The AEW Tag Team title match is official for All In.
After The Young Bucks defeated The Hardys on Wednesday’s Dynamite, Nick and Matt Jackson started to cut a promo when FTR came out. The two teams had a staredown before Nick Jackson simply said “All In”, confirming the match. FTR had challenged The Young Bucks on Saturday’s Collision, saying they wanted a rubber match.
Sting & Darby Allin will team up in Wembley, taking on Swerve Strickland and AR Fox in what will be a coffin match. Allin confronted The Mogul Embassay on Wednesday and told AR Fox knew the reasons why he never called, crediting Fox getting into AEW by himself. Allin then said he had friends as well, introducing Sting. After Allin chased Fox into the crowd as Sting eliminated the rest of the Mogul Embassay, cornering Swerve and pointing to the All In banner.
Here is the updated card for All In:
AEW All In, Sunday, August 27, 12 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Adam Cole
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR’s Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler defend against The Young Bucks’ Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Saraya or Skye Blue, Britt Baker or The Bunny
Coffin match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland & AR Fox
One week after Ricky Starks defeated CM Punk in the finals of the men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, both men will appear on Saturday’s AEW Collision.
Starks will be on hand in Newark, New Jersey, to celebrate his victory while, according to Excalibur on AEW Rampage, Punk has said he will be in Newark “and looking for a fight.”
Following their staredown with title challengers Adam Cole & MJF on Wednesday, AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will have some comments ahead of their title defense next Saturday on Collision.
The men that failed to wrest the titles from FTR last Saturday — Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White & Juice Robinson — will take on Action Andretti & Darius Martin as they look to get back on the winning track.
In a similar situation, Taya Valkyrie will look to rebound from her loss to AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm last Saturday as she takes on Skye Blue.
The new additions join the previously announced Trios title match between champions House of Black and The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn.
Here’s the full lineup:
Taya Valkyrie vs. Skye Blue
CM Punk and Ricky Starks appearances
FTR appearance
Action Andretti & Darius Martin vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson)
AEW Trios Champions House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) defend against The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn
This past week was expected by many to have more great matches than any so far this year, and largely delivered with multiple great and completely different style matches.
Among the great matches of the week were Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima on the 7/15 Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall, FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson on 7/15 in Calgary on Collision in a two out of three fall title match, El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kenny Omega at TripleMania in Tijuana for the AAA Mega title on 7/15, Tomohiro Ishii vs. David Finlay from the G-1 Climax tournament on 7/16 in Sapporo, Will Ospreay vs. Yoshi-Hashi in the 7/18 G-1 from Yamagata and the Blood & Guts match on 7/19 on Dynamite from Boston.
Every one of these matches was different, including both matches with Omega that couldn’t be more different. Omega noted that one of the reasons he did the stuff he did in the Blood & Guts match, which included taking bumps into glass, thumbtacks, and a bed of nails, is that it’s important to him to show he can excel at any style of wrestling.
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer had nothing but high praise for the AEW Tag Team title match that opened Saturday’s Collision.
On Monday morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer called FTR vs. Juice Robinson & Jay White “the best American tag team match ever on television”. He also said it was among the best matches of the year and the best tag team match of the year thus far.
One of the more intriguing notes regarding the match is that due to travel issues, the two teams did not have that much time to work out the match beforehand.
“I’m not saying it was all called in the ring. But Juice got there at 2, the match started at 6,” Meltzer said. “There was definitely talk…and I know they wanted to get a little time to work it out and start the match later, but I think because of the nature of a two hour show and you have to do this hour match, they just wanted to start with it.”
The match kicked off the first of three hours of AEW programming on Saturday, with Battle of the Belts following Collision. However, the feed of the latter show died during the AEW Women’s Championship match for a period of time. Given the timeslot and the feed dying, Battle of the Belts may not do that well in the ratings.
“I think with the third hour and the satellite going out and people probably tuning out because of that, I don’t think that Battle of the Belts is doing well,” Alvarez said.
AEW will make their debut tonight in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as Collision will feature the finals of the second-ever Owen Hart Foundation tournaments.
On the men’s side, CM Punk will face Ricky Starks for the first time ever. Punk advanced with wins over Satoshi Kojima and Samoa Joe to get here while Starks defeated Juice Robinson and Powerhouse Hobbs.
On the women’s side, Willow Nightingale will face former partner-turned-rival Ruby Soho. Soho got wins over Britt Baker and Skye Blue while Nightingale beat Nyla Rose and Athena to punch her ticket. Soho was unsuccessful in last year’s final that Baker won.
Nightingale and Soho have faced off once before in singles action with Soho picking up the victory in March.
After losing in a title eliminator last Saturday, AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will defend against Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White & Juice Robinson in a two-out-of-three falls match.
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We got our pre-roll videos, featuring comments from everyone in our key matches tonight. After a few weeks, I can do without these videos. Instead of the good kind of old-school, they feel antiquated and lame.
This week’s Collision takes place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada as part of the Calgary Stampede. Joining Nigel McGuinness on commentary this week is Ian Riccaboni, as Kevin Kelly is in Japan doing commentary for New Japan’s G1 Climax tournament.
AEW World Tag Team Title Two Out Of Three Falls Match – FTR defeated Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) 2 falls to 1 to retain the titles
I’ll get my small criticisms out of the way first. There was a lot of dead time in this one. The first fall was a lot of stalling, which tipped me off that this one was going long. Despite that, this was an incredible effort from these teams as they came together to have an excellent match. They peaked all three falls well, bringing the crowd to a fever pitch by the end of the third fall. This one will be talked about for a long time as the first Collision classic.
A good bit of stalling to start, which makes me think this one will be going long. Once they got started, White got the better of Harwood with armdrags. Both men made tags, with Wheeler sending Robinson out of the ring with a shoulder block as we went to our first picture-in-picture break.
As we came back from the commercial, Harwood tripped White up on a dropdown before hitting a side Russian leg sweep for a nearfall. Harwood caught White in a Cobra Twist, taunting Robinson as he grabbed the rope for leverage. Tags made on both sides led to Robinson dropping Wheeler with the Left Hand of God. The two traded pinfalls before Wheeler press slammed Robinson and tagged in Harwood. Harwood laid out Robinson with a chop before chopping him more in the corner.
As Harwood and Robinson traded headlocks, the announcers told us that Malakai Black & Brody King would be in tag team action tonight. After some headlock exchanges, Robinson sent Harwood shoulder-first into the ringpost before tagging in White. White leathered Harwood with chops. Harwood fought back but missed a corner splash and hit the ringpost head-first. White laid both Harwood and Wheeler out with DDTs before hitting a DVD for a nearfall. White dropped Harwood down with a facebuster before pulling him up and over with a bridging German suplex for a nearfall. Harwood fought back with chops before knocking White down with a lariat.
Things quickly broke down into a four-way scramble that ended with Robinson cutting off a Shatter Machine attempt and punching Wheeler with the Left Hand of God. That led to White hitting the Blade Runner to score the first fall as we went to a full screen break.
Robinson worked over Harwood’s arm as we came back from the break. Wheeler tagged in and laid into White, dropping him with a lariat for a nearfall. White came back with a back suplex before tagging out to Robinson, who laid into Wheeler with a pair of sentons. Robinson and White isolated Wheeler, with White clawing at Wheeler’s eyes to stop him from going for the tag. White hit Wheeler with a slingshot into the bottom rope before Robinson dropped Wheeler with a DDT on the floor.
More clubbering on Wheeler before Wheeler got his knees up on a Robinson senton to cut him off. Wheeler went for a sunset flip on Robinson, but White tagged in and went after the eyes again. Wheeler caught White with a headscissors before making the tag to Harwood, who ran wild on the challengers. Harwood got a pair of nearfalls on Robinson before sending him flying with two German suplexes. Harwood hit a brainbuster for a nearfall.
The Saddledome came alive with This Is Awesome chants as Harwood went for the Sharpshooter, but Robinson kicked him off and tagged in White. White hit a suplex into the turnbuckles that Robinson followed with a cannonball for a nearfall. White sent Harwood to the floor before teasing a stuff piledriver on Wheeler with Robinson. But FTR came back as Harwood hit a sunset flip off the ropes for a nearfall. FTR hit the Redneck Boogie on White, shouting out the Briscoes, for a close nearfall. FTR went for the Powerplex on White, but White got the knees up on Wheeler’s splash. Robinson came off the ropes with a Frog Splash on Harwood for another nearfall. This crowd is at a fever pitch as the match resets. FTR quickly got the second fall with some misdirection leading to the Shatter Machine on Robinson.
Back from commercial, and a Pier Six brawl broke out during the break. White backdropped his way out of a piledriver on the apron. Harwood got White in powerbomb position on the floor, but White took Harwood over the barricade. The doctors came to check on both men, but the match continued as White and Harwood brawled with each other in the crowd. Harwood dropped White with a suplex on the concrete, before FTR brought White back to ringside with a double suplex. Robinson came in, but FTR dropped him with a double suplex as well. White beat the countout before leading to the West Side Story staredown. They brawled with each other, with Wheeler suplexing Robinson over the ropes to the floor as we went to a picture-in-picture commercial.
