WWE is stacking Worlds Collide with CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and a pile of other major names, but fans watching from home could still get left out in the cold on September 26. A new update says the Chicago show is expected to be taped and WWE does have a broadcast plan for it — the catch is that the plan still isn’t for the event to air live.
Fightful Select previously reported that WWE sources were treating Worlds Collide more like a live event than a traditional television production, with a real possibility that fans wouldn’t be able to watch the show as it happened. Now, PWInsider Elite has backed up the biggest part of that story, saying WWE intends to record the event and has plans to air it somewhere later.
“We were told the show [Worlds Collide] will be taped and there is a broadcast plan, but it was not expected to air live.”
Where exactly WWE plans to put the footage is still the big mystery. PWInsider floated Club WWE as one possibility, although that part has not been confirmed.
“No one has confirmed this to me, but I do wonder if they will make it an exclusive to their Club WWE members in order to goose subscriptions for that service. Obviously, WWE could always shift gears and put the show on YouTube if they wanted, but thus far, that is not the case and with 10 days to go, they are not advertising the show as being broadcast live.”
That only makes the situation stranger because WWE hasn’t exactly booked this thing like some random house show nobody outside the building needs to see. CM Punk has already been confirmed for Worlds Collide, while the Allstate Arena is advertising several possible Worlds Collide matches featuring some huge WWE and AAA names that still haven’t officially been announced by the company.
One of those advertised matches would see Punk, Rey Mysterio and El Grande Americano face Omos, JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio. WWE hasn’t officially announced that six-man tag yet, but Punk being linked to Dominik isn’t coming out of nowhere because a possible CM Punk vs. Dominik Mysterio match had already been discussed for Worlds Collide.
Then there’s the date. Worlds Collide takes place September 26 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont while AEW All Out runs that same day at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, and WWE’s decision to give Worlds Collide an 8 PM start time was tied directly to going head-to-head with AEW that night.
WWE has also been treating AAA like a much bigger piece of its overall wrestling business. The strategy behind running Worlds Collide opposite AEW All Out was about seeing how much attention WWE and AAA could pull while both promotions were operating in the Chicago market on the same night.
AEW isn’t exactly struggling to find people willing to show up either. All Out has already sold out its current NOW Arena setup, with additional inventory potentially still to be released as the show approaches.
That’s what makes WWE’s broadcast situation so weird. They’ve loaded up a show with Punk, Rey and a bunch of major talent, dropped it directly into AEW’s backyard on the exact same night as All Out, and now the people actually sitting at home may not get to watch any of it live.
WWE still has time to change course before September 26, and YouTube remains an option if the company decides it wants the widest possible audience. For now, though, Worlds Collide looks like it’s being taped for later while the live audience in Chicago gets something fans everywhere else may have to wait to see.
What do you make of WWE loading up Worlds Collide while apparently choosing not to broadcast it live? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback in the comments.
