AEW Collision tonight is a taped show from the Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado.
One night after headlining NJPW The New Beginning USA in Trenton, New Jersey against Yota Tsuji, Andrade El Idolo will be in action against Tomohiro Ishii.
The Sisters of Sin, Julia Hart & Skye Blue, will face Kris Statlander and Thunder Rosa in tag team action.
Kazuchika Okada and Kyle Fletcher, known as ProtoKada, will wrestle Top Flight, Dante and Darius Martin
“Timeless” Toni Storm will be in action against Zayda Steel.
There will be an eight-man tag team match featuring members of the Don Callis Family against members of the Death Riders.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal is also scheduled for the show.
The Brawling Birds, Alex Windsor and Jamie Hayter, will be in action.
We will also hear from AEW World Champion MJF and AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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– Our show opened with Tony Schiavone introducing himself, Excalibur, and Nigel McGuinness before Maxwell Jacob Friedman interrupted.
MJF Opens Collision
The AEW World Champion angrily stormed down the ring and demanded that the Revolution situation be rectified, because he stated that he was a real wrestler and not an “indy deathmatch” wrestler. MJF wanted Tony Khan to change the match between him and Hangman Page and that Collision would not start until that was changed.
Kevin Knight’s music interrupted, as one-third of the current AEW Trios Champions interrupted Friedman. Knight said that he heard MJF said that he wanted something done, as then put himself over as someone who gets the job done in recent weeks. Knight said that tonight’s job was getting ahead of the whiny “crybaby ass bitch” that is MJF. Knight told Friedman that the people were tired of hearing about how MJF was better than everyone and how much money he has over everyone. Knight said that he had more “swag” than MJF and that the whole world knew that “The Jet” was way more handsome than him. Knight then went for the jugular and stated that maybe he was a better World Champion than Friedman, as he was the here and now.
MJF responded by taking offense at Knight thinking that he wanted to tell “Big Hebrew” how to do his job, as he told Knight to take a jet to El Paso and face him for the World Title at Dynamite. Friedman told Knight that once he was through with him, he was going to be nothing more than “history”.
This was a great opening segment to kick off the show. Kevin Knight hung tough against someone like MJF on the microphone and held his own quite well. Knight seemingly getting an AEW World Title shot against MJF on this coming Wednesday’s Dynamite is a good call and already adds a lot of fire to an intense World Title picture.
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– We got words from Mark Briscoe as he talked about Tommaso Ciampa’s match against Jay Lethal, as we then got remarks from the two competitors.
Eight-Man Tag: The Death Riders (PAC, Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli) (w/ Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir) vs. The Don Callis Family (Josh Alexander, Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero, Lance Archer)
Moxley joined the commentary booth for this one, as the crowd chanted “F*ck Don Callis / F*ck ICE Too” before the match started.
Garcia and Romero started things off for their respective teams. The stalemate between the two was broken by a shoulder block, then a dropkick by Garcia on Romero. PAC was tagged in as he and Garcia showed some strong double-team action against Romero. Alexander and Castagnoli entered the match and sized one another before Alexander went on the attack. Sunset flip by Castagnoli got turned into a show of raw power with a deadlift gutwrench superplex on Alexander. Archer tagged in as he took Castagnoli down with a clothesline. In the corner, Archer repeatedly battered Castagnoli with running forearms. The RPG Vice duo of Romero and Beretta tried to double up on Castagnoli, but to little success.
Yuta tagged in and tried to go for a dive, but he got swept by Alexander, who tried to rip at Yuta’s toque covering his bald head. Things broke down a bit as Romero again tried to go after Yuta’s hat, then it escalated in and out of the ring with the teams brawling. Archer held Yuta in his hand, but his hand was bit, which allowed Yuta to take Archer down with a DDT. Yuta then took off and hit a diving cannonball on the Callis Family members outside the ring.
As things calmed down, Yuta hit a snap suplex on Beretta before he tagged PAC into the match. PAC flattened Beretta with a running dropkick, as he then hit a pump kick in the corner. As PAC tried to go up top, Romero grabbed at his leg, whidch allowed Beretta to hit a suplex on PAC. RPG Vice showed some nice teamwork on PAC as we went to break.
