Tag: worlds collide results

WWE x AAA Worlds Collide live results: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Chad Gable

Posted on by Marc Quill

In a show that seemed like an impossibility just a few months ago, WWE will team up with AAA to present Worlds Collide, live from the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California, as part of a doubleheader of WWE action.

The show will be free worldwide on YouTube.

The main event will feature new AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo defending against WWE’s Chad Gable. It will be Vikingo’s first match inside a WWE ring.

The NXT North American Championship will be on the line as Ethan Page defends against Je’Von Evans, Rey Fenix and Laredo Kid in a four-way.

In a tag match featuring women from three different groups, WWE’s Stephanie Vaquer will team with NXT’s Lola Vice against AAA’s Chik Tormenta & Dalys.

In a pair of trios bouts, Santos Escobar teams with Angel & Berto to take on AAA’s Psycho Clown, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Pagano while Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro & Lince Dorado (injury sub for Joaquin Wilde) battle AAA’s Aero Star, Octagon Jr. & Mr. Iguana.

**********

– Following the WWE signature open, we were taken to a cold open for the event narrated by Rey Mysterio that focused on the acquisition of AAA by WWE/TKO and the events that led to today’s show.

– After the cold open, we were welcomed to the show proper by the voice of Corey Graves. Shots of Rey Mysterio, Lola Vice and Stephanie Vaquer, Chad Gable, and El Hijo del Vikingo arriving at the Kia Forum before we went inside the arena. Graves was joined on commentary by Konnan. The Spanish commentary team, led by Marcelo Rodriguez was then shown. We then got stirring performances of the Mexican and U.S. national anthems. In the ring, WWE’s Paul Levesque and Shawn Michaels were standing alongside Blue Demon Jr. and Marisela Pena from AAA.

Rey Mysterio opens the show

– Rey Mysterio then made his entrance to a very loud ovation. The recipient of the National Hispanic Media Council’s Legend Award was all smiles for this afternoon’s event. Mysterio started off by talking about the 1994 When Worlds Collide event held by AAA and its historic significance twenty-one years later. He claimed that WWE helped put lucha libre on the map.

Mysterio talked about how he was proud to see lucha libre evolve over the years and that the entire world will see today just what made lucha truly libre.

A… rather interesting opening promo from Rey Mysterio. His claims of WWE helping put lucha libre on the map will certainly be called into question and perhaps rightfully so.

Trios Match: Mr. Iguana, Aerostar, Octagon Jr. (AAA) vs. Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro (WWE) and Lince Dorado (AAA)

The enigmatic Mr. Iguana was, of course, accompanied by his beloved pet iguana, La Yesca. Lince Dorado entered with the LWO.

Liv Morgan and “Dirty” Dom Mysterio were seen in the crowd having a closer look at the action.

As the bell rang, both teams faced off in the ring before Octagon and Del Toro started off for their respective sides. After a handshake, Octagon and Del Toro got into a lockup battle that neither man could get a clear upper hand on. The two competitors traded armdrags and pin attempts, but nobody could get any advantage. Soon, Iguana and Lince Dorado were the legal men for this match.

Dorado held the advantage with some armdrags of his own, followed by a hard chop that caused Iguana to fall on his back. Iguana answered with a dropkick as he then brought in La Yesca, which seemed to give him a bit an advantage. The fans chanted for Iguana as Aerostar and Dragon Lee entered for their teams.

We got some nice lucha libre action between Aerostar and Lee as the former delivered an impressive tornillo from the top rope. With Lee sent over the top, things broke down as the LWO got sent to ringside. The AAA all-stars then took to the air with simultaneous dives onto the LWO trio. In the ring, Lee blocked a dive by Aerostar and turned it into a near-fall attempt. The LWO then worked over Aerostar in their corner. This didn’t last long as Aerostar created separation with a dropkick to Lee. This gave Aerostar the opening to tag in Mr. Iguana.

Del Toro stifled Iguana’s offense and delivered a spinning la magistral cradle pin, but Iguana kicked out. We once again saw Iguana’s beloved pet iguana enter the fray, which angered Lince Dorado. This led to Dorado stomping on La Yesca and then nailing a standing moonsault on the poor critter. Iguana took exception to the cruelty shown to La Yesca and laid out Dorado.

The LWO hit a triple superkick on Iguana, as they then appeared to have the match won on Dorado’s shooting star press. Aerostar made the save to break up the pin. On the top rope, Dorado hit a frankensteiner on Octagon as we got another breakdown once more. Aerostar leapt from the ring to drop Dragon Lee with an over-the-top rope dive. Not to be outdone, Del Toro took off with a spinning dive to take out half the competitors outside the ring.

