Well, hello everyone joining tonight with a beautiful temporary voice on the Collision promotion side. This is my first time being over here, so this could be fun! As if the universe heard me, I reunite with one of my favorite wrestlers in Jon Moxley, formely known as Dean Ambrose. I knew he was here, I simply didn’t expect him to be the first person I see. A treat, indeed. And he’s the AEW Continental Champion. Wow, good on him.
The Death Riders; Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and PAC, were part of a 10-man Tag Team match with The Dogs, David Finlay and Clark Connors on their side versus The Rascalz and Top Flight. I recognized Wes Lee and Myron Reed, which made me happily glitch.
Death Riders & The Dogs vs. The Rascalz & Top Flight – 10-man Tag Team match
The bell hasn’t even rang yet as the boys started brawling each other to get the upper hand over the opposition. As soon as Myron Reed kicked Claudio out of the ring, that’s when the bell finally rung as he leaped after his challengers. Despite the officiation of the match, these men kept fighting outside regardless. In the ring, we witnessed Clark Conners facing Zachary Wentz like a duo of wild animals.
Wentz performed an amazing spring torneo against Conners, but that unfortunately got him the two count. To think that he was going to win after that was a wishful assumption. The moment Finley entered the fray, he cornered Wentz like a pact of bullies at a typical high school. Absolutely relentless. The fact that Wes Lee changed his name to “Xavier” hasn’t registered. Ha! Why, though? His previous stage name was better. Anyway, we’re not going to spend so much time on my bitterness when Finley was in deep hell because of the double team from Xavier and Reed, so he tagged PAC. Darius was brought in as well. Moxley reminded me why I missed him with that wicked clothesline to Darius.
Myron was tossed outside and was met with Marina Shafir’s boot to the face. Big ouch. Claudio applauded her for the assist. Annoyed, Xavier got involved by putting Castagnoli in a DDT. That encouraged Finley to insert himself, too. It was basically a ticking timebomb of nonsense happening on the main floor since Zachary and Clark also had a say. Everyone had their turn beating the other up before the focus was reapplied to Moxley and Reed, who got an uppercut to the jaw by Castagnoli.
The Death Riders and the Dogs seemed to be enjoying how helpless Myron was since it was difficult to reach his teammates. The opposition kept him trapped on their side for a while. Conners had a hold of his ankle during this particular process. I don’t know how the referee had control over this match when these boys kept running at each other without tagging in. These blindshots are the go-to favorites. With a little bit of luck, Reed pushed through with a double cutter on Conners and Finley.
Xavier came in and started cleaning house. He nearly picked up the win after that springboard backflip kick to the back of Clark’s head. A double team from Xavier and Zachary worked in their favor to leave Conners feeling winded, that surely would have ended the fight. Alas, David came to save him in time… boo. This first match was complete madness that I truly loved seeing. PAC and Darius were very quick on their feet to pound the other to submission, attempting to gain the upper hand with numerous switches.
This is what people came to see, the Death Riders taking the reigns as a unit. PAC had Darius in the Brutalizer to force a tap, to which they got in order to win. Hell of a bout. I loved it!
Winners: The Death Riders & The Dogs
The following match had Jack Perry defend his AEW National Championship against Mascara Dorada, another name I recognize. Just to get myself up to speed, Perry won this title off Ricochet, the comet, I called him in my head back in WWE. I wasn’t canon, so I kept it close to my chest. And speaking of chests, Dorado managed to leave Perry slightly breathless in the early goings of the fight. Jack retaliated with a drop kick out of nowhere. Mascara remained a spectacle to watch, he made Jack question his skills any time either kicked out of the other’s “finalized” move. To close this chapter, Perry performed a Huricarana to force Dorada down to the mat to stack him up with a pin to retain his title. By the end of it, Mascara earned a show of respect as deserved.
If there was ever a joke of a match, it was definately this one. The Conglomeration vs. MXM Collection and Johnny TV. I just arrived here on a random day, and I didn’t expect to see Mansoor and Mason Madden again after two years… still wrestling, or whatever the living hell that was. Yep, they’re still posing… Despite the loss, Mansoor, Madden, and Johnny did have their good moments. And since the showcase of familiar faces hasn’t stopped, Tommaso Ciampa was here, too. I’ve noticed that WWE Superstars either go to TNA or AEW upon leaving that promotion.
It may not matter to those who know that I’m unfamiliar with Rebel, but she’s suffering from a serious illness, and I wish her to get better soon. “Pray for Rebel” was written on a sign by a devoted fan.
