Look in my eyes; what do you see? TV ratings! CM Punk came up short this past Saturday night on AEW Collision in a tag team match with Darby Allin against Christian Cage and Ricky Starks, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t rack up a meaningful win in the viewership department. Wrestlenomics reports that this past Saturday’s episode ranked second for the night in cable originals and third in cable originals and broadcast primetime. This is the highest the show has ever ranked among cable originals, with its previous best being third place for the debut episode.
These numbers are great news for Tony Khan and the rest of the AEW Collision crew, as Warner Brothers Discovery is reportedly looking at AEW’s new flagship show ranking in the top five as a sign of success. Thus far, Collision has only dipped below the top five rankings once, when the third episode ranked ninth. It is worth noting that episode was pre-taped, and the results were not hard to find online ahead of time.
CM Punk is said to be looking at Collision as “his show” and has gone about putting his fingerprints on everything from the in-ring work to the backstage creative process. Recently, The Second City Saint reportedly held a meeting with the AEW Collision roster, or regulars on the show, laying out how the show is intended to be different from Dynamite. Notably, Punk is pushing for unique finishes to matches and “no shenanigans,” which usually means cutting back on outside interference.
For its part, AEW Dynamite is also drawing strong viewership, and this past Wednesday’s Blood & Guts installment was the number-one show in cable originals. This is the third week in a row that Dynamite has held that distinction, and Warner Brothers Discovery touted how the violent episode was the “highest rated, most watched Primetime” TBS episode in the key P18-49 demo in over two months.