[8.0] "This was a great match. CM Punk made his AEW return of the first episode of Collision, which was supposed to be the beginning of a soft brand split with Punk and his roster and the Young Buck's roster on Dynamite. Here, he was teaming with his friends FTR against the heel team of Bullet Club Gold and famed ROH rival Samoa Joe. This match went 20 minutes and while I do think it was a couple of minutes too long, it was a fun 6 man tag nonetheless. FTR and Bullet Club Gold did the lion share of the work with Punk and Joe being saved for certain moments. After a Shatter Machine and then a GTS on Juice Robinson, CM Punk and FTR won the match. ****"
[7.0] "Joe, Jay & Juice is an excellent team I didn't know I needed, they were so entertaining together! Punk and Joe encounter was cool, but the really nice surprise here is the amount of offense Cash Wheeler got. This is a very different formula from the usual multi-men AEW matches, but I think it worked fine, maybe went too long, but hey, that was the whole Collision special spice I guess."
[7.0] "[3.5*] Awesome main event. I miss so much these 30-min multi-man superstar Main Events that happened on the Punk Collision era. It felt must watch and delivered every single time."
[8.0] "I'm not a client of this kind of formula, where you pair up heels together just because they are heels. Nonetheless, it was freaking cool witnessing a confrontation between Joe, and Punk. These two old bastards never miss together. FTR, and White & Robinson ensured the show in terms of tag-team wrestling, while people were red-hot for Punk, and Joe. Each lad had the time to shine, as it was a great showcase for everybody involved for the premiere of Collision. The final minutes were pretty intense, moreover. That was definitely pretty fun."
[7.0] "The opening match for Collision was a great match, I really liked the choice here, to have CM Punk in a multi-man match to take the rust out. Jay and Juice play the heel role very well and Joe interaction with Punk was legendary, I had goosebumps the whole time - {***1/2}"
[8.0] "I really loved this, the atmosphere was amazing and we got some great exchanges in this match, such as Punk and Joe sharing the ring for the first time in twenty years and a tease for the Punk vs White match that unfortunately never happened. Everyone played their part and the faces got the win."
[9.0] "The further that we're removed from this, the more that I've adored it. Certainly, it's not without flaws, stretched thin at 25 minutes and featuring an understandably rusty CM Punk performance. Even still, it's armed with a unique gravity, possessing a distinct big fight feel in Chicago. The blank slate of Collision's premiere is central to that, taking an early swing at establishing a Saturday night house style. It'd ultimately be for nought, but they handle the project magnificently, wrestling with immense intensity throughout. The work is very much about how they do stuff, rather than what they're actually doing. It's fiery, snappy main event action, with BCG and FTR making up much of the match. Sprinkle in some Joe - Punk magic and warts and all, you have a special TV main event. ****1/4"
[8.0] "This was a very fun tag team main event. We had some good encounters between FTR and BCG and Punk and Jay White and an awesome stare down between Punk and Joe. Anyways, the match was very fun, back and fourth and I loved the dynamics and the faces got the win."
[7.0] "The main event was good but not excellent. First, it was too long. AEW could have cut 5-10 minutes, which would have been better. The match was chaotic, with all six Superstars getting the chance to show their skills. I was especially impressed with Dax Harwood; He didn't mind getting physical, which brought me in. However, it seemed that Samoa Joe & CM Punk got the most minor parts of them all. Speaking of CM Punk, he got a massive reaction from the crowd and worked with it throughout the match."
[7.0] "A well-paced methodical trios tag from these six guys. CMFTR did a good job of playing face, but Jay White and Samoa Joe did an even better job with their masterful heel work, as they set the ground work for all future encounters on Collision. Not a classic by any means, but it did what it needed to do without overstaying it's welcome. ***3/4"
[8.0] "The first ever main event of Collision was an hard-hitting battle with a hot crowd: Punk looked in good shape and his meeting with Joe after nearly 20 years was the highlights of the match. Ftr were good as always and Bullet Club were great here as well as Joe. Lots of brual strikes, good heel work by the heels and good comebacks by the babyfaces. Probably a bit too long and the middle part felt dragged but still very enjoyable. 8/10 - 4*/5*"
[8.0] "This felt big. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the new show launching, return of Punk, or his first time in a ring with Samoa Joe in years, but this match felt like a big deal. It was fun, but not fantastic."
