Collision
Date: October 28, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly

We’re three weeks away from Full Gear but in this case we have one heck of a main event here. This week will see MJF defend the World Title against Kenny Omega as the latter tries to preserve his record for the longest title reign in history. That should be more than enough to carry the show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jay White vs. AR Fox

White has the rest of Bullet Club Gold with him. Feeling out process to start with Fox frustrating White, only to get caught in the corner for some chops. A bottom rope cutter gets Fox out of trouble and Fox dropkicks him out to the floor. Fox hits a running shooting star off the apron to a standing White but a suplex sends Fox crashing into the corner.

White plants him down again and Fox bails to the floor as we take a break. Back with Fox hitting a slingshot hilo on White, followed by a flip dive onto the Club, followed by a flip dive onto White. They get back inside with Fox hitting a Swanton for two but a 450 misses. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 10:49.

Rating: B-. It’s no surprise that these two work well together as they are both incredibly talented stars. This was another example of White getting a nice win to boost him up to the next level before he gets his big World Title match at Full Gear. Fox is one of those good hands who can make anyone look good and that is what he did here, as expected.

Post match MJF runs out to try and get his title back but the numbers cut him off. MJF leaves belt less.

Max Caster thinks he has gotten MJF to agree to be at National 69 Day but he’s been catfished. Caster gets to go stand in the corner while Anthony Bowens and Billy Gunn talk up the big night.

The Boys vs. The Gunns

Dalton Castle and the rest of the Bullet Club Gold are here too. Austin runs Brent over to start and everything quickly breaks down. With Brandon sent outside, 3:10 To Yuma finishes Brent at 1:42. Total squash.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. MJF, I believe the same one from Rampage.

Danhausen is still coming back.

Ryan Nemeth talks about all of the good things he is doing outside of AEW but he needs the best management. He knocks on CJ Perry’s door, but gets Miro instead. Miro pulls him inside and violent sounds are heard.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Abadon

Shida, in a rather long red dress, is defending in a Fright Night Fight, meaning we have Halloween weapons abounding. Abadon gets run over to start but she’s right back with a headscissors. Shida hits a running dropkick and hammers away in the corner until a middle rope dropkick connects. They head to the floor where Abadon can’t quite pull her under the ring, but she can get in a trashcan lid shot to the back.

We take a break and come back with Shida grabbing a broom and going up top. A big dive misses though and they clothesline each other down. Shida strikes away to no avail so Abadon runs her over for two instead. Abadon whips out a bucket of hard candy and Blockbusters Shida onto them. A pumpkin shot misses though and Shida puts it on Abadon’s head instead. The Katana into the pumpkin into Abadon’s head retains the title at 10:11.

Rating: C. Well it was set up last night and since it was already the Halloween match, there was only so much of a reason to believe that Shida would lose here. The match wasn’t bad and Shida gets another win, though Abadon can only mean so much with almost a year between televised matches. The pumpkin deal at the end was at least cute though and that’s nice to see.

Post match Toni Storm comes out to pose and glare at Shida.

Video on FTR vs. Ricky Starks/Big Bill, with Dax Harwood vs. Starks set for tonight.

Video on the history between Keith Lee and Shane Taylor, who were partners in Ring Of Honor and then went their separate ways. Now they’re set for a fight.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Rhett Titus

Joe is defending. Titus slips out of a wristlock and chops away but gets pummeled down in the corner for his efforts. A right hand gets Titus out of the corner but Joe sidesteps a high crossbody. Joe looks at his non-existent watch but slips out of the MuscleBuster. The release Rock Bottom out of the corner sets up the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 2:04.

QTV is happy to be back and QT Marshall is ready to defend his title against anyone.

We look at Bryan Danielson being banged up on Dynamite.

Claudio Castagnoli talks about how Danielson has a broken orbital bone and promises to make Kazuchika Okada and Orange Cassidy pay for what they did. He’s ready to take the International Title from Cassidy on Dynamite.

Ricky Starks vs. Dax Harwood

Big Bill and Cash Wheeler are here too. Hold on though as the lights go out and the House Of Black are shown watching from the crowd/stage. With that cleared up, Harwood and Starks trade waistlocks to no avail so Starks works on a wristlock. Back up and Starks chops him into the corner but Harwood reverses for some chops of his own. Starks slugs away, only for Harwood to punch him out of the corner again. A whip over the top sends Starks crashing to the floor but Starks ties him into the ring skirt.

