AEW Collision’s Schedule Shake-Up Could Be the New Normal

AEW fans got more than they bargained for this past weekend—and it wasn’t because of a shocking heel turn or a surprise debut.

Slam Dunk AEW Collision was split into two parts across Saturday and Sunday thanks to TNT and HBO Max scheduling. But Triller’s AEW Plus subscribers were left completely out of the loop, forced to wait until Sunday at 11 PM EST to see the full two-hour broadcast—while Tony Khan was live-tweeting like everyone was already watching.

“Right NOW on @TNTdrama + on @StreamOnMax We are starting out Slam Dunk Saturday #AEWCollision with a huge TNT Title Match with guaranteed No Outside Interference,” Khan tweeted during the live airing on Saturday, promoting Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Cole for the TNT Championship.

But Triller viewers weren’t getting anything live. Cue the outrage. One fan fired back, “I wanted to see it but Triller says it’s available tomorrow, what the hell is going on Tony? 😭😭😭😭😭” while another vented, “Well I can’t see the f**ing thing can I because the c**** at Triller won’t show it until tomorrow for some reason.”*

That wasn’t even the harshest reaction. “Watching 2 dogs f** on the side of the road is more entertaining than this stupidity,”* one user posted, clearly fed up with the whole experience.

But while the confusion had fans fuming, it turns out the experiment worked—at least according to Warner Bros. Discovery.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the weekend format shake-up was a success: “The experiment this weekend went exceptionally well so I could see them doing one hour shows after games on Saturday and Sunday or two hours after Saturday, but the version this weekend worked out for the best.”

Meltzer added that WBD was said to be overjoyed with the numbers Collision pulled despite the chaos. And more schedule changes are coming. “There will likely be time slot changes during the NBA and NHL playoffs… What we’ve been told is that AEW and WBD already have plans for all sports and other programming preemptions on Wednesdays or Saturdays for the rest of the year,” Meltzer confirmed.

That means fans should brace for more shifting start times, especially with NASCAR, NCAA, NBA, NHL, and soccer conflicts looming. Meltzer also noted AEW could be going head-to-head with Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC in the near future, but WBD isn’t talking specifics yet.

Bottom line? The format may frustrate fans, but the TV partners are loving the results—and that’s going to guide the show’s direction moving forward.

What do you think of AEW Collision’s shifting schedule? Should AEW Plus offer live coverage no matter what, or is this just the price of being on big network TV? Sound off in the comments below!