Octagon and Dorado mixed it up on the top rope once more, but in the end, it would be Octagon that got the best of Dorado with an avalanche moonsault fallaway slam. That was enough for the AAA stars to pick up the duke in the opener.

After the match, Dominik Mysterio got on the microphone to talk trash about his father Rey as Octagon got up to face him. This led to Octagon punching Dom as it escalated into a brawl between the two. As the two were separated, Dom dropped a bombshell and said he’d defend the Intercontental Championship against Octagon later tonight at Money in the Bank.

Octagon Jr., Mr. Iguana, and Aerostar def. The LWO and Lince Dorado via pinfall

A real fun opening bout and this being my first time seeing Mr. Iguana, I can easily see why everyone loves him. I enjoyed it greatly and it was nice to get another match for Money in the Bank confirmed with Dominik defending his IC Title against Octagon.

**********
– Mascarita Sagrada, Latin Lover and musician That Mexican OT were shown in the crowd.

– Backstage, Chuey Martinez interviewed Legado del Fantasma about their trios match against El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Psycho Clown, and Pagano.

Tag Team Match: Stephanie Vaquer & Lola Vice (WWE) vs. Chik Tormenta & Dalys (AAA)

Tiffany Stratton and IYO SKY were shown in the crowd watching this next bout.

Dalys and Vaquer started things off as the former used her strength to cut off any momentum for Vaquer, even managing to power her way out of the Devil’s Kiss. Tormenta was then tagged in and continued to maintain dominance over Vaquer, up until a suplex stopped her cold. Vice tagged herself in and found herself locked into a single-leg crab by Tormenta.

Vice responded with her smash-mouth strikes that gave her the upper hand on Tormenta and Dalys. She caught both women with consecutive running hip strikes on opposite corners. Dalys used a distraction from Tormenta to send Vice to the outside. This opened up Vice to a lariat from Tormenta as the AAA women maintained control in this match.

Tormenta entered the match and dropped Vice with a powerslam as she then stretched her with a submission hold. Dalys was tagged in and used her power game to keep Vice separated from Vaquer. Vice caught Dalys in an inside cradle pin for the near-fall before she finally tagged in Vaquer.

The former NXT Women’s Champion took out Daly’s leg with a rope-assisted dragon screw for a two-count. Vaquer then had Dalys in position for the Devil’s Kiss. Vice cut off Tormenta at the pass as the two NXT stalwarts then delivered stereo Devil’s Kisses to their foes.

Vice took Tormenta out of the equation with a dive to the outside as Vaquer finished things off with the SVB for the one, two, three.

Post-match, Vera Rodriguez interviewed the victorious tag team.

Stephanie Vaquer & Lola Vice def. Dalys & Chik Tormenta via pinfall

Entertaining tag team action that I really enjoyed. Vaquer has become one of the most impressive additions to the WWE roster over the past year and the fact that she’s getting double duty work tonight between Worlds Collide and Money in the Bank is a testament to her hard work. I also enjoyed what I saw from Dalys and Chik Tormenta.

**********

Trios Match: Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Angel, Berto) (WWE) vs. Psycho Clown, El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Pagano (AAA)

Psycho Clown’s attempt at a show of respect was brushed off by Escobar as we got the match underway with El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Berto kicking things off. Wagner used his speed to keep Berto grounded, but he soon found himself in the LDF corner as Angel took over for his team.

Psycho Clown entered the match and floored Anfel with a scoop slam, followed by a kick to the head. We got a standoff of standing switches between Psycho Clown and Angel & Berto, that ended with the clown dropping both men with a double German suplex. Psycho Clown then took out Escobar with a dive to the outside.

Pagano entered the match in style with a double dropkick on Angel and Berto. With the brothers on the outside, Pagano lookedto hit a running dive, but Escobar pulled Berto out of the way, which caused Pagano to crash land to the outside with a gnarly landing.

Legado del Fantasma asserted their will with a triple kick to the back of Pagano as Berto continued the attack in the ring. Escobar tagged in and trapped Pagano in a rest hold, but the AAA star turned the tide with a neckbreaker. Pagano pushed Escobar aside as Psycho Clown got the hot tag.

Psycho Clown hit a prone Angel with a dropkick in the corner as he then connected with the Code Red on Berto for the two count. Wagner joined the fray and took care of business. With Legado caught on the outside, the heroes of AAA took them out with a bombardment of con hilo dives to the outside.

The two teams squared off in the ring and got themselves into a hockey fight seauence. As the dust settled, Wagner was caught in a double slam from the top by Angel and Berto. Psycho Clown dropped Berto with a Psycho Driver on the apron as Angel took him out with a dive. Pagano answered with a dive of his own.

