A match for the AEW Tag Team titles has been added to Collision.
It was announced on Wednesday’s Dynamite that FTR will defend the titles against Big Bill and Ricky Starks this Saturday. It was Starks who picked up the win over FTR in an all-star eight man tag on last week’s Collision. FTR are coming off of a successful title defense, defeating Aussie Open at WrestleDream this past Sunday. Starks also won on Sunday, defeating Wheeler Yuta.
Toni Storm will also be in action, taking on Kiera Hogan. Storm officially debuted her new persona, ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm, on Wednesday, defeating Sky Blue. Storm in recent weeks has been airing vignettes showcasing her with a somewhat unstable look as a 1940s star. Hogan most recently lost to Julia Hart on an edition of Collision.
This Saturday’s Collision will have a special start time, airing at 7 pm ET. Here is the updated lineup:
AEW Tag Team titles: FTR defends against Ricky Starks & Big Bill
AEW WrestleDream weekend officially kicks off with tonight’s Collision from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
Bryan Danielson will be in eight-man tag team action, teaming with Wheeler Yuta & AEW Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) against Ricky Starks, Big Bill & Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis). Sabre Jr. will join commentary for the match.
Kenny Omega & Chris Jericho will join forces for the first time ever as they face the Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona). The match comes in advance of Omega, Jericho & Kota Ibushi clashing with Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara & Will Ospreay on Sunday.
After Andrade El Idolo recently lost to Jay White on Collision, he will take on another Bullet Club Gold member in Juice Robinson who cost him the match.
Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) will face The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett).
Our cold open promos featured comments from the men in the all-star eight-man tag team match. Elton John played us into Collision from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, where WrestleDream will take place tomorrow night. Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness were on the call.
Andrade El Idolo defeated Juice Robinson (w/ The Gunns)
This was such a simple, effective, fun opener with two world-class talents. Robinson’s charisma has gotten him over with AEW crowds, and Andrade has been a cornerstone of Collision since its inception. A great start to the show.
No shenanigans from Robinson or the Gunns tonight, upset about the attack on Bullet Club Gold leader Jay White from Wednesday’s Dynamite. No collar and elbow tie-up, as Andrade quickly went for the Figure Four before Robinson escaped the ring. Robinson tried baiting Andrade, but Andrade avoided the attack and remained on offense. Andrade hit a high crossbody, then followed it up with the Three Amigos for a nearfall.
Robinson rolled out of the way of a frog splash attempt, but Andrade adjusted his positioning on the top rope and hit a moonsault to all three Bullet Club Gold members on the floor. Robinson took the attention of the referee, allowing the Gunns to rip Andrade off of the apron and lay the boots into him. Robinson dropped Andrade on the apron before cracking him with an elbow strike. Back in the ring, a neckbreaker scored Robinson a nearfall.
Robinson scored with a senton for a nearfall. Andrade reversed an Irish Whip, then went for the ten punches in the corner. After the ninth punch, Robinson pulled Andrade out of the corner and dumped him face-first on the turnbuckle. Robinson hit a cannonball in the corner as we went to a picture-in-picture commercial.
Andrade fought out of a headlock as we came back from the break, but Robinson dropped Andrade with a side suplex. Andrade fought back with a big chop before ripping at Robinson’s leg with a pair of Dragon Screw leg whips. The Hot and Flexible CJ was seen watching this match, scouting for talent. Robinson got the knees up on Andrade’s double jump moonsault before landing a leg lariat for a nearfall. Andrade fought out of Robinson’s finishing facebuster, sending Robinson into the corner.
Robinson pulled the referee in the way of Andrade’s double knees, before poking Andrade in the eyes. Robinson hit a big layout powerbomb for a nearfall. Robinson went to the top rope for a high crossbody, but Andrade reversed it into a Figure Four attempt. Robinson caught a small package for a nearfall. Andrade hip tossed Robinson into the corner before hitting the double knees. The Gunns tried to stop the Figure Eight, but the referee caught their interference and ejected them from ringside.
Robinson went for a rollup, but Andrade kicked out and hit the spinning back elbow. Andrade hit the hammerlock DDT for the pin and a score of revenge against Bullet Club Gold.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega. Jericho put over the history between them, noting that AEW’s history was built on the rivalry between them. They wanted to figure out how they would co-exist tonight before getting in the ring with their mutual enemy in the Don Callis Family on Sunday. Omega and Jericho agreed that they didn’t like each other, but would have each other’s backs tonight and at WrestleDream.
We got part two of Toni Storm: Portrait of a Star. Storm said that she was peaking now, despite her title loss at Grand Slam. She missed the old days, where all she had to do was put on a backward hat and throw a pie in someone’s face to be loved. But now, you have to bleed and cry to be at the top of the charts. She’s going to remind everyone what a star in this business looks like.
The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta)
The Kingdom have been very cartoony with the Strong story, but they’re still a great team. This match outperformed my expectations for a mid-show tag team match.
This match came after The Kingdom jumped the Best Friends after a four-way tag match at Rampage: Grand Slam, blaming them for losing the match. The Kingdom came out with suitcases, with McGuinness musing that the men came straight from the airport after tending to Roderick Strong. The Kingdom got a jump start on the match but had to bail after the Best Friends went for dual piledrivers.
Best Friends had control on Bennett, but Taven got a tag in and dropped Beretta with a dropkick. Bennett and Taven took Taylor to the floor with a baseball slide. Bennett avoided a spear from Beretta before hitting a drop toe hold onto Taylor into a chair as we went to a commercial break.
Taylor dropped Bennett with a jumping knee as we came back. Beretta got a tag in and ran wild, catching Taven on a dive and hitting a half-and-half suplex. Beretta hit a double dropkick on both Kingdom members before Taven cut him off with an enzuigiri. Taylor hit Taven with Sole Food on the apron before Beretta hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall. The Kingdom hit a double team on Beretta before taking out Taylor on the floor.
Bennett set up Beretta for a piledriver on the steps, but Beretta reversed it into a Death Valley Driver on the steps. Best Friends hit a Doomsday Knee before giving the people what they wanted with a big hug. They hit the dual piledrivers, but legal man Bennett got his foot on the ropes at two. Some misdirection allowed Bennett to punch both Beretta and Taylor in the wiener before the Kingdom hit the Hail Mary on Taylor for the win.
After the match, Taven took the mic and told Bennett that they had to catch their red-eye flight to get back to Roderick Strong. Taven had a message for Adam Cole. He said that Cole delayed his surgery to have meetings with doctors, but if their friendship ever meant anything to them, he would meet them all at Strong’s home. Or, he could go get surgery like the “selfish prick” he was.
Alex Marvez was backstage looking for Prince Nana. He found him with Don Callis. Callis left without a word. Nana said that after the Gates of Agony were done with Omega & Jericho, they would be in the money.
We got a short video package on the Julia Hart/Kris Statlander TBS Title match for WrestleDream.
Julia Hart (w/ Brody King) defeated Vertvixen
We got chants for Defy, the promotion Vertvixen is a regular in around the Seattle area. Hart dropped Vertvixen with a clothesline before ragdolling her on the mat. Hart clubbered on Vertvixen for a while before Vertvixen dodged a corner charge and hit a pair of forearms in the corner. Hart dropped a charging Vertvixen with boots before hitting a moonsault for the win.
After the match, Hart took the mic and called out Kris Statlander. Statlander came out but brought the Best Friends with her to neutralize Brody King. Both women sent their men to the floor, but Hart bailed before things got physical. Statlander called herself the “defeater of the undefeated” and said that Hart’s time was up tomorrow night. A nice piece of business.
We got a video package from Claudio Castagnoli. He said that he didn’t need a belt to act like a champion and wanted to make a challenge for WrestleDream. That challenge was answered by Josh Barnett, and the match was signed for the WrestleDream Zero Hour.
Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega defeated Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona)
Jericho and Omega worked very well toppling the power team in their first match as a team. It was a different dynamic than I was used to seeing them work, as underdogs against more physically imposing opponents.
Liona started with Jericho, not budging on any of Jericho’s chops before dropping him with a headbutt. The Gates double-teamed Jericho, with Jericho trying and failing to fight out of the corner. Jericho booted Liona on a back body drop attempt before tagging Omega. Liona wasn’t phased by the turnbuckles, so Omega necked him on the ropes before landing a high crossbody. Omega and Jericho worked together to drop Liona with a double suplex before fist-bumping each other.
Liona tried fighting back, but Omega and Jericho dropped him with a double shoulder block. Nana hooked Omega’s leg, allowing Liona to shoulder block Omega into Jericho and knock Jericho off the apron. Kaun tagged in and hit a trio of suplexes for a nearfall. They tied Omega up in the ropes, with Kaun hitting a backstabber and Liona hitting a senton onto the pile.
After a commercial, Omega fought out of the corner and hit a hurricanrana on Kaun. Jericho got the tag in and ran wild, dropping Kaun with a double axe handle before landing the Lionsault. Jericho went for the Walls of Jericho, but Kaun fought to his feet. Jericho went for the Judas Effect but ran into a discus lariat from Liona. Liona went for a corner charge on Omega but missed and got dropkicked off the apron. Jericho hit the Codebreaker on Kaun, with Omega following with a V-Trigger. Omega hit a dive onto Liona, allowing Jericho to score the win with the Walls of Jericho.
After the match, Jericho took to the mic and said that tonight proved that the two of them could work together. Omega said that this was bigger than the both of them and that this was about Don Callis. Callis had Omega brainwashed, but Omega is awake now. Omega said that Callis spent $30,000 on flights for both himself and Takeshita to try and take out Kota Ibushi. It wasn’t enough, and the original Alpha would spell the end for Don Callis. Jericho called Sammy Guevara a real Judas. Jericho said that he would be the villain at WrestleDream and ruin Guevara’s life.
We got a video of The Righteous. They said that no one could hurt the two of them as badly as they could hurt themselves. They said they would tear the bond between Cole and MJF by taking the ROH World Tag Team Titles.
We got a video package for the Darby Allin/Christian Cage TNT Title match at WrestleDream. Allin said that he’s waited a long time to main event a PPV and that the TNT Title is the only thing that gives him validation. Cage said that he asked for this best-of-three falls match to expose Allin in his hometown.
The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) defeated Travis Williams & Judas Icarus
Vincent came out on crutches before throwing them away. Another Defy chant for the locals, who got a quick advantage on Vincent. Vincent dropped Icarus with a back elbow before tagging in Dutch, who fought through Icarus’ strikes to drop him with a chop. Dutch and Vincent worked together to clobber the two men before hitting the Autumn Sunshine on Icarus for the win.
After the match, Vincent took to the microphone and told Dutch to look at the paper people in the crowd. They say that MJF is the devil, who pulls the strings on that liar Adam Cole. They’re going to win the titles and leave the Devil with one hoof, just like Cole. Dutch pulled out a wooden board and a chair. Vincent stuck the board between Icarus’ feet and smashed his foot with a chair before leaving. I see that they’re big fans of Kathy Bates.
We got a video package for the WrestleDream match between Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata for both the ROH World & NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.
We got a rundown of the WrestleDream card. A mixed eight-person tag was added to Zero Hour, as the team of Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Mercedes Martinez, & Diamante will take on Keith Lee, Satoshi Kojima, Athena, & Billie Starkz. Alrighty then.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with TMDK (Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, & Bad Dude Tito). The Acclaimed quickly interrupted them to remind them that everyone loves The Acclaimed. Haste gave his own freestyle, which went as well as you would expect.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis), Big Bill & Ricky Starks defeated Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Wheeler Yuta) & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)
The traditional Collision multi-man main event was a lively affair. The finish seemed mistimed, but they got the crowd back in time for the important staredown with Sabre and Danielson. This was an excellent go-home show for WrestleDream, as the Seattle crowd brought the energy and kicked off the big weekend with a bang.
