With CM Punk officially out of AEW, Tony Khan has to rally and rally quick to find a way to re-tool Collision basically on the spot.

Officially launched on June 17th, 2023, Collision was effectively built around and for the talent of the “Best in the World,” who was working a program with Ricky Starks, Samoa Joe, and Bullet Club Gold as effectively the main character of the two-hour weekly show. Though the show technically went on immediately after Punker's firing, with the go-home show for All Out coming one day earlier in Chicago, that was an adrenaline-filled episode of television that can't be replicated weekly.

Fortunately, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff has a solution to keep the show going without a hitch and really elevate Collision to new heights with a new man at the helm of the show: the “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson.

“I’ve watched his work, I’ve watched him in the ring. I’m very impressed with him. But what I’m most excited about, not so much as a performer. I think Bryan Danielson is knocking on the door of the end of his career. Just based on injuries, all of the above. But I don’t think that’s where his real value is, either,” Eric Bischoff said on 83 Weeks via Fightful.

“When I was working in WWE back in 2019, I hope I’m not speaking out of school here, but I know that Vince McMahon was very impressed with Bryan Danielson. His creative, his psychology. I know that there was some conversation, I don’t know how serious it was at the time. Vince mentioned to me that he was possibly interested in bringing in Bryan Danielson to be very involved in the creative side of things. Vince is a pretty bright guy. You can say whatever you want about him, but I think that that suggests that there was a lot of great potential there. I think if there’s anything that’s truly missing, that can move the needle in the right direction over the course of the next six or 12 months, it’s going to be creative. It’s not going to be anything else. I think if Bryan Danielson, or anybody else, but let’s talk about Bryan, if Vince’s instincts were accurate, and I don’t know why it didn’t work out, but I know there was interest there because I had the conversation with Vince myself. That suggests to me that Vince saw a lot in Bryan creatively.”

If Vince McMahon trusted Danielson's wrestling mind, why wouldn't Khan? Well, considering Bischoff has never been a fan of Khan's creative direction, in his opinion, the switch is an obvious one.

Bryan Danielson could provide a much-needed spark to Collision. 

Explaining how an expanded opportunity for Bryan Danielson could work on Collison, Eric Bischoff explained that he should be handed an opportunity to book Saturdays first, and if that works, things could and should expand out even further.

“I think that if potential exists, Bryan Danielson is three or four or five or ten times more valuable to Tony, writing, overseeing the creative of AEW, whether it’s just for Collision or ultimately all of the shows. Because that’s not Tony’s strength. It’s not. His creative, his booking, has not been, in the history of AEW, creative is not their strong suit. Have they had some great matches? But that’s not the same thing as great creative, is it? It’s just a great match. That is where the potential upside is, long-term for AEW. That’s the breath of fresh air, frankly, that AEW needs. If I were Tony, I’d give that Collision show to Bryan. Not just be my right-hand man and bounce ideas off. Give it to him. Say, ‘Here you go. Here’s your notepad, here’s your computer, here’s a pen. There’s an office. Call me when you got a show ready,'” Bischoff added.

“Then go over it, go through it, and learn and understand and get an idea of a different kind of creative process or creative perspective than Tony currently has. Give that thing to Bryan. Let’s see what he can do. If he does what we all would hope he could do, and prove that there is a better way to approach creative, then bring him into Dynamite and let him have a voice there as well. Maybe not the voice, but a voice. Because it’s the creative that is the opportunity for Tony right now.”

Will Tony Khan ever truly hand over full creative control of AEW to someone else? No, probably not; Khan launched AEW to book AEW, and unless he is physically or emotionally unable to book the shows, he's probably going to book it. Still, Khan did say if he can't perform his duties, Danielson would be the first person his father should call to keep the show on the road, so never say never.