Harwood got to the ropes to get out of a White submission as we came back. White tuned up the band but put Harwood in the Sharpshooter instead to big boos. Harwood reached the ropes and fought off a double-team attempt. Harwood brought White to the top rope before bringing him down hard with a back superplex. We got a 55-minute call as Robinson cut off a Harwood tag. White hit a bridging back suplex for a nearfall. White teased the Bladerunner, but Harwood pulled him into a Sharpshooter. Wheeler cut off Robinson and put him in a Sharpshooter. FTR couldn’t hold the position on the Sharpshooter and collapsed. Robinson tagged in, but Harwood snatched him into the Sharpshooter again. Robinson tapped out, giving FTR the deciding second fall and the win to a big pop.
After the match, FTR offered a handshake. Instead, White and Robinson spat on their hands and left. I’ve heard that might be a fine nowadays.
– We got a hype package for Blood and Guts this Wednesday, hyping it as the bloodiest match in AEW.
Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Women’s Tournament Final Match – Willow Nightingale defeated Ruby Soho
Soho came out solo, with the announcers noting that she made it to the finals last year. Nightingale started the match in control, countering Soho’s offense before hitting a trio of suplexes for a nearfall. Soho avoided a charge in the corner and tied Nightingale in the ropes, hitting her with knees to the chest. Soho got a nearfall as we went to picture-in-picture break.
Back from the break as Nightingale hit an enzuigiri. Nightingale fired up on Soho, clubbering on her in the corner. Soho hit a back elbow, but Nightingale pulled her into an Oklahoma Stampede for a nearfall. A pinning predicament led to a forearm exchange, which led to Soho getting a rollup for a nearfall. Nightingale hit a main event spinebuster and locked on a single leg crab. Soho got to the ropes, where she grabbed her spraypaint can. She put it in Nightingale’s hands and feigned innocence before clawing the eyes and hitting the No Future for a nearfall. Soho went for the paint again, but Nightingale hit a pounce that sent the can out of the ring. Nightingale hit the Babe With The Powerbomb to win the tournament. Tony Khan raised Nightingale’s hand as the announcers noted that Martha Hart would have an official ceremony for both tournament winners during Battle of the Belts.
– We cut to a video from last week, where Tony Schiavane was looking to talk to Powerhouse Hobbs after QTV accidentally cost him his tournament match against Ricky Starks. QT Marshall and Harley Cameron went into his locker room, with Marshall pleading his case to Hobbs. Hobbs seemed to buy it.
Kings of the Black Throne (Brody King & Malachi Black) defeated Artemis Spencer & Randy Myers
King powered one of the men into the corner, forcing a tag. Black tagged in, kicking the legs out of his opponent. Black locked on a knee bar as King hit a senton. This was a destruction that brought out Andrade El Idolo. Black hit the Black Mass for the win as referees held Andrade back. The House of Black taunted Andrade with his stolen mask.
– The announcers ran down the Battle of the Belts card before running down the Blood and Guts Dynamite card, featuring the Blood and Guts match, the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament Finals with Adam Cole & MJF taking on Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia, and an FTW Title match with Hook defending against Jack Perry. They then announce that next Friday’s Rampage will feature the return of the Royal Rampage match.
Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Men’s Tournament Final Match – Ricky Starks defeated CM Punk
This was fine. The work was nothing special, but the crowd was electric for and against Punk.
Punk had a mixed reaction coming out here. Dueling chants for both men as they traded arm wringers to start. Starks knocked Punk down with a shoulder block before taunting him with the Go To Sleep pose. Punk hip-tossed Starks to the floor as we went to commercial.
Starks avoided a corner charge as we came back from the break. Starks went Old School on Punk as the announcers noted that the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger would be helping to present the trophy to the winner of this match. Punk heated up on Starks, hitting a big kick to the back. Punk bodyslammed Starks before hitting the Bret Hart second rope elbow. Wrong brother, Punk. A Russian leg sweep scored a nearfall for Punk. Punk laid out Starks with a leg lariat as the crowd continued to be mixed for Punk. Another bodyslam set up the elbow, but Starks cut him off as we went to break again.
Punk hit the rising knee as we came back from commercial. Starks booted Punk on a corner charge, but Punk cut off a satellite DDT and hit a La Magistral cradle for a nearfall. Another rising knee scored for Punk, but Starks got the DDT for a nearfall. Starks went to the top rope, but Punk sat up out of the way of an elbow drop. Punk hit the Pepsi Twist for a nearfall. Both men met in the middle with crossbodies, crashing into each other for a double down.
They had a strike exchange that fired up Starks, but Punk caught Starks with a Piledriver for a nearfall. Punk called for the Go To Sleep, but Starks elbowed out and hit a spear that sent Punk to the floor. Starks dragged Punk back into the ring and went for another spear, but Punk caught him in a front guillotine that forced Starks to the ropes. Punk brought Starks to the top rope and hit a hurricanrana. They rolled through each other’s pins until Starks got the pin with second rope in hand. Starks celebrated as Punk sat in shock as we cut to Battle of the Belts.
On a new edition of Wrestling Weekly, Les Thatcher and I go over some of the excellence in both AEW and WWE over the past seven days…and a couple of lowlights as well.
We also discuss Kenny Omega’s thoughts on criticism of his match with Will Ospreay, the updated rules of combat in AEW, and Les’ induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame which happens next week.
For the first time since March 2005, CM Punk and Samoa Joe will go one-on-one in a singles match on AEW Collision for the right to move onto the men’s finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament.
Punk and Joe’s storied rivalry mainly took place in Ring of Honor as well as PWG and the UK’s FWA where they had their final match. In six singles matches, the two wrestled six times with Joe going 4-0-2 with two one-hour draws.
In the other Owen Hart men’s semifinal, Ricky Starks will face Powerhouse Hobbs in a meeting of past rivals.
The first Owen Hart tournament women’s semifinal is scheduled as former NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale faces ROH Women’s Champion Athena.
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will take on Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White & Juice Robinson in a tag team title eliminator match. If White & Robinson win, they earn a future title shot.
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The Collision cold open featured the Owen Hart Tournament semi-finalists hyping their matches, with CM Punk saying that he’s going to talk about their history right now.
This week’s Collision comes to us from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada inside the Brandt Centre. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness are on the call.
CM Punk Speaks
As Elton John welcomes us to Collision, CM Punk made his way to ringside. He got a positive reaction this week. Punk says that his history with Joe makes their match feel like the final, but he can’t overlook Hobbs or Starks. Punk says that he’s got scars and chipped teeth because of Samoa Joe, but history would be made tonight in the name of Owen Hart. He says that if it wasn’t for Owen Hart, most of the locker room wouldn’t be here today. He says that even though he’s a hockey guy, he’s not superstitious. He touches the trophy, saying that he will earn it. Punk can’t promise a victory, but he promises to give everything he has for the fans and for Owen.
– Kevin Kelly threw to a video package detailing Samoa Joe and CM Punk’s history, with footage from their trilogy in ROH. Joe says that there’s never been a day in Punk’s life where he was better than Joe. Punk says that he will beat Joe for the first time.
Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Men’s Tournament Semi Final Match: Ricky Starks defeated Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ QT Marshall, Aaron Solo & Harley Cameron)
A solid opener that was more about the finish than the match itself. With Johnny TV coming into the group, Hobbs leaving QTV is a foregone conclusion.
Hobbs overpowered Starks to start, but Starks was able to outmaneuver Hobbs and send him to the floor with a clothesline. Hobbs came back in the ring and laid Starks out with a lariat. Marshall got himself involved, choking Starks while Hobbs had the referee’s attention. Starks fought out of the corner but ran right into a back elbow from Hobbs. Hobbs eventually dropped Starks with a delayed vertical suplex. He sent Starks into the corner with a hard Irish Whip as we went to picture-in-picture break.
Hobbs held Starks in a bearhug as we came back from the commercial. Starks elbowed his way free and fired up, dropping Hobbs with a running clothesline. Hobbs cut off a Rochambeau set-up by driving Starks into the corner and clubbering him with lariats. Hobbs took Starks to his shoulders and went to the top rope, but Starks slid down and took Hobbs down with a powerbomb for a nearfall.
Hobbs ducked a springboard and fought off a tornado DDT, but Starks took him down with the DDT anyway. Starks set up the spear, but Marshall clipped his leg. Hobbs hit the spinebuster, but the referee was dealing with Marshall on the apron. Hobbs told Marshall to get down, but Starks bumped them together before hitting the spear to score the win and punch his ticket to the finals next week in Calgary.
– After the match, Marshall pleaded his case to Hobbs, who shoved him down in response. Aaron Solo got in the ring to try and diffuse the situation, but Hobbs hit him with a spinebuster. Harley Cameron jumped in the way, so Hobbs left the ring and stomped to the back.
– Miro said that he was ready to fight anyone. He said that no one would force him off his path. He said that there was a battle coming, one we’d all been waiting for.
– Backstage, Willow Nightingale noted that due to an injury in her matches in Japan, she wasn’t medically cleared. Athena entered the frame, accusing Nightingale of faking her injury to avoid another loss, noting that Nightingale lost her Strong Title in Japan. Nightingale said that she wanted the match on Rampage and said that she wanted an ROH Women’s Title shot once she wins. Athena said that if Nightingale made it to Rampage and beat her, she’ll think about giving her a title match.
– We got a video package hyping the Blood and Guts match on the July 19th Dynamite. This Wednesday, we will take a closer look at Blood and Guts.
Julia Hart (w/ Brody King) defeated Bambi Hall
Hall used her size advantage to take Hart down, but Hart tripped Hall on a dropdown and clubbered on her. It was here where commentary noted that next week’s Collision will be followed by a live Battle of the Belts. Hart hit a chop block before locking in a Rings of Saturn-style submission for the win.