Zack Sabre Jr. joined commentary, alongside Jim Ross. Starks started with Wheeler, although Starks quickly bailed out when Yuta tagged in. Fletcher came in and got outpaced by Yuta. Harwood came in but got forced into the opposite corner where Davis tagged in. The two men traded chops as Sabre made jokes about Danielson phoning it in. Davis sent Harwood to the floor where we got a standoff as we went to commercial.
Harwood hit Fletcher with a back suplex as we came back from commercial. Harwood fought for a tag, but Fletcher cut him off with a clothesline to the back of the neck. Harwood split the uprights on Fletcher and got a tag to Wheeler, who ran wild on Aussie Open. Wheeler sent Big Bill to the floor, which allowed Fletcher to hit a big bodyslam.
Yuta got a blind tag, which saw him run wild on Fletcher. Starks tried to interfere, but Yuta trapped him and hit the hammer and anvil elbows. He fought off both Starks and Bill until Starks baited him into a big boot from Bill. Yuta got worked on by the opposing team, with Aussie Open hitting a cool back suplex throw into a powerbomb for a nearfall.
After another commercial, Yuta took down Starks as Danielson riled the crowd up for a tag. Danielson got the tag and ran wild on Starks. Danielson sidestepped a spear and hit a dive to Starks on the floor. Danielson hit a missile dropkick before hitting the running dropkicks in the corner. Starks cut him off with a clothesline before setting up the Rochambeau. Danielson slipped away, but Starks got the tornado DDT and got the tag to Big Bill.
Bill went for a chokeslam, but Danielson transitioned it into the LeBell Lock. Fletcher broke up the hold, leading to a Pier Six brawl. Danielson’s team all hit the big kicks on their respective opponents. Harwood hit a diving headbutt on Bill before Fletcher broke the pin. Harwood and Bill were left in the ring. Bill missed a corner charge but kicked off a Sharpshooter attempt. Bill and Starks then hit a spear and chokeslam combination for the win. It looked like someone missed a cue, as it didn’t look like anyone was ready for that to be the finish.
After the match, Danielson dropped Bill with a running knee before everyone brawled to the back. Danielson turned his attention to Sabre, who came into the ring. Sabre shoved Danielson a couple of times before Danielson slapped him in the face. Danielson went for the LeBell Lock, but Sabre escaped. They stared each other down as the show went to black.
A new eight-man tag team match has been added to Saturday’s Collision.
The go-home show for WrestleDream will have Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, and FTR square off against Ricky Starks, Big Bill, and Aussie Open in an all star eight-man tag team match. Zack Sabre Jr., who will face Danielson on Sunday, will be on commentary.
Danielson and Yuta have been feuding with Starks and Bill for the last several weeks. Danielson defeated Starks in a Texas Death match on last week’s Collision, with Big Bill and Yuta getting into a confrontation after checking on their men. On this week’s Dynamite, Yuta confronted Starks, challenging him to a match for WrestleDream.
FTR and Aussie Open will be in the same ring just 24 hours before their AEW Tag Team title match at WrestleDream. It will mark exactly one year since the two teams first met at NJPW’s Royal Quest II in England.
Here is the updated lineup for Saturday:
All star eight-man tag: Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, and FTR vs. Ricky Starks, Big Bill, and Aussie Open
Ricky Steamboat says he didn’t like the original idea pitched to him for his angle with Ricky Starks on AEW Collision.
Steamboat was a special referee for the August 5 match between Starks and CM Punk on the show. Starks attacked Steamboat after the match and whipped him with his own belt.
Steamboat recently told Bill Apter that the original creative plans had him fending off an attack from Starks and sending him scurrying up the ramp.
“They suggested an outcome that I didn’t like. I said, ‘Look, you’re doing a slow turn with this kid, Ricky Starks, and trying to turn him heel and what you’re suggesting, there’s not going to be any heat on him. So I made the suggestion of what everybody saw and I said, ‘I’d like to put some heat on this kid,'” Steamboat said.
“I was glad to do what I was able to do to help pass the torch and put some heat on Ricky Starks, you know, get it done,” he continued.
“I wanted to get some heat on this kid and they had a result where everything would go down as it was and then as he would spin me around and try to take a shot, I would block it and give him some big chops and he’d take a bump through the ropes and to the floor and scurry up the ramp. It would be a happy, happy moment and I’m thinking, I said, ‘Well, where’s the heat there? Where’s the heat for the kid?'”
“Plus the fact I’m 70 and they’re going to say, ‘God, Starks, a 70-year-old timer just whooped up on you.’ I said, ‘We got to turn this around to where he’s got to catch me off guard and sucker me and get me down and do something to where it’s almost to the point of disgusting and shameful.”
The angle between Punk and Starks appeared as though it was building to a strap match between the two. However, Punk was released from AEW following a backstage altercation at AEW All In on August 27. Bryan Danielson replaced Punk in the angle and defeated Starks in a strap match at AEW All Out on September 3. Danielson then defeated Starks again on the September 23 AEW Collision in a Texas Deathmatch.
A grudge match between Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks takes place on tonight’s AEW Collision from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Danielson and Starks are set to collide in a Texas Death Match. It’s the second stipulation match they’ve had against each other in recent weeks. At All Out, Danielson replaced CM Punk and defeated Starks in a strap match.
Starks & Big Bill defeated Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli in a tag team match on Collision last week.
The TNT Championship and AEW Tag Team titles will both be defended tonight. The TNT title is on the line in a three-way match featuring Luchasaurus, Christian Cage, and Darby Allin. FTR are giving The WorkHorsemen a shot at their tag titles.
In his home state, RVD will be back in the ring as he teams with Hook against Matt Menard & Angelo Parker.
Jay White vs. Andrade El Idolo is also part of tonight’s card. Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
The pre-show comments this week featured the competitors in the TNT Title match as well as the Texas Death Match. Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness were on commentary.
AEW TNT Title Triple Threat Match – Christian Cage defeated Luchasaurus & Darby Allin to win the title
This was a great match, with Allin in constant motion to try and overcome the handicap situation. Luchasaurus finally holding the belt he had won on the first episode of Collision, only to lose it a few minutes later was funny. I’m in favor of Cage officially being the champion, as it was basically his anyway.
Cage immediately bailed out, telling Luchasaurus to handle Allin by himself. Allin threw powder in the eyes of Luchasaurus before diving onto Cage on the floor. Allin hit a Code Red on Cage before following up with another dive on Luchasaurus. Cage rung Allin’s neck on the ropes before Luchasaurus sent Allin into the barricades.
A chair was introduced to proceedings, with Christian sitting Allin on it before choking him on the ropes. Luchasaurus sent Allin and the chair flying with a German suplex before Cage sent Luchasaurus to the floor. Cage then sneaked in a cover but only got a two-count. Cage and Luchasaurus Irish whipped Allin into the stairs as we went to a commercial break.
Allin avoided corner charges from both Luchasaurus & Cage before landing a Scorpion Death Drop on Cage. Luchasaurus pulled Cage out of the ring, but Allin followed them out with a Coffin Drop to the floor. Allin fought out of a chokeslam and hit a Stunner out of the corner before hitting Cage with a shotgun dropkick.
Luchasaurus hit a chokeslam on Allin before grabbing the TNT Title, the first time he’s held the physical title since winning it. Cage asked for the belt back as the crowd chanted That’s Your Belt at Luchasaurus. Allin sent Cage into Luchasaurus before hitting Luchasaurus with the title belt for a nearfall. Allin hit a Coffin Drop on Luchasaurus, but Cage sent Allin to the floor. Cage then covered Luchasaurus to win the match and officially win the TNT Championship.
After the match, Luchasaurus looked dejected as Cage celebrated. Luchasaurus still lifted Cage up on his shoulders as Cage raised the belt overhead.
We got a video package recapping the segment from Rampage between The Don Callis Family, Chris Jericho, & Kenny Omega. We then cut to Alex Marvez with Don Callis, Konosuke Takeshita, & Sammy Guevara. Callis isn’t worried about Kota Ibushi, because he’s got a team of Guevara, Takeshita, & the man who has beaten both Omega & Jericho in the last two months – Will Ospreay. The six-man tag is official for WrestleDream, Jericho & the Golden Lovers vs. Guevara, Takeshita, & Ospreay.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with TNT Champion Christian Cage & Luchasaurus. Cage dedicated the win to Nick Wayne’s mother and late father, as he was sure they were rooting him on. Cage believed he was done with Allin, but Schiavone announced that Cage would be defending the title against Allin in a Two Out Of Three Falls match at WrestleDream in Seattle.
Hook & Rob Van Dam defeated Matt Menard & Angelo Parker (w/ Jake Hager & Anna Jay)
Hook started with Menard, who took Hook down with an armdrag and celebrated. Jay hooked the boot of Hook, which allowed Menard & Parker to attempt a double team. Hook avoided a corner charge before tagging in RVD to a hero’s welcome in his home state. RVD dropped Menard with a spin kick before taking Parker down with a springboard back kick. RVD went for a dive, but when his targets bailed, he chose to do his RVD taunt instead as we went to a commercial break.
When we came back from the commercial, Menard & Parker were getting dispatched by Hook. Parker cut off a tag to RVD, but Hook sent him flying with an exploder suplex. RVD got the tag and ran wild, hitting the Rolling Thunder on Parker. Hager tried getting involved with a chair, but RVD kicked it in his face. Hook caught Parker in the Redrum as RVD hit the Five Star Frog Splash to score the win.
We got a video package on Eddie Kingston’s ROH World Title victory from Dynamite: Grand Slam. Kingston then challenged ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata to a match for WrestleDream, with Kingston defending both the ROH World Title & NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.
The Dark Order had another commercial. They said that they were good and that they would be there for you. Evil Uno then, in another language, said that they wouldn’t be there for us for long.
The Kingdom were backstage, upset at the Best Friends for costing them a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Titles. They challenged the Best Friends to a tag team match next week on Collision to honor Neck Health Awareness Month.
Julia Hart (w/ Brody King) defeated Kiera Hogan
The announcers explained that Willow Nightingale was scheduled to wrestle Hart after a run-in on Rampage, but Hart misted Nightingale before the show. Hogan took her place to get revenge for her friend.
Hogan came out hot, jumping Hart at the bell. Hart came back, dropping Hogan and hitting a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Hogan fired up, but Hart dodged a hip attack in the corner. Hart hit a rabbit lariat before locking on the Rings of Saturn to score the win.
She re-applied the hold after the match before Skye Blue came to stop the attack. Hart hid behind Brody King before misting Blue in the face. King took the microphone, noting Hart’s 25-match winning streak. He said the violence would continue until Hart avenged her last loss, which came at the hands of TBS Champion Kris Statlander. The challenge was made for the TBS Title at WrestleDream before Hart warned that the House always wins.
We got a recap on The Righteous winning the #1 contender match on Rampage: Grand Slam for an ROH World Tag Team Title match. We then got a video package on The Righteous, where they spoke in riddles about Adam Cole & MJF, their opponents at WrestleDream.
Jay White (w/ Juice Robinson & The Gunns) defeated Andrade El Idolo
This was a very good television version of this match, but I think these two have bigger and better in them. With the way the finish went, I wouldn’t be surprised if we got it sometime soon. I also like them putting two names of similar stature together and having a winner, albeit not a clean winner.
Andrade looked to have control in the opening salvo, but a Robinson distraction allowed White to hit a knee to the gut. Andrade got back in the driver’s seat, hitting a top rope crossbody before hitting two of the Three Amigos. White escaped the third but got dropkicked off the top rope to the floor for his troubles.
Back in the ring, White sent Andrade into the turnbuckles before snapping off a DDT for a nearfall. White hammered Andrade with chops before sending Andrade on the apron and sending him into the barricades as we went to a commercial break.