Collision’s opening bout returned as Alexander worked over PAC in the corner before he applied a sleeper on him. PAC tried to battle out of it, but a rolling senton put a stop to that. PAC eventually recovered and hit a release German suplex on Alexander to create an opening. RPG Vice took out the Death Riders members on the apron, as Romero fell victim to a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from PAC. Finally, PAC was able to tag Castagnoli into the match.
Castagnoli battered Beretta and Alexander with roaring uppercuts a-plenty before he took Alexander for a ride with the Giant Swing. As Beretta leapt from the top rope, he was swatted down by Castagnoli’s European uppercut. Yuta tagged in and hit a variation of the Doomsday Device for a near-fall. Yuta smashed Beretta with the hammer-and-anvil elbows, but RPG Vice again got out of the chaos. Archer tagged in and chokeslammed Yuta, which almost knocked his hat out. The Death Riders tried to intercept, but were warded off. Castagnoli entered the ring with a chair, which allowed Marina Shafir to get into the mix, as she applied a sleeper on him. After Archer tossed Shafir aside, the Death Riders’ quartet hit a series of successive running uppercuts in the corner before Castagnoli slammed Archer. Yuta was thrown for the Fastball Special by Castagnoli on Archer, but the Don Callis Family members interrupted the count.
Back in the ring, Romero hit Sliced Bread on Yuta, but couldn’t get the win. Yuta got his wind back as he hit the Busaiku Knee on Romero to pick up the win in this fun opener.
After the match, Konosuke Takeshita appeared with a microphone and confronted the victorious Death Riders. He entered the ring and started mixing it up with Moxley in the ring. Complete chaos as their respective factions tried to break the two apart, but they were unsuccessful in doing so. Moxley and Takeshita continued to brawl up the ramp until things finally settled down.
The Death Riders def. The Don Callis Family via pinfall
This was a damn good opener, and this Callis Family vs. Death Riders feud has become quite interesting to see, especially as it’s technically a heel vs. heel feud. That hasn’t stopped things from feeling intense and this Moxley vs. Takeshita match with no time limit at Revolution should be a hell of a match.
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“Psycho Killer” Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal (w/ The Swirl)
Lethal and Ciampa got into a battle of chain wrestling in the early stages of this match before they stared one another down. After a shove from Ciampa, Lethal responded with a slap to the face. This turned into an exchange of strikes as Ciampa caught Lethal with a back elbow, followed by the back suplex. Ciampa chopped away at the chest of Lethal in the corner, as he held on to the ropes to block a suplex. After Lethal bumped into referee Paul Turner, Blake Christian got involved and hit a sliding German Suplex behind Turner’s back.
Now with the advantage, Lethal did the Ric Flair strut as he threw Ciampa out of the ring. Lee Johnson tried to attack Ciampa, but got punched instead. Ciampa got his pound of flesh on Christian as he hit him with a lariat. Meanwhile, Lethal took advantage of The Swirl’s involvement and hit Ciampa with a suicide dive that sent him over the commentary table as we took a break here.
We resumed from commercial as Lethal and Ciampa were both on the top rope fighting it out. Ciampa got pushed down, which allowed Lethal to go for the Macho Man Elbow. It was blocked as Lethal’s figure four was turned into a pin attempt by Ciampa. Kick out and the match continued. The Lethal Combination connected, which again gave Lethal the opportunity to go for the diving elbow, but Ciampa got out of the way. As both men recovered, they traded strikes as Ciampa avoided a Lethal Injection attempt. However, Ciampa could not avoid the cutter from Lethal. Another attempt at the Lethal Injection was blocked with a dropkick, as Ciampa lifted him up for the lifting lumbar slam. Near-fall as Lethal kicked out. Again, Christian and Johnson tried to interject, but were sent out of the ring for their troubles. Roll-up by Lethal is unsuccessful, as Ciampa eventually put an end to this with two brutal knees to the face of Lethal for the three.