– Malachi Black said that Andrade didn’t become who he was until he lost his mask. Black says that Andrade holds onto his mask like a child holding onto a teddy bear. He wants Andrade to show the world how great he truly is.
– Lexy Nair was backstage with Andrade El Idolo, asking him what his mask means to him. Andrade says that he’s not a coward like Black. He says that his mask represents himself, his family, his culture, and his people. When his mask is on, it’s time for business. When he takes it off, it’s time to fight.
AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Match: Jay White & Juice Robinson defeated FTR
A stellar tag team match here. This was an FTR special, building slowly to a high crescendo and a surprising finish, with the Bullet Club Gold team earning a future title shot. If that match is as great as this one, sign me up.
White started with Harwood, with Harwood forcing White to the ropes. Robinson and Wheeler tagged in, with Wheeler vaulting Robinson to the floor and forcing him to tag out. Wheeler avoided a double-team, with Harwood coming in the ring to drop both White and Robinson with German suplexes as we went to picture-in-picture break.
White sent Harwood into the buckles as we came back from break. Robinson tagged in and sent Harwood into the buckles chest first before hitting a snap suplex for a nearfall. Harwood dropped Robinson with a back elbow before tagging out and assisting Wheeler with a leg drop for a nearfall. A Wheeler dropkick scored a nearfall. Robinson and Wheeler traded chops before Robinson bit Wheeler’s forehead. Robinson went to the top, but Wheeler took him down with a Manhattan Drop. Wheeler hit the ten punches in the corner, but Robinson sent him to the floor with a Stun Gun.
White dropped Wheeler stomach-first on the apron to firmly take control. The Bullet Club team worked over Wheeler’s midsection. White spat at Harwood before locking on a Muta Lock, but Harwood chopped White to break it up. White sent Harwood into the barricades, allowing Wheeler to fight back. Wheeler caught White in a small package, but Robinson had the referee’s attention. White then suplexed Wheeler into the corner to re-take the advantage. Wheeler fought free to make a tag, but Harwood was fighting off Robinson so no tag was made. Harwood got knocked off the apron, forcing Wheeler to fight two-on-one. White low-bridged Wheeler to the floor as we went to another commercial.
Back from the break, Wheeler dodged a corner charge before finally getting the tag out to Harwood, who ran wild on Bullet Club Gold. Harwood caught White in a small package before dropping him with a brainbuster for a nearfall. The crowd chanted This Is Awesome as Harwood brought White to the top rope. Robinson headbutted Harwood down, but Wheeler dropped Robinson with a side suplex in the ring.
Harwood got back to the top rope, hitting a Powerplex alongside Wheeler for a close nearfall. FTR set up the spike piledriver, but White sent Harwood to the floor. Robinson hit Wheeler with the Left Hand of God, setting up the Blade Runner. FTR blocked it, but Robinson broke up the Shatter Machine. FTR hit the Spike Piledriver for a nearfall that Robinson broke up. Robinson tagged in, but White got a blind tag in. Juice Box into the Blade Buster scored another nearfall.
The crowd kindly plugged the video game with Fight Forever chants. A Pier Four brawl broke out, ending with Harwood hitting a rebound powerbomb on White for a nearfall. Harwood hit a sliding uppercut for another nearfall. Wheeler took out Robinson, but White dropped Wheeler with a Blade Runner. Harwood and White exchanged chops and forearms before Robinson tagged in blind. Harwood rolled up White, not realizing Robinson tagged in. That allowed Robinson to hit his facebuster for the win and the future title match.
– We got a Shawn Spears video package, highlighting his time as the Chairman. Christian noted that Spears would get his title match at Battle of the Belts next Saturday following Collision.
– After a commercial break, Tony Schiovane was in the back with FTR, although they were quickly interrupted by Bullet Club Gold. Jay White noted that they had beaten FTR twice in two weeks, and that they wanted to beat them twice in one night. They challenged FTR to a Two Out of Three Falls match next week, which FTR accepted.
Scorpio Sky defeated Action Andretti
It’s odd that this was supposed to be a Scorpio Sky showcase, but Andretti looked far better than him.
Fun fact, both of these men have pinned Chris Jericho. Although with Jericho’s recent output, that list is growing monthly. Andretti kept up with Sky on the mat until he ducked down for a back body drop when Sky jumped up and hit a double stomp on Andretti’s back.
We came back from commercial with Andretti fighting out of a chin lock and firing up on Sky. Andretti hit a dive to the floor. Back in the ring, Sky avoided a springboard 450 but ran into a Spanish Fly for a nearfall for Andretti. Andretti hit a shotgun dropkick but hit Sky’s knees on a split-legged moonsault. Andretti caught Sky with a rollup out of the TKO, but Sky kicked out and hit the TKO for the win. After the match, Sky shook Andretti’s hand.
– We got a rundown of next week’s Dynamite, featuring the semi-finals of the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament – Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara, MJF & Adam Cole vs. Big Bill & Brian Cage – Komander vs. Chris Jericho, Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue in the Women’s Hart Memorial Tournament, and Nick Wayne debuting against Swerve Strickland.
– Next week’s Collision will feature both the Women’s and Men’s Hart Memorial Tournament Finals, as well as the FTR vs. Bullet Club Gold Best of Three Falls match for the AEW Tag Team Titles.
Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Men’s Tournament Semi Final Match: CM Punk defeated Samoa Joe
A surprising finish, as I thought they would go further with the story of Punk never beating Joe. I do like the idea of Joe not being able to accept that things have changed after so long. This was a good main event, although I think these guys have better in them. I’m very interested in Punk vs. Starks next week, both from a quality perspective and in terms of who wins the tournament.
Joe and Punk started slow, with Punk avoiding chops and landing a few of his own. Joe locked on a knuckle lock, winning it before Punk kicked free and chopped him again. Punk locked on a headlock, calling back to their ROH trilogy as I’ve been told. Punk kept avoiding chops, but Joe walked out of the way of a crossbody before finally landing a chop to Punk’s back and his chest. Joe hit another chop and kicked Punk down before dropping Punk with punches in the corner. Joe dropped Punk with a back elbow. Joe went for the face wash in the corner, but Punk avoided it. Punk went to the second rope, but Joe chopped him over the top to the floor as we went to a picture-in-picture commercial break.
Joe knocked Punk down as we came back from break. Joe locked Punk in a chin lock but missed a knee drop as Punk tried to fire up. Punk hit a leg lariat and a rising knee, and when Joe caught him in the Coquina Clutch, Punk dropped him with a back suplex. Punk hit another trio of rising knees. Punk went to the top for the elbow drop and hit it for a nearfall. Punk called for the Go To Sleep, but Joe took him down into a crossface. Punk got to the ropes to break it, but Joe caught him with a snap powerslam for a nearfall.
The crowd chanted for Owen Hart as Punk caught Joe with a high kick for a nearfall. Punk went to the top again, but Joe cut him off and went for the Muscle Buster. Punk fought out and dropped Joe with a neckbreaker. Go To Sleep attempt got avoided again, but Punk slipped out of the Coquina Clutch and rolled Joe up for the win and the berth in the tournament finals. It’s official for next week’s Collision: CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks in the Owen Hart Tournament Finals.
After the match, Joe and Punk stared each other down. The crowd chanted for Owen Hart as Joe offered a handshake. Punk looked wary but accepted it. He shouldn’t have done that, as Joe snatched Punk into the Coquina Clutch while shouting that Punk was never better than him. Joe grabbed a chair, but FTR jogged down to stop Joe. Ricky Starks looked on from the stage as Punk recovered in the ring.
Positives and negatives about working for AEW and WWE
The Collision announce team
The most detailed look at Collision ratings and what category was it tops among sports during the week
What TNT was doing in the time slot, what should be expected and what would be considered good
How each segment did
The Marc Raimondi ESPN piece
Punk talks Adam Page
Contradictory stories
Original idea for Collision that changed
Full rundown of both Chicago shows with business notes
Preview of Forbidden Door and what business mark for AEW may be set and where it ranks all-time among Canadian gates
Notes on Danielson vs. Okada and Omega vs. Ospreay
Notes on PPV
The rest of the card
The Owen Hart tournament
Update on Wembley Stadium
Rickson Gracie battles Parkinson’s and a look back at a fighting legend in the underground days as well as his battles with a famous pro wrestler in Brazil
Money in the Bank update
Notes on Saturday’s UFC show
Tons of new major matches announced by UFC for the summer and fall
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling and MMA shows over the past week, how they do with different age groups, segment-by-segment and what WWE stars moved numbers big this past week
First wrestling company in history to hit 90 years consecutively in business
Multiple cities doing a 40th anniversary celebration for a Hall of Famer
Konnan talks heavily about Bandido and Rush
An issue with women’s wrestling fans in Japan
How the women’s wrestling fan base in Japan has changed multiple times
What happened to the key young Dragon Gate talent that was let go
Two wrestlers who started together, became big stars in different companies, have a dream match that sold out instantly
N-1 tournament including surprise entrants
New Japan Strong shows in Japan
A bill introduced in New York regarding regulating pro wrestling
Lots of injury updates
More on the MLW lawsuit against WWE
Impact stars on major television show in Canada
More on B.J. Whitmer case
Tony Khan talks working with Gedo and where AEW stands among start-ups in the sports brand space
Tony Khan talks Bill Goldberg
Update on Bandido
International TV ratings and streaming numbers for WWE and AEW
Ticket sale updates for all the major shows for WWE & AEW
Talks regarding the sale of Bellator, rumors about Tony Khan being interested and he shoots them down
Tons of drug suspensions handed out this week
Gable Steveson debuts on TV and what his goals for 2024 are
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Sunday Update
Bryan and I will be up tonight after Forbidden Door covering the show along with the rest of the weekend news. We also have a week in review show with Garrett and I up on the site.