White held control on Andrade as we came back from the break. Andrade caught White in a small package for a quick nearfall, but White cut him off with a dropkick to the knee. Andrade fought his way through a set of chops before hammering White with a lariat. They traded chops before Andrade ripped off a pair of Dragon Screw Leg Whips. Andrade hit a flying forearm that would make Manny Fernandez proud before setting up the double knees in the corner.
The Gunns yanked White out of the ring, but Andrade followed with a moonsault to all four men on the floor. White avoided a moonsault, but Andrade followed immediately with a second moonsault for a nearfall. Andrade booted White, but White hit a Saito suplex over the ropes to the floor. White hit a big uranage for a nearfall. White caught an Andrade boot and stunned his leg, but Andrade came back with a vicious back elbow for a nearfall.
Andrade hit his double knees in the corner before hitting the hammerlock DDT. Robinson grabbed White’s boot and put it on the ropes to stop the count. Andrade didn’t hesitate to lock on the Figure Eight, but The Gunns took the referee’s attention. Robinson knocked Andrade out with his “Collision Cowboy of the Month” plaque. White then lifted the prone body of Andrade up and hit the Blade Runner for the win.
We got a video package of Ortiz, giving his side of the story after his confrontation with Mike Santana on Rampage. Ortiz said that Santana used him to get on the All In Wembley card, then avoided him in person. Santana talked trash about him on social media, but when Ortiz confronted him, he ran from his problems. Ortiz said that he wouldn’t be able to run much longer.
Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty were backstage. Taylor talked about his history with Keith Lee, noting their successful team in Ring of Honor before Lee left to go “work for the other billionaire.” Taylor said that he stayed in Ring of Honor and became a legend in that promotion. Taylor said that he would put Lee in the ground to provide for his family, but before then, Lee would face off against Moriarty.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match – FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defeated The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) to retain
A short showcase for the Workhorsemen, who have been highlights of Ring of Honor television. They made the most of their time here, getting an incredibly convincing nearfall on the champs even with a booked title match for WrestleDream. I would love to see more of them on AEW television to give more depth to the tag team division.
Aussie Open came out and joined commentary for this match. Henry started with Wheeler. Henry used his speed to hit Wheeler with a dropkick. Drake and Harwood tagged in and leathered each other with chops. Henry came in and laid in kicks to Harwood, but Harwood came back with chops and a brainbuster. Drake tagged in and hit a Shining Wizard and a cannonball to Harwood.
Henry hit a double stomp to Harwood, with Drake following up with a moonsault for a close nearfall. Wheeler dropped Henry on the apron with a Gory Bomb. In the ring, Drake went for a hurricanrana but Harwood dropped him with a powerbomb. He locked on the Sharpshooter to win and retain the titles.
After the match, Mark Davis said that in eight days, FTR was in for the fight of their lives. Kyle Fletcher said that they haven’t lived up to the hype yet, which is why they made the challenge to FTR. Aussie Open wanted to prove that they are everything they say they are. Harwood took the mic, saying that Aussie Open had been sacrificial lambs to a pair of friends. He got on his hands and knees and begged Aussie Open to bring their best. He said if they didn’t, they might as well not bother showing up. Top Guys out.
Lexy Nair was backstage with The Hot and Flexible CJ, who talked about her husband Miro avoiding temptation. Miro entered, stating that CJ’s temptation was the spotlight. CJ said that she loved the grind. Miro said that his path was salvation and that she might end up in his way. CJ understood before asking Miro to stay away from any future clients of hers. Miro left without responding.
We got a rundown of the Dynamite card, with the addition of Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart. Next week on Collision, we will get Andrade El Idolo vs. Juice Robinson, as well as The Kingdom vs. Best Friends. We then got a commercial for WrestleDream before Kevin Kelly ran down the card, with Kris Statlander vs. Julia Hart for the TBS Championship made official.
Texas Death Match – Bryan Danielson defeated Ricky Starks
Danielson and Starks have fantastic chemistry, and it displayed itself here in this vicious and bloody main event. Starks looked to be burying the hatchet post-match, but Wheeler Yuta shut it down. Starks may not be done with the BCC just yet.
Jim Ross joined commentary for the main event. The rules were Last Man Standing-style rules, with the man who couldn’t answer a ten-count losing.
Starks jumped Danielson at the bell. Danielson sent Starks to the floor and hit a dive before sending Starks into the crowd. Danielson dumped a garbage can onto Starks before laying in kicks as Starks laid on the stairs. The two men brawled through the crowd before getting back to ringside. Starks whipped Danielson into the front row before hitting a springboard dive onto Danielson and staff members at ringside.
After a commercial break, Starks bloodied up Danielson after sending him into the announce table cover multiple times. A replay showed Starks drilling Danielson in the head with the ring bell. Watch that throat Starks, you don’t want Ricky Steamboat back out here. Starks wrapped Danielson’s knee around the post before hitting the knee with a chair. Starks went to Pillmanize Danielson’s ankle, but Danielson took the chair and hammered Starks with it.
Danielson met Starks on the top rope, where Starks bit Danielson’s wound. Starks took a second to pose, which allowed Danielson to hit a Spider Suplex out of the corner. Danielson followed up with a shotgun dropkick off the top rope before clubbing Starks with big kicks. Danielson loaded up for the Busaiku Knee, but Starks flung the chair into Danielson’s face. Starks taunted Danielson as we went to another commercial.
Starks had a steel chain as we came back, but Danielson avoided a shot and laid in kicks to the midsection. Starks came back with a spear before attempting to choke Danielson out with the chain. Starks relented to allow for a count. Danielson got up at nine, so Starks hung Danielson over his back. Danielson used the turnbuckles to vaunt over Starks, then caught Starks in the LeBell Lock.
Starks tried to use the chain to punch his way free, but Danielson grabbed the chain and wrapped it around Danielson’s neck. Starks looked to be fading, but powered up and punched his way out. Danielson reversed mount and forearmed and headbutted Starks before they both were down. Danielson hit the Busaiku Knee on Starks as Starks held a chair. Danielson then stomped Starks in the face and bloodied his mouth. Danielson hit the Busaiku Knee with the chain wrapped around his knee to knock Starks out and score the win.
After the match, Wheeler Yuta and Big Bill came in to check on their men. Starks looked to be reaching for a handshake when Yuta shoved him away. Big Bill got in his face, but cooler heads prevailed as the show faded out.
During this match, a four-way tag team match was announced for WrestleDream. The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers vs. The Gunns vs. Hook & Orange Cassidy, with the winners getting the next shot at the AEW World Tag Team Titles.
After going to war in a violent strap match at All Out, Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks will escalate things even more in a Texas Death Match on next Saturday’s AEW Collision.
Starks got one over on Danielson on Saturday’s Collision by delivering a low blow and then the Roshambo to pick up the win in a tag match featuring himself and Big Bill against Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli.
Next Saturday’s show from Grand Rapids, Michigan, will also feature an AEW Tag Team title match as FTR will defend against The WorkHorsemen.
After FTR’s win over The Iron Savages Saturday, Anthony Henry and JD Drake confronted FTR to put the match in motion given FTR’s recent open challenge decree.
Hometown favorite Rob Van Dam will also return to action for AEW for the the first time since losing to then-FTW Champion “Jungle” Jack Perry.
In a singles match, Jay White will return to action against Andrade El Idolo. White’s Bullet Club Gold confronted Andrade after his win over Scorpio Sky Saturday, leading to the match.
Here’s the current lineup:
Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks in a Texas Death Match
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR defend against The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
Two titles will be on the line as part of Saturday’s AEW Collision from State College, Pennsylvania.
FTR will look for the sixth defense of their AEW Tag Team titles as they face the Iron Savages, formerly Bear Country, who answered their open challenge last week.
After defeating former champion Jade Cargill on Friday’s Rampage, TBS Champion Kris Statlander will face another tough test in former AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker who is looking for her first TBS title run.
For the first time since 2009, Bryan Danielson will team with Claudio Castagnoli as they face current BCC antagonists Ricky Starks & Big Bill.
Andrade El Idolo will return to AEW action for the first time since his ladder match win over Buddy Matthews in a bout with former TNT & AEW Tag Team Champion Scorpio Sky.
Other matches include Anthony Bowens vs. Evil Uno and The Hardyz vs. The Righteous. Additionally, Jay White and Aussie Open will make appearances.
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Our cold open videos saw comments from Danielson & Castagnoli, Big Bill & Ricky Starks, the competitors in the TBS Title match, John Silver, & Anthony Bowens. Elton John played us in before Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness introduced the opening match.
Big Bill & Ricky Starks defeated Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli
This was a hot opener. Big Bill fits right in with these top names as a formidable big man. Starks and Danielson have incredible chemistry in the ring together, and the finish of this match signals more from these two down the line.
The camera focused on Big Bill’s boots, which were still stained with Jon Moxley’s blood from Dynamite. Bill started the match with Danielson, overpowering him to start. Danielson hammered Bill’s leg with kicks before Bill shoved Danielson into the corner, where Castagnoli tagged in. Castagnoli matched Bill in power, hammering him with uppercuts. Bill took both Danielson & Castagnoli down with a double clothesline – no crowd call – before tagging in Starks.
Starks clubbered on Danielson in the corner before getting cocky. That allowed Danielson to fire up with heavy strikes in the corner before taking Starks down with a hurricanrana. Starks took Danielson down with a shoulder block before tagging Bill, who crushed Danielson with a splash in the corner. Danielson blocked a second splash, but after a Starks distraction, Bill booted Danielson to the floor as we went to a commercial.
Danielson dropped Starks with a running lariat as we came back from break. Dual tags led to Castagnoli clubbering Bill with eighteen lariats in the corner. After two earlier attempts, Castagnoli finally got Bill off of his feet and hit a TKO. Castagnoli teased the Giant Swing, but Bill fought out and hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. Starks tagged in, but Castagnoli caught him in the Giant Swing.
Castagnoli transitioned into a Sharpshooter, but Bill booted him off. Danielson sent Bill to the floor, leading Castagnoli to get a nearfall on Starks with an uppercut. Danielson tagged in and hit the body kicks, but Starks avoided the LeBell Lock. Bill got a cheap shot in, leading to Starks hitting a spear for a nearfall.
Castagnoli and Bill brawled over the barricade, leaving Danielson and Starks in the ring. Starks countered a back superplex for a nearfall. Starks pushed the referee and hit a low blow on Danielson before hitting the Rochambeau for the tainted win.
We got a recap of the recent history between The Elite & the Mogul Embassy before we cut to The Young Bucks & Hangman Page backstage. They accepted the challenge of the Mogul Embassy for a match at Grand Slam but raised the stakes by challenging for the ROH World Six-Man Titles. The title match was confirmed for the two-hour Rampage: Grand Slam next Friday.
Powerhouse Hobbs said the next chapter of the Book of Hobbs was titled Destruction. He wasn’t talking about armbars, he was talking about ripping arms off. No one was safe. I still don’t like the Book of Hobbs being a physical book, but this was a good promo.
Meanwhile, Miro said that he didn’t humble Powerhouse Hobbs, so their paths must cross again. He yelled at God for trying to tempt him with his hot and flexible wife – the yet-to-be-named CJ Perry – and said that anyone who got in his way would be destroyed.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match – FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) defeated Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/ Jacked Jameson)
Jacked Jameson talked trash to Harwood, leading to him getting hit with the Shatter Machine. The Savages quickly isolated Wheeler, hitting two splashes for a nearfall. They hit another combination that ended with a Bronson tree slam for a nearfall. Wheeler dodged a corner attack and tagged in Harwood, but Harwood got knocked down by Boulder.
Harwood got overwhelmed by Boulder’s strength. Boulder went for a step-up moonsault, but Harwood moved out of the way. FTR hit the Shatter Machine on Bronson before hitting the Powerplex on Boulder to score the win.
