Editor’s Note: Special guest correspondent Rob Thill has been involved in local wrestling scenes in Sacramento, CA, Oregon, and Salt Lake City, UT. We at Slam! Wrestling asked if he could cover this show, and he turned in this report.
By Rob Thill, for Slam! Wrestling
Welcome to Collision! We get a series of promos to open the show.
Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness welcome us in as they run down the card for tonight. We get right to the action as:
“Daddy Magic” Matt Menard & The Paragon vs. The Death Riders (Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli/ Daniel Garcia)
Garcia actively avoids Daddy Magic to start. Menard takes the majority of the heat from Moxley and Cesaro. Daniel finally gets his cheap shots on his former friend before he drives him back into the corner. Paragon has been on fire recently and is reminding everyone of their…undisputedness?
Moxley looks to be in the best shape of his career and looks more vicious than ever. Roddy gets the hottest of hot tags and wrecks everyone in true messiah of the backbreaker fashion. Claudio can get the big swing on Roddy, and Mox hits him with a basement drop kick on his way around. Daddy Magic finally gets his licks in before Danny runs scared to tag Moxley. Danny trips Matt from the outside, which gives Mox time to hit the curb stomp. Garcia tags in and hits his clutch curb stomp for the win.
Your Winners: The Death Riders
We get a recap of the AEW Tag Team Champions Brodido recent hot streak. Brody King is in the back and says he has a score to settle next week. He says on the 6-year Anniversary of Dynamite next week, it will be Josh Alexander and The Young Bucks against Brodido and a man who helped build AEW from the ground up, KENNY OMEGA!
We get a recap of the Main Event from Dynamite and the battle afterward between the Death Riders and The Opps with Hangman Page tangle.
We toss back to the ring where the wrestlers are already in the ring as:
Rosario Grillo and Rachel Ellering vs. Wheeler Yuta/Marina Shafir
Wheeler beats the brakes off of Grillo before dragging him by the hand to tag Rachel. They trade forearms. Marina dominates with some vicious kick and locks in Mother’s Milk for the submission.
Your winners: The Death Riders, again.
Quick squashy squash to make Marina look ridiculously strong going into Wednesday. She even spits on Rachel as she falls out of the ring. Damn girl.
Wheeler grabs the mic and says that Statlander and Darby are going to pay for their mistakes. Great promo by Yuta here.
We go backstage to Hangman Adam Page and the Opps. Page says he owes the Opp, and since Shibata is injured, he has their back. Joe says he has failed as a teacher to the Death Riders, but he has a whole new curriculum of pain for them to learn.
Samoa Joe may be the best promo ever. Debate if you want, but this one here is money.
Back to action as:
Max Caster & Anthony Bowens vs. The Swirl (Blake Christian & Lee Johnson)
The Swirl comes out in matching robes. Max and Anthony can’t even start the match without arguing as Swirl takes advantage. Max has finally gotten his chant over. I can’t believe it.
The Swirl hit with a monkey flip clothesline for a near fall. Max hits a big back body drop but refuses to tag Bowens in. After much frustration, Bowens says screw you and jumps off the apron to make his way to the back. Jerry Lynn comes out and tells him to get back out there. Bowens takes the tag and empties his entire toolbox on Blake and Lee. The Swirl hit a fantastic series of moves I won’t spoil for a near fall. Max reverses a roll-up that sends Johnson into the ropes, where he is met with a roaring elbow from Bowens. Max pulls him back and rolls him up for the 1,2,3.
Your Winners: The Acclaimed?
Jerry tries to raise their hands, which they refuse, and then he asks them to scissor. They tease it, but Bowen’s powders out.
The slow burn will be worth it. Great showing for The Swirl tonight. I’m sure I will eventually stop cringing when I type their name.
Next, we are backstage with “The Prodigy” Nick Wayne with Kip and Mama Wayne in tow. Wayne says he is back, and Christian Cage is now his target. He says he is always one step ahead.
