Less than two years after leaving, Andrade El Idolo has returned to AEW and already has some new friends.
The Mexican star made his surprise appearance on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite as Kenny Omega was finishing an in-ring promo following a trios match that opened the show.
The lights went out and when they came back on, a masked man was standing behind Omega. He revealed himself as Andrade, laid Omega out with a spinning underhook DDT, and Don Callis then got into the ring and shook his hand to signal he’s apparently joined the Don Callis Family.
He declined to re-sign with AEW, departing at the end of 2023. He returned to WWE at the January 2024 Royal Rumble and later won the Speed title, holding it for more than 160 days. His initial WWE run lasted from 2016-2020 and included an NXT title run and WWE United States title run.
After making his return to the company at Saturday’s Royal Rumble event following a nearly three-year absence, Andrade was announced as the newest member of the Raw roster during a segment on Monday’s show.
Appearing in a backstage vignette with on-screen authority figures Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis, Andrade was shown signing a deal with Pearce, the Raw GM. The segment served as a catalyst to further the brand rivalry story between Pearce and Aldis, the SmackDown GM.
After Pearce signed Andrade, Aldis noted that he had loaned Bayley to Pearce for an appearance on Monday’s Raw, and asked if this was how Pearce repaid him. Pearce said that it was just business, and Aldis excused himself to field a phone call from Bron Breakker. NXT’s Breakker was heavily featured in the men’s Royal Rumble match ast Saturday.
Andrade rejoined WWE at the Royal Rumble after a stint with AEW that kicked off in June 2021 and ended at the Worlds End pay-per-view on December 30, 2023 with a loss to Miro.
On social media, the company announced that due to “circumstances out of control”, both Andrade and Maki Itoh have been pulled from their upcoming No Compadre event, which takes place this Friday at Thalia Hall in Chicago. Andrade was originally set to face Jonathan Gresham; Lio Rush will instead take his place.
Due to circumstances out of control, ANDRADE and MAKI ITOH will be unable to compete on Friday's event in Chicago.
Andrade recently had his final match in AEW at Worlds End on December 30, where he lost to Miro. The following week, he confirmed that he was no longer under contract. It has been reported that Andrade is likely headed back to WWE, where he was previously wrestled before leaving in 2021.
Itoh posted on social media on January 5 that she would be taking a break from wrestling. GCW later confirmed that Itoh would not be participating in her upcoming tour with the company due to injury. In addition, Blake Christian and Tony Deppen were pulled from this Saturday’s GCW event in Columbus, though they will compete on Friday.
Andrade El Idolo is thankful for the time he spent in AEW.
After finishing up with the company at Worlds End, Andrade issued a statement on Tuesday thanking AEW and Tony Khan for the two and a half years that he spent in the promotion. Andrade also acknowledged all of the talent in AEW, everyone working behind the scenes, and the fans.
Andrade wrote that he wishes AEW the best going forward:
I want to thank you for this time that I belonged to the company @aew and above all to Tony khan I also want to say goodbye to all the talent, security people, cameramen, referees and everyone who works in the company for being part of my time in AEW. kenny, young bucks, tazz, Shiavone, Aubrey, Jerry, Hobbs, hook, Kingston, Ricky, Orange, thunder, jack Perry, Austin, Colten, Sonjay and many more that I can name, also how to forget all the Mexicans (todo el relajo) I enjoyed sharing the ring with STING, PAC, Darby, García, Jay and many more. I would have loved to face MOX, Page, Hobbs, Ricky, Dante, Cage, Dustin. Thank you AEW AND Thank you to all the fans for your support always. I wish you the best always!!!
Andrade’s final AEW match was a loss to Miro at Worlds End this past Saturday. CJ Perry turned against Andrade at the conclusion of the match.
Following Worlds End, Tony Khan confirmed that Andrade’s AEW contract was expiring at the end of 2023. Khan said he has a ton of respect for Andrade and wanted to keep him in AEW, but they weren’t able to reach an agreement.
It’s expected that Andrade will be returning to WWE, where he was previously employed from 2015-2021.