Just to clear something up regarding the situation in AEW and people kept apart, as tonight is the first time the Elite and C.M. Punk will be on the same show, is that FTR is not part of this equation. FTR actually went out of their way of late to clear the air and have no working issues with each other. Most involved have confirmed that all is good between them and the hope was that other discussions would happen soon.
On the loud but mixed reaction C.M. Punk got last night in Toronto, those there said Punk was fine with it and even told the crowd it’s okay to boo him if you want to. He cut a total face promo, blamed himself for the loss since he was the captain and said like the Toronto Maple Leafs, he’ll come back stronger. Dax Harwood did a promo talking about the 2/3 fall match with Chad Gable & Jason Jordan. He didn’t mention Gable & Jordan by name but mentioned the 2/3 fall match in the building. He said that match was one of the matches that helped get them where they are now. As we’ve noted, it really doesn’t matter if Punk is cheered, booed, or the reaction is in between. The key is if he helps grow business. He could be cheered and if there’s no business growth, that means far less than if he’s booed like crazy and business grows. People were vociferous both for and against him. Live in the building the crowd cheered FTR, Starks, Jay White and Juice Robinson while Punk got heavily cheered and heavily booed. Right now it feels like the company has momentum, but it’s also in its early stages. Last night’s show moved a lot of tickets in the last week so that’s a positive sign.
Regarding Friday’s Smackdown and the Bayley vs. Shotzi match with the MITB shot at stake, the LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Butch match and the Cameron Grimes vs. Baron Corbin match that were all advertised, this was Vince McMahon making heavy last minute changes to the show. There was a pattern before Vince got back involved that almost all the advertised matches would take place, and before when Vince was in control, things were changed at the last minute all the time. But there was a lot of unhappiness that this much had changed.
Forbidden Door is tonight at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. They put a lot of new tickets on sale yesterday and were at 13,419 this morning. There were actually 13,870 available at that time. So even though this was an instant sellout, there were and probably still are some tickets available now. This looks to be a nearly five hour show:
First hour pre show matches:
Stu Grayson vs. El Phantasmo
Trent Baretta & El Desperado & Rocky Romero vs. Brian Cage & Bishop Kuan & Toa Liona
Jeff Cobb & Kyle Fletcher & TJP vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi & Bushi
Athena vs. Billie Starkz in an Owen Hart Foundation tournament match
Main card:
MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for AEW title
Sting & Darby Allin & Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki
Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale fr AEW title
Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia for the International title
C.M. Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima for the Owen Hart Foundation tournament
Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta & Claudio Castagnoli & Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino vs. Young Bucks & Adam Page & Eddie Kingston & Tomohiro Ishii
Sanada vs. Jack Perry for IWGP title
Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for U.S. title
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
We’re looking for your thoughts on Forbidden Door so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
We’re looking for reports on these shows:
NXT on Friday night in Fort Pierce, FL
NXT last night in Citrus Springs, FL
WWE house show tonight in Mobile, AL
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
Chris Samsa noted that Kazuchika Okada made his debut on August 29, 2004, in Mexico City, in a Toryumon match and Bryan Danielson was on that card.
Fantastica Mania takes place in Puebla tomorrow night with Averno & Mephisto & El Satanico vs Tiger Mask & Desperado & Atlantis, plus Bushi & Tetsuya Naito & Rocky Romero & Titan vs. Magia Blanca & Magnus & Rugido & Volador Jr.
For Google trends this past week, the only things that cracked the top 20 were Maycee Barber for yesterday’s ABC TV fight with Amanda Ribas, which had 20,000 searches and on Thursday the talk of an Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg got 100,000 searches and was No. 7 for the day. People were raving about the Barber win over Ribas as something to go out of your way to see.
Another match, this time from pro wrestling, getting a lot of praise was the Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani & AZM & Hinda & Lady C & Miyu Amasaki cage match win over Natsuoko Tora & Saki Kashima & Momo Watanabe & Starlight Kid & Ruaka & Rina match at today’s Stardom PPV show at Yoyogi Gym. Hayashishita was busted open and bled heavily after being hit with a lead pipe to the face by Tora when she was trying to escape. Oedo Tai turned on Kashima for being the last one left in the cage and losing the match for them and the winning Queen’s Quest team made the save. But Kashima did not join Queen’s Quest today. One reader said it was similar to some of the biggest Dragon Gate Dead or Alive cage matches and how the storytelling and usage of weapons came across so well.
Mariah May & Mina Shirakawa won the Goddess of Stardom tag titles from Mirai & Ami Sohrei on the show. Giulia also issued a challenge to Willow Nightingale for the New Japan Strong women’s title. This looks to take place either 7/4 or 7/5 at Korakuen Hall.
Matt Cardona will be on the DDT 7/23 Peter Pan show at Sumo Hall, facing Tetsuya Endo for their Universal title. Yuji Hino vs. Chris Brookes is the main event for the KO-D title. Konosuke Takeshita returns to face Yuki Ueno on the show.
WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight on A&E will be about Kurt Angle. Stone Cold Takes on America airs at 10 p.m.
WWE house show from last night in Monroe, LA:
Charlotte Flair b Bayley with the figure eight
Omos b Rick Boogs with a tree slam
Santos Escobar b LA Knight by holding the tights. Knight was very popular and he cut a promo before the match on winning Money in the Bank and fans weren’t happy Escobar came out to interrupt the promo. They didn’t boo Escobar but started giving him the what statement.
Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler kept the women’s tag titles over Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan. Rousey & Baszler came out with both sets of belts.
Bobby Lashley b Baron Corbin
Asuka b Shotzi with the Asuka lock to keep the WWE women’s title
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn won four-way to keep the tag titles over Street Profits, Pretty Deadly and Sheamus & Butch when Zayn pinned Elton Prince.
The WWE opens its tour of the U.K. on Wednesday in Liverpool for a house show with this card:
Raquel Rodriguez vs. Piper Niven
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bronson Reed
Ricochet vs. Dominik Mysterio
Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark
Matt Riddle & New Day (Kofi Kingston advertised as back in the ring after his recent injury) vs. Emporium
Natalya vs. Rhea Ripley for women’s world title
Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor street fight
Seth Rollins vs. Damien Priest for world title
There was huge controversy regarding Friday night’s PFL show in Atlanta, which drew a reported sellout. In a battle of former lightweight season champions, Natan Schulte vs. Raush Manfio, Shulte won a decision 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 to advance to the final four in the division. Schulte took third in the standings. But later, the PFL announced that Shulte and Manfio did not give their best efforts (the two, who are very close friends, had what was described as a sparring session) and the promotion pulled Schulte from the final four and replaced him with fifth place Shane Burgos. The statement said both fighters have been suspended because the match “did not meet the standards which all PFL fighters agree to uphold in competition.” They took away Schulte’s points. Schulte is the Godfather of Manfio’s daughter and Manfio had noted that Schulte had lent him money to allow him to not lose his house and had said he was his best friend. A lot of reporters were very critical of the PFL for this, noting that this type of decision should have come from the athletic commission, basically overturning a win, and not the promotion.
Georges St-Pierre called himself a big fan of Elon Musk, said he’d like to help train Musk for a fight with Mark Zuckerberg. Earlier Jon Jones said he’d like to train Zuckerberg for such a fight.
Xavier Woods and Kenny Omega have gone back-and-forth in the video game world trading barbs. They’ve been working their own feud for five years or more. If you recall, many years ago both the New Day and Elite worked to put together a six-man tag but political issues kept it from happening.
OTHER NOTES
A horse named Cactus Jack won the second race at Monmouth in New Jersey yesterday and paid $19 (thanks to Barry Werner)
Pro Wrestling Eve runs on 7/2 at The Dome in Tufnell Park in London. They announced Billie Starkz on the show against Nina Samuels along with Miyu Yamashita vs. Emersyn Jayne.
Choco Pro, a women’s promotion in Japan will be running 8/26, All In weekend, at The Yard Theater in Hackney Wick, London at 2 p.m. You must be over the age of 18 to attend.
The final stop before Sunday’s Forbidden Door has arrived with Saturday’s live edition of AEW Collision from Toronto.
In the headliner, CM Punk will team with FTR and Ricky Starks in eight-man tag team action against Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White & Juice Robinson and The Gunns.
For the first time ever, NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi will take on Swerve Strickland. This will be Tanahashi’s second-ever AEW TV match.
The second women’s Owen Hart Foundation match will take place as Willow Nightingale faces Nyla Rose.
Andrade El Idolo will look to go 2-0 in his return as he takes on House of Black’s Brody King after defeating Buddy Matthews last week.
Powerhouse Hobbs will make his Collision debut against an opponent to be named.
Sting & Darby Allin will reveal their mystery partner for Sunday’s trios match.
Other segments include Christian Cage addressing the TNT Championship situation, and Miro sharing his thoughts after his return last week.