Things broke down once more in the ring as the action remained non-stop. A running spear from Berto took out everyone at ringside. Wagner snuck up on Escobar with a running knee, but couldn’t put the Legado leader away. Wagner headed up to the top, but Escobar intercepted and hit an impressive avalanche hurricanrana for a close near-fall.

Escobar recovered and finished the match with the Phantom Driver for the victory.

Legado del Fantasma def. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Pagano, and Psycho Clown via pinfall

More fun trios action on Worlds Collide. As the pace quickened, things got all the more exciting. I enjoyed this one.

**********

NXT North American Championship: Ethan Page (c) vs. Laredo Kid vs. Je’von Evans vs. Rey Fenix

Evans, Fenix, and Laredo started off by taking Page off the board as they then took each other on. Laredo was sent out of the ring by a Fenix clothesline as Evans then squared off with Fenix in the ring. Evans and and Fenix exchanged strikes, with the latter winning out after a springboard armdrag.

Evans landed on his feet after a hurricanrana attempt before Page attacked both men. Laredo entered the fray and we got some wild action amongst the four men. Evans took Page out with a sitting springboard hurricaneana as Fenix answered with a kick that sent Evans outside. Laredo intercepted Fenix’s attempt at a dive as he then delivered a moonsault to Page and Evans on the outside. It was the flight of the Fenix as he leapt over the top rope with a tope tornillo that took Page, Evans, and Laredo out.

Inside the ring, Laredo fought Page on the top rope but got dropped by a slam from the NXT North American Champ. Page then hit a splash on Evans for the two-count. Laredo recovered and got Fenix with a Michinoku Driver. The action intensified as Laredo hit an amazing moonsault DDT on Fenix. Evans managed to break up the count, however.

Laredo headed up top, but Evans clipped him in the leg. Evans took Page out with a clothesline as he then soared with a dive on the egotistical Canadian. Evans wasn’t done yet as he hit a coast-to-coast flip kick on a prone Laredo Kid, followed by the OG Cutter on Fenix. Page recovered at the very last second to break up Evans’ count.

Fenix blasted Page with the tightrope kick as he connected with the Fenix Driver on Evans. One, two…. Evans somehow kicked out at two! Now with all four men inside the ring, the pace picked up once more. On the top rope, Laredo and Evans’ scuffle was broken up by Page, who threw Fenix onto the two. Avalanche Spanish Fly by Fenix on Laredo was soon followed by Page’s Ego’s Edge on Fenix. Evans dove onto Page to break up the pin. We got a crazy finish as Evans connected with an OG Cutter on Laredo, but got thrown out by Page. This allowed “All Ego” to finish Laredo off with the Twisting Grin for the three and a successful retention of the North American Championship.

Ethan Page def. Laredo Kid, Je’von Evans, and Rey Fenix via pinfall to retain the NXT North American Championship

Just a frenetic match from start to finish. An incredible showing from four standout talents and certainly in the conversation for match of the night so far.

**********

AAA Mega Campeones: El Hijo del Vikingo (c) vs. Chad Gable

Gable targeted Vikingo’s ankle early on, but could not get a clear upper hand. The two then got into a test of strength as thing started off slow between the two and a more technical battle was emphasized. Vikingo’s attempt at an armbar was countered beautifully into an ankle lock by Gable. The former Olympic wrestler then went on the offensive as he dropped Vikingo with a suplex.

Vikingo caught Gable in mid air but got reversed as an exchange of counters ended with a dropkick by the Mega Champion of AAA. Vikingo followed that up with a hurricanrana and a Meteora that sent Gable crashing to the floor below. Vikingo headed up top and took Gable down with a standing 630 splash onto the back.Gable got the knees up at the last second to block Vikingo’s shooting star press as he then tossed the champ onto the steel steps. Gable pulled out a table from underneath the ring. He grabbed Vikingo and looked for a German Suplex through the table, but Vikingo escaped. In the ring, Gable kept Vikingo grounded with punches to the face, followed by a monkey flip from the corner. Vikingo blocked an abdominal stretch, but he couldn’t block Gable’s German Suplex. Gable continued to work over Vikingo as his diving headbutt attempt was countered into a Codebreaker by the Mega Campeone. Vikingo kicked Gable across the back and headed up top with a double stomp onto Gable’s prone body. One, two… not yet!

On the apron, Vikingo kicked Gable as he then hit a springboard 450 splash from the middle rope, but that wasn’t enough. Gable caught Vikingo’s handspring and dropped him with the modified Gory Special for the near-fall. Gable missed on a moonsault attempt but a skirmish on the top rope led to an incredible avalanche sitdown powerbomb. One, two…. Vikingo kicked out at 2.99999999999!!!!!!!!

Vikingo stunned Gable with a dropkick as he then took off from the top rope with a Mexican Destroyer onto the apron! Somehow, Gable kicked out at two after that. Vikingo placed Gable on the table, but the challenger recovered to push him off. Gable instead placed Vikingo on the table and put him through it with a moonsault.