After the match, The Work Horsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) made their way to the ring. They shook hands with FTR, signaling a future title challenge. Aussie Open was seen backstage watching on.
In a pre-tape that wasn’t cut at the beginning, Lexy Nair was backstage with Keith Lee. He was immediately interrupted by Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty. Taylor introduced Moriarty as the newest member of Shane Taylor Promotions before making it clear that he wasn’t scared of Lee.
John Silver defeated Anthony Bowens
Silver grabbed the microphone before the match started. He noted that The Acclaimed were scissoring wrong according to his research. He also noted according to the match contract, Caster and Gunn were banned from ringside. Bowens handled the match just fine on his own, forcing Silver to bail early on. Silver sent Bowens to the floor with a high kick before we went to the commercial.
Bowens took Silver down with a strike combination as we came back from the break. Bowens hit the jumping fameasser for a nearfall. The two men traded strikes before Bowens leveled Silver with a lariat. Silver avoided a corner charge and hit a strike combination that ended with a delayed fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall.
Bowens hit an Ushigoroshi and a rolling forearm that sent Silver to the floor. Bowens sent Silver back into the ring, but Evil Uno came out from under the ring to send Bowens into the post. Silver then hit a punt kick to score the win.
Eddie Kingston was backstage, talking about the history between himself and Claudio Castagnoli. Kingston said that Castagnoli left potholes in the road to the top, which is why he holds a grudge against him. He also said that he’s tried fixing the issues between him and Jon Moxley, but no matter those issues, he’ll finish the issues with Castagnoli in New York. New York has always had Eddie’s back, and they will have his back at Grand Slam. This was a great promo for Wednesday’s double-title match.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Hook & Orange Cassidy. They agreed to have a tag team match at Grand Slam while sharing a bag of chips.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated PB Smooth & Wes Barkley
If you’ve never seen the Aussie Open/FTR match from last October, I cannot recommend it enough as it was one of the best tag team matches of 2022. It’s currently free on New Japan’s YouTube channel. AEW running the rematch in Seattle for WrestleDream should be fantastic. They got lucky with it landing on the exact one-year anniversary.
The two men weren’t named, but I’ve seen their work on the independent scene. Aussie Open scored a quick win, hitting Barkley with a pendulum spinebuster.
After the match, they called out FTR. They noted their quick wins as of late, winning on Rampage and tonight in less than a minute. Fletcher noted that they have won the same titles that FTR has won, both the ROH and IWGP Tag Team Titles. Fletcher made the challenge to FTR – titles or not – for WrestleDream on October 1st, one year to the day after their acclaimed match at NJPW Royal Quest II.
RJ City sat with Toni Storm in a sit-down interview. Storm complained about the lighting before noting that the business had changed. She thought wrestling was about being stars and making money, not signing every little girl with a sob story. Storm has been very funny in this role. The interview will be continued.
We got a short video from Scorpio Sky, who noted that returning from back-to-back injuries would be tough. Having been a three-time champion in AEW though, Sky wasn’t afraid to do the tough work.
Andrade El Idolo defeated Scorpio Sky
The crowd was audibly ignoring this match at the start, doing a Penn State chant as these two locked up. But these two got the crowd into things after the break. Andrade vs. Jay White is an intriguing matchup, and depending on Andrade’s affiliation with La Faccion Ingobernable, could lead to a big-time unit rivalry.
Sky got very little reaction on his entrance. The two went back and forth before Andrade tied Sky up in the ropes and hit a dragon screw leg whip. Andrade went to the top rope, but Sky shoved him down back-first on the apron as we went to the commercial.
Andrade fought out of a hold as we came back from the break. Sky booted Andrade down, but Andrade fired up and went after the knee with more dragon screws. Andrade went for the double knees, but Sky cut him off and hit a sunset flip for a nearfall. Sky hit a dive to the floor, but back in the ring, Andrade drilled Sky with a back elbow. Sky countered a hammerlock DDT with a small package for a nearfall, but Andrade went back to the knee. Andrade locked on the Figure Eight and scored the submission win.
After the match, Bullet Club Gold made their way to the stage. Jay White noted how Andrade had his eyes on Bullet Club Gold last week. White believed that Andrade wanted the Switchblade spotlight, so he challenged Andrade to a match to show that this was still the Switchblade Era. White feigned wanting a fight right now, but security quickly broke things up.
We got a video package on the history between Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega, and Konosuke Takeshita’s goal of taking out Ibushi to stick it to Omega.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata. Imagine telling someone that five years ago. Schiavone noted that Shibata would be defending the Pure Title this Thursday on Honor Club against Nick Wayne. Shibata noted – through a translation app – that he would be competing at WrestleDream.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy)
The Righteous got some impressive heat in what was essentially their AEW television debut.
Vincent started with Matt. Matt drove Vincent into the turnbuckles before tagging Jeff. The Hardys low-bridged Dutch to the floor before hitting a tag team combination for a nearfall. They hit Poetry In Motion, but Vincent cut off a Twist of Fate attempt. Dutch made a blind tag before surprising Matt with a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall.
After the commercial, Jeff tagged in and ran wild on both men. Vincent cut off a Whisper in the Wind attempt, but Jeff hit a Twist of Fate. The Hardys sent Dutch to the floor before Matt hit another Twist of Fate. Dutch cut off a Swanton Bomb and sent Matt into the stairs. Vincent hit Autumn Sunshine on Jeff to score the win.
After the match, Dutch grabbed the microphone and introduced themselves to the booing crowd. Vincent said that the world was fooled by false idols and conmen. He said that they don’t believe in the Devil, and they don’t believe in the friendship between MJF & Adam Cole.
We got a rundown of the Dynamite: Grand Slam card, with Claudio Castagnoli talking about his issues with Eddie Kingston. He said that he was tired of being slandered by Kingston, and that Grand Slam will be their final chapter.
We then got a rundown of the Rampage: Grand Slam, with The Acclaimedvs. The Dark Order for the AEW Trios Titles added to the card.
Next week on Collision, Jay White vs. Andrade El Idolo was made official, as well as the AEW Tag Team Title match, FTR vs. The Work Horsemen. Rob Van Dam was also announced to return to the ring in his home state of Michigan.
For the WrestleDream PPV on October 1st, FTR vs. Aussie Open was made official before we got a video package for Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with Ricky Starks & Big Bill. He was upset at the video package between Danielson & Sabre and his lack of a match at WrestleDream. He challenged Bryan Danielson to a Texas Death Match for next week’s Collision.
AEW TBS Title Match – Kris Statlander (c) defeated Dr. Britt Baker DMD
This was a great main event, as the Penn State crowd was loudly behind Baker. The match itself was very good, with Baker scoring some close nearfalls before Statlander found a way to survive and retain. A quality episode of Collision.
Baker came out to a big reaction, as this show was on the campus of Penn State, her alma mater. Statlander overpowered Baker, forcing her to the floor. Baker came back and traded forearms before Statlander looked to jam her knee on an up-and-over out of the corner. Statlander was able to push off a Slingblade and hit a powerslam of her own for a nearfall as we went to a commercial.
Statlander fought Baker off of the top rope as we came back from the commercial. Baker moved out of the way of a moonsault and rung up Statlander’s neck on the top rope. Baker slammed both of Statlander’s knees against the ring post before hitting a pair of Slingblades. Statlander countered a neckbreaker with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Statlander hit a twisting fisherman’s buster for a nearfall.
Baker avoided a scissor kick and hit a curb stomp for a nearfall. Baker pulled out the glove, but received no love as Statlander rolled her up for a nearfall. Baker hit La Mistica and went for the Lockjaw, but Statlander grabbed the hand and fought to her feet. They traded forearms and kicks before Statlander took Baker down with a lariat.
Statlander forced Baker into the corner, but Baker avoided the running knee. Statlander countered a Panama Sunrise, but Baker hit a traditional Canadian Destroyer. She followed with the Angel’s Wings and another curb stomp for a nearfall. Baker went for another Panama Sunrise, but Statlander caught her in position for Saturday Night Fever. Baker transitioned into the Rings of Saturn before locking in the Lockjaw. Statlander rocked Baker back onto her shoulders to score the flash pin and retain the title. As Statlander was celebrating, Julia Hart was seen watching from the crowd. Statlander and Baker shook hands as we went off the air.
While Ricky Starks may not be getting CM Punk or even Ricky Steamboat at Sunday’s AEW All Out as he hoped, he did get a surprise opponent instead: the returning Bryan Danielson.
Danielson will now face Starks in a strap match at the pay-per-view in Chicago, Illinois, made during the first segment of Saturday’s AEW Collision.
Going into Collision, Starks said he was going to challenge the 70-year-old Steamboat to a strap match following his attack on Steamboat following his loss to CM Punk several weeks ago.
After talking about his frustrations without mentioning the now-fired Punk, Steamboat came out and said that Starks would be facing “the Dragon” at All Out and had Starks signed the contract. Steamboat then revealed there was more than one “Dragon” and revealed the returning Danielson, much to Starks’ chagrin. Danielson signed the contract and the match was official.
Signed, sealed, and delivered! Ricky Starks vs. The Dragon!
Danielson hasn’t been in the ring since defeating Kazuchika Okada at June’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door after suffering a broken forearm. Reports had him hopeful for October following surgery that was expected to keep him out for three months, but that it would be a “photo finish” whether he would be ready for October 1st’s Wrestle Dream.
Danielson didn’t have a cast on his right arm, but a lengthy scar was visible.
Punk was expected to face Starks at the PPV, but was suspended after last Sunday’s altercation with Jack Perry at All In and was then fired, revealed Saturday.
On what has been a monumental news day for AEW, the company presents their last stop before Sunday’s All Out with tonight’s Collision from Chicago, Illinois’ United Center.
Ricky Starks will challenge legend Ricky Steamboat to a strap match for All Out following Starks’ assault on Steamboat after the former’s match with the now-fired CM Punk several weeks ago.
Former NBA superstar and occasional pro wrestler Dennis Rodman will be on hand from a venue he has had countless memorable moments in.
New AEW Trios Champions The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn will defend their titles for the first time as they face Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker.
In a highly-anticipated singles match, FTR’s Dax Harwood will take on Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White.
The Outcasts, made up of new AEW Women’s Champion Saraya, Toni Storm & Ruby Soho, will face Britt Baker, TBS Champion Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida which may set up a title match for Sunday.
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AEW Collision opened with Tony Khan talking frankly about the situation with CM Punk, and how the confrontation put people in danger, including production staff, himself, and others, and at the recommendations of legal council and an AEW discipline committee, he fired CM Punk. Dave’s coverage of this on Wrestling Observer Radio will be a must listen.
Ricky Starks/Ricky Steamboat segment
Tony Schiavone opened the entertainment portion of the show by bringing Ricky Starks to the ring. Starks made his entrance with a weight belt that Cody Rhodes would be proud of, and accompanied by Big Bill.
Tony Schiavone talked about Starks about challenging Ricky Steamboat, a 70 year old man, to a strap match, and asked, “Are you freakin’ insane?” Starks said that he was tired of starting over again, and that he was going to rebuild again and do what he needed to do. He looked at Big Bill, and said off the cuff that he was proud of him, and that he could do anything he wanted to do.
Starks then tied it back to the story with Steamboat, saying that he was angry because he was suspended for 28-days, and missed All In because of it, so he wanted an answer from Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat’s great 90s WCW theme hit, and he came down with a clipboard. Steamboat said that he never once complained about Starks beating him on social media, but he heard Starks wanted this match on social media.
Steamboat said that he got a contract with his name and Starks name, because he wanted Starks to put his money where his mouth is. The contract says, Ricky Starks vs. The Dragon. Methinks The Dragon in this case might be Bryan Danielson rather than Ricky Steamboat. And right on queue, Steamboat said there was another Dragon everyone in wrestling knew, and Bryan Danielson made his way down to the ring.
