WWE veteran says Collision's low ratings "had nothing to do with" CM Punk's AEW termination

It was reported that following Tony Khan's announcement on Collision of former AEW World Champion, CM Punk, being terminated, there was a heavy downfall in the show's ratings, but a WWE Hall of Famer thinks that isn't the result of the former champion's absence.

It has been over a week since CM Punk was fired by Tony Khan from AEW due to his alleged actions at All In. However, the wrestling world is still in conversation about the situation. It was previously revealed that the episode of Collision, after the announcement of Punk's termination, suffered a drop of 89,000 viewers.

Furthermore, many felt that Collision's ratings would suffer even more after Punk's departure, as the show was literally built around him. However, not everyone thinks the same way, as former WCW President, Eric Bischoff, claims Collision's ratings didn't fall due to Punk's absence, but for some 'other reasons.' Speaking on his Strictly Business podcast, the wrestling veteran said:

"I think people are making too big a deal [out of it]. Before you jump to the conclusion that 89,000 people left because of CM Punk... I think that's a giant leap into fantasy land. It could have been for other reasons. It had nothing to do with CM Punk."

Bischoff further added:

"What was the lead-in for that show? That's the first thing I would want to know. I think there was a fair amount of curiosity about what is Tony gonna do? People who might not watch Collision decided to tune in and get a real-time update about what the situation was because it got a lot of press." [H/T WrestlingINC]

---

Eric Bischoff reflects on CM Punk's drawing abilities in AEW

Last month, CM Punk was the No.1 merchandise seller for AEW and many think he is still a bigger draw than those in the All Elite promotion. However, Eric Bischoff just straight out questioned whether the Second City Saint is really that big of a draw:

"I predicted it months ago... It opened up with 800,000, and before Punk got let go, it was bouncing around 400,000 or 500,000 viewers. It wasn't like it was setting the world on fire to begin with. I don't think Punk's departure ultimately will have as much of an impact on Collision as people think it did, because it didn't have a positive impact on the show, to begin with... He wasn't as big of a draw as people think he is." [H/T WrestlingINC]

It remains to be seen if Tony Khan's promotion will be left struggling in the future after the Best in the World was let go.