Eric Bischoff Doubts AEW Firing CM Punk Is The Reason Behind Collision’s Low Ratings

CM Punk has never failed to burn bridges with almost every promotion he has worked with, especially with WWE. His run with AEW came to an abrupt end last week and fans felt the decline in ratings was a direct result of his firing. That said, it appears Eric Bischoff doubts Punk’s firing is the reason behind AEW Collision’s low ratings.

CM Punk ended up ruining his reputation after AEW All Out last year, where he was involved in a backstage brawl with The Elite. When he returned to AEW as part of Collision, fans hoped things would be better.

That did not happen as CM Punk and Jack Perry had been suspended following their backstage confrontation at AEW All In, which eventually led to Tony Khan firing CM Punk. Khan would then provide the reason behind Punk’s firing.

After Punk’s firing, AEW Collision got an average of 345,000 viewers with close to 90,000 people changing the channel as soon as Punk’s firing announcement was made. While speaking on the Strictly Business podcast, Eric Bischof made it clear that he doubts Punk’s firing is the reason behind AEW Collision’s low ratings.

“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.

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.

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 and we all knew that when college football became a thing, it was gonna take another big hit. 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.”

CM Punk chants also broke out during the WWE Superstar Spectacle event. We will have to wait and see what will become of the Second City Saint in the end.

What’s your view on this CM Punk story? Do you blame CM Punk for everything that happened in AEW? Let us know in the comments!