Starks grabs a suplex onto the ramp and we take a break. Back with Harwood hitting a top rope superplex for two and a big crash. Starks grabs a small package with trunks for two but the tornado DDT is countered into a suplex. The spear is cut off and Harwood hits a fairly scary looking piledriver for two as Bill breaks it up. Bill offers a distraction as well and Starks hits a piledriver of his own for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: C+. This was the usual good match between two more talented stars but now the question is who comes for the titles next. FTR isn’t the strongest looking team to challenge right now and I can’t really imagine the Young Bucks going after Starks and Bill. What matters here is getting the champs over strong though and that has certainly been the case so far.

Post match the lights go out again and we have the House Of Black. Cue the returning La Faccion Ingobernable though and the brawl is on, with La Faccion teaming up with FTR to send the five villains running.

Andrade El Idolo isn’t worried about Miro being angry over a possible CJ Perry association. He is a businessman and this is his business.

Kris Statlander wants Willow Nightingale and Sky Blue to make up. Nightingale talks about how there is a tension there and it might be due to Julia Hart. Blue says anything between herself and Julia is between the two of them.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tracy Williams

Castagnoli jumps him during the entrance, hits a bunch of forearms, something like a Rainmaker, and a big uppercut for the pin at 42 seconds. So that’s the angry Castagnoli.

Post match Castagnoli puts on something close to a LeBell Lock.

Samoa Joe gives MJF a pep talk and says scream his name if he needs some help tonight.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending. They go technical to start with neither being able to get anywhere with a wristlock. Back up and Omega fights out of a headlock, only for MJF to walk over his back. Omega cartwheels away from him and hey trade nipups (Omega doesn’t quite get it) ad we get a standoff. MJF pokes him in the eye but Omega is fine enough for a backdrop to the floor.

There’s the big running flip dive but MJF slides back in for a running Fosbury Flop of his own. A high crossbody puts Omega down back inside, only to have MJF take him down again. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a hammerlock DDT for two on Omega. Back up and Omega grabs the snapdragon, followed by the cross arm choke. MJF gets sent outside for a middle rope moonsault, followed by the missile dropkick back inside.

The middle rope moonsault only hits raised knees though and they need a breather. MJF bites his head in the corner but Omega hits a brainbuster onto the knee. The table is set up at ringside but Omega heads back inside for a pinfall reversal sequence. A buckle bomb rattles MJF, who comes right back out of the corner with a clothesline to leave them both down. They fight to the apron where Omega grabs a snapdragon to knock MJF even sillier. One heck of a sitout powerbomb puts MJF through the table and we take a break.

Back with the big slugout until Omega hits the running knee. What looks to be the One Winged Angel is countered into a poisonrana but Omega hits one of his own and they’re both down again. Omega scores with another jumping knee, only to have MJF pull him down by the arm.

A pumphandle driver gives MJF two and a butterfly brainbuster rocks Omega again. MJF loads up a suplex but Omega reverses into one of his own. There’s a Texas piledriver for two on MJF, who has to get his foot on the rope for the break. We take another break and come back again with MJF holding his back on the floor. Omega goes up but gets crotched, allowing MJF to do some pelvic thrusting, only to have Omega drop him face first onto the buckle.

Another running knee gives Omega two and there’s another V Trigger, only to have Don Callis come out for a distraction. They trade rollups for two more and Omega hits another running knee for two more. Another rollup exchange gets two more before MJF hits the Heatseeker for a good near fall. MJF grabs a Panama Sunrise and another Heatseeker retains the title at 30:12.

Rating: A-. Well that was certainly a pay per view worthy main event and MJF winning clean is one of the biggest wins of his career. You don’t see Omega lose very often and to lose like this is an even bigger deal. It also makes MJF feel like a much bigger deal, as he isn’t known for winning his matches without some kind of screwiness. Outstanding TV match here, as I’m still thinking this could have been a pay per view headliner somewhere along the way.

Samoa Joe, Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs and Bullet Club Gold are watching in the back.

We get the big handshake of respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is an instance where one match is more than enough to carry the whole thing, as one quarter was spent on one of the better matches of the year. Other than that, you had more of the things surrounding MJF going on, plus some rather nifty squashes. Those short matches help keep things moving while getting some people on TV and that is a nice perk. Rather good show here as AEW is going well at the moment.

