Posted in: AEW, Sports, TNT, TV | Tagged: aew, AEW Collision, cm punk, dynamite, Rampage, tnt, wrestling

AEW: Collision Announcement Originally Listed CM Punk: Report

Reports are that today's original AEW: Collision announcement from Warner Bros. Discovery listed CM Punk but was changed; WBD responds.

Published Wed, 17 May 2023 13:57:12 -0500

by Ray Flook

Last updated Wed, 17 May 2023 20:48:52 -0500

Comments

By now, we're sure you've heard that Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that the two-hour AEW: Collision will begin hitting TNT screens on Saturday, June 17th (8-10 pm ET). We learned that some of the familiar names on the roster will include Miro, Samoa Joe, Thunder Rosa, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Andrade El Idolo – and we had key art that also showed MJF, Orange Cassidy, FTW (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler), and House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, & Brody King). Well, it didn't take long for fans on social media to ask the question that we had a feeling they were going to ask. Where's CM Punk? Over the past few weeks, rumblings have been growing that Punk would be making a return to AEW – and that the now-named AEW: Collision would be the best place for him. Considering any potential lingering issues with Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson), or Chris Jericho that may still exist, it seemed like a logical choice. And yet, there was no mention of Punk in the announcement – but it looks like there was in the original announcement.

AEW Dynamite: Fans Turn on CM Punk Over Anti-WWE Sentiment — CM Punk is booed out of the building on AEW Dynamite

In a cached version of the Warner Bros. Discovery press release, Punk was apparently listed as one of the new show's headliners (reported by Fightful and other sites) before a revised edition went public. For its part, a representative from Warner Bros. Discovery released a statement to ComicBook.com that read: "CM Punk is not affiliated with TNT's 'AEW Collision.'" Here's a look at the tweet from writer/reporter Brandon Thurston, who covers the business side of professional wrestling, showing the "before/after" AEW: Collision announcements that include the disappearing name:

WBD's press release headline for the AEW Collision announcement originally mentioned CM Punk and other wrestlers, which you can see in the cached listing (left) before it was edited (right).

h/t to @JimmyTraina for noticing pic.twitter.com/VUzkvjzbh1

— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) May 17, 2023

"With the addition of 'AEW: Collision' on TNT, I'm extremely proud that a Turner network will be the home of Saturday night wrestling for the first time in more than two decades," said AEW CEO, GM & Head of Creative Tony Khan. "The debut of 'Collision' is significant across numerous sectors, including television, wrestling, entertainment and sports, and reinforces AEW as the bold property we envisioned when we launched in 2019. 'Collision' will deliver live every Saturday night more of what fans and viewers tell us they want – athleticism, big personalities, exciting storylines, and hard-hitting wrestling action, all of which have become synonymous with AEW."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!