Leave it to babyface Bryan Danielson to return and save AEW All Out with Moxley, Orange Cassidy, and few others. The fans chanted at Starks as he crossed his heart, and I laughed. Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks will face off in a strap match tomorrow night at AEW All Out. Excellent stuff.
–Jon Moxley cut a promo on Orange Cassidy, saying that he was a puzzle that 31 men before him couldn’t solve. He said Cassidy was the real deal, because he was on the run of a lifetime, and the chance to beat someone on a run like him only comes once rarely. Moxley said that the difference between real wrestlers and the fake ones were that when it gets hard, the fake ones look for a way out, and he hoped Cassidy wouldn’t look for a way out. This promo was awesome.
AEW Trios Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, & Billy Gunn) defeated 2point0 (Matt Menard & Angelo Parker) & Daniel Garcia to retain
This was a good opening match. Garcia and 2point0 are truly excellent. They really helped make The Acclaimed look good here.
Bowens started the match with Parker, and Bowens quickly sent Parker to the floor, who quickly tagged out to Garcia. Garcia faced off with Billy Gunn, and ducked a chop to begin dancing in the middle of the ring. He then told Billy Gunn to suck it. Gunn hit a jab that sent Garcia to his knees. Gunn then danced. Garcia was able to start getting the heat on Bowens after Jake Hager pulled Caster and Gunn from the apron.
Garica then locked on the Dragon Tamer on Bowens and Caster was held back by Parker and Menard. Gunn was able to break it up, but only after extensive damage was done with the submission.
Bowens hit an enziguri on Garcia and then tagged out to Caster, who had a brief advantage, but soon faced Menard. This was where Nigel McGuinness said, “Where did he get that name, Daddy Magic?” Kevin Kelly said he thought it was Jericho, and McGuinness said, “I thought it was prison.” Well then. Caster tagged out to Gunn, who then ran wild and tagged out for Caster to hit the flying elbow for the win.
–The Dark Order was backstage with Lexy Nair, and she asked them about their upcoming match with MJF and Adam Cole for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. John Silver complained about his friend Budge teaming with MJF, and Alex Renyolds revealed that he helped train MJF. He was proud of his success, but he was going to show his student what it meant to be a champion.
–Ricky Starks ran into Tony Schiavone backstage and said that tomorrow night was going to be no different from any other challenge he faced, and he was going to beat Bryan Danielson.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Nick Wayne & Komander w/ Alex Abrahantes
Good tag match here, and Nick Wayne especially looked good, even in losing.
Aussie Open quickly isolated Komander and got some heat on him for a few minutes. Komander was able to hit a jaw breaker on Davis and back flip out of a back suplex before dodging a corner charge and tagging out to Wayne. Wayne hit a superkick on Davis, and then a Asai DDT on Fletcher and a tope con giro on Davis on the floor. Wayne followed up with a frog splash on Fletcher for a 2-count. Wanye called for an OsCutter, but Fletcher blocked it and hit a half-and-half suplex.
Davis tagged in and picked Wayne up for a crucifix bomb, but Komander flew in and superkicked Fletcher. Davis put Wayne down and caught Komander as he went for a Code Breaker and powerbombed him. He then held on and threw Komander back into the air before hitting a piledriver on Komander. Unfortunately for Wayne, he ate a forearms from both Aussie Open. Wayne then went for the OsCutter, or Wayne’s World, on both of Aussie Open, and they caught him and hit Coriolis for the win.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Wayne after the match and Wayne said that while he was frustrated he lost, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Darby Allin forgave AR Fox for what happened between them. Allin made his way down to the ring and told Wayne a story – he said that Nick Wayne was there when Darby Allin got into a fight with Buddy Wayne, and he didn’t talk to any of the Wayne family for three years. In that time, Buddy Wayne died, and Darby had to live with that for the rest of his life. That is why he forgave AR Fox so quickly, because you never know how much time left. Allin then asked Wayne to be in h is corner on Sunday.
Christian then came out and said he was going to slide into the DMs of Nick Wayne’s mom. Christian said that Nick Wayne was just Darby Allin’s personal petty project, and that Christian never pretended to be something he wasn’t. Kevin Kelly pointed out that Christian wasn’t the TNT Champion. Christian said that on Sunday that Nick Wayne should bring a towel to throw in because Allin was going to need it. Good promo from Christian here.
–Claudio Castagnoli was backstage with Wheeler Yuta, and he congratulated Kingston on beating Yuta, but said hit wasn’t that a big deal, because the BCC beat up Yuta everyday. Castagnoli then proceeded to hit a European uppercut on him every single time he delivered a line. He then talked about how he was going to beat Kingston with Yuta at the PPV.
–Eddie Kingston was with Katsuyori Shibata, and Kingston mocked Castagnoli for beating up Yuta, and Yuta for taking it. He then said that the reason Castagnoli couldn’t look at him was because he was afraid. He then asked Shibata what he thought of them. Shibata held up a phone with Google Translate opened, and it read, “You both suck!” and Kingston laughed. Two great promos again.
–Lexy Nair was with Saraya & Ruby Soho, and she talked about how great she was when she won the AEW Women’s World Championship. Soho then said she was going to win the TBS Championship tomorrow at AEW All Out. Nair asked about Toni Storm, and Soho insisted that Storm was fine, though she did just see her half naked in the parking lot throwing her shoes at birds. Soho then reiterated that she would beat Kris Statlander tomorrow, and that everything in the Outcasts was fine, and their trios match later tonight will show it.
–Dennis Rodman ws introduced by Tony Schiavone, and he made his way down to the ring. Before Rodman could say anything Jeff Jarrett and his crew made their way down to the ring. Jarrett indicated he was happy to see Rodman as they were in WCW together years ago, though they stretched them being at the NWO at the same time.
Jarrett also stretched it saying he was the leader of the NWO, but he wanted to make a deal with Dennis Rodman. Rodman said that he was glad to be in Chicago with AEW, and that he was happy to be back in front of the fans. Jarrett demanded an answer to his proposition. Rodman then said he could beatup Satnam Singh. Sonjay Dutt made the offer to Rodman, showing his new shirt with Rodman’s face on it. Rodman shoved Dutt. Jarrett, Lethal, and Singh tried to attack Rodman, but the Acclaimed made the save. The Acclaimed then challenged Jarrett, Lethal, and Singh to a match tomorrow for the trios title.
–A video aired for Shane Taylor, ending with him saying he was taking back his title as he hit the Greetings from Asbury Park on Keith Lee.
–Samoa Joe said that he was going to give Shane Taylor a reality check at AEW All Out. He said Taylor is going to hope he gives the performance of a lifetime, but he’s going to wish he was fighting someone else. He said Taylor hoped he was going to knock him out, but Joe was going to make an example of him and make him regret saying his name. This was an awesome promo too.
Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander defeated The Outcasts (Saraya, Ruby Soho, & Toni Storm)
Toni Storm started the match with Statlander, exchanging shoulder tackles, with Statlander showing more power, but Storm showing more speed. However, that speed was only helpful in running into a body slam. Storm yanked the hair of Statlander and then went for the hip attack in the corner, but wasted too much time, as Statlander recovered and hit a dropkick and tagged out to Baker.
Baker hit a sling blade and tagged out to Shida, hit nailed Soho with a hard forearm. Baker held the arms of Saraya back and Shida went for a forearm, but Saraya ducked and Shida almost hit Baker. This allowed Saraya and Soho to isolate Shida and hit some attacks behind the back of the referee. Storm tagged in and it looked like she killed Shida with the hip attack in the corner.
Saraya drove Shida into the announce table when the referee wasn’t looking, and Soho brought her back into the ring. Shida managed to hit Storm with an enziguri and tag out to Statlander, who ran wild, taking on both Saraya and Soho. Statlander hit a blue thunder bomb on Saraya that Soho broke up.
All six women exchanged moves until Saraya superkicked Baker, but Statlander hit a powerslam on Saraya. Storm tried to break up the pin but landed on Saraya. Saraya tagged out to Baker, who hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker on Soho, but soon got spray paint to the face from Saraya, letting Soho hit No Future for the win.
–Adam Cole was backstage and cut a promo against The Dark Order, saying they were a great tag team, but that him and MJF had no plans to drop their titles anytime soon. Cole then read a list of insults that MJF sent him via text, and Cole had to censor it, and refused to say the last one, because it horrified him, and the fans laughed. Excellent stuff.
–Statlander was backstage and said the only way that Soho could beat her was by cheating, and at this Soho came up and started screaming at her. Saraya cussed at her, and the promo ended there.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated GPA
This was one of the fastest matches I have ever seen as Hobbs killed him with a spinebuster and his music just resumed playing seconds after it ended.
–Miro’s music hit and he walked down towards the ring in his ring gear and started brawling with Hobbs. The fight spilled at to ringside, and Hobbs threw Miro into the steps while Miro threw Hobbs over the railing into the crowd. Hobbs backed away slowly after this, to cheers from the crowd at the short fight we saw.
–After running down the card for AEW All Out, an awesome hype video aired for Konosuke Takeshita and Kenny Omega set to “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” This was absolutely fantastic.
–Orange Cassidy was sitting backstage and said he didn’t want to talk right now, but he had to because this title match was nothing like what he has done before. He proved in Chicago in his match against PAC that be belonged in AEW. Then he faced Will Ospreay, and proved he could hang with the best in the world. Now, he has to face Jon Moxley, who is simply the best. Moxley was the guy that put AEW on his shoulder when AEW was down, but tomorrow, Cassidy was going to take that burden off his shoulders and carry it himself because he was the AEW International Champion. This was awesome.
Jay White (w/ Juice Robinson, Austin & Colten Gunn) defeated Dax Harwood (w/ Cash Wheeler)
As one would expect, this was a very good wrestling match.
Harwood and White started with some great classic wrestling, and even featured a funny spot where Harwood got the crowd cheering for him to grab the ropes while holding White in an abdominal stretch. White was able to get the advantage by hitting a headlock suplex into the corner. As the Gunns and Robinson were attempting to attack Harwood, Wheeler ran in with a chair to chase them off.
The referee chastised Robinson and he yelled back, “He has a chair ,you idiot!” A fair point, given the referee didn’t see anything but the chair in play. White hit a DDT on Harwood for a 2-count. Harwood hit a superplex on White a minute or so later, but missed a diving headbutt. During the break on the FITE.tv feed, JR, Nigel, and Kelly talked about who had the hardest chops they ever seen and Wahoo McDaniel was given a shout out.
Harwood tried for a slingshot suplex, but White necked him on the ropes to escape. White then came back in the ring but ate a German suplex. Harwood the hit a brain buster for a 2-count. Harwood chopped White on the floor and then went for another diving DDT, but White went to the apron. Harwood chopped White so hard he came back into the ring over the ropes. White managed to hit a dragon screw on the ropes as Harwood tried to get back in.
White hit a backdrop driver and then a Death Valley Driver for a 2-count. White hit a clothesline on Harwood, but he ate it and delivered one of his own to drop White on his head. Harwood then ducked some punches, faked him out, and hit a piledriver for a 2-count. White sent Harwood crashing into the metal post between the ropes, and then hit a uranage for a 2-count. White went for the Blade Runner, but Harwood blocked it by grabbing the ropes and White turned into a slingshot powerbomb as White screamed “No!”
Harwood put a sharpshooter on White and White made the ropes. The rest of Bullet Club Gold pulled White to the floor, and as Harwood faced off with them, White recovered and hit a Blade Runner on the floor. Harwood managed to cradle White once they got back in the ring, but as soon as White kicked out he countered with a Blade Runner for the pinfall. It looks like we might be getting Juice Robinson and Jay White one more time, maybe at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam.