[8.0] "Good stuff, and a nice way to help Punk knock off the ring rust. The Punk/Joe square-off was electric, and I'm looking forward to more BC-Gold vs FTR."
[3.0] "Over long and indulgent. Outside of the Punk and Joe face off there was little to no value from this near 30 minute affair. Did to nothing elevate the likes of Jay White and felt more like a house show main event."
[7.0] "Good match but I expected much better coming from those guys. It was long for no reason, the finish was flat, and it felt like a house show match on live TV. But I still had a good time watching it so I can't rate it lower"
[6.0] "Just some fan service for the Chicago boys, it was a fun reaction when the crowd were chanting "f* your sign" to a anti-CM Punk guy lmao, it was some gold moment."
[9.0] "Great TV main event here. Crowd was crazy hot, FTR was on point, and Punk seemed to shake off the ring rust quickly. His initial exchange with Samoa Joe had great energy, Joe looked much better than he usually does this time. My only complaint is it was a bit too long, especially with White and Juice not exactly providing much interest in their control segments, but still it was very fun live."
[8.0] "A very good match to close this episode of Collision. CM Punk's debut is on everyone's lips but I think his level is quite low compared to the other wrestlers, however, overall it was a good fight."
[7.0] "Very solid, if a little unspectacular. Punk didn't steal the show or anything with FTR carrying most of the workload. The closing stretch was good fun and got the crowd going but there wasn't a lot that really elevated it beyond that. ***3/4"
[6.0] "It was a dragged out, house show-style six man with a scattering of memorable moments. Punk looked like an over the hill veteran returning to play the hits for one night only. He's gonna struggle in front of less partisan crowds ***"
[6.0] "This match was structured oh so well. They saved Punk for some special moments, and limited his in ring time. Dax continues to just deliver night after night."
[7.0] "Nice comeback match for CM Punk, who delivered a great moment as he faced off with his old rival Samoa Joe after nearly 19 years. FTR did their part as always, Bullet Club Gold also did well although I would have liked to see a little more offensive from Jay White. Match maybe a little too long but still really good. 3.75 stars."
[6.0] "This *really* didn't need to go 25+ minutes but it still managed to be quite good because (mostly) everyone was dedicated to wrestling seriously and making their offence, as well as their opponents' offence, look convincing. For this being Punk's big return match, I have to say that he didn't feel like a major part of the match in either performance or placing, and I think he was clearly the worst worker in the match, surpassed even by Juice. Jay is coming more and more into his signature character these days, as he's getting a good mixture of his antagonistic and cheeky heel character work in alongside his brutal and aggressive control work, all while selling very well when it comes time to make his babyface opponents look good. Dax was pretty good in terms of his energy and physicality, but I can't shake that he constantly buys into that faux "grr we're an OLD SCHOOL throwback to when WRESTLING was REAL" attitude that FTR gets painted with, and that makes his character work feel a bit hokey, especially since he's meant to be a babyface. I'm also beyond over his Bret Hart tribute schtick. Doing Bret offence spots is one thing, but SELLING as if he's Bret (that chest-first bump in the turnbuckle was at least recorded from a zoom-out, but the fact is he still went for it) remains pretty embarrassing and makes it even more difficult to take him seriously. Cash is basically a better version of Dax because he has a similar offensive style, just minus the lame Bret stuff and faux 'tough guy' persona. Like Jay, Juice was a good foil for the babyfaces, also standing out from Jay and Joe by being more of the loudmouth and 'goofy' type of heel, though he has the charisma and commitment to the role to make it work instead of being embarrassingly dorky. He still managed to have some decent aggression and impact in his offence, too. Obviously a big appeal of Joe in this match is seeing him face off with Punk. Now, I've always thought that their supposedly legendary series of matches was extremely overrated and almost entirely carried by Joe, so I wasn't especially excited to see an even more broken down Punk try to role the years back here, even if current-day Joe can definitely still bring the power and intensity to a far greater degree than current-day Punk can. They barely even interacted, but Joe was still really good and even great here, bringing heaps of explosiveness when firmly in control. By contrast, Punk offered little other than his name on the card, since his offence and set-ups either looked weak or awkward, and he only ever impressed when performing team offence with FTR. He wasn't outright bad but he certainly wasn't impressive, and didn't look at all convincing as the 'top guy' he's meant to be. The other 5 guys did well making this as engaging as it was, though I still think a tighter match of maybe 18 mins would've made for a better end product. ***1/4"
[9.0] "I want to highlight how Juice Robinson's fighting career has evolved, a noticeable and positive evolution; I felt an excellent job from everyone, there were all kinds of techniques, there are certain failures, not very noticeable failures, I think the time was too long, it should have been shorter; In any case, it was one of the best Six-Man Tag Team Matches I've seen, it's a highly recommended match for all types of audiences for the entertainment it provides."
