AEW Collision Rating Rises Without WWE PLE Competition, Still Hurt By College Football

"AEW Collision" breathed a small sigh of relief on Saturday, as it didn't have to compete with a WWE premium live event like the week prior, though it still had a hard-fought battle with college football.

According to Wrestlenomics, "Collision" saw a 38 percent spike in its overall viewership on Saturday, with an average of 476,000 viewers overall tuning in, while 199,000 of them came from the P18-49 demographic, also a 38 percent rise.

The most-viewed segment overall was the end of AEW International Champion Jon Moxley's defense against Action Andretti, with the peak for the P18-49 demographic coming at the conclusion of the main event match between Samoa Joe and Penta El Zero Miedo. For both demographics, the opening of the show was the lowest-rated segment of the evening.

"Collision" is stuck between a rock and a hard place, as last week it was up against WWE Payback, and in the middle of a hectic build towards All Out that left some viewers burnt out and resulted in the lowest viewership in the show's young history, while this week's show faced stiff competition from college football, which will only become more of a problem as the season goes on, as Saturday is the main gameday for NCAA Football. The show is also facing an identity crisis, as central "Collision" figure CM Punk was fired from AEW after a backstage altercation at All In. Punk was initially the face of the Saturday night program in an effort to keep him separate from members in the AEW locker room, including The Elite and Christopher Daniels.