The most detailed look at the New Japan decision to make Hiroshi Tanahashi president and comments from many in the industry about it
Full details on the WWE’s biggest grossing U.S. house show in history on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden plus past history from the event
The Iron Claw, history of the Von Erichs, in a long detailed article regarding the rise and fall and the making of the movie
Preview of the Tokyo Dome show, advance ticket sales and Stardom PPV
How many tickets are comped at the usual AEW and WWE shows
2023 Awards ballot
Dragon Gate’s Final Gate show
The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week, placings for the night and week, competition, segment-by-segment, gains and losses from one year ago and more
Andrade heads to Mexico and a big business week
Another two Vikingo vs. Taurus matches
New Japan bodybuilding contest notes
Major shows for New Japan in the first three months of he year
One of the best trios matches in a long time
DDT tournament finals set
Notes on a book on wrestling history
New Scottish wrestling Hall of Famer
Chris Jericho and Stephen New
Tony Khan’s recent press call
Dynamite headed for tougher competition
Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
Streaming numbers for AEW & WWE
Amanda Huber talks anniversary of Jon Huber’s death
There are no shows tonight of note in the U.S. given it’s New Year’s Eve. The big house show tour ended last night in Los Angeles at the Forum.
Regarding the departure of Kevin Dunn from WWE, officially he, like several in AEW, will no longer be with the company as of midnight tonight. When Vince McMahon lost power, it was expected that he would retire or be retired as the new people in charge would put their own team together. As far as a replacement as Executive Producer of all the shows goes, I was told not to presume anything and multiple people in the company even threw the name Mike Mansury about as someone Paul Levesque would want, but I presume Mansury is under a long-term deal with AEW. Marty Miller’s name was mentioned. He’s the Director but what’s something completely different and in particular, the aspect of Dunn’s job dealing with budgets. At one point the attempt was to make Chris Kaiser the Executive Producer who would handle the budgets and Dunn as the guy handling the shows and making the final decisions. It could end up with Miller running the truck and Kaiser handling the budgets but that’s all speculation at this point. I was told that this was known internally by a few, but not most as people I heard from last night were surprised, and they knew maybe a few weeks at most although the process goes back a couple of months and really has to do with Vince McMahon being out of power. Dunn has been in charge of production for decades and has 40 years with the company. He answered to nobody but Vince. So this is part of the change with Endeavor in control.
Tony Khan brought up Andrade finishing up last night. I talked about this on the show and his booking in the Continental Classic and thoughts on it regarding Anrade and Daniel Garcia, if he was leaving. It also explains Andrade’s rush to go to Arena Mexico and saying that he needed to do it now because he may not get another chance if he was with WWE. The expectation is he’s the guy Paul Levesque referred to as the surprise for tomorrow. I do know those in WWE have talked about his returning shortly as something expected. To his credit, he worked really hard, finished up his business last night, lost via submission to Miro and worked very hard. The night before at Arena Mexico, he drew a sellout with Volador Jr. and drew way above usual everywhere he went this past week. The Volador match ended up being cut in time to 14:05 because the show was going long and he had a red-eye from Mexico City to New York right after the show so they basically cut the first 8-10 minutes out. They had a great match there as well.
The big match we’ve heard as the best of the weekend was today’s Katsuhiko Nakajima Triple Crown title defense, beating Kento Miyahara. Nakajima won via submission with an armbar. Nakajima will defend on 1/3 at Korakuen Hall against Charlie Dempsey, who won’t be on Tuesday’s NXT show because of this match.
Tony Khan praised Andrade, Rafael Morffi (last show in), Dana Massie and QT Marshall who all will be gone as of midnight tonight. He said that Andrade and Marshall would always be welcome back, and praised the other two for their work behind the scenes. He noted Morffi went out on a sellout and has on his resume being the promoter of the show with the largest paid attendance in history. He said that Massie was instrumental before AEW and that if she and Matt Jackson didn’t talk with him in 2018 that there would be no company today.
He also said that the PPV number based on streaming looks similar to Full Gear (which would be about 135,000 buys), which I would consider a huge success given the sports competition last night and coming just six weeks after Full Gear and with a lot of top people off the show and really only a few of what I’d call money matches. Keep in mind this is just estimates from streaming and really with the holiday, until the middle of next week I don’t know that we can definitively give a number yet. But it certainly comes across right now as a big positive for the build and value of the main event and main event angles, not what they did at the show but what they did to build the show. Khan said that the tournament success was a feather in the cap for those who have argued for a more sports-based presentation. But in fairness you can’t do a tournament like that more than six or seven weeks out of 52.