[8.0] "Punk didn't spend much time in the ring during this match, and he was a bit off for some stuff but overall he gave a quality performance. The atmosphere, whenever Punk and Joe faced off, was great, plus the interactions they had during the match were great as well. This match going 25 allowed everyone to have some time to shine, with Juice giving the best performance I've ever seen from him based on the little I've seen him work. Punk got the hot tag at the end as he should have after a long heat segment on Cash, and he also scored the pin as he should have as well.****"
[7.0] "A good return match, given that Punk was not an active part of the build. The heels were the standouts here, all three men had great energy and really powered this match into something quite entertaining. FTR looked decent to good (Dax has slowed down a bit for whatever reason, but worked a good hoss style regardless). As for Punk, he did nearly nothing in this 25 minute slugfest. That is reasonable given his surgery and time away, but I personally thought he looked not only slow, which is acceptable, but clearly struggling near the end after doing only very basic moves, which is not."
[7.0] "Fun match, well laid out with a hot crowd and some memorable spots like Joes chokehold on Punk. Felt very much like an early 90s AJPW six man on a random spot show, though it didn't hit the heights that those would. They weren't trying to though, this was a good first outing back for Punk."
[7.0] "I hope that this is a sign to come for this show. 5 awesome wrestlers (and Juice Robinson, who can be good on his day) working with each other non stop. The match proved that it could be a very worthwhile stretch of television should that occur. I think its a sign by AEW putting these guys together as a sign to the audience suggesting just that. The only flaw in that plan is that Jay White feels on par with Juice Robinson rather than CM Punk, which should be the closer comparison but AEWs booking has been too shite. Hopefully that starts to change with more of a focus to build around rather than a collection of folks. Punk looked good in this; he stayed on the apron wisely but looked sharp and ready when he got involved and set up a potential Joe feud really well with minimal work, which is pro wrestling at its finest, FTR and Juice/White sounds awesomely good to me, also. I think the adverts stunted the matchs momentum but it was otherwise a good match. ***1/2"
[10.0] "This was honestly an outstanding 6-tag main event with Bullet Club Gold/Samoa Joe vs FTR/CM Punk here. They REALLY had me near the end when Samoa Joe nearly choked out CM Punk. Plus, it was surreal seeing CM Punk square off against Samoa Joe (once again), and Jay White (which would've been a fantasy dream match just 2 years ago). FTR did a great job being the workhorses of the match, which further gives credence to the fact that they're one of the best tag teams in the industry. Juice Robinson also felt like he belonged in this STACKED main event (of great talents + star power) despite being the midcarder who was destined to take the loss for his team here, but he was consistently entertaining in this contest as the heel foil to the babyfaces. Most importantly, this was an EXCELLENT return for CM Punk, and he still looked great in the ring 10 months later. Hopefully, AEW's + Collision's momentum continues to pick up from here!"
[7.0] "Im glad with how much I enjoyed this match since Ive been worried about punks return. Although punk didnt spend much time in the ring he looked fine when he was in. Dax and Cash are as good as always and same with BCG and Joe. Some really great action between Joe, Punk and Dax. Joes chops are BRUTAL. Surprisingly I felt that Jay White took a back seat in this match, with Juice actually getting a lot of moves In. Felt very much like a WWE match but thats not necessarily an issue since it was still an entertaining match. Hope to see Joe and Punk to feud"
[7.0] "Long and opened itself up to issues, like mistimed trios spots from CMFTR, and a fully audible sequence call between Cash and Juice. Joe and Jay White had tremedous presence in this and looked like worthy rivals to Punk."
[9.0] "Fantastic trios main event right here between these six great performers who delivered everything I expected from them in such a context, it's everything a CM Punk return match should be actually, they had a lot of time to be able to build something of their level - the second half hour of the second hour - and they were absolutely phenomenal. Nothing flashy, of course, but that's not saying anything, it was very good in its content, with the right dose of moves, face-offs, teasings, sequences and real suspense, because I kept telling myself that at any moment the heels could create the upset and win. So much fun, one of the best TV matches of the year hands down with an incredible Chicago crowd."