Tommaso Ciampa def. Jay Lethal via pinfall
A solid match here, as Ciampa continues to feel like a revitalized talent in his AEW sojourn thus far. This signing of Ciampa has worked wonders and it shows in the quality of matches he’s had so far. I enjoyed this one a good deal, as it personifies the kind of wrestling that makes Collision an easy watch Saturday nights on the Mothership.
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– The Iinspiration had some remarks regarding The Brawling Birds for ruining their debut in AEW in Australia. We learned that the two would make their television debut on Dynamite this Wednesday.
– We got a really nice vignette about Clark Connors after the break, where Connors stated that he wasn’t afraid of the fightg.
The Brawling Birds (Alex Windsor & Jamie Hayter) vs. Gypsy Mac & Tyra Russamee
Hayter started this match off working against Mac, as she struck with hard hitting fists, followed by a suplex. Hayter then took Mac to demand a tag to Russamee. Windsor entered the match and continued to live up to her team’s name as she struck Russamee with blows to the chest, followed by a kick to the back. Side headlock on Russamee by Windsor led to a blind tag from Hayter, which led to the Birds hitting a tandem attack on Russamee.
Outside the ring, Windsor took out Mac with a hard lariat. With Russamee isolated in the corner, Hayter and Windsor hit a double team chop on her before they connected with a double suplex. On opposite corners, Hayter and Windsor hit a double clothesline, followed by a variation of the Hart Attack to easily get the win.
The Brawling Birds def. Gypsy Mac & Tyra Russamee via pinfall
Pretty much just a showcase for the Brawling Birds. Not much else to say other than Hayter and Windsor do look solid as a team.
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– We got a promo for a $200,000 4-way tag match for the upcoming episode of Collision in Tucson, AZ. This match will feature The Outrunners, The Swirl, Private Party, and La Faccion Ingobernable
ProtOkada (Kyle Fletcher & Kazuchika Okada) vs. Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin) (w/ Christopher Daniels)
Don Callis joined commentary for this match.
Okada and Darius started off the match for their teams as they got into an exchange of side headlock takeovers and head scissors. Okada then struck Darius with a boot to the gut as Fletcher got the tag. The ProtOkada duo showed some good teamwork with a double big boot on Darius, perhaps to the chagrin of Konosuke Takeshita. Top Flight got the advantage as they had Fletcher in their corner. Slingshot splash by Dante only got a near-fall. Okada pulled at Dante’s leg, which gave Fletcher the chance to hit a clothesline on Dante. Outside the ring, Okada dropped Dante with a DDT to the mat, which led to a break in the action.
This tag match returned as Dante struggled to get to his corner for a tag. He countered a back suplex attempt by Fletcher into a splash, but Okada clotheslined Darius out of the ring. Back in the ring, Dante did an awesome dodge of an Okada kick, which finally got Darius into the match. Darius was a furious flurry on offense as he connected with a Spanish fly, then a spear in the corner on Okada. Darius’ offense was snuffed out by a flapjack from Okada, which allowed Fletcher to tag in.
Fletcher sized Darius out for a running boot, but missed, which led to Dante tagging in. Dropkick into a German suplex, followed by the double team Angel’s Wings only got a near-fall. Outside the ring, Okada pulled out Dante and blasted Christopher Daniels with a boot to the face. In the ring, Fletcher took out Darius. Okada tagged in and hit his breathtaking dropkick, as he then dropped Darius with the Rainmaker. However, instead of going for the pin, Okada offered to tag in Fletcher. Dante was taken out in the corner by Fletcher, who then won this match with a brainbuster on Darius.