With both men down and out, they managed to enter the ring at the count of nine as they then mixed it up with clubbing blows. Gable avoided a kick from Vikingo as he then cinched in his ankle lock. Vikingo escaped a German Suplex attempt as he followed it with a Poisonrana and.a Meteora on a prone Gable in the corner. Vikingo then put an end to Gable’s Mega Campeone aspirations with the 630 Splash.

After the match, the AAA roster celebrated Vikingo’s victory to end the night.

El Hijo del Vikingo def. Chad Gable to retain the AAA Mega Campeones

A fantastic main event and it’s always nice to see Chad Gable get a main event spot, for sure. For his part, Vikingo was at his best as usual, and this was a great way to end a surprisingly good WWE/AAA co-branded night.

Overall, I enjoyed Worlds Collide and the show being matches with very little downtime made for an enjoyable and easy watch (if a bit predictable) from start to finish.





WWE Worlds Collide results: Storm vs. Cross vs. Belair

Posted on by Justin Knipper

WWE aired the next of their Worlds Collide specials from WrestleMania Axxess on Wednesday night. This show featured wrestlers from the NXT, NXT UK, and SmackDown women’s divisions. Vic Joseph and Aiden English were on commentary and were joined by special guest, Mia Yim.

Candice LeRae (NXT) defeated Kay Lee Ray (NXT UK)

The show opened with a few shots of the crowd chanting “Worlds Collide” to the rhythm of the New Day’s eponymous chant. Thankfully, the rest of the show wasn’t as forced and puke-worthy as this cold open. 

This match itself was good but short. Both wrestlers received friendly but relatively tepid reactions upon their entrances. KLR took the upper hand at the beginning of the match and used a variety of wristlocks and a scissors hold in an attempt to ground LeRae, who soon returned with some offense of her own. She used a crucifix bomb and later a modified octopus hold on KLR. 

When the match spilled outside, KLR did a cool spinning roundhouse punch while LeRae’s head hung off the apron. LeRae again countered with three tope suicidas and a diving double stomp inside the ring for a two count. The crowd was entirely awake from this point on. 

The match slowed after LeRae landed an enzuigiri kick to the back of KLR’s head. The referee counted to nine, but both were up before the 10 count. LeRae did a killer springboard German suplex moments later, using both feet to bounce off the bottom rope while KLR stood atop the ropes with her back to the ring. 

LeRae used a quebrada to win this short match. I think if they were given 10 more minutes it’d probably have been an even better match. 

Piper Niven (NXT UK) defeated Zelina Vega (SmackDown)

This was even shorter than the first match. Niven dwarfed Vega, which was the story of this match.

The crowd was polite but mostly quiet at the start. Vega hit a tornado DDT early on, which got reactions and looked great. Niven landed a big running senton and a seated crossbody block to Vega for two.

Vega used Andrade’s running knees in the corner, but the crowd sort of stopped reacting at this point. It was awkward at times and not the fault of the wrestlers. In the end, Niven used a Fire-Thunder driver on Vega for the win. 

Sonya Deville (SmackDown) defeated Io Shirai (NXT)

This felt like it was a vessel for getting Deville over on TV more than anything, and it didn’t really work. 

People perked up for both wrestlers. There were scattered chants for both Shirai and Deville, but Shirai was obviously over. “Io” is also extremely easy to chant, so that helps, I’m sure.

Deville bullied Shirai for a good amount of time in this. She used open hand strikes and knees in addition to a number of submissions on the mat. Since the action was slower in this, I kept getting distracted by Aiden English’s voice because it sounds exactly like Shawn Michaels’. Really weird. 

Shirai finally began a counterattack. She landed a big missile dropkick from the top for two. Later, she went for her patented moonsault, but Deville moved out of the way. Shirai rolled through but was dazed, and here was when Deville took advantage to finish Shirai off with a massive, brutal, devastating… double-leg takedown.

The announcers tried so hard to get the move over — but yeah, I have no idea which person thought that was a good idea for a finish. If the idea is to try to get Deville over as a legitimate fighter, why not have her use something more, I don’t know, advanced? I digress, excuse me.

NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm (NXT UK) defeated Nikki Cross (listed as representing SmackDown) and Bianca Belair (NXT) in a triple threat match to retain her title

This match had a proper main event feel to it. The crowd chanted a lot before the match even started, and the fans were all very much into each wrestler. 

Cross was knocked out of the ring quickly so that Storm and Belair could face off one-on-one at first. Storm offered a handshake, but Belair responded by smacking her rear-end. 

