AEW: Collision Main Event Announcement, Kris Statlander on Ending Jade Cargill’s Streak, CM Punk Update

Jun 6, 2023

AEW Collision’s Debut Show Main Event to be Announced at Wednesday’s Dynamite Show

AEW recently announced that AEW CEO Tony Khan will be making another official announcement regarding their upcoming debut show for Collision during this Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite.

It was announced that Khan will be officially revealing the main event for Collision’s debut show on June 17th in Chicago, Illinois.

This week on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite, #AEW CEO & GM @TonyKhan will announce the MAIN EVENT for the Saturday, June 17 Premiere of #AEWCollision!

Don't miss Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite LIVE from Colorado Springs at 8pm ET/7pm CT on @tbsnetwork! pic.twitter.com/3qWu2mQNdE
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 5, 2023

Kris Statlander Comments on Breaking Jade Cargill’s Undefeated Streak

A recent episode of the Busted Open Radio podcast featured Kris Statlander as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Statlander’s thoughts on her being the one to end Jade Cargill’s undefeated streak in AEW and win the TBS Championship.

“Very much what I’ve been saying, where I was nervous and I wasn’t sure if I was the one that deserved to be the one to do it. It’s not just because of how much they built her up. She has such incredible star power, she has such a presence to her. People want to see her. I was putting pressure on myself, thinking like ‘How am I going to live up to the type of person and the type of star that she is. She’s undefeated, she’s brought so many outside eyes to wrestling. She’s done so much, and it’s gonna take a while to realize that I don’t have to be the next Jade. I just have to be Kris Statlander, and I’ve got to make my title reign be mine. I can still go out and do events and do things that she did, but I’m not gonna be Jade.
No one’s gonna be Jade. Jade’s the first-ever TBS Champion, she’s the longest-reigning champion in AEW history, and I think those are two incredible accolades that no one else in the world is going to have. It’s a lot of pressure about just proving that I am the one that was able to step up, and I can step up, and I will. Even though I’ve had to [miss time] because of being injured, I can step right back into the scene and be a champion that people deserve and that people want to see. It’s been just about a week since I’ve been back, and I’ve already technically wrestled four matches, and I am so tired, but it’s everything that I’ve wanted it to be, and I’m just so thankful that everyone has trusted me.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

AEW’s Creative Plans Pitches for CM Punk’s Return & Backstage Reaction to Punk’s Return

As noted before, AEW recently announced that CM Punk will be making his return to the company at their upcoming AEW Collision debut show on June 17th in Chicago, Illinois. Punk has been absent from AEW since this past September due to his suspension from his involvement in the infamous All Out 2022 backstage brawl incident and his return had been in doubt most recently over issues over Ace Steel’s rehiring in the company that were later resolved.

Fightful Select reported that immediately after AEW’s All Out 2022 event, several talent spoken to stated that they would have left the company if Punk were to return. Most of those talent spoken to reportedly stated that their stance was tied to Punk’s words at the post-show scrum instead of the brawl itself. It was reported that their sources stated that Punk would apologize for his comments made at the scrum. It was also reported that they have not heard anything regarding a potential walkout in recent weeks meaning that Punk’s backstage heat had cooled down a lot.

It was reported that most people spoken to stated that they felt that the backstage situation would not have blown up as much had Steel not been involved while others spoken to stated that Steel was seen as a valuable member of AEW’s team prior to the brawl. Those spoken to who were positive towards Steel stated that his skill set was something being underestimated by many online in regards to his value as a creative mind and coach.

In regards to potential creative plans for Punk’s return, it was reported that their sources have not had any new updates for quite some time regarding potential plans for Punk to feud with Chris Jericho on Collision. It was reported that AEW’s plans for a Punk vs. Samoa Joe match is still in the works. Punk reportedly has most recently taking a liking to the work of Jay White and is interested in a potential program with White and Bullet Club Gold, either for a storyline feud or Punk joining the group.