Results
Jay White b. AR Fox – Blade Runner
The Gunns b. The Boys – 3:10 To Yuma to Brent
Hikaru Shida b. Abadon – Katana
Samoa Joe b. Rhett Titus – Koquina Clutch
Ricky Starks b. Dax Harwood – Piledriver
Claudio Castagnoli b. Tracy Williams – Uppercut
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Kenny Omega – Heatseeker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Battle Of The Belts VIII
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly

We’re back with another one of these and this show is extra packed with four title matches in one hour. Granted I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make when there has not been a title change at a Battle Of The Belts in over a year and a half. Maybe that changes tonight though so let’s get to it.

We open with Jon Moxley leaving the ring and going to the back, where he runs into International Champion Orange Cassidy. They bump shoulders (Cassidy seemed to be the instigator) and the fight is…not on as the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club and a referee breaks it up.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

Cassidy is defending and Silver has Alex Reynolds with him. Silver puts his hands in….Cassidy’s pockets so Cassidy puts his own hands on Silver’s head for a headbutt. Cassidy dives onto Reynolds, who had taken the sunglasses before the match. Back in and Silver misses a kick to the head but manages a heck of a toss into the corner. Cassidy manages to ram him into the buckle a few times but Silver is right back with a delayed superplex for two. They head to the apron where Silver hits a one armed gorilla press (that’s not bad) to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy hitting a Michinoku Driver for two, followed by some harder than usual lazy kicks. The spinning DDT is countered into a small package to give Silver two but Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble. Beach Break gets two but Reynolds offers a distraction and gets in a belt shot for two of his own. The Spin Doctor gets another near fall on Cassidy, who is right back with the Orange Punch to retain at 9:30.

Rating: C+. I know it’s a minor show and not exactly worthy of a big name challenger, but it was really hard to get into Silver coming for the title. He felt like someone thrown out there for the sake of having a title shot and that doesn’t make for the most interesting match. Cassidy vs. Moxley seems destined to take place again sooner rather than later so Cassidy losing was a very long shot at best against almost anyone, but there wasn’t a more serious challenger available?

Andrade El Idolo is banged up after his loss to Bryan Danielson but CJ Perry comes in to offer her guidance. Andrade seems intrigued, apparently not knowing what this means for his future health.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Tony Nese

Nese, with Mark Sterling, is challenging and we get their traditional “you’re all fat and need to exercise” bit before the match. Joe hammers away in the corner, avoids a moonsault (as only he can) and finishes with the MuscleBuster to retain at 1:17. Total squash.

Post match Joe says MJF can give him what he wants or he can take it, but he’ll be the next AEW World Champion.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is challenging. They trade shoulders to start and neither can get very far. Statlander sends her to the floor and hits a moonsault off the apron for a crash. A posting cuts Statlander off (despite a visible gap between her head and the steel) and Nightingale Cannonballs her against the steps.

We take a break and come back with Nightingale launching her into the corner but Statlander hits a running knee. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but Nightingale is right back with a Pounce. A quick DDT gives Statlander two and she goes up top, only to get super Death Valley Drivered back down. The Cannonball crushes Statlander but she’s fine enough to powerbomb Nightingale out of the corner. The 450 retains the title at 10:23.

Rating: B-. They went with the hoss fight here and the two of them beat the fire out of each other for about ten minutes. It was an exchange of one big shot after another and it made for a good match. Statlander is still clearing out the division and is going to need a new challenger. Right now though, I’m not sure who that is, though she almost needs to move up to the Women’s Title sooner or later. At the same time, Nightingale continues to lose in big matches, which is quite the sad thing to see for her.

Post match respect is teased but Skye Blue runs in to break it up. Nightingale does shake Statlander’s hand as Blue isn’t pleased.

Orange Cassidy doesn’t like the Blackpool Combat Club (Cassidy: “I don’t care about Yuta.”) but if they want to fight, Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson can fight him and…..Kazuchika Okada on Dynamite. Well that elevated quickly.

Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Daniel Garcia

Menard and company, with Anna Jay, are challenging. Hold on though as the Memphis Grizzlies’ mascot is here for a pre-match scissoring. Caster grabs a hammerlock on Garcia to start before pulling him down into a headscissors. Garcia gets up and teases the dance but Menard breaks that up again. More dancing is teases but this time Anna breaks it up and gets ejected for her efforts.

