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 AEW Collision from the hallowed halls of the 2300 Arena in beautiful South Philadelphia, PA. Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness are on the call as we head straight into our first match, which is…
Daniel Garcia vs. Blake Christian
Daddy Magic joins the commentary booth. Before the match can even get started, Jon Moxley shows up and starts whispering into Daniel’s ear. He heads away, and we get started. Daniel starts by laying in some particularly vicious strikes. Blake gets to work Daniel over for a bit.
Blake may not be a babyface, but his offense is quite vanilla tonight. We get some Boo-Yays asGarcia hits some nasty overhand chops into a twist and shout as Daddy Magic coins it for the near fall. Blake goes for a 450 but is caught in a guillotine choke. Garcia lifts him into a stalling piledriver and covers him for the 1,2,3.
Your Winner: Daniel Garcia
Tony joins Daniel in the ring and asks him what exactly Moxley was saying earlier. Danny tells him not to worry about that and that he has been chasing Moxley for five years. He says he wants everything he has: his legacy, his accolades. He challenges him to a match next week. Yuta and Marina come out to literal Vickie Guerrero level heat and accept the challenge on Moxley’s behalf. He says he has already slain the American Dragon, so they don’t have to worry about that. I love seeing the constant plight to get a serious version of Garcia. I think once they get there, it will be the best version of him.
Lexy Nair is in the back with The Conglomeration and Roddy Strong. Roddy screams KYLE! He can’t believe that he is teaming with Tomohiro Ishii tonight and not him after all Kyle Fletcher has done to them. O’Reilly says it doesn’t matter as long as they get their hands on the Don Callis Family. He reminds Roddy of all the times Ishii has saved them, and all Ishii wants is someone to stand next to him and fight. Kyle says that’s how they conglom.
We get right to our next match…
Kyle O’Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kyle Fletcher and Josh Alexander
Some great technical work from O’Reilly and Alexander to start it off. Everyone gets a chance at each other. O’Reilly appears to bust Fletcher open on a crossarm breaker with the back of his boot. Fletcher hits the other Kyle with a boot to the outside, followed by an Alexander boot. Once he gets out there, as we go to break, we come back to O’Reilly getting worked over. The Walking Weapon goes for his moonsault, but Kyle moves out of the way. We get a double clothesline into the double tag. The Stone Pitbull clears both men’s clocks as the crowd chants, “Ishii! Ishii!” He hits the brainbuster, but Kyle kicks out. We get a double down again after Kyle hits a Michinoku Driver. Both get the tag. We get the Boo/Yay elbow strike sequence. O’Reilly goes for the standing guillotine, but while he is wrapped around him, Josh puts him in the ankle lock.
What a technical display. The Conglomeration conglomerate and hit the high/low, but Fletcher makes the save. Ishii has the advantage as Fletcher distracts, Josh hits the gonad punt into the straight jacket piledriver for the 1,2.3.
Your Winners: Kyle Fletcher and Josh Alexander
Give me matches like that every week, and this job is easy. The Protostar continues to show weekly that he is the future of this industry. Give me more.
We cut to the back, where Jamie Hayter is beating the holy hell out of Thekla. The security breaks them apart long enough for Thekla to hit a crossbody before they are broken up again.
We come back from break to Kip Sabian and Mama Wayne. Kip says Killswitch is to blame for their loss, and Mama Wayne tells Kip to take a walk as she stares at Killswitch. That came off super flat. We don’t need this conflict yet. Let the beast just be a beast for now.
Moving on.
We come back to the ring as we hear the pomp and circumstance as the next match is…
Hologram vs. Jay Lethal
The crowd pops nowhere near as loudly as I did when Jay walks out. This is my first time seeing Hologram in a singles competition, so I will keep my notes short. The opening sequence aims to show off Hologram’s athletic prowess, but it comes off choppy as we head into the break. Hologram ends up catching Lethal with a spinning Blue Thunder bomb for the pin and the victory.
Your Winner: Hologram
You can tell with the undefeated streak that they want him to be a big deal. You can also tell why he doesn’t have many singles matches. I feel that as his conditioning and timing improve, he will continue to get better, and being able to get TV time with a veteran like Jay can only help in that respect. As they go to the end, the lights glitch, and we see a computer uploading. It says, “Cloning is complete,” and we see a dark version of Hologram. The words soon come across the screen as we see Hologram holding his head. You have my attention now.
We get a Ricochet and the Gate of Agony and Hurt Syndicate recap. This will be a big ole’ hoss fight when the time comes.
Our next match is up is…
Alex Windsor vs. Ashley Vox
Nice to see Ashley, a ten-year vet, get a shot. Quick and easy squashy squash as Alex hits a couple of powerbombs into the Sharpshooter for the submission victory.
