AEW heads to Athens, Georgia, for tonight’s live Collision which will see several champions in non-title action.
Former TNT Champion Cope (Adam Copeland) will take on Big Bill after the two were involved in a trios match last Saturday. It will be Cope’s first singles match since May’s Double or Nothing when he fractured his tibia.
In another match coming out of that trios bout, Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho will battle FTR’s Dax Harwood in a non-title match. The last time they went one-on-one, Mike Tyson was special guest enforcer.
Another non-title bout will feature AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May against Harley Cameron. They have squared off once with May leaving victorious.
In two matches made Saturday afternoon, AEW Trios Champion PAC will take on reigning ROH TV Champion Komander while PAC’s partners Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta will face the upstart Outrunners.
Join us for live coverage at 8 PM Eastern.
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Collision began with words from Harley Cameron, Mariah May, Rated FTR, & The Learning Tree. Sir Elton John played us into the show. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call.
Cope defeated Big Bill
This was a very good return to singles action for Cope, as he and Big Bill had a quality opener here. However, I wouldn’t have had the guy stepping up to Jon Moxley use a low blow to beat a guy at Big Bill’s level. It felt cheap, as it took away from a quality match and victory here. I also would’ve just had Harwood vs. Jericho start here since they were both already out there.
Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho was on commentary to support his student Big Bill. Bill took Cope to the floor quickly, but Cope drove Bill into the steps and pinballed him around ringside. Cope drove Bill into the announce desk to Jericho’s chagrin, but Bill came back with a big boot. Bill clubbered on Cope around ringside as we went to a commercial.
After the break, Cope fought from underneath to take Bill down, scoring a nearfall with a Northern Lariat. Bill came back with a big Boss Man Slam for a nearfall. I didn’t even mean to do that on purpose. Bill called Jericho over to provide a distraction as he ripped the turnbuckle pad off, but Cope avoided a Snake Eyes into the buckle. Both men went to the top rope, and Cope pulled Bill’s head into the exposed buckle before hitting a powerbomb for a nearfall.
Cope went for the Spear, but Bill moved, and Cope hit the turnbuckle. Bill followed up with the Big Boot for a nearfall. Cope countered a chokeslam with an Impaler DDT and cut the Redwood in half with a spear, but Bill kicked out to a big reaction from the crowd. Bill goozled Cope, but Cope pushed the referee out of the way and kicked Bill in the groin before hitting another spear. Cope hit the trademark Moxley hammer-and-anvil elbows before choking Bill out for the win.
Jericho & Bryan Keith jumped Cope after the match, but FTR ran down to make the save. Dax Harwood will take on Chris Jericho later on in the program.
We got a video package for Kenny Omega ahead of his return to AEW action against Brian Cage on Dynamite.
Hangman Page Speaks
Hangman Page was sulking in the back, as per usual. He talked about how he tried to protect his family from the issues that fame brought, and that in one night, it was all taken away. He was ashamed of the incident and was ashamed that he allowed it to happen. He decided to do something about it and made sure that Swerve Strickland lost the World Title, took his potential family home away, and all but spilled his brains out in front of the world.
Page turned his attention to Christopher Daniels, who he humored for a long time because Daniels was the first star of substance to see something in Page when he was young. But Daniels crossed the line and put his hands on Page last week on Collision, so Page promised to make him pay next week on Collision in a Texas Death Match. Daniels made his bed, and Page would lay him down in it.
PAC defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes)
This was a very good showcase for Komander, who PAC had real trouble with before giving himself the slightest of openings and snatching on the Brutalizer. I may have thought about giving Komander the win to set up a trios title challenge, but I understand keeping the Death Riders strong.
The two went speed-for-speed to start before Komander hit a wacky headscissors over the ropes. Komander hit the ropewalk dive to the floor, following it up with a springboard crossbody for a nearfall. PAC shut Komander down and took him to the floor, where he got in his former Death Triangle associate Abrahantes’ face. PAC booted Komander in the ring before sliding out and getting his hands on Abrahantes, but the distraction allowed Komander to do a step-up moonsault to PAC on the floor.
