For the first time in company history, all of AEW’s male champions will be part of an eight-man all star tag team match to headline tonight’s AEW Collision — the go-home show for Saturday’s All Out.
Collision will be followed by a live Rampage, completing a three-hour block on AEW action in Chicago.
The main event will feature AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson teaming with the AEW Trios Champions (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta) against AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks, AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada & TNT Champion Jack Perry.
Collision will feature three qualifying bouts for Saturday’s four-way title defense by the aforementioned Okada with Orange Cassidy vs. Bryan Keith, Konosuke Takeshita vs. The Beast Mortos, and Mark Briscoe vs. Lance Archer.
Former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will face Deonna Purrazzo ahead of Shida’s Saturday challenge of TBS Champion Mercedes Mone.
Our live coverage begins at 8 PM EST and continues with Rampage at 10 PM EST in this same post.
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Collision began with Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness replaying the angle from the end of this past week’s Dynamite, with Hangman Page lighting Swerve Strickland’s childhood home on fire. Schiavone noted that AEW has refused to sanction the Steel Cage match, making it a Lights Out Steel Cage match. The announcers then threw to footage of Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir entering the building earlier in the day.
Continental Contenders Challenge Match – Mark Briscoe defeated Lance Archer
This was a bloody start to the show, with Briscoe eventually chopping Archer down to get into tomorrow’s Continental Title match. I’ve been hoping for a Briscoe/Okada singles match down the line, but I’ll take some interactions in a four-way.
The winners of the three Continental Contenders Challenge matches tonight will challenge Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship tomorrow night at All Out.
Archer jumped Briscoe during his entrance, pinballing him around the floor. A bloodied Briscoe threw some strikes before Archer sent him back to the floor. Briscoe dodged a cannonball against the barricade, then hit his chair-assisted dive to Archer on the floor. Archer came back with a spinebuster as we went to a commercial break.
Archer was still in control after the commercial break, hitting Briscoe with a chokeslam on the apron. Briscoe chopped his way free of another chokeslam before kicking Archer into the post. Briscoe hit a blockbuster off the apron and fired up, hitting a Death Valley Driver and a Froggy Bow for a nearfall. Archer powered out of the Jay Driller and had a flurry of offense, ending with a Bossman Slam for a nearfall.
Archer took Briscoe up for a superplex, but Briscoe knocked him down and hit a Froggy Bow. Archer kicked out at one, so Briscoe followed up with a sliding lariat and another Froggy Bow for the win and the second spot in tomorrow’s Continental Championship match.
The Learning Tree was backstage. Chris Jericho spoke on how the Conglomeration worked together as a well-oiled unit, but Tomohiro Ishii had to go back to Japan. They talked about how time was a valuable commodity, and that time ran out for everyone. The camera panned down to show a beaten Ishii laying at Jericho’s feet, with a chair around his neck. Jericho said sayonara to Ishii.
Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) defeated Iron Savages (Bronson & Boulder) (w/ Jacked Jameson)
The Veterans started by chopping down Boulder at the knee. Boulder took both men over with a double suplex, but Drake cut down the Transformer Slam with a chop block. They both sent Boulder to the floor and after surviving a Bronson flurry, they dropped Bronson across the ropes with a double Hotshot. The Vets hit a High-Low for the win.
After the match, FTR came out. They brawled with the Vets, forcing them to bail out. Jacked Jameson raised FTR’s hands and ate a Shatter Machine for his troubles.
We got a video package hyping the International Championship match between PAC & Will Ospreay tomorrow night at All Out.
Orange Cassidy was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that Kyle O’Reilly was taking care of Ishii, and that he would punch Bryan Keith for what the Learning Tree did to Ishii. Then, he would win the Continental Championship tomorrow night and put it in his backpack next to his $7,000 in cash. A bit of advice, don’t leave that bag around Logan Square.
