CM Punk's return to the ring continues to make waves in the wrestling world as he is now set to also appear in Toronto for AEW Collision.
Punk will be making his first AEW appearance since All Out this Saturday at the first AEW Collision show. He will team up with FTR to take on the formidable trio of Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Samoa Joe in the main event. The match promises to be explosive, with fans eagerly awaiting the Straight Edge Superstar's in-ring return.
The excitement surrounding Punk's comeback is evident in the ticket sales for the show. WrestleTix reports that over 8,400 tickets have already been distributed for this Saturday's event at the United Center in Chicago.
However, the follow-up episodes of Collision in Canada have received a lukewarm response, with the June 24 episode at the Scotiabank Arena having less than 1,900 tickets distributed so far. AEW recently advertised on Twitter that CM Punk would be at the show.
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AEW is optimistic about their Canadian tour, with consecutive shows in Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre. The upcoming episodes of Dynamite and Rampage on June 28 and Collision on June 29 are expected to attract bigger audiences.
The announcement of Punk's involvement in AEW Collision on June 24th adds more excitement to the show. The Toronto episode of Collision will be the last before the eagerly awaited Forbidden Door 2 pay-per-view on June 25th.
WWE Hall of Famer calls CM Punk the biggest financial flop ever
Eric Bischoff recently criticized CM Punk, calling him the "biggest financial flop" ever.
In a recent interview on the Strictly Business podcast, Bischoff stated that Punk's presence did not significantly boost ticket sales for AEW's Collision and All In events.
"Remember when I told you, and I think I told you on this show, if I was Tony Khan, I would not bring Punk to the UK. I would establish the fact that I could sell 70,000 tickets without him. They sold 65,000 tickets, and then they announced him, and how many additional tickets have they sold? 700? Like a percent, whatever it is, it's incremental at best and now they're having a hard time selling out these Collision shows with Punk as a centerpiece. Am I right or am I right?"
He continued:
"When I came out and said that, I took so much heat for this. CM Punk is the most overrated, I didn't even say potential, I said he was gonna be the biggest financial flop in wrestling history and I think I'm being proven right every minute of the day," said Bischoff.
Despite criticism from Eric Bischoff, AEW remains optimistic about Punk's impact and the success of their new show.
Do you think CM Punk's presence will impact the overall atmosphere for AEW Collision? Sound off in the comments section below.