We ‘re looking for your thoughts on last night’s Worlds End show as well as Friday’s Stardom show from Sumo Hall and today’s All Japan show with Miyahara vs. Nakajima, you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Dwayne Johnson officially announced on FOX the merger of the USFL and XFL into the UFL, or United Football League. They will open on 3/30 with the USFL champion Birmingham Stallions vs. XFL champion Arlington Renegades. They will have TV deals this season with FOX, FS 1, ESPN and ABC.
Conor McGregor has said he will be facing Michael Chandler in a 185 pound class fight, which is 30 pounds up from what Chandler and McGregor have usually fought at, on June 29 as the main event for International Fight Week at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Evidently Chandler didn’t know this but said he was okay with the weight.
As far as Google trends for the week, earlier today the Fulham vs. Arsenal EPL game was No. 4 for today. Fulham is the team that Tony Khan and his father own. The only combat sports related thing that made the top 20 this week was Worlds End was No. 14 yesterday with 50,000 searches. This is the first AEW show to crack the top 20 in a while.
Bull Nakano will be making an appearance for West Coast Pro on 3/23 in San Francisco.
WWE from last night at the Forum in Los Angeles which drew one of the biggest house show crowds of the year with a loaded lineup:
LA Knight b Jimmy Uso in a cage match with the BFT
Bianca Belair b Bayley with the KOD even though Iyo Sky interfered
Kevin Owens b Solo Sikoa in a last man standing match by putting him through a table
Jey Uso b Finn Balor with a spear
CM Punk b Dominik Mysterio
Street Profits b Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro
Seth Rollins b Drew McIntyre to keep the world title
Becky Lynch b Zoey Stark with the man handle slam
Kofi Kingston b Ludvig Kaiser
Cody Rhodes b Shinsuke Nakamura in a street fight with Cross Rhodes
After he competes against Miro at Sunday’s AEW Worlds End, Andrade El Idolo is expected to be done with the company
At least one report out Saturday stated that the former WWE U.S. Champion and NXT Champion is believed to be returning to WWE — possibly as soon as Monday’s Day 1 edition of Raw.
That news comes via a report by WrestlePurists with other details coming from PWInsider which was then verified by Fightful.
In their report, Fightful stated Andrade told AEW this past Wednesday that he no longer wanted to be with the company and was planning on leaving.
“We’re told that the situation surrounding Andrade’s exit was less than pleasant with some even saying a major disagreement had unfolded,” they stated.
It would not be the first time Andrade had had issues with AEW, sometimes alluding to them via social media.
Andrade’s contract status has been a question this month with Dave Meltzer saying he believed his deal was coming up soon but it was unsure if it would be extended due to injury time.
He debuted with AEW in June 2021 and signed a three-year deal after securing his WWE release in March. After an extended absence due to a torn pectoral muscle suffered in November 2022, he returned to AEW as part of the debut Collision roster in June 2023.
WrestlePurists reported the aspect some in AEW believe he will return to WWE with his return possibly coming this Monday, but Fightful’s sources did not corroborate that news as of now.
Leading to that speculation, WWE creative head Paul “Triple H” Levesque teased on Friday night that a WWE Champion might appear on Monday’s Raw, saying to “stay tuned” while not confirming or denying rumors.
The Fightful report said one WWE source was skeptical of that being Andrade given that they doubted Levesque would tweet that before Andrade is even done with AEW.
Andrade’s wife and WWE star Charlotte Flair is currently on the mend. She attended his recent CMLL match last week while on crutches.
Though a knee injury is keeping her out of action for the next several months, WWE star Charlotte Flair was in attendance at Arena Mexico on Friday to support her husband Andrade El Idolo.
Charlotte sat in the front row for Andrade’s match in Mexico City on Friday night. She was seen arriving on crutches due to the torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus that she suffered on the December 8 episode of SmackDown.
#ViernesEspectacularCMLL | Visita especial para Andrade El Idolo! Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr está presente en la primera fila de La Catedral de la Lucha Libre.
