Three men that could feud with CM Punk to headline AEW Collision

CM Punk is set to be the focal point of AEW Collision and these are three foils that should await.

The debut of AEW Collison is almost set in stone after Tony Khan announced he has a huge announcement for next week’s Dynamite. According to a variety of sources around the wrestling world, CM Punk is set to be a top star on the program and needs another big name to face off with to draw viewers to the new product.

Below are three potential names that could match up with Punk for must-see feuds to open the brand-new AEW show, outside of Chris Jericho which seems to be the rumored choice.

Number 1: Samoa Joe

It’s no secret that Joe and Punk have a deep-rooted history in Ring of Honor and revisiting the great rivalry would be an impactful way to begin Collision’s main event scene.

We’ve seen Samoa Joe’s heel work, most recently in the TNT championship picture against Wardlow and Darby Allin, and now it’s time to throttle his presence up to a main event star. Joe was a main eventer in both TNA and WWE, so there’s no reason he can’t carry Collision as a dangerous force. Punk would be the money and on-the-mic draw for the feud, while Joe would draw heat to the feud that the fans could be deeply invested in. If Joe needs to lose his ROH Television title to make the move to Collision, it is more than worth it.

Number 2: Bryan Danielson

When you talk about two of the biggest wrestling names of the past decade, very few people would probably leave out Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. With the recent heel turn of the Blackpool Combat Club, Danielson suddenly falls right into wrestling on Saturday nights as one of the main heels on the show. Danielson was one of the main men to step into the main event seen when Punk was suspended, and that should be the baseline for the feud. Danielson claiming Punk let the people down when his tagline is the “voice of the voiceless”, would make for some heated promos to begin the first few episodes of the show. Two guys who have been the underdogs their whole lives, fighting to be the top star once and for all certainly makes for compelling TV.

Number 3: Swerve Strickland

This is obviously the riskiest choice of the three names, but Punk when first coming to AEW always ran under the motto of putting young talent over, and what a great opportunity it would be to blossom Swerve Strickland to the next level. Swerve has recently gained momentum being the leader of the Mogul Embassy and if he can beat Keith Lee in the next few weeks, that could send him to the level of a star.

Punk coming back as a babyface and then Swerve continuously using the numbers advantage against him could immediately create heat behind Swerve to stop the return some AEW fans have clamored for.

No matter who Punk faces, a must-see feud is necessary for the show to draw ratings quickly and AEW has veterans and newcomers that certainly fit the bill.