Cross would periodically attack her opponents before getting knocked out of the ring for more Storm vs. Belair action. At one point, when Cross was back in the ring, Storm did running hip attacks to both Cross and Belair in the bottom corners. This fired up both the crowd and Storm in the ring. 

Belair used the KOD on Storm for two. Cross disappeared from the ring again and we had even more Storm vs. Belair action. It felt like they were testing out a program between these two.

Cross reappeared once again and landed a falling inverted DDT but missed a flying crossbody from the top. She then went on to eat a Storm Zero from Storm, the winner and still NXT Women’s Champion. 

Final thoughts —

This was a showcase for some of the up-and-comers in WWE’s women’s divisions and not much else. While it was never bad, it wasn’t must-see wrestling. The matches this week ranged from fine to pretty good, but the nature of the special itself — content for the sake of it — doesn’t allow for much more than mediocrity. 

WWE Worlds Collide results: Cruiserweights Collide

Posted on by Justin Knipper

WWE aired the next of their Worlds Collide specials from WrestleMania Axxess on Wednesday night. The theme of this episode was NXT/NXT UK vs. 205 Live. Tom Phillips and Aiden English — whose voice sounds an awful lot like Shawn Michaels’ — were on commentary for this broadcast.

Tyler Bate (NXT UK) defeated Brian Kendrick (205 Live)

Solid match to kick things off. Kendrick shaved his goatee and looks ten years younger now. Bate was extremely popular with this crowd. Kendrick did a good job of playing the cowardly, indignant heel in this match.

They did mat work with Kendrick dominating at the beginning. Bate did athletic World of Sport-esque counter wrestling. There was one point in this where they traded Three Stooges eye poke block spots, which people sounded like they enjoyed. 

Bate used a frankensteiner and standing Shooting Star Press for two. Kendrick went for Sliced Bread #2, but Bate reversed it. Some audience members got behind Kendrick at this point, and here was when he put Bate into the Captain’s Hook submission.

Bate fought out and put Kendrick into an airplane spin. A few moments later, Bate used the Tyler Driver ‘97 (a tiger driver) on Kendrick for the win.

Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews (NXT UK) defeated Ariya Daivari & Mike Kanellis (205 Live)

This was fine. Daivari and Andrew started off, though the crowd chanted for Mike Kanellis. Kanellis came in for a second, then tagged back out, and later came back in again. The announcers classified the heel antics as mind games. 

It looks as though Daivari has been tasked with wearing dress shoes, slacks, and a non-title real life dress belt as part of his latest ring gear, where he unfortunately resembles a bad guy in an ‘80s Kung-fu movie more than a wrestler. 

The 205 Live heels did heel things throughout. They abused Webster in their corner for a long while with lots of double-teaming and quick tags in and out from both members. Webster finally returned the attack with a short corkscrew senton and a fast tag out to Andrews, who went through a sequence of flying moves that finished with a double stomp to Daivari’s stomach. He only got a two count for this.

Kanellis broke up a few pinfall attempts from the Brits, including one spot where Webster assisted Andrews for a standing 450 splash. They did simultaneous tope con giros to the outside after this, which had the crowd chanting “this is awesome.” It was short-lived, though, as Kanellis used a big spinebuster for two on Andrews.

Kanellis accidentally superkicked Daivari off the apron, allowing Webster to land a somersault senton to Kanellis’ back and crushing him back-first for the win while Kanellis was on his hands and knees. Again, this was fine, not bad, and the crowd seemed to be quite into it by the end. I wonder how many people from the UK were in this crowd.

Ligero (NXT UK) defeated Albert Hardie Jr. (NXT) and Gran Metalik (205 Live) in a triple threat match

This was a good but quick match that felt like more of a showcase for Albert Hardie Jr. than anything. He was the obvious star of this one.

The three slapped hands before they started. This was my first time seeing ACH/Albert Hardie in WWE. They attempted a three-way test of strength, which, logically speaking, I have no idea what the endpoint of that would be. Hardie got the better of whatever they attempted at the start and teased a dive. He put Metalik in an abdominal stretch for a short while and later did a Stuka-style pescado onto him outside the ring. 

Hardie surprisingly dominated much of this match. There were hard chops from Hardie to Ligero and another ab stretch attempt when Metalik came from off-camera and blasted Hardie with a stiff thrust kick. Ligero’s chest looked like raw meat just a minute after some of those Hardie chops.

Metalik hit the Metalik Driver on Hardie for two, but Ligero broke up the pin. Ligero did a slingshot stunner to Hardie and a tope con giro to the outside to Metalik. He finished off Hardie with a springboard tornado DDT that Hardie sold like a Looney Tunes character, getting spiked on his head so hard that he bounced to his feet. 

Like I mentioned, this was good but felt like more of an ACH spotlight match. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. He looked fantastic here. 