The Bullet Club then laid out Wheeler after the match and started to beat on FTR. As it was looking bad, the Young Bucks ran down to make the save. The Bucks then offered a handshake to FTR, and FTR refused as a small section of fans chanted “CM Punk” but were largely drowned out.
Final Thoughts:
AEW needed to have a show like this after what happened earlier today, and they hit everything they needed to. After the show went off the air in the US, the audio could be heard from the arena, and many fans were chanting for the Elite (though some were still booing). AEW will be fine without CM Punk, but it does suck that it came to this. That said, this was still an excellent show, and did a very good job building up AEW All Out. Moxley and Orange Cassidy were key, but so was Danielson returning as a surprise. Everyone seemed they wanted to steal the show and make this PPV a success tomorrow. Great show.
New for the AEW All Out Zero Hour pre-show:
The Over Budget Charity battle royal
Athena, Mercedes Martinez & Diamante vs. Willow Nightingale, Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue
AEW World Trios Champion The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn (w/ Dennis Rodman) defend against Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal (w/ Sonjay Dutt & Karen Jarrett)
The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects the views of the author.
What if I told you that you could spend 50 American dollars to watch an episode of Dynamite? Does that sound like something you might be interested in?
I will not bury the lede here: Sunday’s AEW All Out (8 PM Eastern from Chicago on PPV) is not a good show on paper. The fact that it’s even happening is another example of AEW’s continued short-sightedness. There was no compelling reason to run another major show a week after the biggest show they’ve ever run.
This isn’t revisionist history either. When this run of shows was announced, anyone with an internet connection wondered how this would work. And the answer is that it just isn’t working. Running this schedule requires an insane level of logistical planning and luck to go off without a hitch. I don’t know how closely you’ve been paying attention, but planning and luck are two things that remain sorely lacking in AEW. So bear witness, cats and kittens, to AEW’s first official B-level pay-per-view. It took a while to get there, but we’ve finally arrived.
Even though I am on the verge of AEW exhaustion, I will not abandon you, my dear readers. Come with me as we preview the extremely lackluster card. Please note this includes everything announced as of Saturday morning.
You can also hear me talk about this card and All In on this week’s Josh Nason’s Punch-Out.
Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis)
Few things are more alluring than the main event version of Omega. Even though his match against Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door wasn’t the official main event, it was still a major attraction. The clock is ticking on his peak, and if we’re being honest, it’s ticking on his career. How many more chances will he have to put on a vintage Tokyo Dome-level performance for AEW? With only a handful of major shows a year, they should be using this as a chance to make a star. And what better star to make than Takeshita?
Takeshita is the goods, the truth, the future — he’s everything. Whatever a company could ever want in a wrestler exists in this 28-year-old. He moves like a top 1% athlete. His hands are cinder blocks; his forearm to Ishii at Forbidden Door almost gave the entire announce team a stroke. This is as special of a performer as there is in pro wrestling. He pinned Omega at All In, nd nothing would do more to establish him as a GUY in AEW than another win on Sunday. If they have a direction in mind, this is the time to pull the trigger.
Prediction: Takeshita
TNT Champion Luchasaurus (w/ Christian Cage) defends against Darby Allin
This is Luchasaurus’s best role: a stand-in for someone with star power. He’s great/good/perfectly fine as a big heater with, and I’ll be generous here, an interesting look. But Christian is the star of this pairing and one of the two or three best things in AEW proper. His ongoing war on dads should win feud of the year on this website. His turtlenecks should win best gear — a category invented by me just now. The man will be 50 in November and is doing the best work of his entire career. The benefit of having someone like him on the roster can’t be understated. Someone who can sell a feud, who knows how to ad lib in front of a crowd, and who can generate surface-of-Mercury level heat is well worth whatever Tony Khan is paying him.
Allin remains one of the most consistently booked wrestlers on the roster. He almost always has something meaningful to do on a relatively important place of the card. It’s allowed him to grow and has conditioned the audience to know that when he’s on screen, something important is happening or a gruesome apron spot or both! The title means more to Allin than it does to the combination of Christian and Luchasaurus, and a title change needs to happen somewhere on this card. This is the place, even though I hate it.
Prediction: Allin wins the title
ROH Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & MJF defend against Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver)
I love it when guys drop the kneepad. Their kneecaps look so tiny and cute. It’s supposed to be this big dramatic reveal, but all I can think about is how small they look. Every time Cole reveals his baby knee, I just chuckle. It can’t possibly hurt anyone — it’s too tiny! All of this is to say, that there isn’t much to write about here. Dark Order won Friday’s battle royal on Rampage and earned the privilege of being rolled over by Better Than You Bay Bay. The crowd just eats this pairing up and, even though this match doesn’t make any sense, they couldn’t run this show without Cole and MJF getting TV time.
I didn’t need to update this after the winner of the battle royal was announced as the opponent simply did not matter. It’s a kangaroo kick, double clothesline, and the 1-2-3.
Prediction: Cole and MJF retain
Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
It’s so good to have Miro back and cutting angry promos about higher powers and flexible wives. He’s still a little directionless, something unfortunately not unique to him, but this match is a great way to remind the audience just how good he is in the ring. For years, we have lamented about Miro’s unrealized potential. It’s time to let him show the world what he can do.
Hobbs is still doing the Book of Hobbs thing and seems like he might be getting another push. At some point, AEW needs to make up its mind about what to do with him. He and Ricky Starks have had more pushes started and abandoned in the last 18 months than most wrestlers do in their entire careers. Hobbs’ last push was confusingly derailed by a partnership (?) with QT Marshall (???) and QTV (?????). On the bad decision scale that’s up there with either Blockbuster opting to not buy Netflix and all of Game of Thrones’ 8th season.
This should show us who is in line for a big push moving forward. I say “should” instead of “will” not to cover my bases, but because who knows if it will actually lead to anything of substance.
Prediction: Miro
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR & The Young Bucks vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson & The Gunns)
A show like this wouldn’t be complete without a Teddy Long SmackDown Special, aka the “Can they coexist?” combo platter. There is no earthly reason for FTR and the Bucks to ever team up, let alone agree to a match MINUTES AFTER they just wrestled their rubber match at Wembley Stadium.
Since so much of the card doesn’t make any sense, I’ll throw logic out for this one. This has a chance to be a really fun house show match. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucks kept the t-shirts on for this one and let FTR do most of the leg work. Bullet Club Gold has been great at the lighter moments and this entire match should be a lighter moment. Despite itself, this should work and be a decent amount of fun. For this card, that’s a huge win.
Prediction: Bang Bang Gang
ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against Shane Taylor
God, how good is Samoa Joe? He is, of course, a spectacular talent in every facet of pro wrestling. Whether it’s in the ring, on the mic, or in the commentary booth, he’s as good as it gets. A friend of mine said Joe is firmly in his top three favorite wrestlers of all time. He presented it like it was a hot take, and while it’s certainly on the warmer side, I couldn’t find myself disagreeing.
He’s only had two World title runs, one each in ROH and TNA/Impact, which is astounding. He capped out in WWE with both the NXT and U.S. Championships. It’s a testament to his excellence that he can be so revered, and such a legend without a ton of formal ‘top of the card’ success.
Prediction: Samoa Joe retains
Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta)
Imagine having Shibata on your PPV and announcing it on Twitter at 10:30 at night four days before the show. What, and I can’t stress this enough, are we doing here? Every match Shibata has is a miracle and should be a special event. It should be heavily promoted as the big deal it is. It should not be relegated to a Twitter announcement.
The real draw here, though, is another interaction between Kingston and Castagnoli. The two can barely be in the same city, let alone ring, without wanting to kill each other. The power of their hatred could reignite a dying star. I hope that this is the beginning of the long-awaited end to this feud. It deserves a proper blow-off and I don’t mean at Final Battle. It should be on the biggest stage it can be with as many eyes on it as possible. TK, my boy, I don’t ask for much, but please put that on Wrestle Dream or Full Gear instead of relegating it to one of the ROH properties.
Prediction: Kingston and Shibata
TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Ruby Soho
Statlander came back, beat Jade Cargill, and then…just kind of hung out? A multi-year undefeated streak ended, and the (more than a) woman who ended it, feels just like she always has. This was one of the easiest opportunities to make a star. The whole point of a streak like that is to immediately make someone and rocket them to the main event level. Statlander was a perfect pick for that. They nailed the hard part, which is picking the star, and to not capitalize on it is, at best, negligent, and, at worse, is yet another reflection of where the women’s division stands in the eyes of the AEW booking team.
This match should be very good. It’s a nice mix of styles and Soho has more TV wrestling experience than just about any woman on the roster. Statlander always works best with a stable, veteran presence that can take the lead in a match. That’s exactly what Soho is great at. She’ll make Statlander look like the star she should be. Hopefully, this reignites her momentum and gets her ready for more than just the TBS Championship.
Prediction: Statlander retains
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Jon Moxley
This is one of the few matches that belongs on a Sunday pay-per-view and not just a special episode of Dynamite. Their resumes speak for themselves. Up until this year, Moxley was the forever MVP of AEW. Whenever they needed someone for something, for anything really, Mox was always on speed dial. It kind of became a joke that he’d never be able to take a long overdue vacation.
But during all that something funny happened. Cassidy won the International Championship and made it mean something. This is a serious title now thanks entirely to him and the work that he’s put in during his reign. There have been many times when I thought he’d drop the belt, but it hasn’t happened. What has happened is that Cassidy is, without a doubt, on the shortlist for wrestler of the year, and if we voted today, he would have my vote. Week in, week out regardless of opponent, he is putting on main event caliber matches while having main event caliber injuries. He’s the MVP of AEW.
MJF might be at the top of the card, and others might have more name recognition, but somehow a guy who wrestles in denim joggers and doesn’t have a catchphrase, became the most important performer in the entire company. Whenever he loses the title, he deserves the vacation that Moxley still hasn’t taken.
As good as this title reign has been, it’s missing one signature defense. A win over Moxley would cap off one of the best runs with a title in AEW, and firmly establish Cassidy as one of the actual pillars of AEW.
Steamboat served as the special outside enforcer for a Starks vs. CM Punk match on the August 5 Collision episode, a match won by Punk. After the bout, Starks attacked Steamboat, whipping him with Steamboat’s own belt. As a result, Starks was issued a storyline suspension of 30 days, later reduced to 28 days.
Steamboat, 70, wrestled what was billed as his retirement match last November at a Big Time Wrestling event, teaming with FTR against Jay Lethal, Nick Aldis, and Brock Anderson. That match was Steamboat’s first since 2010.
Saturday’s Collision will be held in Chicago at the United Center, the same venue as the next night’s All Out.
The updated lineup for Saturday’s Collision, the go-home show for Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view:
Ricky Starks to challenge Ricky Steamboat to a strap match at All Out
Dax Harwood vs. Jay White
World Trios Championship: Max Caster, Anthony Bowens & Billy Gunn defend against Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
Saraya, Toni Storm & Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander
Tonight’s Fight for the Fallen edition of AEW Collision from Lexington, Kentucky, will be the next step toward next Sunday’s All In from London’s Wembley Stadium.
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will appear ahead of their title defense against the Young Bucks. It’s unknown if this will be a live promo or taped and will be their first on-screen appearance since Cash Wheeler was arrested on Friday.
Ahead of his challenge of TNT Champion Luchasaurus at All Out, former champion Darby Allin will take on Christian Cage, the man who has been parading as titleholder after Luchasaurus won it.
Willow Nightingale’s recent feud with Diamante will continue as they go one-on-one.
Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White will return to singles action for the night as he faces Dalton Castle.
Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action while the man who he attacked last week following a challenge — Miro — will be on hand as well.
Both Samoa Joe and Ricky Starks will be in the house for promos.