Andrade, Espanto Jr. & Brillante Jr. defeated Volador Jr., Magnus & Magia Blanca at the CMLL event.
Volador says the people want to see him and Andrade in a hair match. Andrade said the people came to see him.
Volador challenges Andrade for a singles match next Friday. Andrade asks the crowd who beat Volador for his mask. Andrade accepts as long as it is a one fall match.
On December 15, Andrade returned to CMLL for the first time since 2015. Formerly known as La Sombra, Andrade became a star early in his career while wrestling for CMLL.
Andrade is facing Eddie Kingston in a Continental Classic Blue League match on AEW Collision tonight (December 23). Tonight’s Collision will determine which wrestlers advance to the Blue League Finals.
Charlotte is expected to be out of action for nine months due to her knee injury. The injury happened during a match between Charlotte and Asuka. Charlotte will be undergoing surgery to repair the injury.
Andrade El Idolo will have CJ Perry by his side when he makes his return to Arena Mexico on Friday night.
On Thursday, CMLL posted a video announcing that Perry will be accompanying Andrade for tonight’s Arena Mexico event. It will be Perry’s CMLL debut. For Andrade, it’s his first time competing for CMLL since 2015.
“This Friday, it’s going to be my first time ever at Arena Mexico,” Perry said in a promo. “Debuting at CMLL with my client coming back after eight years.”
Andrade is teaming with Soberano Jr. & Angel de Oro against Mistico, Atlantis Jr. & Star Jr. in a trios match tonight.
Formerly known as La Sombra, Andrade became a star for CMLL early in his career before departing the company to sign with WWE in 2015. He’s been with AEW since 2021.
The Blue League will debut on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Tony Khan announced Tuesday night that Brody King will face Andrade El Idolo on Wednesday. This will be the first night that Blue League action will take place on Dynamite; previously, the league had been seen only on Rampage and Collision.
At Winter is Coming, the red hot Blue League debuts on Dynamite as co-leaders battle, Brody King vs Andrade El Idolo, TOMORROW on TBS! pic.twitter.com/40ewI4F9w1
King and Andrade currently stand at 6 points, tied for first place in the Blue League with Bryan Danielson. In the Gold League, Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland are currently tied for first place with 9 points. They will meet on Wednesday’s show.
Khan on Tuesday also announced that the show will receive a 5-minute overrun.
Here’s the current Winter is Coming card for Arlington, Texas:
AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland
AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Jay Lethal
AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe
AEW Continental Classic Blue League: Brody King vs. Andrade El Idolo
Riho vs. Ruby Soho
Hangman Adam Page vs. Roderick Strong
The Von Erich family returns to Dallas
We’ll hear from Samoa Joe
We’ll hear from the Golden Jets (Kenny Omega & Chris Jericho)
During CMLL’s show at Arena Mexico on Friday, a video featuring Andrade El Idolo aired. He said that he is coming home to CMLL, and will return next Friday night, December 15. On Saturday, it was announced that he will team with Soberano Jr. and Angel De Oro to take on Mistico, Atlantis Jr., and Star Jr. in a trios match.
🤩 ¡Andrade El Ídolo “La Sombra” regresa a la Arena México!
Last week, CMLL aired a teaser of a star coming soon to the company, leading to speculation that Idolo may be making a return.
Idolo has not been in CMLL since 2015, where he wrestled under the name La Sombra. Shortly before leaving for WWE, he lost a mask vs. mask match to Atlantis at CMLL’s 82nd Anniversary show. He also held the IWGP Intercontinental title during his run with the company as part of a talent agreement between CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Idolo is currently signed to AEW, where he is a part of their Continental Classic tournament that runs through the end of the month. He is set to face Bryan Danielson in a match that will air this Saturday.
Andrade El Idolo believes his AEW contract is up “relatively soon.”
The 34-year-old debuted for the promotion in June 2021. At the time, it was believed he had signed a three-year deal.
A recently aired vignette in CMLL seems to imply Andrade is headed back there soon. Our own Dave Meltzer believes Andrade wants to return to CMLL now because he might not be able to do so later if he ends up signing with WWE when his AEW deal expires.