Continental Contenders Challenge Match with $7,000 of Cassidy’s Money On The Line – Orange Cassidy defeated Bryan Keith
Another good match, with Cassidy joining Briscoe in the Continental Title match. This would have been a good spot to have Bryan Keith get an upset win to build up the budding feud between the Conglomeration and the Learning Tree. I didn’t think either man was winning the title tomorrow night, but a win for Keith in a spot like this would have been a marquee win for him at this point of his career.
If Keith wins this match, Cassidy will reimburse Chris Jericho for his $7,000 suit jacket that he ruined on a 2020 episode of Dynamite, on top of earning a shot at the Continental Championship tomorrow night at All Out.
Cassidy shot out of his corner, sending Keith to the floor with a dropkick and following with a trio of dives. Cassidy ran Keith into the barricades, but Keith was able to throw Cassidy’s right hand – his Orange Punch hand – into the stairs. After a commercial, Cassidy made his hands-free comeback. The two jockeyed for position before Cassidy hit a Penalty Kick. Keith rolled through and hit an Exploder Suplex.
Keith hit a rising headbutt to Cassidy on the top rope. Cassidy fought Keith off, but Keith hit an Exploder into the turnbuckle and followed with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Keith hit a pair of arm wringers, but Cassidy turned it into an inside cradle for a nearfall. Cassidy hit the Stundog Millionaire and a Beach Break for a nearfall.
Cassidy went for an Orange Punch, but Keith blocked it and hit a knee for a nearfall. Keith went for a running knee, but Cassidy caught him with an Orange Punch and a tornado DDT. Cassidy hit a Deep Impact DDT off the top rope for the win.
Chris Jericho was backstage, outside of Orange Cassidy’s locker room. Jericho has absconded – that means stolen – Cassidy’s backpack, and said he’ll keep it until Cassidy pays his debts. The backpack was empty, so I guess Orange was going to hit up the ATM after the show.
Mercedes Mone & Kamille were backstage with Lexy Nair. She wondered why Vice Principal Christopher Daniels was getting in her business and warned that Kamille wasn’t banned from the building tonight.
The Outrunners (w/ Erica Leigh) defeated Davey Bang & August Matthews
AEW may not have as many world-class tag teams as they used to have, but they have a solid division of teams. Getting teams like the Outrunners, Top Flight, and Private Party somewhat credible can generate some more energy in the currently stagnant tag team division.
The announcers noted that the Outrunners, who got a big pop on their entrance, had never won on television. That changed tonight, as they quickly hit a double-team powerslam called the Total Recall for the win.
Continental Contenders Challenge Match – Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated The Beast Mortos
An absolute slugfest, and one I would suggest you go out of your way to watch. Both of these men are fantastic talents on this roster that I would push harder as AEW homegrowns, for lack of a better term. Takeshita in particular is truly unbelievable, and he needs to start circling the top of these cards sooner than later.
The two rammed into each other with shoulder blocks to start. You would think Mortos would have the advantage when it came to ramming people. Takeshita sent Mortos to the floor and hit a tope. Takeshita clubbered on Mortos on the floor before throwing him back in the ring, where Mortos popped Takeshita before hitting his tornado tornillo. Back in the ring, Takeshita and Mortos battled on the top rope before Takeshita hit a superplex as we went to a commercial.
Mortos hit a reverse Slingblade and a headbutt as we came back from the break. Mortos hit a Bane-style backbreaker, then followed with a pop-up Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Takeshita dumped Mortos on his head with a German suplex, then followed with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. They battled for positioning on the top rope again before Mortos dumped Takeshita off the top rope with a Gorilla Press for a nearfall.
Takeshita sidestepped a spear, but a second attempt scored. Takeshita fired out at a one count and hit a World Class elbow, but Mortos came back with a spinning lariat. Both men headbutted each other down. Takeshita countered another pop-up Samoan Drop with a crucifix bomb, then hit the jumping knee and the Raging Fire falcon arrow for the win.