Your Winner: Alex Windsor
Tony joins Alex in the ring and shares that if she wants another shot at the TBS Champion Mercedes Moné that she will be left in a hospital bed right next to her husband. She says why don’t you put your Moné where your mouth is and challenges her for the TBS title.
Lexy is backstage with the oddest couple in history, Don Callis and Mark Briscoe. Mark asks why he hasn’t heard back on his challenge for Kyle Fletcher and the TNT Title. Don says there is an ocean of talent waiting for a shot, and they have been very busy. Don says he will pick a member of the Family for Mark to face. If he wins, he gets a shot at Fletcher, but he doesn’t like his chances.
We head back to the ring, as up next we have…
The Workhorsemen vs. FTR
FTR has the best entrance music ever in my totally unbiased lifetime Midnight Express fans’ opinion.
Priest with some early offense on Dax, looking very crisp as he tags in Drake, who chops Dax in the hamstring. Dax cuts off Priest with a “Beautiful” straight right. Cash takes over and hits some “Sweet” strikes. Drake hits a rolling senton to the inside on Cash. Dax smacks Drake off the top rope as we go to break. We come back to the crowd in a frenzy as Drake hits his moonsault for the near fall. We get a Shatter Machine to Drake as he goes outside. Dax works over Priest as the crowd chants, “F*** the Revival.” Priest fires back up, but Dax cuts him off and feeds him repeatedly into the corner post, followed by a Border City stretch for the tap-out.
Your Winners: FTR
Solid match where everyone gives a solid performance.
Cash grabs the mic to a chorus of boos. Cash says this is about them and their legacy, and they will end it at All Out. Dax says this would have been a dream match, but now it is a charity exhibition. He says that they will end Cope and Christian’s careers and, hopefully, their lives.
Top Guys. Out.
We get a segment highlighting the new ROH Tag Team champions for last night’s Death Before Dishonor PPV, Sammy Guevara and RUSH. Sammy says that his decision was easy and that now he has brothers. And if you mess with the bull, you get the horns.
Backstage with the Don Callis Family talking about the recent challenge by Mark Briscoe. Don says he can’t wait to see what Josh Alexander does on Wednesday in the eight-man tag on Dynamite. Josh says he has been training his entire career for this opportunity as he sets his sights on Kenny Omega. Kyle brags that the Family is firing on all cylinders, and they want the World title back in the Family. He finishes by saying they won’t step aside for anybody.
Back to the ring for…
Juice Robinson vs. Big Bill
Bill shows off his strength for the first few minutes as he hits the big boot going into the break. We come back to Bill throwing Juice into a steel support beam like a Mysterio lawn dart. He goes for it again, but Juice counters and sends him in instead. The work back into the ring where Bill cinches in a bear hug until Juice bites his damn ear. Juice glaces him with a dropkick off the ropes, followed by a moonshot left for the near fall. Bryan Keith tries to distract Juice and eats an apron clothesline for his trouble. However, the distraction proves fruitful as Bill catches Juice with a spinning sidewalk slam for the 1,2,3.
Your Winner: Big Bill
Man, do the card Gunns need to heal before these boys fall into obscurity? I loved what I saw from Bill here. He is a classic big man, and with the right heater, I think he can go far, and you can’t teach that.
Sorry. I had to. It won’t happen again.
Maybe.
Probably.
We hear from SkyFlight, and Scorpio says they are 2 and 0, and that is the perfect way to start “The Altitude Era”. They share a laugh until Darius breaks it up and asks what is so funny. He says they were passed up by Shane Taylor Promotion, and now they are the Trios Champions. He walks away, saying it is time to get serious.
We get a promo from Gabe Kidd targeting Darby Allin. If you watch anything of this show tonight, watch this. He wants Darby to meet him next week, and he will leave him a broken, frail freak.
Our Main Event is next, and it is an All-Star Trios Match between…
“Timeless” Tonistorm, Mina Shirakawa, and Queen Aminata vs. Billie Starkz and The Triangle of Madness (Skye Blue and Julia Hart)
Everyone gets their chance to shine. Too many moves and exchanges to call. Hart looks like she got busted open. I really hope Aminata abandons the face into the ass smash routine soon. She’s more than that.
Everyone is fighting everywhere. The finish comes when Mina hits Billie with the Glamorous for the pin.
Your Winners: Timeless Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa, and Queen Aminata
Thekla attacks after and takes all the girls out with their moves. Thekla spears them all as the Triangle stands tall as the show ends. The Triangle continues to add pieces to their presentation in every aspect. Their limitations are endless.
As expected, another excellent show. All the stories moved forward, and everyone had a solid match or segment. The rumors are true. AEW is sharpening its edges each week, and it is making this job easy.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