After the match, Fletcher demanded that Denver say his full name. He then put himself and Okada over as the two greatest champions in the history of AEW. But now, together as ProtOkada, they were unstoppable. That’s when they were interrupted by JetSpeed, Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
Bailey pointed out that Okada and Fletcher couldn’t possibly be the greatest since he beat Fletcher, and Knight beat Okada in the Continental Classic. In response, Fletcher did Okada’s “Bitch” catchphrase. Knight said that once he beats MJF for the AEW World Title, he’d love for Okada to be his first opponent. Bailey then said that he, Knight, and “Hangman” Adam Page would be more than happy to defend their AEW Trios Titles against Okada, Fletcher and any member of the Callis Family they chose.
ProtOkada def. Top Flight via pinfall
Some solid tag team action here between ProtOkada and the Martin brothers. Fast-paced action on a Saturday night certainly never hurts.
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– We got words from Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy about their challenge to Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd.
“Timeless” Toni Storm (w/ Luther)vs. Zayda Steel (w/ Christopher Daniels)
Storm offered a hand to Steel, who then kissed it as we got underway here. Storm held Steel’s hands in a test of strength as she then withstood two running shoulder blocks. Steel got the edge with the hurricanrana, followed by a dropkick to a seated Storm for the two-count. Storm recovered and hit a scoop slamp, then the snap suplex.
Steel got out of a Storm Zero attempt as she hit a lungblower on Storm. Tope suicida from Steel to Storm outside the ring kept momentum in her favor. On the top rope, diving crossbody by Steel on Storm got a near-fall. Unprettier attempt by Steel got reversed into a series of German suplexes from Storm. With Steel stunned in the corner, Storm made no mistake with the running hip attack, followed by the Storm Zero for the win in this quick bout.
After the match, Marina Shafir got in the ring as she and Storm began to brawl. Wheeler Yuta tried to get involved by grabbing Storm, but had his toque pulled outr, revealing his bald head for all the world to see. As Yuta scurried away into the crowd, Storm put on Yuta’s hat and stared down Shafir from the ring.
“Timeless” Toni Storm def. Zayda Steel via pinfall
A bit on the short side here, but the Storm and Shafir angle was good stuff after the match, as was Yuta’s bald head getting exposed.
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– Backstage, we got Hook talking about how everyone wanted to join The Opps as he mocked a random person. Hook was confronted by Anthony Bowens as he talked about being Hook’s best friend, which means he was offering to join The Opps as a result. However, Hook said that The Opps were a group of killers, but he wasn’t so sure if Bowens was enough of a killer to join the group. Hook said he’d think about Bowens’ status.
The Sisters of Sin (Skye Blue & Julia Hart) vs. Kris Statlander & Thunder Rosa
Hart and Rosa started off hot as the latter unleashed strikes on her foe. Rosa bashed Hart’s head across turnbuckles as she followed that up with a dropkick. Rosa connected with the sliding clothesline, but only got a two-count out of it. Skye grabbed at Rosa’s hair, which allowed Hart to take advantage. Skye tagged in as she and Hart hit a double flapjack, followed by kicks on Rosa.
Rosa recovered and left Skye isolated in her corner as Statlander tagged in and hit a hard running boot, followed by the Michinoku Driver. Skye escaped a suplex attempt by Statlander and retreated to her corner, as Hart tagged in. Back suplex countered by Hart as Skye made the blind tag. Statlander took Hart out, but Skye ambushed her with a running boot, as she and Hart had the advantage heading into the break.
We continued from commercial as Hart wrenched Statlander’s arm across top rope. However, Statlander dodged Skye’s running knee, which caused her to hit Hart on the apron instead. Statlander tossed Skye into Hart in the corner, which gave her the opening to tag Rosa in.
Rosa was a house of fire as she held her own against both Sisters of Sin. Rosa threw Hart out of the ring, as Skye got ahead of her with a jawbreaker. Hart tagged in, but couldn’t maintain any sort of advantage. Things descended into chaos with all four women into the ring. Rosa was deposited out of the ring as Skye and Hart hit a double thrust kick on Statlander after a double slam. Rosa stepped in and broke the count by shoving Skye into Hart covering Statlander. All four women were down, but recovered as we got a duel in the middle of the ring. Rosa dragged Hart out of the ring, which allowed Statlander to take care of Skye in short order. Hart was brought back in the ring, as Statlander hit her piledriver, followed by Rosa getting the win in this match.