[7.0] "Crowd helped this match a lot. FTR and Bullet Club Gold did most of the work and it was good. Punk was good but clearly a little limited with in ring time which made sense. Pacing and psychology was good for most of the match."
[6.0] "I think the crowd really helped with this match. It was pretty dull for most of it (despite Juice being hilarious as usual). Good first match back for Pepsi Punk and hopefully hell improve as he shakes off the rust."
[8.0] "Punk was the weak link of the match, but he never screwed up and still did a good job here. Joe is looking good despite his age. FTR was okay. And BC Gold were the really MVPs here because of their heel work"
[7.0] "This was a pretty solid old school style match with lots of "ebbs and flows" as Kevin Kelly stated. The obvious highlights were the Joe/Punk battles. Will be interesting to see where things go from here for Collision. ***1/2"
[9.0] "A great main event. I think this was the best showcase for Jay White yet, as the format allowed him to showcase his chickens*** heel tactics in a situation with bonafide big names in the company. I think Punk versus Jay is a bit away, though, as White is still relatively unknown to anyone who doesn't follow New Japan and still needs to be established a bit better for American audiences. FTR were great as always, Juice was amusing, Joe was menacing, and Punk rightly got the win. Good finish to a promising show."
[9.0] "Exactly what wrestling is meant to be. Good, clean, old school wrassling with entertaining hot tags, tag wrestling, and high spots. Everyone in this match has great chemistry, came to play, and hit hard. Punk returned in great form, FTR was predictably phenomenal, Joe came off as the final boss of wrestling, and Jay and Juice had easily the best performances of their time in AEW to date. A must watch for wrestling fans."
[8.0] "Great match which could've been even better if it was shorter. It dragged in the middle, there's only so long you can do the same thing for without it getting boring, especially on TV. It was probably Dax's best performance this year, Joe looked great, Punk looked smooth. ****"
[5.0] "FTR have really been quite out of it since coming back, they really dont seem as into as they used to. Punk didnt look like he was all there either, the moments with Samoa Joe definitely didnt live to hype. I cant help but feel like this was a flat to a flat show for me."
[8.0] "Pretty cool main event. Awesome seeing Punk back in action. The staredown with Samoa Joe was such an awesome moment, and the crowd really helped elevate this match."
[8.0] "For CM Punks return, this was a great trios match. Putting 2 separate rivalries Between FTR and BCG plus Joe vs Punk, and you get a solid match. Punk used the GTS to put away Juice. 8 out of 10. ****"
[8.0] "A good first main event for Collision. They got a long time and fundamentally had a really good match, but with not much on the line and this being Punk's return match there was not really a question about who was going to win in the end. I did like the brief interactions Punk had with Switchblade as a possible teaser for the future, but the big draw here was Punk and Joe facing off almost two decades after their trilogy of matches in ROH. Jim Ross as guest commentator was fine, although he was audibly not in great shape (it was reported he did have a fall that morning, so it is impressive that he managed to be there at all; hope he is doing well). McGuinness was marvelous, as he has been the whole night. FTR and BCG should be the next feud for the tag team titles and probably will be."
[4.0] "This was alright. I wanted more from Punk and Joe, it also seemed very Dax Harwood centric and got boring after a while. The obvious conclusion didnt help especially when you could make a star out of Jay by having him beat Punk. Overall, not as good as I was hoping and went far too long."
[7.0] "If the match was 10 minutes shorter I'd have scored it higher. It felt like it went as long as it did because they didn't want to try to fit another one in"
[8.0] "This match was sorely needed. Punk, Joe and FTR all needed to prove themselves here; Punk, because obviously he's been out 10 months, but also Joe and FTR, cause for ages all three guys have felt like they've been coasting. Out of them, Punk didn't really do anything to convince me he's in good ring health. His work was sloppy and slow for the most part, aside from a cool burst of speed when he was laying out Juice and Jay, and he looked super gassed damn near the whole time he was in the ring. Joe and FTR came away looking much better though; all three of them were super physical in this match, laying in thunderous chops and other gnarly strikes. Juice and Jay looked great of course, and I am very excited for a future feud between Punk and Jay. Not so much Punk and Joe, considering they're both held together with tape and hope, but if Tony wants to run that back he's gotta do it ASAP, before both guys fall completely apart."
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