Samoa Joe. With head-to-head competition hardly scratching the surface, however, it feels too early to be in panic mode as this week’s broadcast came with a “due or die” feel, just four weeks in.