We get a tremendous vintage Gordon Solie-style hype package promoting the next two-week tour through Florida. Grainy footage. VHS tracking lines. I popped.
Lexy is in the back with TayJay. The talk about how excited they are about the new AEW Women’s Tag Team Championships. They say they are the original women’s tag team in AEW and will be the first champions.
Trios action next as:
Dalton Castle w/the Boys and the Outrunners vs. KM, Corey Sparks, and Cowpoke Paul
Squash is as squash does. Outrunners hit the S.O.B. elbow, followed by Castle hitting the Bangarang for the pinfall.
Your Winners: Dalton Castle and the Outrunners
Great to see Dalton back after sixteen months out. Always entertaining. Hope to see much more of this trio in the future.
We get a recap of the MJF and Mark Briscoe fallout.
Our next match is the TNT Championship Open Challenge as:
Komander vs. “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher
Kyle hits a mean set of body slams to start. He imposes his strength as he chops through Komander’s chest. Komander gets lucha with it for a bit, hitting a double springboard ‘rana. Kyle flips the switch to the tune of two apron powerbombs as we go to break. Komander hits a springboard DDT for a near fall. Hell of an apron sequence you can’t miss. Fletcher hits a leaping Miuchinoku Driver for a close kickout. Komander gives it his all, but the result is always the same. Running foot to the face, brainbuster, victory.
Your Winner and still AEW TNT Champion: “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher
Another weekly banger from The Protostar, who at this point could have a 5-star match with a ham sandwich if he’s given enough time. Kyle is in the back and says that since Hologram is injured, he will need a new challenger for next week and begs someone to step up.
As we go back to the announcers, Schiavone says the challenge has been answered by none other than Orange Cassidy. Why? Why have the announcer do this? Why couldn’t Orange come in at the end of the segment and give a thumbs-up? I digress.
Tag team action up next as:
Eddie Kingston and Hook vs. Big Bill and “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith
Hook says he got the word from Tony Khan that this is a tornado tag match. Too much to call. Decent enough match. Better than Eddie’s match at the pay-per-view. Finish comes when Eddie hits the backfist, sending Keith into Hook’s clutches, and he cinches in Redrum for the submission.
Your Winners: Eddie Kingston and Hook
In the back again with Lexy and The Bang Bang Gang. Austin says they took the best tag team in the world last week to the limit. Juice says he talked with Jay White, and he agrees that they need numbers. But if they are going to recruit, it can’t be just anybody. Maybe they need to go to their past. And some say this was inevitable as Ace Austin walks into frame.
Oh hell yeah. Gunns up!
Main event time as it is:
Jamie Hayter vs. Julia Hart w/ Skye Blue
Jamie starts strong with some solid forearms and tossing Julia around the ring. Julia flees to the outside. As Jamie gives chase, Skye throws Hart back into the ring and hits Hayter with a mean superkick. She rolls her into the ring for Julia to hit her Lita DDT for a near fall. Jamie gets her revenge on Skye with a superplex on the outside.
A series of dropkicks to Julia followed by a Saito Suplex for two. Hart almost cinches in the tarantula. Hart goes for the octopus hold but is countered into a backbreaker. Hart hits a beautiful moonsault for the cover, but Jamie gets her foot on the rope. Hart finally gets the octopus hold but is again countered into a tombstone for a kickout. Jamie has had enough and hits the Hayterade for the victory.
Your Winner: Jamie Hayter
The celebration doesn’t last long as Skye and Julia attack. The girls have the upper hand until Queen Aminata makes the save. Jamie grabs the mic and says she has had enough of these girl’s B.S. She said she has had an epiphany and knows how to handle the Triangle once and for all. This will all be settled with three little words. BLOOD AND GUTS!
Thekla says to bring it on as we go off the air. Not the participants I thought would headline the first female blood and guts, but I am all here for it.
Another solid show, although I feel some of the deliveries felt rushed, as it is becoming more commonplace. Hoping they can slow their beats and maximize these in the future. Thank you so much for reading. What were your thoughts on this week’s episode?
See you all next week!
