Tony Khan has done a good job of stringing out AEW: Collision announcements on Dynamite over the past three weeks. Starting with the proclamation that Collision is indeed heading to TNT on Saturday nights, he returned the next week to reveal The United Center as the location for the premiere, and lastly, of course, this past week, confirming CM Punk’s inclusion as part of the show. Other names announced for Collision so far include Miro, Thunder Rosa, Powerhouse Hobbs, Samoa Joe, and Andrade El Idolo.
The week before the initial announcement for the debut episode, a few stars that had been off TV for a while were seen backstage going into Tony Khan’s office, Thunder Rosa and Miro. Neither talent had been seen on AEW TV in months, and their appearances added further fuel to the fire that a second AEW property was on its way.
Fightful is reporting that Andrade was also intended to be one of the long-unseen talents returning backstage and entering the AEW President and General Manager’s office. And while the former WWE star was backstage for the May 10 AEW Dynamite taping, he turned down the pitch to return to AEW TV in the same fashion Rosa and Miro did. No explanation was given for why he declined the idea.
El Idolo had apparently been telling people around the time of May 10 that he physically did not feel ready for an in-ring return but the situation has definitely changed. He will be making his return to the ring this month down in Mexico in a match against Psycho Clown and Cibernetico, just days before the debut episode of Collision. Haus of Wrestling is told Andrade is not only working the match to shake off ring rust but also because he wants to work with one of the talents in the match, and it is taking place in his hometown.
What El Idolo does when he does get back in the AEW ring is anyone’s guess. As of late, most of the speculation revolving around Collision’s creative direction has been centered around CM Punk and what he’ll be doing. Word on the street is that Punk is looking to work with Samoa Joe right out of the gate but it’s possible he wants a piece of El Idolo, as well.