Jordan Devlin (NXT UK) defeated Akira Tozawa (205 Live)

This was very good. Devlin worked over Tozawa’s legs with kicks at the start. They exchanged wrist and shoulder locks. After a few minutes of good chain wrestling, Tozawa took the advantage and used power moves to slow Devlin down, including hard kicks and a heavy standing senton.  

Devlin fought back by taking the fight to the floor and slamming Tozawa into the barricade. He targeted Tozawa’s back with a variety of backbreakers and strikes and a general brawler’s abuse. Here was when the crowd decided that Devlin was the heel and Tozawa was the babyface. 

Tozawa made a comeback after a few more minutes of punishment from Devlin. He teased the senton, Devlin rolled outside, so Tozawa dove through the ropes onto him with a tope suicida. 

Tozawa swung himself into a modified octopus hold, but Devlin countered it into a backbreaker. The two sold on the ground for a short while, then exchanged more hard strikes. Devlin hopped over the ropes at one point, but Tozawa caught him in mid-air and did a German suplex. Very impressive. 

Towards the end of the match, Tozawa went for his diving senton finish — but Devlin put his knees up. Devlin used a ripcord back suplex for the win. 

This was hands-down the best match of the broadcast. Devlin is exceptional and seems to be having the best matches on every show he’s on these days. 

Final thoughts —

This was a good quasi-dream match card with the main event of Devlin and Tozawa as the obvious show-stealer and is worth going out of your way to see, I’d say. It should be noted that the 205 Live roster went 0-4 on this broadcast, which is a pity because they had more lively fans at this show than at their weekly shows.

WWE Worlds Collide results: NXT vs. NXT Alumni

Posted on by Justin Knipper

WWE aired the first of their Worlds Collide specials from WrestleMania Axxess on Sunday night. The theme of this episode was current NXT wrestlers vs. NXT alumni. Byron Saxton and Percy Watson were on commentary for this broadcast. The venue was packed for this WrestleMania side dish.

Kassius Ohno defeated Aiden English

Short match without much to it. Ohno played the mean heel and gave English a hard time for being an announcer now. He yelled to the announce team on this show and used them to poke fun at English. 

Ohno pounded on English for a few minutes and the crowd didn’t react much. At times it sounded like the crowd was about to cheer Ohno but forgot he was the heel for this match.

English made a short-lived comeback and did a tope con giro and a swan dive senton into the ring for two. Ohno quickly returned with a ripcord elbow to the back of English’s head for the win. Kind of a nothing match, though neither wrestler looked bad. Nature of the card, I suppose.

Harper defeated Dominik Dijakovic

I find it funny that those in charge at WWE thought it’d be a good idea to shorten “Luke Harper” to “Harper” while “Dominik Dijakovic” is just fine.

This was a hard-hitting hoss match with some crazy dives at the end. The wrestler formerly known as Luke Harper got a great reaction on his entrance. He got a “welcome back” chant from the crowd. He has really leaned out in his time off.

Lots of “Harper” chants from the beginning. They exchanged shoulder blocks. Dijakovic did a few release suplexes where he’d throw Harper and not bump along with him. Harper countered with a big spike DDT and later did a Bossman Slam for two. 

The crowd would get pretty loud whenever Harper went to the top rope. At one point, Harper went for something but Dijakovic caught him with a chokeslam into a Liger bomb for a count of two.

Harper did a modified Michinoku Driver move on Dijakovic for two. It got a “holy sh*t” chant. People were very into the match from this point. 

After Dijakovic moonsaulted out of a top rope German suplex, he did an insane Fosbury Flop to the floor and followed it with a diving elbow drop and a moonsault into the ring for two. A guy at this size doing such amazing things and the crowd was still behind Harper. 

Harper made a surprise comeback and ended up pinning Dijakovic with a big discus lariat for the win. The two shook hands after the match. This felt like the main event of the show.

The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) defeated SAnitY (Killian Dain & Alexander Wolfe) w/ Eric Young

Undisputed Era were especially popular with this crowd. O’Reilly and Wolfe started the match off but did some stalling. Wolfe played some crazy-man head games with O’Reilly, who rolled out of the ring. 

Back in the ring later, SAnitY double-teamed Fish. The crowd died in the middle of this. Dain did a Samoan Drop/fall-away slam to both Fish and O’Reilly. The crowd would pop for spots and stay quiet in between. 

There was a nice striking combination from Undisputed Era that ended with Fish doing an exploder suplex to Dain. They later did their finish, the flying back elbow from Fish with a leg sweep from O’Reilly to Dain for the win. 

Eric Young beat on the Undisputed Era after the match. Production played SAnitY’s music after the match, before the next segment. 

Tyler Breeze defeated Roderick Strong

They played SAnitY’s music in the last segment because Strong’s music is the same as Fish & O’Reilly’s. I get it now. 

