AEW Collision: Swiss Cyborg meets The Alpha in the main event

Claudio Castagnoli and Konosuke Takeshita face each other in a Continental Classic rematch on AEW Collision.

Tommy "Milagro" Martinez

AEW Collision: Swiss Cyborg meets The Alpha in the main event

It’s Saturday night, and AEW Collision is still all right for fighting. So you know what that means?

No, Kristi Noem is part of The Shield of the Americas. She is not creating a new stable with The Shield (although that would be funny to see her team up with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, since the other guy, Dean Ambrose, is nowhere to be found. But I digress.)

As we approach AEW Revolution around the corner, everyone is gearing up for the upcoming pay-per-view, including Claudio Castagnoli and Konosuke Takeshita looking to make a statement after they last battled during the Continental Classic to a draw. Who will gain the upper hand in the main event? Will it be the Swiss Cyborg of The Death Riders, or The Alpha of The Don Callis Family?

We’ll find out tonight as we come to you from the Tucson Arena in Tucson, AZ. Nigel McGuinness and Tony Schiavone have the call. Your First Match of this Night is for the…

AEW World Tag Team Title Match: FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood, with Big Stoke) (c) vs. The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz, with Myron Reed)

Wheeler and Wentz start, and he quickly gets Harwood in the mix because he doesn’t want that smoke. Both men crack the other’s jaw, but it’s Harwood who’s so stunned he heads out of the ring to reset. Xavier tags in snd he faces Harwood’s ire, but he gives as good as he gets.

Harwood tosses him outside, and Stoke chokes him out as the ref deals with Wentz. Xavier fires back, and The Rascalz display that high-flying athleticism to the floor. There’s tag team tandem action on Harwood, but The Axe shoves Wentz to the corner to make him a Rascal in Peril, and soon FTR is in control all through Picture in Picture. He fights through and stuns FTR to get the hot tag to Xavier, and he is a Rascal en Fuego, and Harwood and Wheeler have no answer to the offensive flurry.

Harwood comes back with a clothesline, but it’s the Rascalz with their high-flying tag team action that gets FTR on the ropes. The Axe gives Wentz a backdrop suplex and covers for a close two count. From there, it’s back-and-forth action, and FTR sends a message to the Young Bucks with their own “FTR Trigger” on Wentz.

Both teams have a lot of close calls, and Wentz attempts with a springboard maneuver, but he eats The Shatter Machine, and that ends it.

Your Winners via Pinfall: FTR

As FTR start to head to the back, Mark Briscoe comes out to join commentary, and there is a brusque look between the rivals

Hook and Anthony Bowens talk about being part of The OPPs, and he takes a camera to follow him and Shibata on the recruitment tour.

But that is neither here nor there since the next match is between…

Daniel Garcia vs. Tommaso Ciampa

They lock up, and the Psycho Killer is looking strong against the upstart Death Rider. He tries to suplex Garcia in the ring, but he gives Ciampa a dragon screw leg whip between the ropes and then wraps his leg around the post. During Picture in Picture, Garcia targets the knee, stays on top, and then…

Ads (because why keep seeing the action unfold? SIGH!)

Back and Ciampa is still in dire straits, and when Garcia jumps from the second rope, the Psycho Killer connects with a dropkick. They run the ropes, and Ciampa gets a forearm shiver followed by a knee lift. He follows by ramming Garcia’s head on the commentary desk and takes time to high-five Briscoe.

Back in the ring, there is another dragon screw by Garcia, and he cinches a deep single leg crab, then transitions to an STF. Ciampa bites his hand to release the hold, but Garcia comes back and forces him to the corner and mounts with punches. He takes a backstabber, and Ciampa gets a count of two. Garcia slides out of the ring to talk smack to Briscoe and heads back to the squared circle. Briscoe is fired up and wants to give Garcia a piece of his mind, but inadvertently connects with Ciampa, and he rolls him up for the pin and the win.

Your Winner via Pinfall: Daniel Garcia

Ciampa is incensed as Briscoe tries to make peace, but the Psycho Killer isn’t having it. Now FTR is back out to confront Ciampa, and Briscoe slides in the ring for support. As they back out, Ciampa and Briscoe are united…until he starts attacking him at the stage to the pleasure of FTR.

We get a vignette of the history between Takeshita and Castagnoli during the Continental Classic.

Now it’s time for…

Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) vs. Gravity

Yeah, this is Strickland making a statement ahead of his match with Brody King at AEW Revolution. So let’s not pretend what this is, but instead enjoy this Lucid Luchador Limerick in Review™:

*Ahem*

Strickland leaves no doubts

Why he is a bad man, and not a mouse.

Gravity does muy mucha

Using the power of Lucha

But we know this is Swerve’s House.

