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AEW Collision is in the books, and it was a historic event, to say the least. Headlined by the return of CM Punk after nearly a year away due to injury and the fallout from the post-All Out media scrum.
The Straight Edge Superstar kicked the night off with a fiery promo, making it clear that he's in no mood to make amends and apologize for his actions. Elsewhere, there were several outstanding matches on the card and a shocking title change. What will be the fallout from the debut episode of AEW Collision?
Here are five things AEW subtly told us based on what we saw last night:
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#5. Seeds planted for student-mentor feud between new TNT Champion Luchasaurus and Christian Cage
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One of the biggest shockers of the night was Luchasaurus pinning Wardlow to become the new TNT Champion, thanks to an assist from his manager, Christian Cage.
Despite the monster doing all the dirty work, it was Captain Charisma who celebrated the victory in an over-the-top manner, as if he were the one responsible for the win.
While Luchasaurus didn't visibly appear annoyed at Christian's exuberance, perhaps the company is teasing a potential feud down the line between the student and mentor. In the meantime, we can expect the new TNT Champion to continue on his warpath while Cage takes all the credit.
#4. AEW possibly buried Wardlow with TNT Championship loss
Speaking of Wardlow, this was a shocking loss for the man, given that he just won the TNT Championship a few weeks ago. This will certainly hurt his momentum, given that he was previously trading title wins with Powerhouse Hobbs over the belt, which also hurts his credibility in the process.
The once-beloved star left the match looking worse, which doesn't bode well for Wardlow's future. He has suffered from questionable bookings over the past year.
The War Dog seems like a shadow of the man who squashed MJF at Double or Nothing 2022. One wonders whether he can ever regain the popularity he once enjoyed among the AEW fans.
#3. Old WWE rivalry renewed between Malakai Black and Andrade
Andrade returned to All Elite Wrestling at Collision, delivering an outstanding match with Buddy Matthews from the House of Black. The two phenomenal athletes proved once again why they are the most underutilized talents on the roster.
It's clear that the Mexican star will be positioned as a huge babyface going forward, judging by the post-match shenanigans after gaining the victory. It looked as though the two stars were about to shake hands before the rest of the House of Black interrupted proceedings.
The leader of the faction, Malakai Black, had an interesting staredown with Andrade before calling for an attack on him. Both of them used to wrestle regularly in NXT, feuding over the NXT Championship. Perhaps All Elite Wrestling is teasing the start of another rivalry between them which will take place on Collision over the next few weeks.
#2. CM Punk carrying bag possibly teasing Forbidden Door bout with KENTA
There's no love lost between CM Punk and New Japan star KENTA. Given that both wrestlers utilize the GTS as their finishers, many fans have been calling Tony Khan to book a bout between the two wrestlers at the upcoming Forbidden Door event.
The NJPW star publicly called out CM Punk on Twitter and added that he needed the "bag" before agreeing to a match. It seems like his comments haven't gone unnoticed by Punk.
During his opening promo, the former AEW Champion brought a literal bag to the ring, which could be a subtle tease towards the Japanese star.
#1. CM Punk vs. MJF in an AEW World Title unification match at All In
CM Punk took verbal shots at several AEW stars, one of which is current World Champion MJF. He reminded fans that he never lost the world title and questioned whether The Devil deserved his title run, given that the Chicago star had defeated him in a Dog Collar match the last time they shared a ring together.
Punk does have a valid point. While Friedman is currently wrapped up in a world title feud with Adam Cole over on Dynamite, perhaps Tony Khan could revisit CM Punk vs. MJF once again further down the road at another show, All In, at Wembley Stadium. It would immediately headline the event based on the names involved alone.