Tyler Breeze cut his hair and isn’t blonde anymore. He now looks like a lot of other indie wrestlers on the market these days. Strong taunted Breeze before the match, sitting on the top ropes in the corner like Breeze usually does. 

Strong dominated most of this match. The entire match felt like a showcase for him until the end. He did a lot of submissions that focused on Breeze’s back. Strong moves around the ring in such a logical way and it never felt like he was thinking about what to do next. He actually felt like the veteran in this match, even though NXT wrestlers are often positioned like the rookies.

Breeze mounted a comeback later in the match, mostly using a variety of big, loud kicks on Strong. Breeze went for his spinning roundhouse kick finish, but Strong caught him in mid-air and turned it into a Billy Robinson style backbreaker.

The crowd finally decided to get behind Breeze and started a “let’s go Tyler” chant. Then, pretty much out of nowhere, kind of like in the first match, Breeze hit the Unprettier for a clean win. 

Final thoughts —

This was a souped-up NXT house show of exhibition matches with a mildly enthusiastic crowd. Nothing was bad on the card, but there was nothing blow-away, either, or at least in the context of last week. People sounded most excited to see Harper and the Undisputed Era, and seemed most surprised by Dijakovic’s amazing agility. Overall, a decent but skippable show. 

WWE Worlds Collide Network special results: 15-man tournament

Posted on by F4W Editors

WWE Worlds Collide is a new tournament concept for the company that took place at Royal Rumble Axxess. It showcased NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live, with the winner of the tournament getting a title shot of their choosing on one of those brands.

The name itself pays homage to the legendary When Worlds Collide event that WCW and AAA ran in 1994 that was first used by ECW.

Mike Rome started the WWE Network special off with a graphic announcing that a 15-man battle royal will determine the tournament’s first round matches. The winner receives a first-round bye.

Much like PRIDE, the various competitors were brought out before the crowd — giving this a different feel to anything WWE has done since the Cruiserweight Classic. PRIDE’s Lenne Hardt would’ve done a far better job than Mike Rome at making them seem like larger-than-life personalities coming out on stage, though.

Jordan Devlin won the 15-man battle royal to receive a first-round bye

Cedric Alexander was eliminated early on by Velveteen Dream. TJP worked over Adam Cole briefly, then Keith Lee roared half the guys off of him before battling Dominick Dijakovic. Dream took out Shane Thorne.

Tony Nese landed a giant knee on Cole, then TJP took Cole out with a wrecking ball dropkick before Nese cut the best promo of his career — mocking Cole by yelling “TWO OH FIVE BAY-BAY!”

Jordan Devlin took Travis Banks out by countering a suplex on the apron. Dijakovic and Lee stiffed each other in the corner and had a great hoss battle before Lee was taken out with a big boot by Dijakovic.

The remaining field eliminated Dijakovic before Dream hit everyone amid a huge “Velveteen” chant. Dream took out TJP with the best elimination from any battle royal in ages by sending him over the buckles on one side of the apron to the other and flipping him over the top.

Dream eliminated Nese before Devlin dropkicked Dream out to win, with Devlin receiving a chorus of boos.

Tyler Bate, Zack Gibson, Mark Andrews, Humberto Carrillo, and Drew Gulak were also entrants in the battle royal and got eliminated.

Humberto Carrillo defeated Zack Gibson in a first round match

Gibson started things off with great physicality by attacking Carrillo the second the bell rang. Carrillo used his fast-paced style to evade and got a quick cradle for two. Carrillo hit a gorgeous second rope springboard arm drag that was pure poetry in motion as he moved off the ropes.

Gibson tried to ground him, but Carrillo escaped, wound up, and slung a few haymakers at him in the corner to show that he can fight just as hard as Gibson can. A hesitation missile dropkick hit for Carrillo and a standing moonsault got two.

Gibson hit the tombstone codebreaker for two before Carrillo hit a flying front kick off the rope and won with a handstand Arabian press.

Clips of the other first round matches aired after a graphic showing the rest of the field’s matches heading into the quarterfinals. Gulak defeated Andrews, Dream defeated Nese, Cole defeated Thorne, Dijakovic defeated TJP, and Bate defeated Cedric Alexander.

The quarterfinals also mostly aired in clipped form, with Adam Cole defeating Keith Lee in a match that would have certainly benefited from being aired in full on the Network special, while the complete Devlin vs. Gulak match was shown next. 

Jordan Devlin defeated Drew Gulak in a quarterfinal match

Gulak and Devlin started off with a mat wrestling clinic that led to a stalemate. Things turned physical when Devlin went for a kick and Gulak slapped him hard right in the jaw. Gulak worked away with a chancery before Devlin escaped and hit a standing moonsault for two.