**********
After our cold open promos from Darby Allin, Bullet Club Gold, Dalton Castle, & Samoa Joe, Kevin Kelly welcomed us to Collision. Kelly and Nigel McGuinness were on the call.
Samoa Joe vs. The Golden Vampire never started
Joe’s opponent, named by Kevin Kelly as the Golden Vampire, attacked Joe before the bell. He fought Joe around ringside before shoving the referee down. He got in the ring and hit a rising knee before laying out Joe with a Go To Sleep. The Golden Vampire then unmasked to reveal CM Punk. Punk took the microphone and officially accepted Joe’s challenge for All In, with saltier language.
We got a video package hyping the history of the All In event, with Kevin Kelly noting that more tickets have been sold for that show than any other event in history.
Jay White (w/ Bullet Club Gold) defeated Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys)
Castle took White down with a single leg, forcing White to the ropes. White tried to send Castle to the floor, but the Boys sent Castle back into the ring, where he hit a pair of waistlock takedowns on White. White chopped Castle in the corner and stuffed a couple of suplex attempts. Castle went for a running knee into the corner, but White ducked and Castle flew to the floor. Bullet Club Gold chased the Boys around ringside as we went to commercial.
Castle fought out of White’s control as we came back from commercial. White walked into a Castle suplex, then ate a back elbow. Castle hit his running knee into the corner before sending White overhead with a pair of suplexes. White tried fighting out of a third suplex, but Castle hit a stalling German suplex with a bridge for a nearfall.
Castle pulled White up for Bangarang, but White grabbed the ropes and low-bridged him out of the ring. White chopped Castle on the announce table, but when he tried to send Castle into the ring, Castle rebounded off of the apron to hit a hurricanrana. Bullet Club Gold tried to interfere, but the Boys took them out with a dive. White recovered with a uranage for a nearfall. White hit the Blade Buster before scoring the win with the Blade Runner.
After the commercial break, Tony Schiavone was in the ring with Bullet Club Gold. White said that if Omega knew what was good for him, he’d stay in the hospital bed they put him in. He said that the Elite lied to everyone when they said that they were the best part of Bullet Club, and at Wembley, Bullet Club Gold will set the record straight. Robinson said that it only took 2 minutes to take out Kenny Omega, and they would handle them all at All In. The Gunns said that they would deal with the Bucks and Omega on Wednesday, but they wanted a warmup match right now.
Bullet Club Gold (Juice Robinson & The Gunns) defeated Iron Savages (Bronson, Boulder, Jacked Jameson)
The Savages took the fight to Austin Gunn to start, but Robinson cut off Bronson on the apron for the Gold team to take advantage. After a Robinson cannonball, the Gold team mocked the Elite with their pose. Robinson hit a V-Trigger on Bronson before Colton Gunn sent him to the floor as we went to break.
Boulder tagged in as we came back from commercial. Boulder ran wild, dropping both Gunns with a double End of Days. He caught Robinson on a crossbody and dumped him onto the Gunns. The match devolved into a Pier Six brawl. The Gunns couldn’t hit Boulder with a 3:10 to Yuma, but Austin Gunn hit a Fameasser instead. Robinson scored the win on Jameson with his facebuster.
The announcers recapped The Acclaimed’s recent actions, starting with the apparent retirement of Billy Gunn. They then recapped the House of Black’s attack on the Acclaimed from Wednesday, where they left Caster bloody and stole Gunn’s boots. We cut to a video package of the House of Black throwing Gunn’s boots away, with Malachi Black telling Gunn he was a shadow of himself.
We got a video of Jose The Assistant taking a call from Rush, who was not happy about La Faccion Ingobernable’s recent losing streak. Rush wanted Jose to bring them to Mexico, and they obliged. Preston Vance & Dralistico partied before being pulled into a van by several masked men. Was Rush the man that kidnapped Samoa Joe all those years ago? One can only wonder.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with Ricky Starks. He clarified that Starks’ suspension wasn’t 30 days long, rather it was 28 days, that being 4 full weeks. With Starks having served two of those 4 weeks, that means his suspension ends the night before All Out in Chicago. Starks said he would be bringing chaos tonight, with Big Bill entering the frame. After that, we got a stylized video package of Starks, saying that he had been distracted lately. Now, he’s focused, and now he’s dangerous.
Big Bill (w/ Ricky Starks) defeated Derek Neal
Bill came out to Starks’ music. Bill ran through Neal, chokeslamming him for the win within two minutes. After the match, Bill held Neal down so Starks could whip him with the belt.
We got a video package of Sting & Darby Allin attacking AR Fox at his wrestling academy. Allin said that he wanted a scrap of Fox left for Wembley to put in a coffin. We then turned to Wednesday’s Dynamite, where Nick Wayne said he wanted revenge on Mogul Affiliates for attacking him at his home. It will be Allin & Wayne vs. Fox & Swerve Strickland on Dynamite.
Willow Nightingale defeated Diamante
Diamante tried to keep Nightingale held down, but Nightingale stuffed a headscissors attempt and hit a backbreaker. Nightingale dropped Diamante on the apron, leading Mercedes Martinez to make her way to ringside. Nightingale went for an Oklahoma Stampede, but Diamante dropped Nightingale with a chop block.
Nightingale dropped Diamante with a set of clotheslines as we came back from commercial. Nightingale ran wild on Diamante, hitting a main event spinebuster for a nearfall. Diamante yanked Nightingale off the top rope, then hit a set of running knees into the corner. Diamante hit an Asai DDT for a nearfall. Nightingale brought Diamante to the top rope, and after fighting off a powerbomb attempt, Nightingale hit a dropkick.
Martinez pulled Diamante out of the ring, bringing Kris Statlander to ringside to suplex Martinez on the ramp. Nightingale hit a pounce on Diamante on the floor before bringing her back into the ring and getting the win with the Babe With The Powerbomb.
We got a video package hyping FTR vs. The Young Bucks at All In. Both members of FTR spoke about how the Bucks have their accolades, but FTR will be the ones to win the rubber match.
Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Toni Storm. Nair announced that next week on Rampage, we will see the four women in the AEW Title match at All In in a tag match, with Britt Baker & Hikaru Shida taking on Storm & Saraya. Storm said not to question the bond between the Outcasts, and that she would take her place in history as the first three-time AEW Women’s Champion.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Kevin Ku
Ku went for a standing crossbody, but Hobbs stood tall and sent Ku flying. Hobbs hit a splash in the corner before taking Ku up and down with a back superplex. Hobbs clubbered Ku with lariats before hitting the main event spinebuster for the win. He was calling out Miro at points in this match, and he sent a message by locking on the Accolade after the match.
Miro popped up on the video screen. He said that he used to follow a book, but now he walks alone. He said that redemption would come for Hobbs at All Out and that he would piss on his cold, dead body. Jesus.
We got a rundown of the Dynamite card. We also got the Collision card, with an All-Star Eight Man Tag with no names announced. We will hear from the stars of the show in London the night before All In as well.
Darby Allin defeated Christian Cage (w/Luchasaurus)
This match ramped up to a fever pitch by the end, with Allin scoring an important win in one of his two concurrent feuds.
The two started the match off slowly, with Allin working on Cage’s arm. Cage dropped Allin on his hammerlocked arm before he whipped Allin into the buckles hard as we went to commercial.
Back from commercial with Allin trying a series of pinfalls on Cage. Cage rung up Allin’s neck on the ropes before sending him into the barricade. Cage taunted Allin with the TNT Title before popping him with a punch, then dropping him with a hammerlock slam. Cage modified his reverse DDT, dropping Allin with his arm hammerlocked. Cage set up for a spear, but Allin kicked him and hit a Code Red for a nearfall. Allin blinded Cage with his turtleneck, leading to the two knocking heads as we went to another commercial.
Allin fired up with Coffin Splashes as we came back. Allin sent Cage into the turnbuckles with a shotgun dropkick. Allin went to the top rope, but instead of going after Cage, he dove onto Luchasaurus. Luchasaurus caught him and led him into a Cage lariat on the floor. Allin hit a drop toe hold onto Christian into a chair, before sitting Christian in the chair and hitting a missile dropkick off the top rope to the floor.
Allin set up the Coffin Drop in the ring, but Cage rolled to the apron. Allin went for the Coffin Drop anyway, but Luchasaurus pulled Cage out of the way, forcing Allin to land on the apron with a nasty thud. The referee sent Luchasaurus to the back, but that allowed Cage to hit Allin with the TNT Title. Allin fell to the floor, and when Cage pulled him back into the ring, he only got a nearfall.
Allin sidestepped a spear and dropkicked Cage into the corner. Allin brought Cage to the top rope, but Cage hit a sunset flip powerbomb and a spear for a nearfall. Cage cut off a surging Allin with a lariat and went for an Unprettier, but Allin caught him in a jackknife cover for the win.
After the match, Tony Schiavone went to speak to Allin, but Luchasaurus came back out. Cage dropped Allin from behind with the TNT Title, with Luchasaurus dropping Allin with a chokeslam. Cage covered Allin, with Luchasaurus forcing him to count to three and announce him as the winner and still TNT Champion. Cage and Luchasaurus stood tall to end the show.
A pair of promo segments have been added to the lineup for the Saturday, August 12 AEW Collision episode.
Coming off his attack on Ricky Steamboat after losing in a match to CM Punk on last week’s show, Ricky Starks will speak on this week’s Collision.
After losing a “Real World’s Championship” match to Punk, Starks attacked special outside referee Steamboat, whipping the legend with his own belt. Starks will follow up on that with a promo this week.
Also added to Collision, Powerhouse Hobbs will speak on the show.
Hobbs is involved in a storyline with QTV’s QT Marshall, where Marshall cost Hobbs a match in the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament, and has since been attempting to make it up to Hobbs as Hobbs teases dissension within the QTV group.
The updated lineup for the August 12 Collision in Greensboro, North Carolina:
AEW Trios Champions House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) defend against CMFTR (CM Punk, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler)
CM Punk will defend what he claims is the rightful World title against Ricky Starks on tonight’s AEW Collision with Ricky Steamboat as special guest referee.
After weeks of carrying around a red bag, Punk revealed the “Real World title” last week which he then spray painted with his X symbol. Starks confronted Punk and said the title should be his after recently defeating him, leading to this rematch.
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will look to continue their roll on Collision with title defenses as they face Big Bill & Brian Cage. The latter earned their shot after recently winning a battle royal on Rampage. FTR successfully defended against Adam Cole & MJF last Saturday.
TBS Champion Kris Statlander will defend her title against former ROH Women’s Champion Mercedes Martinez.
The Acclaimed will speak publicly for the first time since Billy Gunn seemingly retired after their recent loss to AEW Trios Champions House of Black.
**********
Our opening comments feature CM Punk saying he’s gonna separate the contenders from the pretenders, Ricky Starks saying he’s going to leave the Greenville crowd chanting his name, Prince Nana saying that his “brolic buddies” will leave with the titles, and FTR saying that they’re going to retain the titles in FTR Country.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match: FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) defeated Big Bill & Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) to retain
This was another fun TV Title defense from FTR. Big Bill and Brian Cage worked well together as the big men that the hometown babyfaces needed to topple. Big Bill in particular has shined lately, taking complete advantage of the opportunities he’s been given.
Wheeler started this match by giving a hug to his mother in the front row. He engaged with Cage, with Cage bowling him over with a shoulder block. Harwood tried his hand and staggered Cage, but Cage dropped him with a lariat. Cage and Harwood went back and forth before Cage dropped both champions with shoulder blocks.
Big Bill tagged in and dropped Wheeler with a bodyslam and an elbow drop for a nearfall. Wheeler fought out of the corner and tagged Harwood. FTR fought off both challengers but couldn’t hoist up Bill for the Shatter Machine. Bill chokeslammed Wheeler on top of Harwood, then press slammed Wheeler out of the ring onto Harwood on the outside. The challengers posed as we went to a commercial break.