His deal is coming up relatively soon unless it’s extended or something because of time off or injuries or whatever but he thinks that his deal is up pretty soon and so he wanted to go back in case he ends up going to WWE.
He’s not made the decision what he’s doing next, he’s not signed a new deal but if he does go to WWE, he knows he can’t go back to Arena Mexico.
Andrade missed nine months of action due to a torn pec from September 2022 to June 2023. He could potentially have that missed time added to the length of his AEW deal.
“My impression is that it’s up relatively soon,” Meltzer continued to say of Andrade’s deal.
LuchaBlog recently provided a succinct update on Andrade’s return to CMLL.
Hi. Reported Andrade was coming back to CMLL on Monday. CMLL has all but said they're announcing the deal on Friday. Thanks for coming.
Andrade’s name has come up positively in 2023 – primarily around relatives Lady Shadow and Brillante Jr. making CMLL appearances and doing interviews – where he wasn’t talked about at all when he was working AAA shows. There are must’ve been some work to smooth things over before this point. I believe Andrade’s return will lead to more attention on his other family members.
Andrade defeated Daniel Garcia on Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision in his first Continental Classic match. He wrestled Bryan Danielson in his second tournament match at the Collision tapings in Montreal on Tuesday. That match will air on Saturday’s show.
Andrade El Idolo has been added to the upcoming Continental Classic tournament.
Friday’s Rampage saw Idolo and new manager CJ Perry being interviewed. Perry revealed that she had entered Idolo into the tournament, and that if he wins he gets a bonus. Idolo seemed surprised she had entered him into the tournament, but after Perry whispered something to him his ear, he was fine with the result.
The Continental Classic will begin on next week’s Dynamite. Announced on last week’s Collision by Tony Khan, twelve wrestlers will compete in the round robin tournament, split into two groups of six. The league finals will take place on the December 27 edition of Dynamite in Orlando, with the finals taking place at Worlds End on December 30 in Long Island, New York.
The first participant announced for the tournament was Bryan Danielson. Despite recovering from a recent broken orbital bone, it was said during last week’s announcement that Danielson would return in time for the tournament.
Andrade El Idolo will make his GCW debut this December in one of three confirmed dates with the company.
The current AEW star and former WWE United States Champion will kick things off on Saturday, December 9th at Los Angeles’ Ukrainian Culture Center for Highest in the Room 2. His opponent was not announced.
He will follow that up in Chicago for an unnamed event on Friday, January 12th and then on Friday, January 26th in Tampa, Florida, for another unnamed event. While tickets on are on sale for the December show, ticket info will be coming this week for the January shows.
All shows will stream on FITE+.
On the AEW side, Andrade appears to be in the early stages of a feud with Miro after a victory over Daniel Garcia on Saturday’s Collision with new manager CJ Perry, who is Miro’s wife.
In addition to AEW, Andrade also continues to work select dates in Mexico.
The AEW World Team titles are at stake on this week’s Collision.
Ricky Starks and Big Bill will defend their titles against Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta. Starks and Bill won the Tag Team titles two weeks ago on Collision, defeating FTR in under five minutes. FTR will be making their return to in-ring action on Saturday for the first time since losing the titles.
Bryan Danielson will take on Andrade El Idolo in what Tony Khan has billed as a dream match. It will be the first time the two have wrestled in AEW. Danielson lost to Christian Cage on last week’s Collision thanks to interference from Ricky Starks.
Eddie Kingston will meet Jeff Jarrett in a Memphis street fight. If Jeff Jarrett wins, Jay Lethal will earn a shot at Eddie Kingston’s ROH World Championship. Miro will also be in action, taking on Action Andretti after Andretti was shown talking to Miro’s wife CJ Perry about potentially becoming a client of hers.
Live coverage of Collision begins at 8 p.m. ET.
No pre-roll comments again this week, as Sir Elton John played us into Collision. Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, and Nigel McGuinness were on the call for a Saturday night chockful of fights.
Bryan Danielson defeated Andrade El Idolo
While the “Dream Match” terminology used by Tony Khan to hype this match was a bit extreme, this was still a stellar television match. Andrade has been a lynchpin of Collision since day one, and Danielson was obviously going to live up to the billing. The post-match will garner attention, with Malachi Black stepping up to Danielson.