After the match, the AEW Women’s Champion Thekla interrupted the celebration. She called Statlander and Rosa two “dumb bitches”, as she asked Statlander how she made her cry, bleed and how she took the AEW Women’s World Title. Thekla said that she didn’t fight to win, she fought to kill, stating that Rosa and Statlander were the past of the AEW Women’s Division, as it now belonged to her.
Thunder Rosa & Kris Statlander def. The Sisters of Sin via pinfall
A nice little women’s tag match, and it’s always great to see Thunder Rosa back in action after a long layoff. Her match with Thekla for the AEW Women’s World Championship on Dynamite this Wednesday should be a great one. I can’t wait. We should be in for a banger.
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Andrade El Idolo vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Don Callis once again joined commentary before this match.
Andrade had Ishii in the corner, but was forced to back away by referee Aubrey Edwards as the two then stared one another down. Andrade had the side headlock applied on Ishii, but got outmuscled out of the hold. Ishii threw Andrade into the ropes, but he tranquillo’d his way between the ropes to avoid a crash outside the ring. On the top rope, Andrade hit a nice crossbody on Ishii for a two-count. Ishii got back up and chopped Andrade’s chest, as he then took him down with a pitbull-sized shoulder tackle. Andrade responded by nailing an Okada-style dropkick on Ishii, which sent him rolling out of the ring. On the apron, Andrade’s attempt at the dive was stopped as Ishii pulled at the legs to slam him face-first onto the hardest part of the ring.
Back inside the ring, Ishii targeted Andrade’s chest with chops, but got met with a boot to the face afterwards. Andrade raked at Ishii’s eye and hit a running pump kick afterwards. One, two…. not quite. Andrade sent Ishii out of the ring and dragged him across to the commentary table and slammed him across it.. Don Callis flinched and was afraid of Ishii going after him. Meanwhile, Andrade took a selfie with a female fan in the crowd while enjoying a bite out of a bar of chocolate. This took us into the commercial.
Our main event continued as Ishii hit a suplex on Andrade to stop the Three Amigos. This caused Don Callis to jump out of the commentary desk to try and rally Andrade to get back up. In the ring, Ishii nailed a back suplex on Andrade as he targeted him for a lariat. Andrade dodged that attempted and this time got a chance to hit the Three Amigos with no mistake. One, two…. Ishii kicked out at two! Ishii tried for a running attack in the corner, but Ishii dodged it and hit a German suplex. Andrade landed on his feet following that suplex, but found himself crushed by a headbutt from the Stone Pitbull. Sliding lariat by Ishii on Andrade, but that only got a near-fall. Now both men were giving each other their best strikes until Andrade drove Ishii down into the middle turnbuckle. With Ishii in a supine position in the corner, this gave Andrade the chance to hit the running Meteora into the corner. Again, Ishii showed some great endurance as he kicked out at two.
Andrade dragged Ishii to the middle of the ring and headed to the top rope, connecting with the moonsault prerss on his foe. Uno, dos… no mas! Andrade set up Ishii for the DM, but he got hit with an enzuigiri. Ishii couldn’t connect with the brainbuster, as Andrade responded with his deadly back elbow. One, two… 2.99999999! Finally, Andrade got the win after finishing Ishii off with the DM to cap off another fantastic night of action on Collision, or so we thought.
After the match, Bandido made his presence known and stared down Andrade, who took off his pants and stared down his Revolution foe.
Andrade El Idolo def. Tomohiro Ishii via pinfall
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A heck of a hard hitting main event between Ishii and Andrade to end our night. I’ve been on record as calling Collision the perfect “cozy wrestling” show where you can just tune in and enjoy some great AEW action, and tonight was no exception.
The opening eight-man tag match, ProtOkada vs. Top Flight, and Andrade vs. Ishii were my standouts for tonight, and I liked that the world title scene gets a little more interesting with Kevin Knight calling his shot at MJF. Just another entertaining AEW Collision from start to finish.