We came back from break with Bill beating on Wheeler in front of Wheeler’s mother. Bill posed in front of Wheeler’s mother, earning a slap to the face from her. Back in the ring, Cage hit his apron superplex to Wheeler for a nearfall that Harwood broke up. Wheeler fought out of a Torture Rack attempt from Bill and eventually rolled him up, but Bill kicked out and dropped him with a lariat. Wheeler avoided a corner charge from Bill and hit a German suplex on Cage, then fought his way to his corner to tag in Harwood.
Harwood ran wild, sending Bill out of the ring with a running forearm and hammering Cage with lariats. Harwood punched him in the face, then tagged in Wheeler to hit the Steiner Brothers Doomsday Bulldog for a nearfall. They set up the spike piledriver, but Cage caught them both and hit a fallaway slam/Samoan drop combination. Cage and Bill hit their finishers on Harwood and Wheeler, but Wheeler kicked out at two.
Bill sent FTR to the floor, with Cage following them with a tope over the top rope. Bill hit his big boot on Wheeler for a nearfall. Cage went for the F-5, but Wheeler sent him into Bill on the apron. That allowed FTR to hit Cage with the Shatter Machine to win the match and retain the titles.
After the match, Harwood took to the mic and ran down FTR’s accomplishments. They said there was one thing they needed to do. Wheeler made the challenge for Wembley Stadium. FTR vs. The Young Bucks, the rubber match at All In.
We got a video package running down the recent history between CM Punk and Ricky Starks.
Back from the commercial, Tony Schiavone was backstage with Juice Robinson & a cardboard cutout of Jay White. Robinson bigged up the Bullet Club Gold before the real Jay White arrived, saying he would take care of Metalik tonight. The Gunns entered the frame, mocking Schiavone’s commentary. White said that when Bullet Club Gold was having fun, no one else would.
TBS Title Match: Kris Statlander (c) defeated Mercedes Martinez
This was Martinez’s best showing since coming to AEW. She and Statlander had a solid TV match, with the crowd firmly behind Statlander. Diamante has gotten some necessary reps in ROH lately, having a quality title challenge against Athena last week.
They got a jump start on each other in the corner to start, with Statlander getting the early advantage with a shotgun dropkick. Martinez seemed to avoid a somersault senton from Statlander before taking control of the match. Martinez hit two butterfly suplexes, but Statlander fought out of the third. Martinez hammered Statlander with elbows before hitting a tree slam for a nearfall. Martinez clubbered on Statlander in the corner as we went to commercial.
Statlander fired up on Martinez as we came back from the break. Martinez tried to cut her off with a rolling elbow, but Statlander came back with a running knee that sent Martinez to the floor. Martinez avoided a crossbody on the floor, but Statlander came back with a backbreaker. Martinez rolled to the other side of the ring and hung Statlander up in the ropes, but Statlander came back with a powerslam.
Statlander went to the top rope, but Martinez cut her off and followed her up. Martinez hit a Spider Suplex, then followed with a running knee for a nearfall. Statlander countered a Fisherman’s Buster with a roll-up, then hit Saturday Night Fever for a nearfall. Martinez countered a wheelbarrow facebuster attempt by sitting down for a nearfall. Martinez went for a running forearm but Statlander ducked it and rolled Martinez up for the win.
After the match, Martinez jumped Statlander. Diamante came out, feigning the save for Statlander. Diamante quickly helped Martinez beat down Statlander, leading to Willow Nightingale coming out to make the actual save.
Backstage, Tony Schiavone was with a distraught Toni Storm. Storm had a crisis of confidence, wondering whether she was good enough anymore.
Samoa Joe defeated Serpentico
Joe won this match with the Coquina Clutch before I finished typing the competitors in the match. Riccaboni teased that Joe may have set a Collision record for fastest victory.
Joe grabbed the mic and was upset that he had no dance partner for All In. Joe called out CM Punk, noting that he was able to walk around knowing he was better than the Best In The World. He lost that ability during the Hart Foundation Tournament, but a roll-up wasn’t good enough for their legacy. He challenged Punk to a rematch at All In, saying that if Punk made him wait, Joe would make sure to convince him.
We got a quick video package on last week’s ladder match between Andrade and Buddy Matthews, with Andrade saying that if anyone took from him, he would pursue them until it is returned.
Back from the commercial break, we cut to a video from earlier today of Tony Schiavone sitting down with The Acclaimed. They say that they’ve talked to Billy Gunn this past week, with Gunn refusing to take his boots back. Gunn believes he has lost a step and cost the Acclaimed both the Tag Team and Trios Titles. Caster disagreed with him but will respect his decision. Bowens says that they will carry the boots with them as they move forward before telling Gunn how much he means to both of them. The Acclaimed will return to action next week on Collision.
Open House Rules Match for AEW World Trios Title: The House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) (c) defeated Action Andretti, Darius Martin & Lee Johnson
Brody King has been getting larger and larger reactions for his participation in these matches. It makes sense as he looks like an unstoppable force in these Trios Title defenses. Lee Johnson came back from injury and didn’t miss a step, as he looked fantastic in his short flurry.
The House Rule chosen by the challengers was to have Julia Hart banned from ringside. Martin started with King, running wild until King stood tall on a crossbody attempt. Black tagged in and avoided an Andretti shotgun dropkick before sending Andretti into the barricades. Matthews tagged in and hung up Andretti on the ropes before sending him into the announce table as we went to commercial.
Andretti made the tag to Johnson as we came back from commercial. Johnson ran wild, taking Matthews and Black down with a double reverse DDT. Matthews and Black teamed up to take him down before King hit a cannonball to Johnson in the corner. Matthews and Black launched Johnson into a King forearm for a nearfall that Andretti cut off with a 450 splash.
A Pier Six brawl broke out, with Martin and Andretti taking King down with superkicks. Black and Matthews hit dual knees to Andretti before King hit a discus lariat for the win. As the House of Black celebrated, Ian Ricabonni announced that the House of Black would defend their titles next week against CM Punk and FTR.
Backstage, Tony Schiavone was with Powerhouse Hobbs. QT Marshall & Harley Cameron came into the frame, bearing gifts to apologize. Marshall offered Hobbs a set of gold chains and a marquee match at All Out in Chicago. Hobbs told them that he didn’t want their help but took the chains anyway. I would have taken the chains too, they looked nice.
Back from the commercial, Tony Schiavone was with TNT Champion Luchasaurus, Christian Cage, and a small child. Christian introduced the child as his daughter. He brought his daughter in to prove a point that he is a role model for children, unlike Darby Allin and his snot-nosed protégé Nick Wayne. Christian’s daughter asked to hold the TNT Title, but Christian said that she didn’t get to hold it because she didn’t win it. He told her to go find her mother, then told security to kick her out as she wasn’t credentialed. A very funny segment.
Jay White defeated Metalik
The Gunns joined commentary, with White throwing them his shirt. White caught Metalik on a springboard and dropped him with a DDT. White hit a backbreaker and locked on a single-leg crab, but Metalik got to the ropes. White clubbered on Metalik, but Metalik came back with a rope walk hurricanrana. White sent Metalik to the apron, but Metalik ducked a charge and hit a springboard moonsault in one fluid motion. White avoided a moonsault in the ring before hitting a snap suplex and the Blade Runner for the win.
We got a rundown of the Dynamite card, with the addition of Hikaru Shida vs. Anna Jay for the AEW Women’s Title. In a video package, Jay talked about Shida being her first opponent in AEW. She accused Shida of taking advantage of a rookie. She said that while she had a lot on her plate with the Jericho Appreciation Society meeting, she would still beat her and win the title.
Next week on Collision, we will get the House of Black vs. CM Punk & FTR, and Mercedes Martinez & Diamante vs. Willow Nightingale & Kris Statlander.
AEW “Real World Title” Match (Special Outside Official: Ricky Steamboat): CM Punk defeated Ricky Starks
This was an electric main event, as Greenville treated both men like superstars. Punk got the win here with the outside official he chose, but Starks’ reaction should keep this iron on the fire for Punk.
Jim Ross joined commentary for this match. He’s going to enjoy the extra-focused officiating in this one, without a doubt. Ricky Steamboat came out to his WCW music, giving JR a hug at the desk.
The two men started as the crowd gave dueling chants for both men. Punk dropped Starks with a shoulder block before mocking Starks’ pose to a big reaction. Starks hit a pair of deep arm drags before hitting his pose to a big reaction. Steamboat looked impressed by the arm drags. Starks took control and went for the Rochambeau, but Punk fought out. Punk went for the Go To Sleep, but Starks fought out and sent them both to the floor with a clothesline as we went to commercial.
Back from commercial as Starks was hitting chops on Punk. Starks and Punk traded chops, then slaps, before brawling with each other in the corner. Starks slapped Punk and bailed to the floor, but Punk followed him and sent him over the barricade. Punk mounted Starks and hammered him with forearms, leading Steamboat to pull Punk off of him.
Back in the ring, Punk went to hit the ten punches in the corner, but Starks dumped him onto the ropes before baseball sliding him to the floor. Starks took control, hitting a top rope chop before eyeing Steamboat on the floor. Starks locked on a waistlock before sending Punk into the turnbuckle sternum first. Starks sent Punk hard into the other turnbuckle, but a third Irish Whip saw Punk hit a reverse crossbody for a nearfall. Punk went for a sunset flip, but Starks held onto the ropes. Steamboat noted it, forcing Starks to let go of the ropes and drop an elbow on Punk for a nearfall.
We came back from another commercial with both men fighting on the top rope. Punk hit a superplex on Starks. Punk hit a big set of punches before landing a leg lariat and a neckbreaker. Punk hit the rising knee and bulldog for a nearfall. Punk went to the top rope for an elbow, but Starks stood up. Punk flew, they crashed into each other, and Starks ended up getting a nearfall. Punk went for another rising knee, this time with the knee exposed, but Starks caught him and hit a powerbomb for a nearfall.
Starks went to take care of Punk with Old School, but Punk pulled him into a GTS attempt. Starks fought out and sent Punk into the ringpost. Punk avoided a spear, with Starks going into the turnbuckle. Punk hit a high kick for a nearfall. The crowd chanted This Is Awesomeas both men recovered. Punk went for a piledriver, but Starks reversed it into an Alabama Slam for a nearfall. Starks went for the Rochambeau, but Punk fought out of it. The referee got bumped to the floor, leading Starks to try and get another pin with his feet on the ropes. Steamboat knocked his feet off the ropes, leading to Punk rolling up Starks. Steamboat got into the ring and counted the three for Punk to win the match and retain his version of the World Title.
After the match, Starks shoved Steamboat into Punk to knock him off the apron. Starks ripped off Steamboat’s belt and started whipping him with it before Punk ran him off with a chair. Starks teased coming back, but Punk chased him up the ramp with the chair. The show ended with Punk and the ringside doctor helping Steamboat back to his feet.
Andrew Zarian is back with another Sunday edition of Wrestling Observer Live talking about the latest in another busy weekend of wrestling.
On last night’s AEW Collision, CM Punk finally revealed what was in his bag and, to no one’s surprise, it was his original AEW World Championship before his departure last September. The first match for the “Real World Championship” happens this Saturday with Ricky Starks.
Also, FTR defended their AEW Tag Team titles against MJF & Adam Cole with a very dramatic ending, I talk about the match and about where all this is leading.
I also run through both tonight’s WWE NXT Great American Bash which features several title matches and the in-ring debut of Gable Steveson. I then preview next weekend’s WWE SummerSlam which will see Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso and more.
Plus, a review of Friday’s WWE SmackDown, the news that Vince McMahon had spinal surgery, an interesting AEW trademark, and more.
YouTube subscribers can watch above while website subscribers can listen below.
