Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that AEW has also temporarily booked Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida, for the inaugural episode of Collision on Saturday, June 17.
As it stands, AEW has both United Center in Chicago and Daily’s Place on the calendar, and a decision will be made next week on which one will get the first episode.
The general feeling is that if CM Punk is not going to be there, booking the United Center will be a very hard task to sell and if you book the United Center without having Punk there, it will create a huge level of disappointment for fans who will be attending the show.
Tony Khan said on Wednesday that the location for the inaugural episode will be announced next week so Khan and AEW have a few more days to try and patch things up with Punk before making a final decision.
The former AEW champion bailed out on the company on the day before the WBD upfront event over what insiders say an issue with the status of his friend Ace Steel. Punk wanted Steel to work the Collision shows moving forward but it seems that the decision was taken for Steel not to be physically at the shows, something which Punk couldn’t agree on.
Regardless of which location will be chosen, AEW will have less than a month to move tickets for the June 17 inaugural episode.