Anna Jay vs. Willow Nightingale (c) – TBS Championship match
Damn. I haven’t seen Willow Nightingale since my ROH documentary review back in 2023, I think. I’m amazed that I bumbped into her, and quite frankly, that’s exactly what tonight is about. For me, anyway, not for you guys. Jay attempted to force Nightingale into a powerbomb of some sort, only for it to feel like a stupid venture as Willow almost pinned her early. The champ demanded to see some fire from her challenger.
She asked for it, and Anna did her best to deliver with a sliding drop kick to the chest. She punched Willow so hard that she fell off the apron and onto the floor. Nightingale regained her momentum with a cannonnball from the ring, flattening Jay on her back. Anna has shown some resilience when she managed to kick out of a suplex from WIllow that almost left her stunned. At some point, Nightingale wrapped Jay into a painful submission hold that extended for quite some time that I thought she’d tap, however, she wiggled herself free. Willow had to find something else from her playbook.
The champ ate a massive kick to the face by returning fire with a mind-numbing punch to Anna’s face. Later on, Nightingale couldn’t get out of the corner, which allowed Jay to plough her with a bulldog. It was only a matter of time until Nightingale would deliver that powerful powerbomb to retain her Championship.
Winner: Willow Nightingale
When Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida were unsuccessful in capturing gold recently, Shida promised to make it up to Statlander after a heated face-to-face. Now, backstage, during an interview that also included Harley Cameron and Mina Shirakawa, she replayed her promise by getting them another match, to which Shirakawa and Cameron find ill-productive due to broken trust.
It’s the Death Riders’ night as Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia gear up for battle against the Bang Bang Gang, Ace Austin and Juice Robinson. Jon Moxley was invited at commentary, so hearing his voice was nice. The Death Rider team were seemingly more superior, yet Garcia was cocky and Yuta had aggression. They worked very well. Ace demonstrated incredible acrobatic skills, but he wasted his time showing off that opened the window for Wheeler to drop kick him real hard as Shafir and Garcia were stomping on his back. Blood was drawn on my first day here, yay! Unfortunately, Yuta and Garcia lost. Moxley was falling off his chair… slowly in disbelief.
Girl… The bell wasn’t even paying attention when Skye Blue viciously gave the boot to Nixi XS. Since then, Nixi hasn’t been able to get her foot through the door. That neckbreaker was twisted and frighteningly good. However, that dragon corkscrew submission she calls Descent in the Madness, truly was the pinacle of this one-way fight. I got to see Skye in action for the first time, and I adored it.
Kevin Knight (c) vs. Hook – TNT Championship match
We meet again, Kevin Knight. I see he’s done well for himself with that belt around his waist as he managed to drive his knee into Hook’s left arm. As payback, Hook delivered a well-placed headbutt that also, in turn, left him woozy. But not as much as his opponent. A weird-looking exploder suplex from Hook to Knight as the champ landed in the crowd. Hook didn’t have a good “hook” on him. That poor innocent bystander…
Since Kevin wouldn’t just stay down, Hook placed him in a headlock. That, at least, was well cinched because Knight was genuinely fading. The audience roaring his name gave him strength to return to a vertical base. Hook’s anger started to show when he couldn’t pin Knight following the couple of seconds, so those clotheslines very much came out of nowhere.
An impressive frog splash was just as commandable as Hook’s resilience. Knight surprised him with a Huricarana. Hook’s trainer, Shibata, didn’t appreciate that Kevin used one of his moves to inflict harm on Hook, so naturally, while the official was busy, Shibata caused Knight to lose his balance. Kevin was momentarily able to thwart Hook, until that failed when Hook threw him across the ring. A high angle suplex nearly put Kevin to sleep. That slight miscalculation on Knight’s shoulder not being fully down costed Hook the Championship.
Shibata tried to get involved and was knocked off for his troubles. During an attempt on Hook’s part, Kevin slipped out and creatively landed on his hands to the awe of the fans. Even more so, that DDT and the final UFO splash put an end to Hook, who didn’t “hook” a belt.
Winner: Kevin Knight
For new potential readers, I worked really hard on this poem I recently posted on my website blacksugar, which discusses themes of emotional/psychological abuse, venomous family dynamics, self-brutalization and longing for reprive. It’s rated M, so you’ve warned. It Should Have Been Four.
TOP PHOTO: Knight and Hook. Courtesy of AEW
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