Back in the ring, Komander hit a wild X-Factor before hitting a tilt-a-whirl DDT for a nearfall. Komander went for a step-up moonsault, but PAC cut him off and hung him up on the ropes. PAC went up for the Black Arrow, but Komander rolled away. Komander caught a charging PAC with a pair of superkicks, then hit a step-up Destroyer. Komander went for a 450 Splash, but PAC got the knees up and snatched on the Brutalizer for the win.
After the match, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta made their way to the ring, with the announcers talking about how Castagnoli wanted payback after Komander’s Christmas Dynamite upset over him. The Outrunners made the save for Komander, and this time, the upcoming match started right then and there.
Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
This was the best straight-up tag match I’ve seen the Outrunners have in their AEW run, as the crowd was hot for them here against a main event act in the Death Riders.
The Outrunners worked over Yuta until Castagnoli knocked down Floyd from the apron. Castagnoli worked over Floyd until he got caught with a Thesz Press. The Outrunners knocked Castagnoli & Yuta to the floor as we went to the commercial break.
After the commercial break, the Death Riders were working over Magnum, scoring a nearfall with a Hart Attack. Magnum fought for the tag and eventually got it to Floyd, who ran wild with bodyslams. They hit the Predator Elbow on Yuta, but Total Recall got cut off. Yuta sent Floyd into the ropes, where Castagnoli hit an uppercut for a nearfall.
We got a pinning predicament with Yuta and Floyd, ending with Floyd stuffing a Seatbelt attempt for a nearfall. Castagnoli screamed at Yuta to finish the match but got annoyed and dragged Yuta to the corner to force a tag. They hit the Giant Swing dropkick, but a bit of confusion on the legal man allowed Floyd to break the cover. A Yuta cutoff allowed Castagnoli to drop Floyd with a Gutwrench Superplex, and a Rocket Launcher got the win for the Death Riders.
We got a commercial hyping all of the matches on Dynamite: Maximum Carnage on Wednesday.
We got a promo from Powerhouse Hobbs ahead of his AEW World Title match on Dynamite. He said that everything Jon Moxley wanted was standing in front of him, as Hobbs took initiative and won the Casino Gauntlet Match to earn a World Title shot. Hobbs said that he had been shot, stabbed, and left for dead. Moxley couldn’t do anything to him, and he would make Moxley his b***h.
Non-Title Match – Mariah May defeated Harley Cameron
AEW may have a prospect with Harley Cameron. She’s very charismatic, and she did well here against the World Champion.
Cameron has new music, which was probably urging fans to feel the wrath of Harley Cameron. Cameron went for some flash pins, but May shut her down with a headbutt. Cameron came back with a Russian leg sweep and an enzuigiri for a nearfall. May came back with a shotgun dropkick as we went to commercial.
May was still in control when we came back from commercial, scoring a nearfall with a headscissors off of the top rope. Cameron came back with a hairmare before running wild with strikes. Cameron hit a pumphandle back suplex for a nearfall. Cameron stuffed the Storm Zero with a jackknife for a nearfall, but May came back with a running knee and a Storm Zero for the win.
We got a promo from Christopher Daniels. He never came to Hangman Page as an official, but as a friend. He watched as Page went through the worst year of his life, and watched as the rest of Page’s friends deserted him. He tried to help Page out but was only met with violence. Daniels was angry that Page asked what he had done in the business, running down his resume as a former AEW World Champion and an architect of two separate wrestling promotions. He was AEW before AEW existed, and he would add beating Hangman Page to his resume.
Brody King (w/ Julia Hart) defeated Trevor Blackwell
King quickly handled Blackwell, beating him with a Gonzo Bomb.
After a commercial, Brody King & Julia Hart were backstage with Lexy Nair. He was interrupted by Cope, who said that he respected King after their run-ins over the last year. Cope said that it was time for King to take the reins and run.
TNT Championship Match – Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Katsuyori Shibata
This was a great defense for Garcia here. He tried to match Shibata at Shibata’s own game, and while Shibata remained a step ahead of him for most of the match, Garcia was able to outwrestle The Wrestler and get a win with his signature Jackknife cradle. I would have main evented the show with this to signal that the TNT Title is worthy of main eventing an episode of TV.
