So, there’s been plenty of discussion about how well AEW Collision will do when it debuts on TNT and former WWE writerhas questions. Now there are a lot of questions about the fate of the Dark project, what will be done with AEW Rampage, and how the split will be done. The biggest question is can AEW make Saturday work?
Former WWE Writer Freddie Prinze Jr Questions if Tony Khan Can Make AEW Collision Work Airing on Saturdays
Prinze also ponders about the Saturday prime time show. Sure, AEW has a nice roster of upper card and main event stats on board—including CM Punk—but Saturday tends to be a day with a lot of sports being aired. In the U.S market, some sports can be on throughout the day with back to back games from its leagues and in multiple TV markets.
It can even be multiple sports and things get dicier because collegiate sports gets a lot of TV time. In the early 2000s, it wasn’t unusual for WWE SmackDown to get preempted for a high school football game. SmackDown is an internationally watched show, this high school game is as local as local gets.
Of course, AEW wouldn’t need to worry about all of that on TNT. There might be some clashes with NBA which will either see it bumped later in the night or earlier in the evening—unless it’s just moved to a more flexible day.
AEW would know in advance and probably tape that episode of AEW Collision. During his Wrestling with Freddie podcast, Prinze said that while he hopes that the show is successful, he isn’t sure how it will work.
“I don’t know if this is going to work, I hope it does. CM Punk is the star of the show, so it has one hell of a chance to … ’cause he means ratings. I hope everyone’s heads are in the right place, I hope everyone’s egos are in the right place. I hope everyone understands how important it is that these shows succeed and that we don’t implode so that we can have more and more and more wrestling, which means more jobs for more and more and more wrestlers.” (h/t: Wrestling Inc)
This seems to be the climate from those who have actually been in the business: they’re not certain this show will be successful as few attempts at the same have succeeded in the past but they’re wishing AEW the best on it. Freddie Prinze Jr is slated to found his own wrestling promotion soon. There has been no word on the talents on board or what approach he’s looking to pursue with his company.
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