Swerve Strickland’s first interview as AEW World Champion will take place on Collision.
Strickland, who defeated Samoa Joe at AEW Dynasty last weekend to become champion, will have his first interview on Saturday after defeating Kyle Fletcher in a title eliminator match on Dynamite.
The AEW Unified Trios titles will also be on the line as new champions Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & The Gunns) will defend against Top Flight and Action Andretti. BCG unified the titles at Dynasty, defeating The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn to unify the ROH Six-Man titles and the AEW Trios titles.
Max Caster & Anthony Bowens will also be in action, taking on the debuting Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson).
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm will also be in non-title action, taking on Anna Jay after Storm made the save for Mariah May on Dynamite.
This week’s show airs immediately after the NBA playoffs on TNT, followed by a live Rampage.
After the Boston Celtics absolutely bludgeoned my Miami Heat, Collision started with a recap of Swerve Stickland winning the AEW World Title at Dynasty. Sir Elton John took the week off, as Strickland entered Daily’s Place to start the show. Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness were on the call.
Swerve Strickland Town Hall
Prince Nana introduced Strickland as the boss of bosses, the Anointed One in professional wrestling, and one hell of a wrestler. Strickland ran down the happenings of the last week in AEW, spending particular time on Jack Perry and The Elite’s beatdown of Tony Khan. Strickland said that he did some bad things, but jumping a non-wrestler was a b*tch move. He said a lot of people could call themselves the best in the world, but the real best in the world was the man with the belt around his waist.
Strickland said that being the best came with sacrifices. His oldest daughter said that she was happy for him but felt like she didn’t know him. He couldn’t make up for lost time, but he could blaze a trail as World Champion and make sure the sacrifices were worth it. Strickland said that he felt like making history tonight, so he issued an open challenge for the World Title tonight. Strickland said he was the leader of the new era of AEW, the Dynasty Era of AEW when Claudio Castagnoli entered the scene.
Castagnoli accepted Strickland’s challenge, telling him that it would become his house tonight.
(Good promo from Swerve, as he felt like a leader and a top star here. The impromptu title match here is out of the ordinary, but since this show has the potential to be in front of a much larger audience off of the NBA playoff game, I understand the move.)
We got a video package on The Elite’s beatdown of Tony Khan on Dynamite. Tony Schiavone gave the update that Khan had suffered head and neck injuries. He could work and run the show in person tonight, but doctors have not cleared him to travel. He would work on AEW business remotely from Jacksonville until he’s cleared, leading McGuinness to wonder if the Young Bucks could end up with decision-making power if things came up during the shows. Schiavone scoffed at the notion.
AEW Unified Trios Title Match – Bang Bang Gang (Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn & Jay White) (c) defeated Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin)
This was a solid opener. Andretti and Top Flight have slotted into this position as exciting first challengers, although I hope they don’t get pigeonholed into this role. They’re exciting AEW originals and could be useful to titles like these. Meanwhile, White & The Gunns move forward as champions capable of having good matches like this one.
White wanted this match after he felt that Dante Martin cost him the Casino Gauntlet Match on Dynamite. The announcers ran down the card as White and Dante started, noting that Rush would make his return to AEW tonight. Bullet Club isolated Dante until he could evade his way to a tag to Darius. Darius ran wild on Austin Gunn until White cut him off on the floor with a clothesline and a gourdbuster on the apron as we went to the commercial.
White held serve on Darius as we came back from the break. Darius evaded his way to his corner, where he tagged Andretti. Andretti ran wild on both Gunns, hitting a Spanish Fly on Austin for a nearfall. Bullet Club tried to make space on the outside, but Dante vaulted off of Andretti onto the pile. Top Flight hit a tag team tornado DDT on Austin, leading to an Andretti standing Shooting Star for a nearfall.
White cut off Andretti on the top rope, then caught Dante with a uranage. Darius rolled through another uranage but ran into a 3:10 To Yuma. White was left alone with Andretti, eventually catching him with a Blade Runner to score the win and retain the titles.
We got a recap of the ladder match at Dynasty, where Jack Perry interfered to help the Young Bucks win. Schiavone noted that FTR was out tonight, recovering from the injuries accrued during the ladder match.
We got a video package from the House of Black, noting that their match against Adam Copeland’s team went exactly as they wanted it to. They accepted Copeland’s Cope Open for next week in Winnipeg, telling him that he would find out who he’ll specifically be wrestling when the bell rings.
