AEW

There is a new report about some of the contributing backstage details surrounding the proposed but ultimately scrapped ‘hard brand split’ in AEW.

With the addition of AEW’s new Saturday offering, AEW Collision, there had been some initial reports that there would be an associated ‘hard brand split’, with specific talent assigned to either Collision or Dynamite.

According to a new report from Fightful Select, there have been some backstage details as to how the idea was received and ultimately how it got scrapped.

The report noted that as far back as a month ago there had been some “internal preparations” that indicated there’d be a ‘brand split’ by which some AEW talent would appear exclusively on Dynamite or Collision.

However, the news was met with a mixed reception backstage with some disappointed to then be missing out on independent bookings or signings, with one of the benefits of working with AEW being the flexibility to book these other opportunities on weekends.

But there were some who were supportive of the move, thinking it may be better to facilitate minimizing drama and squabbles that have plagued the locker room over the past few years.

While it was initially said to be a hard split, it was then thought to be more a ‘soft’ split where champions were likely to float between shows or storylines.

Reportedly Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company of AEW’s network partner, prefers no brand split at all but ‘under the right circumstances,’ it could work.

At this point, the idea has since been scrapped at least in its initial iteration, with talent being informed that now in lieu of either a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ brand split concept, there would be “would be some natural sharing between the rosters.”

There will be some situations where certain people won’t be appearing on the same show, with Fightful recently reporting that CM Punk is expected for Dynamite in Chicago this week, while The Elite aren’t believed to be in town and will just appear on the show via video package.

CM Punk delivered a spicy promo upon making his return to AEW on the debut episode of AEW Collision. You can read all about that by clicking this link. 

Thanks for scissoring with us @tonyschiavone24 …@OfficialTAZ you’re next! ✂️✂️✂️ pic.twitter.com/rV7RnaikwS

— Anthony Bowens (@Bowens_Official) June 18, 2023

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• Collision
• Dynamite
• cm punk
• tony khan
• AEW

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