Devlin landed a back suplex into a backbreaker, but Gulak recovered and headbutted him before landing a back elbow. They exchanged slaps before Devlin landed a jumping knee and Gulak backhanded him for a double-down.

Devlin flipped out of the Gu-Lock and landed on the apron for an outside-in cutter. Devlin set Gulak up in the corner and smashed him with an elbow before making a mistake. Gulak got a combination ankle lock/sharpshooter that was very much like Edge’s old Edgeucator move.

Gulak hit a corner lariat, but Devlin absorbed it and hit Ireland’s Call to win. This was the best showcase Devlin has had yet, while Gulak showed off a more physical side than usual.

Tyler Bate defeated Adam Cole in a semifinal match

Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness talked about how great the tournament matches have been so far — including the ones we didn’t see in full on the special, which seems bizarre.

Bate used Johnny Saint’s escape for a hammerlock. Cole sent him down and teased the Last Shot before delivering a chinlock. Cole hit some Jericho-esque cocky kicks before Bate fired up and locked on the Airplane Spin and hit an uppercut for two.

Cole hit a corner charge, but Bate hoisted him up and hurled him overhead like he was Rick Steiner in his prime. Cole hit a pump kick and a brainbuster on the knee for two.

They battled on their knees with forearm exchanges before Cole landed a shining wizard for two. Bate hit the handspring lariat and a Tyler Driver ’97 to win. This was fantastic and a great way to make Bate into a star — if they’d done this on a post-Raw tournament show, it might have done just that.

Velveteen Dream defeated Jordan Devlin in a semifinal match

Dream started things off quickly by going for a Dream Valley Driver, but Devlin got free and worked on Dream’s injured ribs. Devlin took him down and hit a standing moonsault before striking Dream’s pose.

Devlin choked him in the corner to make breathing even harder for Dream. Devlin stretched him before striking the ribs. Dream ate more damage to the ribs and went for the Dream Valley Driver, but Dream struggled to hit it and threw Devlin off into a superkick for two.

Dream went up for the Purple Rainmaker until Devlin grabbed him and went for a powerbomb off the apron. Dream escaped and hit a moonsault off the apron. Devlin hit a backstabber for two. The Dream Valley Driver was countered again, but the Rainmaker DDT hit.

Devlin landed a big headbutt and hit a backdrop driver for 2.9. He went for a moonsault, but Dream got his knees up, hit the Dream Valley Driver, and landed the Purple Rainmaker to get the win.

Velveteen Dream defeated Tyler Bate in the Worlds Collide tournament finals

Dream came out in a stunning glittery silver robe. He tried to outwrestle Bate to start, which didn’t work out well as Bate rolled through a bunch to evade. Dream won a floor brawl and sent Bate in for a double axe handle, but Bate slugged him.

Bate elbowed the ribs for two and then applied a tight abdominal stretch. Bate worked away with a variety of holds before Dream hit a few punches to show some life. Dream ate a koppu kick and hit a Dream Valley Driver after a combat roll for two.

Bate hit the bouncing lariat and the Tyler Driver ’97 connected, but it only got two. Bate used the Billy Goat’s Curse and stood on the head — and man does Bate work shockingly well as a heel just modifying his style a small bit. He still focuses on mat wrestling, but he’s far more aggressive — just shifting the focus of every move to hurt instead of to wear down changes the intent of his character.

Dream escaped the Boston crab and hit a series of kicks before a small package got two for him. Bate avoided Dream’s attempt at a Tyler Driver with a rana and got 2.9 off of it. A “fight forever” chant broke out as Bate rolled outside and Dream hit an axe handle off the top to the floor.

Dream went up for the elbow, but he ate a big headbutt. They fought up top — and Bop and Bang hit for Bate. He wanted a super Tyler Driver, but Dream backdropped him and the Purple Rainmaker won it for Dream!

Dream and Bate shook hands and hugged after the match. Dream now gets a title shot of his choosing on either NXT, NXT UK, or 205 Live.

Final thoughts —

As a tournament, this was greatly hurt by so few of the matches airing in full on the Network special. Fortunately, everything that aired was high quality and they did try to make stars in Devlin, Dream, and Bate — with Cole also shining brightly before losing.

The 205 Live roster felt very marginalized here, which is minor in the grand scheme of things, but the stars of that show need to look as strong as possible given how 205 Live is essentially purgatory for them.

They told a great babyface story with Dream overcoming the odds despite a rib injury, and Bate did his best heel work in WWE yet. Devlin needed something to not come off as Finn Balor-lite, and his work here was a perfect showcase for what he can do.

If WWE does something like this again, they need to air everything in the tournament or just truncate it — because the cliff notes version didn’t work as a broadcast.