The fans chanted This Is Awesome at the bell as the two men locked up. It was announced that both Skye Blue & The Gunns would be in action tonight. In separate matches, to be clear. After an early exchange, Andrade lifted Danielson into a Gory Special. The two men got into a pinning predicament before standing off. Another fast-paced exchange ended with another standoff and a handshake. Danielson lifted Andrade in a Romero special, and Andrade escaped into another pinning predicament.
Danielson and Andrade fought out of each other’s submission holds to another stalemate. Danielson landed a chop, which quickly changed the tenor of this match as both men started chopping each other. Andrade caught himself in the ropes and baited Danielson in before sending him to the floor, but Danielson caught Andrade on a baseball slide before throwing him shoulder-first into the ring post. Danielson hit a running knee off the apron as we went to a commercial.
Danielson stomped on Andrade’s arm as we returned from the commercial. Andrade flipped out of a back suplex before throwing an overhand chop. The two men traded strikes again before Andrade laid Bryan out with a flying forearm. Danielson countered Andrade’s running knees but didn’t counter Andrade’s springboard dropkick and got sent to the floor. Andrade followed Danielson to the floor with a moonsault, before hitting a split-legged moonsault in the ring for a nearfall.
Andrade brought Danielson up for a superplex, but Danielson sent Andrade to the mat with headbutts. Danielson hit a shotgun dropkick before landing the chest kicks. Andrade caught the head kick and hit a dragon screw leg whip before attempting the Figure Four, but Danielson caught him in a small package for a nearfall. Andrade went for another Dragon Screw, but Danielson countered it into a LeBell Lock.
Andrade got to the ropes, so Danielson brought him to the top rope. Andrade knocked Danielson away and hit the Perro Aguayo double stomp to the chest. Andrade followed with the double knees in the corner for a nearfall. Andrade went to the top rope going for the double jump moonsault, but Danielson countered it and stomped Andrade’s face. Danielson went for the LeBell Lock, but Andrade countered it into the Figure Four. Danielson made it to the ropes as Andrade was bridging up into the Figure Eight.
Another chop battle ensued before Andrade drilled Danielson with a back elbow. Danielson hit a high kick, but Andrade countered the Busaiku Knee with an O’Connor Roll. Another pinning predicament ensued before Danielson stacked Andrade with a crucifix pin for the win.
After Andrade and Danielson shook hands, the lights went out. When they came up, Malachi Black drilled Danielson with Black Mass. Wheeler Yuta & Claudio Castagnoli came out, but the lights went out again. When they came up, Black was gone.
Darby Allin talked about Nick Wayne in a video package. He talked about Wayne feeling hated by fans online, who believed he wasn’t ready for a spot in AEW. Allin was disappointed by Wayne listening to the hate and turning on him. Allin said that he had a fractured shoulder but would be on Dynamite on Wednesday to give Sting his special gift if Wayne wanted to finish what they started last week.
Skye Blue defeated Hollyhood Haley
The announcers mentioned Blue’s recent change in attitude as she walked out in Scooby Doo-themed gear. Blue laid Haley out with a clothesline and mounted forearms. Haley made a short comeback before Blue powerbombed her out of the corner. Blue hit Code Blue for the win.
Austin & Colton Gunn (w/ Jay White) defeated The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum)
Colton got the upper hand on Floyd with a straight punch to the face before dropkicking Magnum. Austin got some shots in before both Gunns hit the 3:10 To Yuma for the quick win.
After the match, the lights went out. A man in a devil mask appeared on the screen but never unmasked. Back in the ring, Bullet Club Gold was shaken but quickly regained their confidence and left.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Orange Cassidy & Kris Statlander. Statlander needed to prepare, so she lifted Nair for a while. Statlander and Cassidy were ready for their respective title defenses on Battle of the Belts later tonight.
Memphis Street Fight – Jeff Jarrett (w/ Karen Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, & Satnam Singh) defeated Eddie Kingston
Bound For Glory is tonight, and Jeff Jarrett paid tribute to the promotion he founded with a classic Impact Zone main event. A silly fun match, and an underhanded way to get Lethal a shot at the ROH Title.