Your Winner via Pinfall: Swerve Strickland

Kris Statlander has words for Thekla from last week’s Dynamite. She challenges her to a two-out-of-three falls match at Revolution.

That brings out the Toxic Spider, who says no in so many words, and wonders why she needs to listen to “some bitch out of space.” She won’t do it and says kiss her Toxic ass. She then reconsiders while running down Thunder Rosa, who she beat on Dynamite, and tells her to quit while she’s ahead.

We get a snippet of Renee Paquette’s new Up Close interview with Jon Moxley, and it will be on YouTube next Tuesday.

Now, for tag-team major money for a…

$200,000 Four Way Tag Team Match: Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) vs. The Outrunners (Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd, with Dalton Castle) vs. The Swirl (Blake Christian and Lee Johnson) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable (Dralistico and Rush)

As for this match, let me explain…

Nah, there’s too much. Let me sum up, with the added note that Castle is a delight on commentary.

Simply put, this was a spot fest through and through, with LFI and The Swirl showing off their high-flying spot. But in the end, It’s Quenj and Kassidy that show The Swirl a thing our two and they give Johnson a high-lift flying cutter to earn that cash money.

Your Winners of $200,000: Private Party

There is another recap of Dynamite when the Don Callis Family attacked JetSet Rodeo on their way to win the Trios belts

Lexy Nair is backstage with JetSpeed on their run of bad luck. Knight knows he will have more opportunities for titles. Bailey knows they lost, but they got a chance at the Trios titles with the help of Mistico, and he will try to get the TNT title from Fletcher on the next Dynamite.

Now Strickland enters, and he has words for Knight that if he wants to walk with killers, he must BE a killer.

Paquette spoke to the Babes of Wrath earlier, but they were taken out by Megan Bayne and Lena Kross before security could take control.

So your next match is…

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne vs. The Timeless Love Bombs (Toni Storm and Mina Shirikawa, with Luther)

Bayne and Shirikawa start, and the power of The Megasus is too much for The Fighting H-Cup Gravure Wrestler. Stem interjects, but they give the Love Bombs stereo fallaway slams.

Shirikawa is cut off, and she and Kross try to defuse the Love Bomb. A tag to Storm, and she is En Fuego with Timeless precision. That leads to an assist as Shirikawa dives to the outside. Bayne also flies outside to knock down the Time Bombs, with the 7-10 split and during Picture in Picture, Storm is in Peril, darling, which leads to…

Ads (Again, which crusty Monkeys in the Truck™ is doing this? Honestly!)

Shirikawa gets back in, and she and Storm double-team, but cannot outmatch the power of Bayne. They attempt a double superplex, but Kross comes from behind for the Tower o’ Doom takedown. There’s a hip attack to Bayne, and Shirikawa follows with a flying clothesline to a Figure Four leglock. Both Storm and Kross do reversals, and then Marina Shafir comes out to take out the Timeless One.

Kross gets the Jackhammer to Shirikawa, and that’s all she wrote.

Your Winners: Lena Kross and Megan Bayne

Briscoe is backstage with a message for Ciampa. He knew something wasn’t right until he attacked him. He proposes that he and FTR face him next Wednesday, against him… and Dem Bucks.

Now we get…

The Dogs (David Findlay, Gabe Kidd, and Clark Connors) vs. Some Poor Jobbers

Good for AEW that they got what New Japan couldn’t keep. As for the poor fellas in the ring, we know how this will go, so enjoy this Haiku In Review™:

*ahem*

The Dogs chew through the

Poor saps. Like rawhide bones, they

Gnaw them to gristle.

Your Winners via Pinfall: The Dogs

Storm is out and has a message for Marina Shafir. She wants her at AEW Revolution with everyone banned from ringside

Now it’s time for your Main Event as Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir join at commentary between…

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is a technical classic as Castagnoli battles Takeshita. Neither man gives, but it isn’t long until he twists The Alpha’s arm in the turnbuckle in the corner.

Things don’t look good as The Swiss Cyborg takes control, by twisting Takeshita into an STF and then modifying into an armbar submission.

Castagnoli can’t put him away, and he becomes frustrated. He goes to the timekeepers’ table to grab some chairs to the chagrin of the ref. As he deals with the foreign objects in the ring, Castagnoli grabs his CMLL Heavyweight title to use, but the Hechi cero comes out and takes the belt away from him.

With no advantage, both he and Takeshita lay it out on the line. The Alpha gets the upper hand with an Alpha Trigger and then delivers the Raging Fire to avenge his Continental Classic loss in one, two, and three.

Your Winner via Pinfall: Konosuke Takeshita

Before he can celebrate, both members of The Don Callis Family and The Death Riders. It is absolute chaos as the show comes to a close.

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