(I normally don’t like deals like that, but since it’s an open challenge, it still works logically.)
Rey Fenix defeated The Beast Mortos
Great to see both of these guys on AEW TV. I’ve loved Mortos’s work for a long time, and I’m excited to see him work on a big stage. Meanwhile, Fenix coming back adds to an already unbelievably stacked roster.
This is Fenix’s first match since October when he lost the International Championship to Orange Cassidy on Dynamite. Mortos is the renamed Black Taurus, for those wondering. The two traded chops before Mortos sent Fenix rolling to the floor with a powerslam. Mortos followed Fenix outside with a corkscrew tope.
Schiavone noted that Fenix has held singles, tag, and trios titles in AEW, leading to a plug for Kenny Omega’s appearance on next week’s Dynamite as he was the only other person in company history to do that. Mortos sent Fenix flying with a lariat and a crucifix bomb for a nearfall. Mortos spun on a reverse figure four, damaging the lower body that put Fenix on the shelf. Fenix escaped to the floor but Mortos clubbered him on the outside.
Mortos continued the beatdown on Fenix in the ring until after the break where Fenix popped out of the corner with a headscissors. Fenix hit his rope-rebound kick for a one-count nearfall before hammering Mortos with head kicks. Fenix muscled up Mortos for a gutbuster but hurt his beaten-up knees in the process. Fenix stood on Mortos’ shoulders before hitting a back kick to his head, but Mortos cut off a springboard move with a hard spear.
Mortos missed a corner charge and flew to the floor, leading to Fenix hitting a step-up corkscrew dive to the floor. Mortos came back with a tombstone lungblower before hitting a Widow’s Peak for a nearfall. Fenix nipped up and hit a trio of thrust kicks before hitting his ropewalk kick and a fifth thrust kick. Fenix went to the top rope and hit the frog splash for a nearfall. Mortos caught Fenix on a roll-through, but Fenix wheelbarrowed through into a flash pin to score the win.
We got a video package detailing Trent Beretta’s turn on Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor’s Parking Lot Fight challenge. We cut to Orange Cassidy backstage with a new interviewer, telling her that he was worried about what they were going to do to each other. Kris Statlander entered the frame and told Cassidy they needed to be there, so Cassidy left for the parking lot.
Rush defeated Martin Stone
Speaking of additions to the roster, Rush was very impressive in 2023 before his injury in the Continental Classic. Glad to see him back, as the roster gets another useful piece back off of the injured list.
Rush sent Stone up and over with a quick German suplex before sending him into the barricades on the floor. Rush took the official’s attention by throwing a chair into the ring, allowing him to whip Stone with a TV cable on the floor. Rush fired Stone into the corner with an overhead throw before knocking him down with a jumping forearm. Rush hit the Bull’s Horns to score the quick win. After the match, Rush hammered Stone with another forearm before hitting the Bull’s Horns again.
We got a recap of Anna Jay’s post-match attack on Mariah May from Dynamite, leading to Toni Storm making the save and Serena Deeb making a challenge. We cut to Deeb with the new interviewer Arkady, where she said that she was the obvious #1 contender to the title having been undefeated in 2024. It was time to prove how good everyone thought she was and win the AEW Women’s Championship.
(Deeb’s promos used to be a real issue for her, but she’s been a solid talker since she returned.)
Toni Storm (w/ Mariah May & Luther) defeated Anna Jay
Storm continues to leave the gimmick outside of the bells and wrestle straight-up. A promising pivot.
The two traded headlocks before Jay hit a spin kick in the corner. Jay hit a hip attack, angering Storm to hit a Thesz Press and hip attacks of her own. Storm hit a hip attack that sent Jay off the apron into May on the outside. Storm checked on May, which allowed Jay to hit a neckbreaker in the ropes as we went to a commercial.
Storm fired up as we came back from the break, hitting a backstabber and a Fisherman’s Suplex for a nearfall. Jay came back with a Dangerous Jay kick and a Gory Bomb for a nearfall. Storm hit a Tree Slam for a nearfall. Jay hit a Bladerunner and locked on the Queenslayer choke, but Storm powered up and slammed Jay down. Storm hit the hip attack and Storm Zero for the win.
We get a look at the parking lot before cutting to Chuck Taylor in the back. Orange Cassidy comes in with a dog – I’ll assume it’s Taylor’s dog – before Taylor tells him not to interfere in the Parking Lot Fight tonight.