Bowens slugs away at Menard and kicks Parker out to the floor. Gunn comes in (the fans approve) and we get the scissoring double elbow. It’s already back to Caster, who gets stomped down in the corner as we take a break. Back with Bowens getting punched down, allowing Garcia to step over him a few times. Bowens manages to kick the villains away but Garcia decks Caster before the tag.

A rolling tag brings Gunn in though and house is quickly cleaned. Scissor Me Timbers hits Menard and we get the three way scissoring. Garcia is back in and tries the dancing but has to beat up Caster instead. Now the dancing can ensue, but it takes too long and Gunn is back in with the Fameasser. The assisted Iconoclasm retains the titles at 10:48.

Rating: C+. This was more of a fun match than anything else and there is nothing wrong with wrapping up with that sort of thing. The fans are going to cheer for the Acclaimed and Gunn pretty much no matter what and Garcia’s dancing is crazy popular right now. There was even a hint of some drama over a title change here so this was a nice way to go to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As can be the case around here, the wrestling was fine but there is a grand total of no need to watch this show. There hasn’t been a title change on one of these shows since last April and it’s not like there was anything great on this one either. It’s worth a look if you are completely out of anything to see, but don’t expect much of anything that matters in the grand scheme of things.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. John Silver – Orange Punch
Samoa Joe b. Tony Nese – MuscleBuster
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – 450
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Daniel Garcia – Assisted Iconoclasm to Parker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the first part of a double shot this weekend as we have the usual Collision plus Battle Of The Belts as a follow up. This week’s show has a pair of big matches as the Blackpool Combat Club gets a shot at the Tag Team Titles, plus Andrade El Idolo vs. Bryan Danielson in what should be a heck of a match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Andrade El Idolo

Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. El Idolo can’t get a Gory Stretch as Danielson slips out, earning himself a running shoulder. Neither can get much of an advantage so they shake hands instead. Danielson pulls him into a bow and arrow but Andrade slips out for a failed Figure Four attempt. Andrade takes him into the corner for the exchange of chops but Danielson slips out and fires off the kicks to the chest. Danielson sends him to the floor and hits the running knee off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Andrade fighting back and dropkicking him off the top to the floor. There’s the moonsault to the floor but Danielson headbutts him of the top. The shotgun dropkick hits Andrade but he gets away from the LeBell Lock attempt. Andrade knocks him down again and tries the double moonsault, only to hit raised knees.

The LeBell Lock is countered into the Figure Four but Danielson gets to the rope before the Figure Eight. Back up and they collide but Danielson hits a kick to the head. The running knee misses and they trade rollups for two each until Danielson finally crucifixes him for the pin at 18:57.

Rating: B+. It was an awesome back and forth match, even if it isn’t exactly the dream match they advertised and has pretty much nothing to do with storylines at the moment. That being said, Danielson is as much of a guarantee of a good to great match as there is in the world at the moment. I’m curious to see what happens when he’s not there to fill in twenty minutes of this show every week, but I’ll certainly take it for now.

Post match respect is shown and Andrade leaves, only to have Malakai Black pop in to kick Danielson down. The Blackpool Combat Club makes the save.

Darby Allin isn’t worried about what has happened to Nick Wayne and can’t wait to see the special gift for Sting on Dynamite.

Skye Blue vs. Hollyhood Haley

Haley takes her down to start and hits a running knee to the back. Blue catches her in the corner and hits a powerbomb. Code Blue finishes Haley at 1:58.

The Gunns vs. Outrunners

The Gunns beat up Magnum to start and throw Floyd into the same corner. 3:10 To Yuma finishes Floyd at 2:04.

Post match the lights go out and we see the Devil in the back.

Kris Statlander squats interviewer Lexi Nair to warm up. Orange Cassidy is ready too.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jeff Jarrett

Non-title Memphis Street Fight (weapons provided), Jay Lethal gets a title shot if Jarrett wins, and Memphis legend Dave Brown is on commentary. They go straight to the weapons and since there was once a concession stand brawl near Memphis, they have a bunch of food, including ketchup and mustard. The brawl heads to the stage where Jay Lethal cutters Kingston off the stage and through a table.

