The Collision conundrum is getting loud
If you spent your Friday night clicking through the latest AEW Collision videos, you likely walked away with the same confused look as a confused puppy watching a ceiling fan. We are mid-2026, and the discourse around this show has devolved into a full-blown civil war in the comment sections. Some of you act like every match is a historical artifact, while others are counting the minutes until the show goes off the air.
The enthusiasts are holding onto the in-ring quality like a lifeline. They point to the technical precision and the lack of commercial interruptions in the match clips as proof that this is still the best wrestling on television. These fans argue that if you ignore the lack of clear narrative stakes, you get to see some of the cleanest chain wrestling on the planet. It is a purist argument, sure, but it is one that ignores the reality of building a television product that keeps casual viewers from changing the channel to literally anything else.
The skeptics are finding their voice
Then we have the skeptics, who are basically the ghost of booking past, constantly pointing out that the crowd heat feels like it is cooling off by the 10:00 PM mark. They argue that the talent is being wasted on matches that have no real repercussions for the rankings or the championship pictures. It is the same critique that made the AAA Noche De Los Grandes high-flying madness feel like a disjointed mess, just without the chaotic energy to paper over the cracks in the foundation.
Why are we running matches that feel like they have the urgency of a mid-card warm-up during a taping in 2024? The problem, as many in the community point out, is that the show often feels untethered from the momentum of the flagship Dynamite broadcast. If you are watching every single week, you know exactly what I mean — there is a distinct lack of connective tissue between the shows that makes the viewer feel like they are doing homework instead of enjoying a spectacle.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle
Here is where I plant my flag: the in-ring work is fundamentally fine, but the booking is essentially stuck in a rut that even ROH's recent booking black hole would find concerning. You cannot expect the audience to care about a three-count if the players involved do not have a compelling enough reason to be in the ring beyond just being talented wrestlers who need a time slot.
Some contrarians will swear that Saturday night is just a different vibe and that we should stop comparing it to the high-stakes drama of prime-time wrestling. That is a weak excuse for a multi-million dollar promotion. If you have the roster depth of AEW, you have zero excuse for a show to feel this directionless. We are witnessing high-level athletes doing high-level gymnastics while the promotion forgets to finish the story they started three months ago.
Ultimately, the enthusiasts are winning the argument on pure technical ability, but the skeptics are winning the argument on long-term viability. A match being a 'banger' is not an excuse for the lack of narrative stakes in the latter half of the decade. We need more than just great locks and crisp strikes to keep the lights on and the fans engaged.
We are watching a brand potentially lose its identity in real time. It is like watching a favorite band start playing only their deep cuts at a stadium tour while the hits gather dust in the basement. Hopefully, the creative team finds their spark before the audience decides they have better things to do than watch content that feels like it was put together on a rotating shift.
