The viewership crater is getting deeper
If you look at the latest AEW Collision numbers, you don't need a math degree to see the problem. The March 28 episode didn't just stumble; it face-planted, marking a massive dip that should have the production team sweating through their shirts.
Tony Khan is currently booking shows like he’s playing TEW 2026 on the hardest difficulty setting while blindfolded. When you see viewership numbers collapse like a folding chair under a heavyweight, you have to admit the product is lacking the necessary hook to keep people glued to the screen on a Friday night.
Edmonton tapings and the return scramble
Then we have the Edmonton tapings for the upcoming episode. The internet is losing its collective mind because the booking is becoming as predictable as a Saturday morning cartoon. It feels like the company is frantically searching the couch cushions for spare change in the form of returning stars to pop a rating.
We saw Hikaru Shida make her return after being MIA for months. Look, I love Shida, but bringing her back to clean up a messy house is like trying to fix a leaky roof with a piece of Scotch tape. It’s a band-aid on a gash.
The Collision identity crisis
The spoilers out of Edmonton paint a picture of a show that doesn't know where it fits. Collision started as the “wrestling show” meant to contrast the Dynamite chaos, but now it feels like a B-list version of the same tired tropes.
Dave Meltzer has been dissecting these trends, and honestly, the math is brutal. When you compare Collision against what's happening over on SmackDown, you see the difference between a finely tuned sports-entertainment machine and a promotion that feels like it's improvising week-to-week.
The biggest issue? There is no sense of urgency. WrestleMania 41 is less than 17 days away, and while the rest of the industry is riding the hype train, AEW feels like it's waiting for the bus to arrive.
Booking into a wall
The obsession with relying on returning stars to spark short-term interest is a bad habit that is going to cost them in the long run. Fans aren't stupid. They recognize when a return is a genuine story development and when it's a panic-button press.
If the plan is to just shuffle the same faces back onto the roster to paper over the cracks, the ratings won't improve. You can bring back every legend in the rolodex, but if the mid-card matches lack stakes and the main events feel like they exist in a vacuum, the channel surfing will continue unabated.
We are drifting toward Double or Nothing on May 24, and the lack of long-term thread-pulling is loud. I want to see this company succeed, but watching them spin their wheels while the competition prepares for Philadelphia is like watching a car crash in slow motion.
Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about the internet discourse and start worrying about building a show that people don't want to skip. If you aren't grabbing them in the first ten minutes, you've already lost the battle.
