The show is AEW's third overall program to air on TNT after Dynamite, which aired on TNT from October 2019 to December 2021 before moving to TBS in January 2022, and Friday Night Rampage, which aired on TNT from August 2021 until its cancelation in December 2024. This subsequently makes it the fourth overall wrestling show in general to air on TNT, after Dynamite, Rampage, and the former World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro (1995–2001), as well as the first Saturday night program on a Ted Turner network since the final episode of WCW Saturday Night on June 24, 2000. Since January 4, 2025, the show has been simulcast on TNT and the streaming service HBO Max, airing live on the streaming platform regardless of the location from where the show is produced.
History
On February 15, 2023, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) filed to trademark the name "Collision", hinting at a possible new in-ring television series in addition to their other programs, AEW Dynamite on TBS and AEW Rampage on TNT. Another trademark for the name was filed on April 28, leading to the belief that this would be the name of an upcoming Saturday television show.
On May 17, 2023, AEW and broadcast partner Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced a third weekly television show titled AEW Collision to air live on TNT as a two-hour show on Saturdays starting June 17, 2023, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). This was AEW's second weekly professional wrestling program to concurrently air on TNT after Rampage (which was cancelled in December 2024) and fourth overall wrestling show in general to air on TNT after Rampage, Dynamite (which aired on TNT from October 2019 to December 2021), and the former World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) Monday Nitro (which aired on TNT from September 1995 to March 2001) and the first wrestling show in a Saturday night time slot to air on a network founded by Ted Turner since the end of WCW Saturday Night on August 19, 2000. It was also revealed that AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), would move its tapings for ROH Honor Club TV to coincide with Collision, with ROH's show being taped after the live broadcast of Collision.
In preparation for the debut of Collision, AEW's YouTube programs, AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation, were canceled. This was due to an amended deal with WBD, in which all of AEW's programs would air exclusively on their channels. It was also reported that Rampage would begin showcasing younger AEW wrestlers and unsigned independent wrestlers, essentially becoming what Dark and Elevation were for the company.
Prior to the official announcement of Collision, there had been speculation that the inaugural episode would be held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. It was also speculated that it would feature the return of CM Punk, as the United Center is where Punk had made his AEW debut for the second episode of Rampage in August 2021. Since September 2022, Punk had been inactive due to both an injury and also a suspension as a result of the legitimate backstage altercation that occurred during the All Out post-event media scrum. Following the announcement of Collision, however, it was reported that there were still issues regarding Punk's return to AEW, with WBD denying his involvement with the show, but on May 24, 2023, it was reported that the issues had been settled. AEW president Tony Khan then confirmed that the first episode would be held at the United Center, and feature the return of Punk to AEW. Although Punk was brought back to be the centerpiece of the show, he would be fired that September after another legitimate backstage altercation that occurred at All In.
In speaking with the media on May 25 in promotion for AEW's Double or Nothingpay-per-view (PPV) that weekend, Khan clarified that Collision was not part of a new or extended deal with WBD, and instead, it was added on to their current contract, with AEW receiving a monetary increase from WBD for the show. Khan also confirmed that WBD reached out to AEW with the opportunity for another show, and that it was WBD's Chief Executive OfficerDavid Zaslav's idea for there to be more AEW content on TNT. It had also been speculated that with the addition of Collision, AEW would do some form of a roster split, similar to WWE's brand extension, in which half of the roster would perform exclusively on Dynamite while the other half would exclusively appear on Collision. In an appearance on the Barstool SportsRasslin' podcast with Brandon Walker, on June 13, Khan said that there would not be a hard split where wrestlers would exclusively appear on only one program. Instead, he said some wrestlers would be featured exclusively on certain shows for a certain period of time, but there could be opportunities for storylines to cross between Dynamite and Collision. He also confirmed that all AEW champions would continue to appear on all AEW programming.
On June 16, a day before Collision's debut, Khan confirmed that the show's commentary team would consist of Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness, with Jim Ross occasionally sitting in on main events. On October 14, Tony Schiavone was confirmed to join the commentary team. This remained until March 8, 2024, when Kelly's AEW contract was terminated.
Beginning with the August 5, 2023, episode, Collision airs against WWE's monthly PPV and livestreaming events, which are typically held on Saturdays at 8 p.m ET, starting with SummerSlam. Additionally, due to AEW's pay-per-view Full Gear being held on Saturday, November 18, 2023, that weekend's episode of Collision was instead held the night before on Friday, November 17 at 8 p.m. ET, which put it head-to-head against WWE's Friday night program, SmackDown. AEW would later attempt to avoid counterprogramming against WWE's Saturday PPVs by airing Collision at an earlier time those days. Collision aired live on Friday, September 6 alongside Rampage, a day before All Out and competed again with SmackDown, which held its series finale on Fox. With the return of Saturday Night's Main Event on December 14 airing on NBC and Peacock, Collision goes head-to-head with WWE's revived program when it airs. To avoid counterprogramming against Night 1 of WWE's WrestleMania 41 on Saturday, April 19, 2025, Collision aired live on Thursday, April 17, which was also the second part of the Spring BreakThru special. On March 31, 2025, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that going forward, AEW may continue to move Collision off Saturday nights when WWE is running a Saturday show, noting that AEW and WBD were monitoring the situation.
On occasion, AEW has not taped episodes of Collision due to scheduling conflicts or have moved the shows earlier broadcasts to avoid a conflict with various TNT Sports events. For example, as a result of AEW's PPV event, Worlds End, being held during Collision's Saturday night time slot on December 30, 2023, Collision was not held that week. An episode of Collision was also not held on March 23, 2024, due to the NCAA March Madness coverage occurring that night. Currently, the conflicts are with March Madness (including the Final Four every other year), the National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the NASCAR In-Season Tournament, where the show will air on a different date.
On October 2, 2024, AEW announced a new media rights deal with WBD, wherein AEW's television programs Dynamite and Collision would be simulcast on WBD's streaming service Max and their respective television channels beginning in January 2025. The first broadcast of Collision to simulcast on TNT and Max was on January 4, 2025.
Starting with All Out in September 2025, WBD began selling AEW pay-per-views on Max. As AEW's PPVs between September and December typically take place on Saturdays to avoid counterprogramming the NFL – and specifically, the Khan-owned Jacksonville Jaguars – Collision on pay-per-view weeks is now split into two episodes to fulfil contractual obligations: a one-hour presentation immediately following Dynamite on Wednesday, and Saturday Tailgate Brawl, which airs immediately before the PPV on TNT and Max and serves as the pre-show for the pay-per-view.
Since the start of AEW Collision simulcasting on HBO Max from the January 4, 2025 episode onward official TV ratings for the show's simulcast on Max has been unavailable.
The wrestlers featured on All Elite Wrestling take part in scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers are portrayed as heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match.