**********
– In a cold open, we got promos from both teams in the eight-man tag team main event. CM Punk, FTR, & Ricky Starks questioned whether this match was wise for their opponents to take. Meanwhile, Bullet Club Gold & The Gunns said that they were ready to fight and that every show would be the Gunn Show.
Who Is The Third Man?
24 hours before the Forbidden Door is opened, AEW Collision is live from the Scotiabank Arena. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness were on the call as Tony Schiovane was in the ring. He went to welcome out Darby Allin & Sting, but Chris Jericho & Minoru Suzuki came out instead. They were peeved at how Allin & Sting made them wait to find out who their partner would be at Forbidden Door. Jericho noted that Sammy Guevara wasn’t there because he was a bit miffed at how well Jericho and Suzuki got along. Jericho and Suzuki showed off their new best friend handshake before Jericho began menacing Schiovane, believing that he knew who the partner was already.
Darby Allin & Sting came out to make the save. Allin addressed Guevara, noting that his common sense may have kicked in by not coming, but if he did show up at Forbidden Door, Darby would kick his ass. Darby then turned to Jericho, noting that their partner kicked Jericho’s ass at the Tokyo Dome. With the card looking like it does, that only left one name for Jericho and Sting to pick. With the crowd chanting his name, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito made his way to the ring. The match is official for Forbidden Door – Tetsuya Naito, Darby Allin, & Sting vs. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, & Minoru Suzuki.
Naito went face-to-face with Jericho as Kevin Kelly noted that Naito beat Jericho for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in 2019. Jericho backed away as Naito’s music played again to end the segment.
– We got a video package, recapping Miro’s successful return to action last week. We cut to Miro in the back. He talked about his year-long exile, and how he was summoned back. Miro said he walked alone, kneeling to no man. He renounced his god and his wife and said that he was now godless.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)
While he’s clearly not at his physical peak, Tanahashi still has an incredible aura that makes North American crowds go wild for him. This was a good primer for any fans who didn’t know Tanahashi. He won with his big move and the announcers made it clear what a big deal he is in the New Japan landscape.
Swerve came out in a robe reminiscent of the former Crown Jewel of the Embassy, the late Jimmy Rave. Tanahashi caught Swerve with his reverse crossbody before playing his air guitar to the crowd. He gave Strickland the guitar, who mockingly played it before Tanahashi dropkicked him in the knee.
Strickland recovered and hit a headscissors that sent Tanahashi out of the ring. After more air guitar shenanigans, Strickland crotched Tanahashi and grounded him as the crowd chanted for Tanahashi. Tanahashi skinned the cat and took Strickland to the floor, but Strickland caught Tanahashi in the apron on a baseball slide. He hit a pump kick as we went to picture-in-picture break.
Back from break, Swerve was working over Tanahashi as the crowd chanted Go Ace. Tanahashi cut Swerve off and hit a somersault senton for a nearfall. Swerve avoided the Slingblade and hit a rolling facebuster for a nearfall. Tanahashi caught Swerve in a pair of rollups before hitting a Dragon Screw Leg Whip. Tanahashi hit the Slingblade for a nearfall. Tanahashi went up for the High Fly Flow but caught nothing but knees before Swerve rolled him up for a nearfall.
Swerve hit his big side kick before going to the top, but Tanahashi moved out of the way of the Swerve Stomp. Tanahashi went to the top again but lost his footing and slipped off. Swerve went to meet him at the top, but Tanahashi swatted him down. Tanahashi hit the High Fly Flow and scored the win.
After the match, MJF’s music played. MJF showed up on the video screen, saying that he wasn’t actually going to be there to watch Tanahashi’s preview match. MJF said that he would embarrass Tanahashi at Forbidden Door. MJF said that after a discussion with Tony Khan, their match would be going on first at Forbidden Door. He said that he didn’t want to sit through any more of the “indie jabrones” than he had to and that Tanahashi was not on the level of the Devil.
Andrade El Idolo defeated Brody King (w/ Julia Hart) by disqualification
Andrade continues to impress during his comeback, as this was another quality match. He’s got a few options to help even the numbers against the House of Black.
Andrade came into this match with his pectoral area taped up. Andrade kept King at bay, hitting a headscissors in the ring before low-bridging King to the floor. King got on the apron, but Andrade sent King into the post. Andrade hit a moonsault over the ring post to King on the floor, but only got a one-count when he rolled King into the ring. Andrade worked over King’s knee before King lifted him onto the top rope and chopped him to the floor as we went to picture-in-picture break.
King chopped Andrade down as we came back from break. Andrade fought back with elbows, but King lifted Andrade onto the apron and hammered him in the chest. He tried locking on the hanging sleeper, but Andrade hung him up on the ropes. Andrade dropkicked King into the turnbuckle before hitting a Dragon Screw in the ropes. Andrade continued his work on King’s knee, then hit a running forearm to take him down.
Andrade hit a big lariat in the corner before hitting the running knees in the corner for a nearfall. King fought out of the hammerlock DDT, hitting a rolling elbow on Andrade on the top rope. He struggled to get Andrade up into a fireman’s carry but powered through and hit a running Death Valley Driver into the corner. King followed up with a cannonball but his knee buckled on a Gonzo Bomb attempt. Andrade went for the Figure Four, but Julia Hart got on the apron with his mask. The distraction didn’t work, as Andrade ducked a rolling lariat and hit a big back elbow. He locked on the Figure Four and bridged up, but Buddy Matthews came out and jumped Andrade to cause the disqualification.
They beat up Andrade after the bell, with Matthews sending Andrade into a lariat before lifting him into King’s Gonzo Bomb. From the video board, Malachi Black watched on as his House stood tall.
– In the ring, Tony Schiovane welcomed out TNT Champion Luchasaurus & Christian Cage. Christian came out with the title belt over his shoulder, having never allowed Luchasaurus to even hold the belt after winning it last week. The crowd chanted for Christian as he talked about how he left Collision last week in a bad mood. He knew he would come to Toronto in a few days, and now he’s in an even worse mood! Christian goes on the cheap heat offensive against his own hometown, noting that Toronto bred losers and lived with mediocrity. Christian said that the TNT Title Open Challenges were over, saying that people had to earn the title shot like he did. Christian took a potshot at Cody Rhodes before giving a speech as if he was the champion.
– We got pre-tape promos from everyone in the men’s bracket of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament before we got a rundown of the bracket. CM Punk and Satoshi Kojima will kick off the tournament at Forbidden Door, while the other three matches will take place on next week’s Collision. We got a highlight video of Skye Blue winning her tournament match before looking at the women’s bracket, leading into our next match.
Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Women’s Tournament Quarter-Final Match: Willow Nightingale defeated Nyla Rose (w/ Marina Shafir)
A fine television match to get Nightingale onto the next round while heating her up for her AEW Women’s Title match on Sunday.
The winner of this match will take on the winner of Athena vs. Billie Starkz, which will take place on the Forbidden Door pre-show. After Rose clubbered on her for a moment, Nightingale cartwheeled out of an Irish Whip and hit an enzuigiri. Rose cut off a chop, leading to a test of strength that Nightingale turned into an inside cradle for a nearfall. Rose bailed to the floor, where Shafir’s distraction allowed Rose to send Nightingale into the post as we went to picture-in-picture break.
Nightingale fought back out of the corner as we came back. She hit a middle rope dropkick for a nearfall as she shook out the arm. Nightingale couldn’t get Rose up for the powerbomb, allowing Rose to hit a suplex and a gourdbuster for a nearfall. Rose got Nightingale up for the Beast Bomb, but Nightingale fought out and hit a Pounce. Nightingale followed it up with the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
After the match, The Outcasts surrounded the ring to menace Toni Storm’s opponent at Forbidden Door, but Skye Blue made her way to the ring with a chair to make the pre-emptive save.
– Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Scorpio Sky. Sky ran down his accomplishments while noting that he allowed success to change him. Sky said that he was his true self now after his injury layoff and that he was back.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Jeremy Prophet
Hobbs came out on his own, no QTV members in sight. Hobbs got a jumpstart on Prophet before crushing him in the corner with back elbows. Prophet tried to get a roll-up, but Hobbs didn’t even go down. Hobbs bludgeoned Prophet with lariats to both the front and back of the head. The main event spinebuster ended proceedings here.
– We got a rundown of next week’s Collision card. The men’s Owen Hart Tournament quarterfinals will take place – Hobbs vs. Dustin Rhodes, Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong, Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson – as well as MJF’s in-ring Collision debut.
Jay White, Juice Robinson & The Gunns defeated CM Punk, FTR & Ricky Starks
The most important goal of this match was to showcase the reaction for CM Punk outside of Chicago. And was there ever a strong reaction for Punk. The crowd was fired up either way. A whole lot of people were chanting for Punk, and a whole lot of people were booing Punk. Punk was eating it all up, of course. The match itself was much like last week’s main event. It was good, but it could’ve done with less time in the middle. Again, it’s to get Punk on screen as long as physically possible. It also gave Jay White a showcase win while filling out the Bullet Club Gold ranks.
Punk came out to a mixed reaction, leaning more negative than positive. Kevin Kelly astutely noted that they weren’t in Chicago anymore. Jay White teased starting with Punk but tagged out to Robinson. The crowd was heavily split, as strong CM Punk chants were getting booed down as the Bullet Club team worked on Harwood. FTR got the upper hand for their team after Austin Gunn tagged in. Starks took Austin Gunn to old school, but Gunn tagged out to White. White asked for Punk, who tagged in. They traded chops and teased each other’s finishers before White sent Punk to the floor, where his teammates jumped Punk. Punk’s partners rushed over to get him out of the fray as we went to commercial.
