Report: CM Punk Fails To Boost AEW Collision Ticket Sales Outside Of Chicago

All Elite Wrestling's new Saturday night show, Collision, is set to debut soon, with the premiere scheduled to air from the United Center in Chicago on June 17. 

Following that event, AEW will embark on a tour of Canada but it emerged in recent weeks that ticket sales for the Collision tapings had been slow. CM Punk's return had not yet been officially announced when tickets went on sale but Tony Khan has since revealed on last week's Dynamite that the two-time AEW World Champion will return to the promotion on June 17 in Chicago. 

Despite the expectation that Punk will be involved with the Collision tapings in Canada, ticket sales have not received a boost, with Dave Meltzer saying on Wrestling Observer Radio that ticket sales in the Great White North are simply "bad." The Punk announcement did move tickets for the taping at the United Center.

AEW has sold less than 2,000 tickets for the Collision taping on June 24 in Toronto, the day before Forbidden Door takes place in the same arena. The July 15 taping of Collision in Calgary is still struggling "a little bit" to move tickets but Meltzer believes the show at the Saddledome will ultimately be okay. Only 700 tickets have been sold for the Thursday, June 29 Collision taping in Hamilton, Ontario, however, and the Regina, Saskatchewan taping is expected to be "very, very tough" for AEW. 

On possible reasons for the lack of a boost in ticket sales, Meltzer noted the summer weather in Saskatchewan could be a factor, as will the lack of an announcement about how Collision will air in Canada.

"They're bad. Punk has been moving tickets in Chicago but not in the other places. Not in Toronto which is not a good sign because Toronto is one of the greatest markets in North America. They sold out Forbidden Door in a snap of the fingers. And then for the Collision show, they're still under 2,000 tickets in Scotiabank Arena. I was told ahead of time that Regina and Saskatoon, which is actually a Dynamite, would be very tough because people in Saskatchewan, because they don't get good weather very much, they head out of town and go to the lake and stuff," Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio.

"They [AEW] really picked a bad time to go to Saskatchewan...Edmonton (a Dynamite taping) will do very well. I've had people in Calgary tell me that that one is a little bit struggling for Saturday. With the Saturday night, they should do okay, but Hamilton and Regina are gonna be very, very tough. They're at 700 tickets for the Collision in Hamilton. I also think part of it is that in Canada they only get Dynamite on television. They don't get Rampage and there's been no announcements of Collision."

Alongside Punk, the likes of Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, Miro, Andrade El Idolo, Scorpio Sky, and Thunder Rosa will be headline talents on Collision.