CM Punk and Samoa Joe kicked off the AEW All In pay-per-view last month when Punk defended his Real AEW World Championship against Joe, and it was Punk who picked up the win. The match received some positive reviews as both Punk and Joe gave it their all, but it was what happened before the match that got people talking.
The Second City Saint got into a backstage altercation with Jack Perry before his match at All In, and Tony Khan later confirmed that CM Punk’s AEW contract had been terminated.
Ahead of AEW Collision last Saturday, Tony Khan issued a statement confirming CM Punk had been terminated. Tony Khan also kicked off AEW Collision with a pre-taped segment where he explained his decision to fire CM Punk.
WrestleNomics (via PWInsider) is reporting that 472,000 viewers tuned in to the opening quarter of AEW Collision on 9/2. However, after Tony Khan announced that CM Punk had been fired 89,000 people tuned out.
Viewership for AEW Collision following the announcement went down to 383,000 which means that the show lost 19% of the audience after Tony Khan confirmed that CM Punk’s contract had been terminated. The show averaged 345,000 viewers which means it was the lowest audience in the history of Collision so far.