Back from the commercial, and Harwood was bringing Robinson down hard with a superplex before holding on to hit a powerbomb with Wheeler. Kevin Kelly noted new matches for the Zero Hour – the United Empire team of Kyle Fletcher, Jeff Cobb, and TJP would take on the Los Ingobernables team of Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI. Two Canadians would face off as Montreal’s Stu Grayson would go one-on-one with Vancouver’s El Phantasmo. Swerve Strickland would team with Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona against Roppongi Vice and El Desperado.
Meanwhile, the Bullet Club side got the advantage on Punk and worked him over. The crowd booed down Punk chants and Punk’s attempt at a comeback. After a commercial break, Punk knocked White off the top rope and hit a high crossbody. White cut off Punk’s attempt to get to the corner, but Punk whipped White into a rising knee in the corner. Punk hit a neckbreaker, but the Gunns knocked FTR off the apron. Robinson tagged in and went for a Go To Sleep on Punk, but Punk knocked him down with a high kick. Punk kicked away the Gunns and tagged in Starks.
Starks ran wild on the Gunns, hitting a tornado DDT on Austin for a nearfall. Starks went for a Rochambeau, but the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl as everyone began brawling in and around the ring. White blind tagged in, but Starks caught him with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Starks set White up for a Rochambeau, but White caught him in a rollup with the tights for a nearfall. Starks hit a brainbuster for a nearfall on Starks. We got a finisher train, featuring a wild Wheeler dive to the floor.
White caught both Punk and Starks with uranages, but Starks came back and ran wild with spears on everyone. He went for a second spear on White, but Robinson caught him with the Left Hand of God. White followed it with the Blade Runner to score the win. After the match, White and Robinson threw up the Bullet Club Gold guns, and the Gunns joined in. It looks like The Gunns have officially joined Bullet Club Gold as we fade to black.
After months of discussion, the debut of AEW Collision has finally arrived and with it, the return to CM Punk to after ten months away from the company.
Punk will team with AEW Tag Team Champions FTR to take on ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe and Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White & Juice Robinson. It will be Punk’s first match since last September’s All Out and he is expected to kick off the show with a promo.
Both Miro and Andrade El Idolo will join Punk as returning to action after being out since All Out. Miro’s opponent has yet to be named while Andrade will face Buddy Matthews of the House of Black.
TNT Champion Wardlow will defend against Luchasaurus just weeks after the former successfully defended against Christian Cage.
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm will team with Ruby Soho against Skye Blue & NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale.
The Acclaimed will also appear in a promo segment.
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Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright” played us in as cameras sweep the crowd. The Collision Era begins live in the United Center in Chicago, IL. Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness were on the call.
CM Punk Returns
This will ruffle a few feathers, and Punk knew that when he grabbed the mic. Punk set up feuds with MJF and the Elite, but whether those feuds actually happen or not is anyone’s guess. An energetic start to the show.
After a few seconds of CM Punk chants, Cult of Personality hits. CM Punk made his way to the ring to a massively positive reaction. He in his gear, with his boots around his neck and a red bag in his hand.
He says that he’s tired of being nice. He was on the shelf for 10 months with a ruptured triceps. Punk talks about how, as long as he was here, this would be the professional wrestling business, not a popularity contest. If you told a young Punk that he would sell out buildings all over the world, young Punk wouldn’t believe you. But he has, and he’s gotten here riding the backs of smart and passionate pro wrestling fans. He loves the people because they love him.
They love him because he’s always unapologetically been himself. But there are some people who hate him for that. Punk knows his presence makes people uncomfortable because he is the truth, and the truth is painful. We get F*** The Elite chants. He says you can love him or hate him, but we all know he’s the truth. He says that people can call him whatever they want, but David Zaslov – WBD executive – calls him One Bill Phil, because he’s the one true article in a business full of counterfeit bucks. I’m sure that won’t ruffle any feathers.
Punk says he will never compromise, and that he’ll always be himself. There are people who think they’re owed an apology, and he apologizes. He’s sorry that they’re softer than the wrestlers they like. Punk grabs the bag, saying that the last time he was in the ring, he had what’s in the bag raised over his head. He says it belongs to him until someone can pin him or submit him. Punk grabs his boots from around his neck and says that there are people who prayed that he would hang them up. Until someone can fill those boots, they belong on his feet. Punk leaves with the bag and the boots to a massive reaction.
– We get a video package of hyping the TNT Title match tonight between Wardlow and Luchasaurus. Christian makes his way out, and it appears that the title match is next.
AEW TNT Title Match: Luchasaurus (w/Christian Cage) defeated Wardlow to win the title
This was a fun big guy match. I didn’t enjoy the finish, but it’s clear that they wanted to protect Wardlow as he lost the title.
Kevin Kelly noted that this was Luchasaurus’ first shot at the TNT Title. After a lockup, Wardlow sent Luchasaurus out of the ring with a dropkick. Wardlow followed him to the floor and battered on him before chasing Christian around the ring. Christian escaped under the ring but crawled out to grab Wardlow’s leg on the apron and allow Luchasaurus to take control. Luchasaurus clubbered Wardlow before laying him out with a boot before we went to break.
We come back to Wardlow lifting Luchasaurus in an Electric Chair position before dropping him. Wardlow fired up, muscling Luchasaurus into the corner and hitting shoulder blocks. Wardlow hit a main event spinebuster before heading to the top rope. Christian distracted him again, allowing Luchasaurus to chokeslam him down for a nearfall. Luchasaurus set up another chokeslam, but Wardlow bit the thumb – ala Arn Anderson. They traded strikes before Wardlow dropped Luchasaurus with a lariat.
Wardlow loaded up the Powerbomb, and despite Christian’s attempts to distract, he hit one. Christian grabbed a chair to distract Wardlow, allowing Luchasaurus to rip off a chokeslam for a close nearfall. Wardlow reversed a powerslam into one of his own before hitting a swanton bomb off the top rope.
Wardlow pulled the straps down, but Christian distracted him again. Wardlow went to hit the ten punches in the corner, but Luchasaurus escaped and took the referee. Christian grabbed a camera from a ringside photographer and drilled Wardlow in the head with it, allowing Luchasaurus to lariat Wardlow in the back of the head to win the match and the title. Christian grabbed the title and celebrated with it as Luchasaurus held him on his shoulders.
– Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Powerhouse Hobbs and QT Marshall. Marshall said that Hobbs was here on Collision as promised, and that Hobbs would win the Owen Hart Tournament. Hobbs said that this new chapter of the Book of Hobbs would be about redemption.
Andrade El Idolo defeated Buddy Matthews (w/ Julia Hart)
This was a stellar return match for Andrade, and he and Matthews had a battle playing off of each other’s recent injury history. The post-match set up what looks to be an entertaining feud in the future.
The crowd chanted Welcome Back to Andrade, who hasn’t been in an AEW ring since All Out 2022 where he tore his pec. I guess he was waiting for Punk too. After a stalemate, Andrade caught himself in the ropes and baited Matthews to the floor. After scolding Hart for getting too close to his mask, Andrade cartwheeled into a moonsault off the apron. Matthews sent Andrade into the ringpost and into the timekeeper’s area, but Andrade hopped on the barricade and hit a hurricanrana into the barricade.
Back in the ring, Andrade and Matthews battled near the turnbuckle, where Matthews hooked Andrade’s arm and pulled him into the post. He sent Andrade into the barricade before pulling him into the ring and hitting a meteora for a nearfall. In the picture-in-picture break, both men were being checked by the ringside doctors. Andrade was checking his arm, while Matthews had issues with his knee. They were good to go, so the match continued.
Back in full screen, Andrade was writhing on the floor as the referee laid in the count. Andrade got back in the ring where he was met with boots from Matthews. Andrade came back with dragon screw leg whips before hitting his double jump moonsault for a nearfall. Matthews fought out of Andrade’s hammerlock DDT before catching him with a DDT in the ropes for a nearfall. Andrade followed Matthews to the top rope, where Matthews tried a sunset flip powerbomb. His knee gave way, but he was able to hook Andrade’s head and hit superkicks.
Matthews crumbled on a powerbomb attempt, allowing Andrade to drill him with a running back elbow. Andrade went for the knees in the corner, but Matthews popped up and hit a knee for a nearfall. Matthews tried locking on a reverse sharpshooter – shades of Rhea Ripley – but Andrade got out of it and locked on a Figure Four. Andrade bridged up into a Figure Eight – shades of his wife Charlotte Flair – to force the submission and score the win.
Andrade offered a handshake, but the lights went out. It wasn’t Sabu, it was the rest of the House of Black. Brody King laid him out with a lariat as the House of Black stood tall around him.
– We got a Scorpio Sky video package, highlighting his AEW career before noting that he will be back soon.
– Tony Nese was in the ring, sick of seeing the cellulite spill over everyone’s chairs. He led the United Center in group exercise before Miro’s music hit.
Miro defeated Tony Nese (w/ Smart Mark Sterling)
From what I saw, Miro looked in good shape and had the crowd on his side. A motivated Miro is another great re-addition to the AEW roster.
