Collision – December 7, 2024: Just One

Collision
Date: December 7, 2024
Location: Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

As has been the case for the last few shows, we’re in for a big focus on the Continental Classic. That should be enough to carry a lot of the show, but we are also three weeks away from Worlds End and that show is going to need some build of its own. Odds are we get some of that here so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the Continental Classic.

Continental Classic Gold League: Darby Allin (0 points) vs. Komander (0 points)

Komander armdrags him out of the corner to start but gets reversed into a headlock. A rollup gives Allin two and he slows things down with a chinlock. Komander gets up and walks the ropes before springboarding off of them, only for his armdrag to be blocked. Allin gets sent to the floor though and a big dive takes him down. Back in and a phoenix splash gives Komander two, setting up a nice superkick to the floor. Allin fights back and puts him in a chair, only for the running flip dive to only hit said chair.

We take a break and come back with Allin hitting a Code Red for two and they’re both down. Allin goes up but gets super Spanish Flied back down. With the high flying not working, Allin goes with a more violent back rake instead, setting up a Coffin Drop with Komander draped over the top. Komander is right back with a poisonrana on the apron but Cielito Lindo takes too long. That’s enough for Allin to tie up the legs for a rollup and the pin at 13:11.

Rating: B-. Well, they ha to get Allin on the board and who better than Komander to take the loss? At the end of the day, Komander is mainly there to make others look good and he is doing a nice job of doing so. Allin needs to make a run in this thing, as once it’s over, there is a good chance he is getting into the World Title picture again.

Gold League Standings

Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Will Ospreay – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Ricochet – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Brody King – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Komander – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita are interrupted by Powerhouse Hobbs. He gets straight to the point by saying he wants an International Title match. Callis says Hobbs deserves a shot but he’ll get back to him later.

International Women’s Cup Qualifier Tournament Semifinals: Willow Nightingale vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb goes after the arm to start and takes her down, only to get run over with a shoulder. They trade rollups for two each until Nightingale gets a fisherman’s suplex for two. Deeb sends her outside in a heap though and we take a break. Back with Nightingale hitting some clotheslines but the Babe With The Powerbomb is blocked. A hammerlock lariat gives Deeb two but the Deebtox is blocked as well. Nightingale misses a Cannonball and the Deebtox connects to give two. That just earns Deeb the Pounce and the Babe With The Powerbomb finishes for Nightingale at 10:04.

Rating: C+. I still have no idea why this needs to be a tournament but at least they’re getting to the point fairly quickly. Nightingale getting a win here could help send her on to Japan but Jamie Hayter is a tough out in the finals. For now though, nice match, as Deeb can make anyone look good out there and it’s not like Nightingale needs that much help.

Thunder Rosa wants the next Women’s Title match and reads some insults about Mariah May off a piece of paper.

We look at Jay White, Orange Cassidy and Hangman Page beating up Jon Moxley with Christian Cage hovering around.

Here are the Death Riders for a chat. Jon Moxley talks about how no one in this building wants to be AEW World Champion. Some people might think they do, but the responsibilities would crush them. People like Jay White wants to be champion but doesn’t get what it takes. Hangman Page will crush himself before he gets close to another title reign.

Then we have Orange Cassidy, who has already come up short. Cue Cassidy to say he can live without ever being champion but he can’t live with Moxley being champion. The only way Moxley can stop him is to kill him and Cassidy takes his jacket off. The beatdown is quickly on and Cassidy is carried to the back as we take a break. Well at least they only beat up one person this week.

FTR talks about how they’re going to fight for hurricane relief in Asheville, North Carolina…but we cut over to the Death Riders attempting to spray some kind of cleaning fluid in Orange Cassidy’s mouth. FTR makes the save but things don’t get violent. FTR getting involved in this is at least something fresh so I can go for this.

Continental Classic Blue League: Kyle Fletcher (6 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (4 points)

Non-title. Fletcher works on the arm to start and snapmares him into a chinlock. The fans aren’t pleased, as we are somehow seeing Okada as the crowd favorite. Fletcher grinds away on a headlock, with McGuinness saying he’s won a bunch of matches with a headlock. McGuinness: “One guy gave up during the instructions.” Eh funnier when Bobby Heenan said it thirty five years ago.

Okada fights up and they head to the floor for a DDT to Fletcher. Back in and Fletcher hits a hanging DDT (as the Randy Orton comparisons continue) to send us to a break. We come back with Okada fighting out of a chinlock but Fletcher knees him down. Okada is back with a kick to the head and a quickly broken cobra clutch. Instead Okada settles for a flapjack and the air raid crash onto the knee.