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson)
I’ve been following the Grizzled Young Veterans since they came together in Progress. They’ve been a high-level team for a long time, and they showcased why here. Great tag team cohesion led to an excellent debut, and a quality win for the Acclaimed as they get back into the tag team ranks. I hope to see an All Elite graphic for the Veterans by this time next week.
Caster rapped that they would send the Vets back to the Impact Zone, among other things. The Vets started off with an attack on Caster’s arm, but the Acclaimed came back with a sunset flip onto the knees. We got some tag team combinations from both teams, with the Vets isolating Caster as we went to commercial.
Drake laid out Caster with a dive to the outside as we came back from the break. The Vets held Caster back but evaded a Drake kick to get the tag to Bowens. Bowens ran wild until he got cut off with a back elbow. Caster tagged in and ran double-team offense on Drake, hitting the KRS-One for a nearfall. Gibson held Caster in the corner, allowing Drake to hit a dropkick before sending him hard onto the ramp.
Bowens fought two-on-one, but Gibson caught him with a lungblower in the corner. Drake then hit a coast-to-coast while Gibson held him in position for a nearfall. The Vets got in Billy Gunn’s face, firing him up. Caster came back to shove Drake off the ropes, and the Acclaimed hit the Mic Drop to score the win.
We got footage of Katsuyori Shibata & Shane Taylor’s recent history. Shibata was backstage with Arkady, saying that he would chop down The Learning Tree Chris Jericho on Dynamite. When asked about Shane Taylor, Shibata said that he would fight them alone on Rampage. Daniel Garcia came in, saying that Shibata had his respect after their battles for the Pure Championship, and offered his help for tonight. Shibata accepted.
AEW World Championship – Swerve Strickland defeated Claudio Castagnoli to retain
An excellent first defense for Strickland here, as Castagnoli brought Strickland to the absolute brink on a couple of those nearfalls. If this show was meant to highlight Strickland to a larger audience after the playoff game, they did a hell of a job.
The two worked a knuckle lock to start, with both men avoiding stomps on the hand to end the exchange. Castagnoli caught Strickland with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to take control. The two fought onto the stage where Strickland hit a headscissors onto the ramp before clotheslining Castagnoli into the ring. Strickland hit a crossbody and a trio of neckbreakers, the last one being through the ropes.
The two traded forearms on the apron before Castagnoli necked Strickland on the ropes. Strickland went for a kick on the apron before Castagnoli caught him in gorilla press position and flung him into the wall. Castagnoli followed him in with an uppercut into the wall as we went to a commercial.
After the break, Strickland sent Castagnoli to the apron and kicked him to the floor before hitting the pump kick on the apron. Castagnoli caught Strickland with an uppercut, then mocked Strickland’s Griddy before getting caught with a facebuster by the champion. Castagnoli caught Strickland with a big uppercut, but Strickland got out of a Ricola Bomb and hit a sliding forearm for a nearfall.
Strickland followed Castagnoli to the outside, where Castagnoli elevated him onto the stage. Strickland booted Castagnoli, then flew with a Fosbury Flop off the stage to a big pop. Strickland hit a 450 splash in the ring for a nearfall. Castagnoli came back with a double stomp to Strickland, but it only made the champion mad. The two traded European uppercuts and strikes before Castagnoli laid out Strickland with a lariat.
Strickland rolled Castagnoli into a deadlift suplex before setting up the Swerve Stomp. Strickland hit the Stomp, but Castagnoli kicked out to the shock of the announcers. Strickland went for the House Call, but Castagnoli caught him and took Strickland on the Giant Swing. Castagnoli transitioned into the Sharpshooter and the Crossface. Strickland rolled Castagnoli up, but Castagnoli hit the hammer-and-anvil elbows and a big lariat for a nearfall.
Castagnoli went for the Neutralizer, but Strickland flipped into a DDT. Strickland went up for a Swerve Stomp to a standing Castagnoli, but Castagnoli held Strickland on his shoulders before dropping him into a Swiss Death uppercut for a nearfall. Castagnoli hammered Strickland with uppercuts before Strickland caught one for a backslide attempt. Strickland hit a German suplex and a pump kick before Castagnoli unintentionally popped Strickland up for a standing Swerve Stomp. Strickland hit the House Call to win and mark his first defense of the title.