If Jarrett wins tonight, then Jay Lethal will receive a shot at Kingston’s ROH World Championship.
Legendary Memphis Wrestling announcer Dave Brown joined the commentary desk, noting that he had been calling matches for Jarrett since he was 18 years old. Jarrett got a big pop in his home state. Kingston came out and was immediately overwhelmed by the numbers advantage. Jarrett and Kingston brawled toward the stage near a makeshift concession stand, where Kingston slung hot dogs at Jarrett.
Jarrett threw a barricade at Kingston before hitting him with assorted plunder around the ring. Kingston came back with a headbutt before squirting Jarrett with ketchup and mustard. Kingston laid Jarrett on a table, but Karen Jarrett clawed his eyes. Lethal then took Kingston off of the stage with a cutter through the table as we went to the commercial.
Back from the commercial, Jarrett used plunder to work over Kingston’s knee. After using everything in his sight to batter Kingston’s knee, Jarrett locked on the Figure Four. Kingston writhed in pain before reversing the hold. Lethal went up for the elbow drop, but Jarrett ended up rolling Kingston out of the way. Kingston fought two-on-one before drilling Sonjay Dutt with a punch.
Kingston caught Jarrett with an Uraken, but Lethal cut off the pin. Kingston fought off Lethal and drilled Singh with Jarrett’s guitar, but that allowed Jarrett to hit the Stroke. Jarrett took too long to pin him, allowing Kingston to kick out. Singh, Jarrett, and Lethal all hit their finishers on Kingston, allowing Jarrett to score the win and a title shot for Jay Lethal.
Lexy Nair was backstage with The Acclaimed. Max Caster unsuccessfully hit on Lexy before Billy Gunn apologized for it and hyped their title defense on Battle of the Belts.
Miro defeated Action Andretti
CJ Perry came to ringside for this one. Miro overpowered Andretti in the corner to start. Andretti landed on his feet on a beel, peppering Miro with dropkicks. Miro cut off an Andretti springboard with a forearm before drilling him with short-arm lariats. Miro sent Andretti shoulder-first into the ring post before we went to a commercial.
Andretti fought out of a chinlock as we came back from the break. Andretti fired up, sending Miro to the floor and hitting a dive onto him. Back in the ring, Miro caught a high crossbody attempt and slammed Andretti to the mat. After blowing a kiss to Perry at ringside, Miro had Game Over countered by Andretti with a flash pin for a nearfall.
Andretti hit a tornado DDT, a shotgun dropkick, and a springboard 450, but Miro kicked out at one. Andretti hoisted Miro up, but the back gave out. Miro hit the side kick and locked on Game Over for the win. Perry looked nonplussed at ringside.
Tony Schiavone announced that Hikaru Shida would be defending the AEW Women’s World Title against Ruby Soho on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite.
Lexy Nair was backstage with 2.0, Daniel Garcia, & Anna Jay. Jay said that the beef was squashed, but Matt Menard brought up Garcia’s dancing to everyone’s annoyance. Jay told Menard and Garcia to follow her, leaving Angelo Parker behind. Nair welcomed Ruby Soho, who shared a word with Parker about their respective groups falling apart. Soho said that she deserves to be a champion in AEW, and will be one soon enough.
We had another meeting with La Faccion Ingobernable. Rush was tired of seeing other wrestlers get opportunities and being told that he was too violent. He was sick of conforming just to see other people get what he deserved. This will be continued.
Eddie Kingston was backstage with a medical trainer. Kingston made Jay Lethal jump through hoops because he didn’t like how he called someone who wasn’t his blood his uncle. He knew Lethal used to love wrestling but fell in line with that “carny son of a b*tch” Jeff Jarrett and his crew. Kingston told Lethal not to bring his crew or his family to their title match. Lethal’s mother would cry at the beating Kingston gave Lethal. Not because she was sad for her son, but because she knew her son had it coming. An excellent promo.
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. Bad Thad Brown & Darian Bengston ended in a no-contest
FTR was in firm control of the match when the lights went out. Malachi Black was back, alongside Brody King and Buddy Matthews. The House of Black took out FTR and stood tall.