AEW Women’s Champion Mariah May was backstage. She said that she hasn’t shaken any hands in the locker room, because she knows the best way to get to know a woman is by making them scream at her feet. Her words, not mine. She still hasn’t held her title celebration and intimated holding it at All Out. She said that the shame about being Mariah May is that she would never be able to meet Mariah May.
Hikaru Shida defeated Deonna Purrazzo
The two got in an early pinning predicament before Purrazzo sent Shida shoulder-first into the turnbuckle as we went to a commercial. After the break, Shida came back with a second rope dropkick. Shida got the counter punches in the corner before hitting a running knee for a nearfall. Purrazzo moved out of the way of a double stomp and hit a La Mistica, then got a nearfall off of a powerbomb.
Purrazzo went for a running boot, but Shida caught her in a Stretch Muffler. The two traded boots before Shida hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Shida hit the Katana for the win. The announcers noted that Shida could be the first woman to win both the World and TBS Titles.
After the match, Mercedes Mone came out. She ran distraction as Kamille jumped Shida from behind. Mone went to attack Shida with the kendo stick, but Shida ducked and caused Kamille to get hit with the stick. It was the one thing they didn’t want to happen. Shida fought them both off and hit Mone with the Katana to stand tall before the PPV.
FTR was backstage with Alicia Atout. They made the challenge to the Grizzled Young Veterans for next week’s Collision in Dayton, Ohio.
The Acclaimed were backstage with Lexy Nair. Max Caster noted that none of the top teams in the division have beaten them and that the road to the tag team titles still runs through them. MxM Collection interrupted them to hype their match on Rampage, then told the Acclaimed to get some fashion tips from them. Billy Gunn interrupted their touching of tips as Anthony Bowens said that only one team did finger stuff in AEW.
All Star Match of Champions – AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson & AEW World Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, & PAC defeated The Elite (TNT Champion Jack Perry, Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, & AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks)
I hope you packed a lunch folks, because this was a long one. I don’t have an official time, but I would be stunned if this match went less than thirty minutes. They missed the peak by a few minutes, but as an all-star champions showcase, it was a fun use of the time.
They teased Okada starting with Danielson, but Okada tagged Perry in. Perry baited Danielson into the Elite corner and laid in the stomps, but once Matthew tagged in, Danielson took him into the BCC corner. Both teams cycled through tags before we got a Pier Six brawl in the ring and quadruple counter punches. The Elite saved Perry from getting his head kicked in as we went to the final commercial break of Collision.
Back from the break, the Elite had PAC under control in their corner. After another melee, The Elite held up the Trios Champions for a Nick Jackson senton onto all three for a nearfall on PAC. PAC was your Geordie-in-peril, getting worked on for several minutes before getting to his corner to tag Castagnoli. Castagnoli ran wild alongside Yuta, but Nicholas cut them off with superkicks before an assisted Sliced Bread got a nearfall.
Okada tagged in and toyed with Castagnoli before they traded uppercuts. Castagnoli countered a Tombstone attempt by deadlifting Okada up for a suplex. Danielson and Perry tagged in, with Perry fighting off a flurry of kicks with a claw to the eyes. We got a move train ending with a Danielson missile dropkick to Perry off the top rope. Danielson laid in Yes Kicks as the Collision show ended.
We missed nothing in the one second of transition, as another move train ended with Yuta taking two superkicks and a Tombstone for a nearfall broken up by the BCC. We got a dive train ending with Okada flipping off Chicago. PAC sent Okada to the outside and hit a Fosbury Flop. PAC came back into the ring with a springboard 450 to Okada for a nearfall.
The BCC team controlled Okada in their corner as we went to our first Rampage commercial of the third hour. Okada went for a Tombstone, but Castagnoli reversed it, leading to a triple Tombstone from the Trios Champions. Okada back-dropped out of the Neutralizer, but Castagnoli caught a Nicholas crossbody leading into an assisted crossbody of his own.