I missed most of this match due to technical issues on my end. The issues didn’t take that long to fix. I got the show back running with Miro hyping up the crowd. He hit a big sidekick on Nese before calling for the Game Over. He locked it on, breaking Nese’s back and making him humble. Nese quickly submitted as the crowd cheered Miro’s violence.
Skye Blue & Willow Nightingale defeated The Outcasts (Ruby Soho & Toni Storm)
A fine match that allowed Skye Blue to get a win in her hometown.
The Outcasts got a jump start on their opponents, sending them to the floor. They got in the face of Skye Blue’s mom at ringside, who slapped them both. That allowed Nightingale to pounce Soho into the barricade, and for Blue to jump off the apron to hurricanrana Storm. Back in the ring, Storm cut Nightingale off with a shot to the back, allowing Soho to take control as we went to picture-in-picture.
Back from the commercial, Nightingale clotheslined Soho before making the tag to the hometown girl Blue. Blue fired up on the champion, hitting the rising knee and a low kick. Blue hit a diving crossbody for a nearfall that Soho broke up. The match broke down into a Pier Four brawl before Storm locked on the cloverleaf submission she beat Blue with on Dynamite. Blue crawled all the way across the ring to get the ropes.
Blue escaped the Storm Zero before tagging in Nightingale, who laid out Storm. Soho laid out Nightingale with the Destination Unknown before Blue tagged in. Storm hit the hip attack to Blue in the corner. The Outcasts went to spray paint Blue, but Willow grabbed Storm and sent the paint into Soho’s eyes. Blue hit the Code Blue on Soho to score the win in her hometown.
– In a pre-tape, Ricky Starks added himself into the Owen Hart Tournament. He noted that this tournament was absolutely his to win. I see what he did there.
– In a pre-tape, Jeff Jarrett announced that he’s signed for a Concession Stand Brawl against Mark Briscoe, 46 years to the day of his family promoting the infamous Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl. He says there’s gonna be no Karen and no Sonjay, only Jeff kicking Briscoe’s ass.
The Acclaimed Want Us To Listen
Tony Schiavone welcomed out the Acclaimed. In Caster’s rap, he wanted us to wish Daddy Ass a happy Father’s Day. Billy Gunn noted that while he’s not been in the game much lately, the Trios Titles are still within their reach. Anthony Bowens noted that AEW now stood for two things – Acclaimed Every Wednesday and Acclaimed Every Weekend. They want to scissor in the city that made the Acclaimed the people’s choice, so they have a big scissor party.
– Kevin Kelly ran down the Dynamite card for Wednesday in Chicago. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki will reform their team from last year’s Forbidden Door to take on AR Fox, Action Andretti, & Darius Martin. Kris Statlander will defend the TBS Title against Taya Valkyrie. Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata will team against Daniel Garcia and Zack Sabre Jr. The Gunns will take on the Hardys. Jeff Jarrett and Mark Briscoe will have their Concession Stand Brawl. Finally, a Blind Eliminator Tournament will take place to determine the #1 contender to the AEW Tag Team Titles.
CM Punk & FTR defeated Jay White, Juice Robinson, & Samoa Joe
This was an energetic main event, as Punk was able to get his feet under him with a win. The energy was mostly directed towards the Punk/Joe faceoffs, and Joe did get the better of Punk in their exchanges, so it’s possible that they move in that direction for Punk’s near future. It didn’t need to go as long as it did, but I understand maximizing the minutes Punk was on screen. A fun show overall.
Jim Ross joined the announce booth for the main event, noting that he was so excited for this match that he talked himself hoarse. White and Harwood started off, with White taking control with heavy chops. Harwood answered back with chops of his own before hitting a big back body drop. Harwood ran White ragged before going for the Sharpshooter, but White rolled out of harm’s way and tagged out to Robinson.
Robinson got cut off with an FTR double team before Wheeler ran wild with dropkicks. Wheeler sent Robinson up and over with a gorilla press slam. Punk tagged in for the first time, helping set up a top rope powerslam from Wheeler for a nearfall. Robinson bailed out of a Go To Sleep before Samoa Joe tagged himself in. The staredown between Joe and Punk got the crowd fired up. Joe got the first shots in with heavy chops before Punk slowed things down with a headlock as we went to a picture-in-picture break.
Back from the break as Robinson knocked Harwood down with the Left Hand of God. Joe’s team clubbered on Harwood before Harwood caught Robinson with a German suplex. Wheeler tagged in and ran wild on Robinson, finishing with a catch powerslam for a nearfall. Punk tagged in and hit an assisted elbow drop on Robinson before tagging back out for another picture-in-picture commercial.
Wheeler reached the ropes on a White single-leg crab as we came back to full screen. Joe’s team battered Wheeler before Punk broke up a cover from Joe. Wheeler and White traded chops before White went low and hit a chop block. Wheeler hit a back drop on Robinson, and despite White’s best efforts, Punk made the hot tag and ran wild on the Bullet Club team. Punk hit both White and Robinson with rising knees before taking them both out with a bulldog/clothesline combination.
White clawed at Punk’s eyes to get out of the Go To Sleep. Punk hit a high kick in response before going to the top rope, but Robinson swept Punk’s legs out from under him. White hit a uranage for a nearfall. White set up the Blade Runner, but Punk hit the Pepsi Twist to escape. FTR tagged in and hit a Powerplex before Punk hit the diving elbow. Robinson broke up the cover, allowing White to tag out to Joe.
Joe and Punk traded strikes before White blindsided Punk. The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl before Punk and Joe were back alone in the ring. Punk hit the rising knee, but Joe slipped out of the Go To Sleep and locked on the Coquina Clutch. Bullet Club tried to hold back FTR, but Harwood was able to break up the submission. Robinson tagged in, but Punk hit a high kick. FTR hit the Shatter Machine, leading to Punk hitting the Go To Sleep on Robinson to win. CMFTR celebrated as we faded out.
The most important stretch in AEW’s history kicks off this Sunday.
The next few months will see the debut of the new Collision show, the imminent return of CM Punk, Forbidden Door II, and the biggest show they’ve ever run with All In at Wembley Stadium. The little promotion that could is suddenly the massive promotion that did.
This is a company with a tremendous reach and a big financial commitment from its television partners. Come June, there will be at least seven hours of AEW programming every week. That doesn’t even count Ring of Honor, AEW All Access, or anything else that makes its way to television. Now that they’re enormous — something a company that could wind up nearly filling Wembley Stadium certainly is — the expectations increase exponentially. It’s up to them to build on this momentum and use the extra resources to take the company to the next level. The roster is ready. There’s enough talent to make all of this work and do something historic. The future of AEW has never been brighter.
The future is limitless, but this card is just…fine? It’s probably the most skippable AEW show in recent memory. It’s a card designed to bridge the gap until the next big thing — the debut of Collision — before AEW fully opens up the engines leading into a summer full of tentpole events. I doubt this will reach the heights of some previous shows (though AEW has shocked me before), but I don’t think anyone is going to be asking for their money back either.
Let’s preview Sunday’s Double or Nothing (7:30 PM Eastern pre-show/8 PM Eastern main card on PPV) and see what shakes out.
Pre-show: The Firm (Ethan Page & The Gunns) vs. Hook & The Hardys for the rights to Page’s contract
There are two wolves in every man. The one that knows a nine-match PPV on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is a bad idea, and the one that books this card anyway. Wasn’t there just a cinematic match with all these people? Don’t those usually mean the end of feuds? I am confused and I am tired.
I do love some of the individual pieces here. Austin & Colten Gunn had the hardest entrance ever in AEW when they came out to 50 Cent’s “Many Men” Page has been entertaining and under-appreciated for almost as long as I’ve watched wrestling. And now Hook has been sent to replace the injured Isiah Kassidy/Brother Zay. He is very entertaining and is a future star, but Hook is Hook and the people sure do love El Diablo Guapo.
Let’s keep this one short: Hook comes out, gets his stuff in, the Hardys fire up the nostalgia machine, and the crowd gets sent home happy.
Prediction: Hook & the Hardys
Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match
This is a great way for Cole to make his return to pay-per-view, and the usual criticism of Jericho inserting himself to steal someone’s shine is misguided here. The number one bay bay is coming back from a frighteningly serious series of concussions, and someone like Jericho who doesn’t wrestle the standard AEW super indie style is as safe and stable as an opponent gets.
An unsanctioned match might seem scary for someone coming off of brain injury, but these types of matches are typically so well choreographed and planned that there should be significantly less risk.
Babyface Adam Cole sure is something. The crowd has always loved him, and now they get to show him just how deep that love is. If he’s next up for MJF, count me as excited. Two of the best talkers in the company getting a chance to build a program should be something else. MJF really needs someone who can hang with him on the mic after his Herculean efforts carrying the wet paper bag that is the four pillars feud by his lonesome. Can’t wait.
Prediction: Adam Cole
The Elite (The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega & Hangman Page) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson) in an Anarchy in the Arena match
“Higher levels, bigger devils.”
Yet another all-time line from the god Jon Moxley and an appropriately biblical one for what promises to be a divine affair. The first Anarchy in the Arena bout was one of the best matches in AEW history as the visuals and moments will be used in video packages long after the current generation of AEW has hung up their boots. This, along with Blood and Guts, are their signature matches — their versions of Hell In A Cell and TLC.
These are matches that get busted out for the big stars with the big stakes, and come with appropriately massive expectations. If there was ever a group that can live up to those expectations, it’s these eight cats.