The top rope elbow and the dropkick sends Fletcher to the floor. The Tombstone on the floor is countered into a half and half suplex, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two on Okada back inside. A non-wind up Rainmaker connects but the regular version is cut off by a superkick. The referee almost gets bumped in the corner and it’s a low blow into the brainbuster to give Fletcher the win at 16:58.

Rating: B. The ending might seem a bit lame but you don’t want Okada to lose a clean fall. At the same time, like him or not, they are trying with Fletcher and that is a good thing. AEW needs some fresh stars and if they think Fletcher can be the guy, points for trying to push him as such. The best way to make that happen is with a string of wins and he’s certainly putting those together.

Blue League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 4 points (3 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 4 points (2 matches remaining)
Shelton Benjamin – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
The Beast Mortos – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

There will be a special on-sale event for All In Texas this Monday.

Winter Is Coming is coming.

The Beast Mortos vs. Aaron Solo

Mortos jumps him, shrugs off a kick to the head, hits a powerbomb backbreaker and finishes with a discus lariat at 58 seconds.

Top Flight, with Leila Grey, isn’t happy with Lio Rush and Action Andretti in the tag team battle royal. Rush says it’s time for he and Andretti to go after the Tag Team Titles because Top Flight keeps losing. It’s time to settle this in the ring.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Emi Sakura

Sakura jumps her to start and hits some chops against the ropes. Shirakawa fights up and takes her down for some kicks but has to slip away. That means a bit of dancing, which only annoys Sakura. A bite to the hand has Shirakawa down and we take an early break. Back with Shirakawa fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a springboard kick to the face for two.

The Glamorous Driver is broken up so Sakura is back up with a rather delayed butterfly backbreaker as Thunder Rosa is watching from ringside. Sakura is back with a middle rope sling blade for two before diving over the referee to hit a splash. A top rope Sling Blade finishes Sakura at 9:51.

Rating: B-. That’s all it should have been as Shirakawa is coming up on the Women’s Title shot and needs a win to make her feel more important. That’s exactly what she got here and it was a good enough match all around. I’m not sure if she wins the title, but Toni Storm is likely going to be back soon and that is going to be a problem for Mariah May, which could cost her said title.

Video on Mariah May vs. Mina Shirakawa, complete with a history of their time in Japan and the triangle involving Toni Storm.

Mark Briscoe says he’s ready to beat Daniel Garcia “tomorrow” on Collision. Garcia wants Briscoe to bring it “tomorrow”.

Continental Classic Blue League: Mark Briscoe (0 points) vs. Daniel Garcia (4 points)

Non-title. Feeling out process to start with Garcia mocking red neck kung fu and grabbing a rollup for an early two. Garcia powers him into the corner and a rub to the face doesn’t sit well with Briscoe. A dropkick to the floor sets up a big flip dive through the ropes to take Garcia down for a change.

Back up and Garcia’s choke over the ropes sends Briscoe back to the floor, where Briscoe kicks him up against the barricade. Garcia hammers away as well and, after a dance, hits a running dropkick as we take a break. Back with Briscoe hammering away but not being able to superplex him out to the floor. They forearm it out and seem to be rather pleased, just like the crowd.

Briscoe gets the better of things and sends him to the floor for the Bang Bang Elbow. A fisherman’s buster gives Briscoe two but the Froggy Bow is reversed into a top rope superplex into a piledriver. Briscoe breaks up another superplex though and hits the Froggy Bow for two of his own. With nothing else working, Briscoe busts out the Cutthroat Driver (close to a Burning Hammer) for the pin at 17:04.

Rating: B. this is the problem with having a fellow champion in a tournament like this, as he just lost clean to Briscoe. In theory that should set Briscoe up as the #1 contender, but it might take a few weeks before we can get to that match. At the same time, Garcia probably shouldn’t be losing so soon after he won the title in the first place and hopefully this doesn’t damage him too much.

Blue League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 4 points (2 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 4 points (2 matches remaining)
Shelton Benjamin – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
The Beast Mortos – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Another good week of Classic action, slightly annoying result in the main event aside. I like what they’ve been doing with the tournament, but at some point it’s going to end and AEW needs to have something good to take up the slack. The rest of the show was ok enough, with the Death Riders stuff thankfully being limited to just one segment. As usual, AEW is at its best when the wrestling carries things and that was the case again here.

Results
Darby Allin b. Komander – Rollup
Willow Nightingale b. Serena Deeb – The Babe With The Powerbomb
Kyle Fletcher b. Kazuchika Okada – Brainbuster
The Beast Mortos b. Aaron Solo – Discus lariat
Mina Shirakawa b. Emi Sakura – Top rope Sling Blade
Mark Briscoe b. Daniel Garcia – Cutthroat Driver

 

 

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