We take a break and come back wit Jarrett doing various horrible things to Kingston’s knee. The Figure Four goes on but Kingston turns it over, only to have Lethal miss something off the top. Jarrett brings in the guitar and hits the Stroke for two. Lethal and Satnam Singh come in to beat the fire out of Kingston, with the Lethal Injection giving Jarrett the pin at 13:00.

Rating: C. This is going to be the definition of “your mileage may vary” and it’s not going to surprise me to see the reactions being all over the place. It was a wacky brawl and Kingston getting beaten down because he has no friends is a fine plot device to set up the title match. I could go for less of the concession stand stuff though, as would could have dropped the Memphis from the title and avoided the goofiness entirely.

Miro vs. Action Andretti

CJ Perry is at ringside as Andretti hits some dropkicks to start. Miro tosses him down though and we take a break with Andretti going into the steps. Back with Andretti fighting up and sending him to the floor for a running flip dive. Miro takes him down back inside and tries Game Over, which is flipped out of for the escape. Andretti manages the torture rack but Miro powers out and kicks him in the face, setting up Game Over for the win at 9:04.

Rating: C. Miro is a monster but he’s going nine minutes to beat low level tag guy Action Andretti. That doesn’t seem to be going with the point of Miro being angry at anyone for wanting to work with his wife but I guess they had to fill the TV time somehow. Odds are this is part of a longer story for Miro, though it could have gotten off to a better start.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is still arguing and storm off. Ruby Soho comes in for the next interview and says she understands families falling apart. Angelo Parker says he’ll be a champion at the end of the night but Soho tells him to get out of her shot. Soho wants a title shot against someone, which doesn’t make a ton of sense given the graphic that shows her getting a title shot on Dynamite popping up during her promo.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are on the way back.

Eddie Kingston goes on a rant about Jay Lethal losing his way and tells him not to bring his goons to their title match. Also something about Lethal’s parents being disappointed in him for referring to someone who isn’t blood as his uncle.

FTR vs. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston

FTR wrecks them to start but the lights go out. Malakai Black is here so the lights go out again (four times tonight) and the House of Black is here to jump FTR for the DQ at 1:02.

Post match the beatdown is on.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli

Bill/Starks are defending. Yuta takes Starks to the mat to start and the champion is quickly frustrated. Bill comes in instead and it’s actually not Castagnoli coming in (commentary is surprised too). The power sends Yuta to the apron and Bill knocks him into the barricade for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Bill dropping an elbow for two, followed by a Boss Man Slam for the same. Yuta manages to avoid a charge in the corner though and hands it off to Castagnoli. House is quickly cleaned, including Old School of all things for two on Starks. The running uppercut against the barricade connects and we take a break.

Back with Bill big booting Castagnoli for two but having to escape a fireman’s carry. Yuta comes in with a missile dropkick Hart Attack for two on Bill but Starks comes in to cut him off. The Roshambo is blocked but Bill hits something like a powerbomb to give Starks two. Yuta manages to get back to Castagnoli so the pace can pick up, including the Swing into the dropkick. Bill makes the save and the Fastball Special is loaded up but cue the House of Black to break it up. Starks hits the spear and the Roshambo to retain the titles at 21:22.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time and they were able to do something with Yuta getting beaten down for such a long time before Castagnoli could come in to even things up a bit. The House Of Black ending does tie things together throughout the show but it might have felt like a bigger shock if this was their first appearance of night. Starks and Bill continuing their reign is a good sign as well, as you don’t want them to feel like they lucked into the titles with a short run.

Post match the beatdown is on so Bryan Danielson comes in for the failed save attempt. FTR comes in as well but Bill and Starks help beat them down. Cue Jon Moxley for the real save and the big brawl ends the show. Well after one more Swing to Starks to leave the fans happy.

Overall Rating: B. That’s certainly the Collision formula: good stuff to start and end the show without much of value in between. The opener and main event were both rather good TV matches, but I could have gone with something better in the middle. Save for the Blackpool Combat Club stuff, this wasn’t the most important show, but two matches totaling about forty minutes of that quality are more than enough to carry AEW through two hours.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Andrade El Idolo – Crucifix
Skye Blue b. Hollyhood Haley – Code Blue
Gunns b. Outrunners – 3:10 To Yuma to Floyd
Jeff Jarrett b. Eddie Kingston – Lethal Injection
Miro b. Action Andretti – Game Over
FTR b. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston via DQ when the House Of Black interfered
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. Blackpool Combat Club – Roshambo to Yuta