Matt Menard joined commentary for Garcia matches, as usual. The commentary brought up how due to the inclement weather in Georgia, Garcia had to get ready in the taxi on the way from the Atlanta airport. They questioned if Garcia’s lack of warm-up would cost him here in this championship match. Garcia and Shibata traded chops to start, with Shibata winning the exchange and hitting the hesitation dropkick in the corner.
Garcia made his comeback after the break, with he and Shibata trading inside cradle attempts for nearfalls. They went to trading boots and back suplexes before Shibata laid Garcia out with an STO. They both sat back up before Shibata won a chop exchange and locked in a Cobra Twist. Garcia hit a Dragon Screw leg whip and tried an ankle lock before Shibata countered it. A Dragon Tamer got countered into an Achilles Lock and a Figure Four from Shibata.
Garcia got to the ropes and ducked a Penalty Kick, but Shibata stuffed another Dragon Screw and popped Garcia with an open-hand slap. Shibata pulled Garcia into a hold, but Garcia caught Shibata with a jackknife cover for the win. The two shook hands and raised each other’s hands after the match.
We got a video package hyping the Women’s Casino Gauntlet on Dynamite, narrated by Renee Paquette.
Chris Jericho defeated Dax Harwood
This was a decent Jericho match with a sloppy and cold finish. I would had Cope vs. Big Bill in this spot instead. The post-match angle was why this match was the main event, with the Rated FTR/Learning Tree TV feud tying into the bigger Rated FTR/Death Rider angle. They did a good job of setting Hobbs up as a challenger for Moxley, having Moxley show a semblance of fear against the big man.
Jericho and Harwood locked on a collar-and-elbow tie-up and went all across ringside with it before re-engaging in the ring. Harwood went after Jericho’s leg after a deep Dragon Screw leg whip, wrapping the leg around the ringpost before Jericho yanked Harwood into the post. They fought around ringside again before Harwood hit a brainbuster in the ring for a nearfall. Jericho came back with chops before hitting a top rope hurricanrana into the commercial break.
Jericho had control coming out of the break before Harwood rolled through a high cross for a nearfall. Jericho couldn’t lock on the Walls of Jericho, so he catapulted Harwood into the corner buckles before hitting a Lionsault for a nearfall. Harwood hit another Dragon Screw, but Jericho sent Harwood into the corner post. After a near-slip in the corner, Harwood hit a superplex to lay both men out in the middle of the ring.
Harwood and Jericho laid into each other with chops before slapping each other down. Jericho rolled to the floor and went to use the title belt, but Harwood knocked him down on the outside. Jericho shoved Harwood into the stairs and laid him out with a Codebreaker. Harwood beat the count back in and fought off another Walls of Jericho attempt to lock on a Sharpshooter.
Jericho got to the ropes, and as the referee was dealing with Harwood, Jericho went for a belt shot and missed. Jericho popped the referee in the eye and moved out of the way of a diving headbutt. Jericho hit Harwood with the ROH Title but got a long nearfall out of it. Jericho landed the Judas Effect for the win.
After the match, the rest of the Learning Tree ran out to beat down Harwood. Cope & Cash Wheeler ran down to make the save before the Death Riders made their way to the ring to handle FTR & Cope. The Outrunners came down to even the numbers, and most of the guys fought to the floor.
Cope laid out PAC with a spear, but Jon Moxley appeared and dropped him with a Paradigm Shift. Marina Shafir brought two chairs to set up a Con-Chair-To to Cope before Powerhouse Hobbs made his way to the ring, bursting through all of the heels on the floor. He went face-to-face with Moxley before laying out Castagnoli with a spinebuster. Moxley hit Hobbs with a chair, but Hobbs didn’t budge and knocked the chair out of Moxley’s hands. Hobbs chased Mox to the outside before Shafir cut Hobbs off. Wheeler Yuta went to jump Hobbs, but Hobbs put him through the announce table with a uranage. Hobbs motioned for the title as the show went off the air.
During this match, it was announced that all three members of The Hurt Syndicate would be in action against tag team champions Private Party & Mark Briscoe on Dynamite.