Perry broke up a Rocket Launcher attempt, then ran away from Danielson as he chased him to the back. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger on Yuta for a nearfall. The Bucks went for the TK Driver, but Castagnoli caught a launching Nicholas and took him on the Giant Swing. Yuta hit a dropkick for the sudden stop and got the pin on Jackson ahead of the BCC’s tag team title challenge.
The Outrunners were backstage with Lexy Nair. They were excited about their win before Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir came down the stairs behind them and killed them dead.
Queen Aminata defeated Missa Kate
Matt Menard joined the commentary team for Rampage duties. Serena Deeb watched from the back at a relatively normal angle as Aminata won this one quickly with the Brain Drain headbutt.
We got a video package of the history between Daniel Garcia & MJF ahead of their match tomorrow night.
Hologram & ROH World Tag Team Champions Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara defeated The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, John Silver)
Hologram and Evil Uno started, with Hologram evading him to start. Guevara allowed Hologram to use him as a base to launch into a tornado DDT. After a commercial, Rhodes got a hot tag and ran wild before the Dark Order shut them down. The Premier Athletes were watching backstage. They triple-teamed Hologram, but Hologram evaded the Ragnarok. Guevara and Hologram hit stereo dives off of the ring posts, and the tecnicos got the win after a Hologram 450 splash.
The Bang Bang Gang were backstage. Juice Robinson noted that they needed momentum before Austin Gunn wanted them to give him a nickname. Cage of Agony entered the frame, and after the Bang Bang Gang brought up beating them for the ROH Six Man Titles way back when, Cage said that was only because they were teaming with the Acclaimed and had six people in their trio. They’ll be having a match.
Lexy Nair was backstage, where she announced that there would be a three-way trios match on the All Out Zero Hour with big money implications. Two of the teams were Top Flight & Shane Taylor Promotions…with The Beast Mortos. The Undisputed Kingdom entered the frame, wondering why their buddy Mortos was with STP, with Taylor saying that he followed the money. The Kingdom said that they were the third team and insulted Top Flight’s nifty pilot outfits. Top Flight said that they would win.
House Of Black (Brody King & Buddy Matthews) defeated MxM Collection (Mansoor & Mason Madden)
I was ready to bury MxM Collection under the earth with the goofy judges, but King killing them quickly spared my wrath. After that, this was a good tag match. Like I said earlier, AEW has a lot of talented pairings and can make as many as they need to with the roster that they have. It’s a matter of consistently showcasing them in higher-profile spots. Why can’t King and Matthews get a tag title eliminator on a Dynamite, or MxM get one on a Collision?
MxM came out with three judges to rate their poses. I thought they only had ten cards to rate MxM, but they gave Matthews a three when he did a move. The big men tagged in, only for Mansoor to tag back in and give a chop to King. King responded with a chop that got a good score, and as Mansoor was yelling at the judges, King killed all of these goofs with a crossbody.
MxM had the advantage on Matthews after the commercial until Matthews drilled Mansoor with a jumping knee. The crowd erupted with MEAT chants as the big men tagged in and traded shots. King sent Madden into the corner with a throw, then hit a cannonball for a nearfall. King tried to choke Mansoor on the apron, but Mansoor dropped King with a jawbreaker before hitting him with a leftover chair from the judges. Madden hit a chokeslam for a nearfall.
Matthews tagged in and ran wild. After maneuvering around the top rope, Matthews sent Madden to the floor, where King followed him out with a dive. Matthews took Mansoor off the top rope with a superplex before sending him into Dante’s Inferno from King for the win.
Will Ospreay was backstage. Ospreay said that he was feeling as good as he could feel after getting a poisonrana on a stage and a brainbuster on a packing crate. Ospreay had been getting compared to PAC all throughout his career, through the backyards, the British independents, and Japan. Ospreay referenced the thirty-minute time-limit draw the two had at Revolution Pro Wrestling five years ago, and said that he hadn’t forgotten about PAC. No one forgot about PAC, he had just been in this position so many times that maybe the people had lost faith in him. PAC had 24 hours on the clock to change that.