We got a rundown of the card for Wednesday’s Dynamite, with the addition of a Chris Jericho sit-down interview with the remarkable Renee Paquette.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match – Big Bill & Ricky Starks defeated Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) to retain
They certainly want to get the House of Black back in the mix. Their third interference spot led to the end of this solid main event, and the return of Jon Moxley. An energetic end to the show.
Jim Ross joined commentary, noting that he had breakfast with Jerry Lawler earlier in the day. Starks and Yuta started, with Yuta using his technique to tie up Starks on the mat. Starks tagged out to Bill, who clubbered on Yuta, who unsuccessfully fought back. Yuta rung up Bill on the ropes, but a distraction from Starks allowed Bill to knock Yuta off the apron into the barricade. Starks used a BCC shirt at ringside to run Yuta into the barricade as we went to a commercial.
Back from the commercial, Bill and Starks were still beating up on Yuta. Castagnoli saw Starks coming to pull him off of the apron but didn’t see Bill boot him off the apron. Yuta made his way to the corner but had no partner to tag before walking into a Bossman Slam for a nearfall. Yuta avoided a splash in the corner, then got the tag into Castagnoli, who hammered Starks with lariats in the corner. Castagnoli went Old School on Starks before hitting a dropkick for a nearfall.
Starks bailed out of the ring on a Giant Swing attempt. Castagnoli followed him to the floor and hit both Starks and Bill with running European uppercuts as we went to another commercial.
Castagnoli hit a diving uppercut on Starks for a nearfall as we came back from the break. Castagnoli went for the Neutralizer, but Starks fought out and got a tag out to Bill. Starks hit a tornado DDT, with Bill following with a big boot for a nearfall. Castagnoli brought Bill to his corner, where Yuta hit an assisted shotgun dropkick for a nearfall. Yuta went for a German suplex on Bill, but a Starks distraction allowed Bill to drop Yuta with a lariat for a nearfall. Yuta evaded multiple moves but got caught by Bill with a Razor’s Edge for a nearfall.
Yuta booted Starks on a spear attempt before hitting the Right Angle Slam. Castagnoli tagged in, hitting Starks with a lariat for a nearfall. Castagnoli called for the Giant Swing and hit it, with Yuta hitting a dropkick on a swinging Starks for a nearfall that Bill broke up. Castagnoli and Yuta set up the Fastball Special, but the House of Black made their third appearance tonight. Black got the referee’s attention as Matthews and King took out Castagnoli. Starks hit the spear and the Rochambeau to win and retain the titles.
The House of Black menaced the champions before beating down Yuta. Danielson came out, but Starks and Bill joined in the beatdown. FTR couldn’t make a difference, as they were overwhelmed. Jon Moxley made his return from injury to even the odds and helped the BCC and FTR clear the ring. Starks was left alone to take the Shatter Machine and the Death Rider. Castagnoli swung Starks again as Collision faded out.
Bryan Danielson is wrestling once again this Saturday.
In what is being billed as a dream match, Danielson will take on Andrade El Idolo. Tony Khan on X earlier on Friday teased that a dream match would be announced on Friday’s Rampage.
Both men have asked for the best competition, & now they collide for the first time in AEW TOMORROW: Andrade El Idolo vs Bryan Danielson! pic.twitter.com/0Jd3vxBKft
Danielson has wrestled frequently on Collision since returning from injury at AEW All Out in September. Last week’s show saw Danielson lose to Christian Cage after interference from Ricky Starks. Idolo hasn’t wrestled on AEW television since the September 30 edition of Collision, where he defeated Juice Robinson.
FTR will also make their return on Saturday. Two weeks ago, FTR lost the AEW World Tag Team titles in a surprise against Big Bill and Starks. On last week’s Collision, Cash Wheeler said that they were willing to work their way back to the Tag Team titles. The two, along with Danielson and Adam Copeland, ended up getting into a brawl with Cage, Starks, and Bill.
Saturday’s announced Collision card:
AEW World Tag Team Champions Ricky Starks & Big Bill defend against Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
Bryan Danielson vs. Andrade El Idolo
Miro vs. Action Andretti
Memphis street fight: Eddie Kingston vs. Jeff Jarrett — If Jarrett wins, Jay Lethal gets a shot at Kingston’s ROH World title
