Highlights

• AEW's choice to schedule Collision on Saturday nights was a mistake, as it is traditionally a low-rated night and the show's ratings have already been cut in half compared to Rampage.
• AEW's attempt to piggyback off WWE's success by creating Rampage on Friday nights failed, as its ratings quickly declined and it lacked interesting storylines to attract viewers.
• Collision's ratings are also impacted by competition from college football, which is a popular Saturday night event in the fall. This, combined with AEW's lack of a built-in fan base, poses a challenge for the show's success.

When AEW debuted in 2019, Dynamite was their only show. Sure, they eventually had Dark and Elevation on YouTube, but that was reserved for low card and developmental wrestlers which unfortunately only the most hardcore of AEW fans watched. Everything revolved around Dynamite, but as the roster became bloated, there was a need for more time. AEW tried to take care of that in 2021 with the addition of Rampage, a one-hour show on Friday nights. With its dwindling ratings, and it still not giving the roster enough time to shine, more needed to be done.

AEW's solution was to scrap Dark and Elevation and create a new TNT show called Collision. This show would be two-hours, which would help greatly in getting underused stars back on TV. There was only one major problem: Collision was scheduled for Saturday nights. As ratings are quickly showing, it was the worst night AEW could have chosen.

AEW Rampage Failed On Friday Nights

When AEW created Rampage in 2021, they thought the idea was simple. Two million people or more were already watching wrestling on Friday nights by tuning into WWE SmackDown. If you were a fan of one wrestling show, you'd certainly be a fan of another, so AEW decided to piggyback off of SmackDown's success. It didn't work.

Rampage found some success in the beginning with the curiosity of a new show and the debut of CM Punk. Over a million people tuned in for that moment, but it was still only half of what WWE did. Rampage's numbers quickly fell throughout the months. For many, it felt rushed, with some matches not even having televised entrances. It quickly didn't feel special anymore. It had some great matches, sure, but there were no interesting stories to tune in for. These days, Rampage draws in around 400,000 viewers every week. It was obvious AEW needed to do something different, but the choice they made shows they haven't learned from their mistakes.

RELATED: Is It Time To Cancel AEW Rampage?

AEW Collison Has To Go Up Against WWE Once A Month

AEW's choice to put Collision on Saturday nights was a strange one. If there was any night worse than Fridays for a show, it was Saturdays. That's the night that's always had the lowest ratings. There's a reason big name network shows air during the week. Saturday is when people are out the most, and if they're not out, the casual fan isn't at home dying to watch wrestling. AEW is quickly finding that out, as Collision's ratings have already been cut in half to Rampage levels in just a few months. It's not all AEW's fault. There aren't many places to put a new show. Monday belongs to WWE Raw. AEW could put a show on Tuesday up against NXT, but then they'd have a show on two nights in a row. The same problem would occur if Collision was on Thursdays. There are Sundays, but then you're up against NFL football for a quarter of the year.

Saturday also has its own competition in the form of wrestling. Once a month WWE airs a Premium Live Event on Saturdays. The majority of fans are going to choose WWE. Only the most loyal AEW fans are going to watch Collision on those days. AEW found that out recently when a Collision episode that went up against WWE Payback only drew 345,000 viewers. It was their lowest rating yet.

RELATED: Why AEW Collision Will End Up Being Another AEW Rampage

College Football Could Cause AEW Collision To Collapse

WWE isn't the only reason that rating sunk so low. And no it's not the loss of CM Punk, as ratings were already bad for Collision when he was on the show every week. AEW has a much bigger enemy in the form of college football. Football is America's sport and college football is a juggernaut on Saturdays during the fall. Yes, WWE has the same issue, with Raw going up against the NFL's Monday Night Football in the fall. Raw's ratings always decrease a bit during this time too, but WWE also has a big built-in fan base to help it endure this. AEW doesn't have that. On top of that fact, WWE has one game to go up against. College football airs several games on Saturday nights.

Collision ratings are only going to sink lower as the shine of the new show wears off and the college football season progresses. Not even Bryan Danielson as the face of the show can change that. It's a shame. AEW needs Collision to succeed. Wrestling needs Collision to succeed. It's a good show, maybe even better than Dynamite, and it gets to showcase underused talent like Ricky Starks and Miro. If Collision fails, many midcard wrestlers risk disappearing again. Collision has to get off Saturday nights as soon as possible.