Your mileage may vary on the winding, exhausting tale of The Elite and their will they/won’t they friendship (relationship? lovership?). And I get it. It’s a lot! It’s overwrought and hackneyed at times, but man does the live crowd want it. They just eat it up. The building came apart when Page’s music hit a couple of weeks ago. The reunion of four of the people responsible for the existence of the company is objectively a big deal, regardless of whether or not it’s a bit tiresome.
At times, and perhaps too often, The Elite are meta caricatures of wrestling. The Blackpool Combat Club is the other side of that. Gritty, real-ass wrestlers. No wink-wink behind the curtain stuff. Just four dudes that are going to wallop you, stretch you, and make you regret stepping in the ring with them. All of them have their roles and play them perfectly, none more so than Danielson who remains a flawless pro wrestler. This is him at his best. He’s a blessing every second he’s on-screen, a beacon that lights the edges of the world.
Prediction: Blackpool Combat Club
Orange Cassidy defends the AEW International title in a 21-man Blackjack battle royal
Cassidy’s run with the International Championship is the best title reign in AEW history. Week after week, he’s had good to great matches with every type of wrestler you can imagine. Play the underdog against Big Bill? Done. Match Bandido move for move and spot for spot? No problem. Cassidy is so far beyond the “just a gimmick” moniker that he never deserved. He made this title matter and made it the workhorse title that it desperately needed to be.
Having mid-card titles like this are so important. They, obviously, add needed stakes to both one-off matches and feuds, but also serve to elevate the World title. The big prize should not be defended on TV regularly and should be saved for moments that truly deserve the highest stakes. When it is defended, it should feel like the proper spectacle it is.
As good as Cassidy has been, this feels like a safe way to take the title off him. Since winning the title in early October, Cassidy has wrestled in over 40 matches with most of them incredibly physical. It’s easy to think that his gimmick means he’s taking it easy, but he absolutely is not. Even standard AEW matches are taxing and grueling. Doing that weekly for seven months takes a huge toll. It’s time for a much-deserved break for the hardest-working man in AEW.
Prediction: Not Orange Cassidy
AEW Women’s Champion Jamie Hayter defends against Toni Storm
Since January, Hayter has wrestled in three singles matches which seems low for the top woman in the company. Sure, there were some visa issues that complicated things, but only three matches for a woman this good and that the crowd can’t get enough of is far, far too few.
Too often, she’s been getting second or even third billing as the champion. Too often, she’s standing beside Britt Baker during promos without saying much. Too often, the story of The Outcasts doing nothing of substance gets more TV time than the woman who should be the face of the division. And that’s just it: Jamie Hayter has never been presented as the true face of the division. She’s an afterthought in everyone else’s stories and doesn’t have her own. A star this bright should never be dimmed this much.
Hayter’s injury makes this whole situation murkier. If she’s going to miss time, it makes all the sense in the world to put the title on Storm. It gives The Outcasts something to do outside of just spray painting everyone and loving green. It would give time for Hayter rest up for a huge return at All In later this summer.
Prediction: Toni Storm wins the title
TNT Champion Wardlow defends against Christian Cage in a ladder match
What a difference a year makes. Coming out of last year’s Double or Nothing, Wardlow was it, baby. No one was hotter than the War Daddy. Now? He’s a dryer on the fluff setting. Lukewarm would be giving him too much credit. As is often the case, it’s through no fault of his own. The inconsistent booking and constant devaluing of the TNT title have created this perfect cocktail of mediocrity and mild reactions.
Cage is probably the best pure, old-school heel in AEW. (Yes, this includes MJF because people want to like him.) No one wants to like Cage and no one even wants to tolerate him. He knows exactly how to get the reactions he wants. Like an expert harpist, he plucks the right strings at the exact right times. He knows which notes will resonate the most, and plays them at just the right tempo. From his words to his expertly curated selection of turtlenecks and jackets, he’s exactly the right person to start helping Wardlow get his momentum back and become someone who matters in AEW.
Prediction: Wardlow retains
TBS Champion Jade Cargill defends against Taya Valkyrie
A question that’s been rolling around in my ever-smoothing brain: is Cargill’s undefeated streak losing its luster? She still feels unstoppable, but it’s starting to feel routine. Never in my life could I imagine a world where a spectacle like Cargill feels like a regular wrestler. She hasn’t done anything meaningful since her program with Red Velvet in January. Prior to that, there was a bit of something with Willow Nightingale and Athena, but that was a year ago.
Two meaningful programs in a calendar year aren’t enough. A winning streak alone isn’t enough to be compelling, especially if the audience doesn’t believe she can actually lose. The presentation is still top shelf, but everything else is not. Sooner or later, there needs to be something for the audience to invest in or else it’s just empty calories.
There is no reason for squash matches this far into an undefeated streak. If this holding pattern is a result of waiting for Kris Stalander to come back healthy, that is just as inexcusable. AEW has never struck me as a place allergic to creative risks, so why not take the chance to make someone in one night? Whoever breaks Jade’s streak is made. Are there really no other in-house options to do just that?
If you squint, you can convince yourself there’s a story here, but certainly not enough to warrant the end of a winning streak. Their first match was nothing special, or even good, but it at least planted the seeds for an actual program with backstory. No shade meant to Valkyrie but her being the one to end the winning streak would be a fantastic disappointment.
Prediction: Jade Cargill retains
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR defend against Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal with Mark Briscoe as guest referee
Once again, and as always, god bless Jeff Jarrett. This 55-year-old carnie still has the best facials in all of wrestling. Whenever he hits a big move or gets away with something, he looks like a four-year-old that found a really cool bug at the park that they can’t wait to show you. And, of course, he found a way to work his wife (Karen Jarrett) into this angle. He’s been playing the same hits for years, and they still sound as good as ever. He’s so close to assembling the Jeff Jarrett set of infinity rings. Never change, Jeff. Never grow old.
This match probably won’t be a classic like we’ve come to expect from big FTR matches, but it should be a beautiful, overwrought mess. Ref bumps, interference galore, maybe a missed three count or two, you name it. But there will not be a title change. At least not as part of a program that is best suited for the 9:00 hour of Dynamite, not a pay-per-view.
Prediction: FTR retains
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Sammy Guevara, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry and Darby Allin in a four-way
By orders of magnitude, this is the weakest main event in AEW PPV history. MJF has done everything he could to create something compelling here, but ultimately the other three “pillars” just aren’t up to the task. The more we put the pillars under a microscope, the more they wilt. The only one that has truly flourished and become exactly what he claims to be is MJF. The generational talent label has never been more apt or more deserved. He’s the only true top of the card talent. The rest are just lost in his gravity — completely overshadowed and outclassed by someone who is superior in every way.
The worst thing for Sammy, Darby, and Jungle Jack was the pillars moniker. It came out of nowhere and was immediately met with mockery. These guys are the future foundation of the company? These are the guys being spoken of in the same breath as the four pillars of Heaven? It was a bold statement that did nothing for any of them, much like this feud hasn’t. It’s only served as a reminder of what they aren’t.
They have been running the same promos for a month now. I need this, I love this, I gave up everything for this, etc. If that’s all there is to say, there really isn’t anything to say. Rinse and repeat babyface promos aren’t enough. Generic ‘this is all I’ve dreamed about’ promos aren’t enough. This has been so flat that I can’t help but wonder if there’s a post-match angle planned, maybe something big to close the show and propel AEW full speed ahead towards Collision.
The Tag Team title match for AEW Double or Nothing on May 28 is official.
FTR will defend the titles against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in Las Vegas after agreeing to their challenge on Dynamite Wednesday. Harwood told Sonjay Dutt that they would accept the match as long as they admitted they were using Mark Briscoe. Briscoe came out and said that he talked to Tony Khan and he will be the special guest referee for their Tag Team title match.
After the announcement, Briscoe offered to celebrate with tequila. Dutt misted Harwood in the eyes with the tequila. Briscoe attempted to settle things between the two groups but Harwood, blinded by the tequila, grabbed Briscoe and piledrove him by accident. Lethal, Jarrett, Dutt, and Singh bailed as FTR tended to Briscoe.
Recent developments have been Mark Briscoe agreeing to team up with Lethal, unaware that also included the rest of his group. FTR have since accused Lethal and company of being insincere with their friendship. Last week, Lethal, Jarrett, Singh, and Dutt worked on the Briscoe chicken farm, with Lethal throwing out the challenge to FTR for Double or Nothing.
The updated lineup for AEW Double or Nothing:
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy Jack Perry, and Darby Allin
AEW Tag Team titles: FTR vs. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal
Hikaru Shida made her return to the company, saving Willow Nightingale from an attack by The Outcasts (Ruby Soho, Saraya, and Toni Storm). At first, Shida acted like she was going to turn on Nightingale and join the Outcasts. However, it was a ruse as Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter appeared from behind and attacked the Outcasts, sending them reeling.
Shida last appeared on the January 2 edition of AEW Dark: Elevation.
A vignette was shown on Wednesday’s Dynamite showing Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Jeff Jarrett, and Satnam Singh appearing at Mark Briscoe’s home. The group spent the day working on the chicken farm. During the vignette, Lethal mentioned that Briscoe would be in action on Rampage this coming Friday. He also issued the challenge to FTR for a Tag Team title match at Double or Nothing, pointing out that he had recently defeated Cash Wheeler and Jarrett had recently scored a pinfall over Dax Harwood.
Here is an extended cut of the vignette that aired on Wednesday night:
