Some people might be bothered by pro wrestling starting after 11 p.m. ET and running until after midnight. You, of course, are not one of those people, not if you’re looking for an AEW Collision Slam Dunk Saturday recap.
You might even be one of those “sickos” Tony Khan likes to refer to, and we mean that completely as a compliment.
Anyway, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to see some fights after the hoops has concluded, and we’re wasting absolutely no time getting to a title match.
Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia (c) – AEW TNT Championship Match
With everyone banned from ringside, the idea is that it’s going to be a “real” wrestling match with a minimum of hijinks. The announcers, including Garcia’s buddy Daddy Magic, mention that these two are off to a slower start than their previous meeting and also discuss the champ’s impressive run of six title defenses. Did they just jinx him? And is this crowd split about half and half between the two competitors? Definitely sounds like it.
Cole starts focusing his attention on Garcia’s left knee, then goes to work with a big Backstabber for a near fall. The beating from the challenger continues through a side-by-side commercial break before Garcia battles back with multiple swinging neckbreakers, including one with Cole’s legs on the ropes.
The knee becomes an issue for Garcia when he can’t climb the corner to deliver a superplex, but even though Cole quickly takes advantage with a Panama Sunrise, it’s not enough to get the win. Oh, and there are less than five minutes left before the 20-minute time limit expires.
A suplex on the floor sets up a piledriver in the ring, but the champ also can’t keep his opponent down for three. Cole applies a Figure Four which Garcia eventually reverses into a Sharpshooter. The fans start the “fight forever” chant which Tony Schiavone points out can’t happen because of the time limit.
That might be good for Garcia as he takes another Panama Sunrise on the apron. Cole goes for his Boom knee shot but falls to the mat in dismay as the bell rings to signify 20 minutes have elapsed. Rematch at Dynasty, anyone?
The match goes to a time limit draw, so still AEW TNT Champion: Daniel Garcia
Max Caster is in the ring for his open challenge, also telling the fans that he ran Anthony Bowens out of AEW and he’s never coming back. After trying to start a lame chant, he’s ready to see who his opponent will be. Oooohhh, looks like someone sent Hook.
Max Caster vs. Hook
Well, it’s tough to be the best wrestler alive when you can’t even last a few minutes with Hook. As you might guess, Caster can’t do that here, quickly tapping out when he feels the embrace of Redrum. Not sure how this keeps Caster interesting, but I guess that’s an issue for another time.
Winner: Hook by submission
Queen Aminata says thanks but no thanks to Serena Deeb trying to give her advice on how to defeat Julia Hart. She turned down the professor!
Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata
What is Aminata the queen of? In my head canon, it’s a small fictional country like Doctor Doom’s Latveria. She’s off to a quick start here, showing off some suplexes with serious snap on them and smashing Hart down hard on the apron.
Hart rallies while we are in side-by-side commercials, though she’s slightly bloodied from the mouth right after we return to full action. The battle goes to the top rope, where Hart hits a suplex but misses a follow-up moonsault. The end comes shortly thereafter, as Aminata misses Off With Her Head and Hart is able to stack her on a rollup to get the three count. Aminata’s subjects will be disappointed about this.
Winner: Julia Hart by pinfall
Harley Cameron talks up her role on Slam Dunk Sunday while refusing to listen to any suggestions that she is Harleygram. Heh.
Rocky Romero, Mark Briscoe and Powerhouse Hobbs vs. The Don Callis Family (The Murder Machines and Konosuke Takeshita)
Nearly forgot Hobbs used to be a Don Callis guy, but Don joins the announcers and talks about that early on. Romero gets a sequence where he shines solo, which is nice to see. Briscoe does too, which is less surprising.
Mark takes shots from all three of his foes before he breaks out some Redneck Kung-Fu and makes way for Powerhouse. He gets the “meat” chants going by running corner to corner for clotheslines on the Murder Machines, but he eventually is worn down by Brian Cage.
There’s just an excessive amount of size on the side of the heels, and in the end, Takeshita is able to nail Romero with Raging Fire to close out this match and the show.
Winner: The Don Callis Family by pinfall
Public Service Announcement: More AEW Collision Tomorrow
Don’t forget that we’re running it back again 24 hours from now. AEW Collision Slam Dunk Sunday is slated for the same time, more or less, 11 p.m. ET or right after hoops on TNT. See you then!
