"What the f**k was this strategy about?" - Jim Cornette points out the reason for low AEW Collision tickets sale
AEW Collision is set to launch on June 17. Despite the initial excitement surrounding the new project, the show is struggling to move tickets, and wrestling veteran Jim Cornette may have identified the reason why.
It was assumed that when CM Punk was announced to return for the new show, that Collision would receive a boost in ticket sales. While this was the case for the premiere episode emanating from Chicago, the subsequent shows in Canada are still performing poorly.
Jim Cornette believes that AEW is oversaturating the market in The Great White North by having too many shows within close proximity of each other. The promotion is running shows in Toronto and Hamilton over the space of a week despite the cities being 50 miles away from each other.
One of these shows is the hotly-anticipated Forbidden Door pay-per-view, which has already sold over 12,000 tickets.
Speaking on his Drive-Thru podcast, Cornette said the following:
"Within a week, they are running the same town twice and they’re running a town 50 miles away. And how much money do they think these f**king people have? How much time do they think they have in their life? […] I haven’t seen anybody say, 'What the f**k was this strategy about?'"[From 02:44 – 03:19]
Tony Khan announces the official AEW Collision schedule, as the Saturday show will tour through Canada and then come back in US to Newark for the July 22nd episode!
The June 17 debut location will be announced next week. https://t.co/SXMynBie3a
Given the evidence, there may be some truth behind Cornette's argument. However, the company still has a bit of time to alter its strategy to ensure that Collision succeeds.
AEW Collision is struggling to fill seats
Despite being a known hotbed for professional wrestling, AEW Collision has managed to sell only 2,000 seats for their tapings in Toronto, according to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer. Furthermore, the promotion has sold just 700 tickets for their show in Hamilton on June 29.
This has understandably raised concerns for the promotion, which obviously wants the show to get off to a hot start.
It’s official: the main event for the debut episode of #AEWCollision will be @SamoaJoe @jaywhitenz #JuiceRobinson vs. #AEW World Tag Team Champs #FTR @daxftr @CashWheelerFTR & @CMPunk!
Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on Saturday, June 17th at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT! https://t.co/MooCffF4HQ
Since this report, Tony Khan has revealed the main event of the premiere Collision episode. CM Punk will return to action and team up with FTR to take on Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Samoa Joe.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.