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: September 30, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for WrestleDream and that should make for a pretty big show. Collision has been in a weird place in recent months but maybe they can do better with some focus. The main event is another all star eight person tag, which might be their norm for go home shows. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Big Bill, Aussie Open, Ricky Starks, Wheeler Yuta, Bryan Danielson and FTR are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Juice Robinson

The Gunns are here with Robinson. They go right at it to start but Andrade can’t get the Figure Four. Robinson bails to the floor but Andrade throws him back inside for Three Amigos. A moonsault to the floor takes out all three villains but Robinson manages to send Andrade into the announcers’ table. The Gunns get in some stomping behind the referee’s back, allowing Robinson to hit a neckbreaker for two.

Robinson elbows him down again but Andrade is back up with some right hands in the corner. That earns him a drop onto the buckle and a Cannonball as we take a break. Back with Andrade fighting out of a chinlock and dropping Robinson. The double moonsault hits raised knees but Andrade is fine enough to send him face first into the buckle.

For some reason the referee breaks up the running knees in the corner, allowing Robinson to hit the big left. A layout powerbomb gives Robinson two but Andrade hiptosses him hard into the corner. The running knees connect this time but the Gunns try to interfere again. This time they’re caught immediately though and it’s a double ejection. Andrade hits the spinning elbow for two and the hammerlock DDT finishes Robinson at 13:25.

Rating: B. The resurrection of Andrade has been one of the great things about Collision, as he has gone from just someone on the roster without much going on to having a string of pretty awesome matches around here. I’m not sure if he’s just looking to get WWE’s attention the second his contract is up, but he’s been a gem around here.

Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega are excited to team together, even though they don’t like each other. They’ll have their backs tonight and tomorrow when they face the Don Callis Family.

We get more of the Toni Storm: Portrait Of A Star promo, with Storm insisting that she’s good to talk right now. Storm says her peak is right now but she misses the old days where a pie in the ace was good enough (I’m not sure if that’s a reference to why she left WWE but if it is….it’s a weird one). She accuses the interviewer of coming on to her by holding her hand (which she grabbed) and asks if she’s good enough for him.

The Kingdom vs. Best Friends

The fight starts before the bell with the threat of stereo piledrivers sending the Kingdom bailing to the floor. Trent chops at Bennett to start and it’s off to Chuck for a belly to back suplex. Taven comes in with a missile dropkick to Trent and everything breaks down, with Trent hitting a slingshot dive to Taven. Bennett avoids a charge though and sends Bennett into the barricade.

Trent is sent into a chair and we take a break. Back with Trent coming in to clean house until Taven gets in a shot to the back of the head. Just The Tip gets two on Trent as everything breaks down again. Trent hits a Death Valley Driver to sent Bennett into the steps and a Doomsday knee connects back inside. Rather than cover, we get the Big Hug, followed by the stereo piledrivers…for two on Bennett. With the referee distracted, Bennett punches them both low and a spike piledriver finishes Trent at 9:27.

Rating: C. And that’s the AEW style for you, as dropping someone on his head on the steps, hitting a top rope knee on him and then giving him a piledriver in about a minute gets two. The Death Valley Driver could have been pulled out from the match and it would have only lost an OOO, but that’s just what happens in AEW. Granted the Best Friends losing makes things a bit better, but I really wish someone could get rid of those ridiculous kickouts after big sequences of moves.

Post math the Kingdom pulls out their suitcases because they’re on their way back to Roderick Strong’s bedside.

Don Callis and Prince Nana are found talking in the back. Callis walks away and Nana talks about digging deep into the universe and finding something unique. He implies a big payday if the Gates Of Agony beat Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega.

Julia Hart has a creepy vignette involving masks hanging from strings and promising to end Kris Statlander.

Julia Hart vs. Vertvixen

Hart forearms her down to start and chokes on the rope a bit. A flipping elbow in the corner hits Vertvixen again but Hart misses a charge. Not that it matters as a kick to the chest and the moonsault finish Vertvixen at 2:45. Just a quick win before the title match tomorrow.

Post match Hart calls out Kris Statlander for right now so here she is. Then Hart backs off, leaving Statlander to say Hart’s time is up at WrestleDream.

Claudio Castagnoli has issued a challenge for WrestleDream and Josh Barnett answered.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega vs. Gates Of Agony

Toa headbutts Jericho into the corner to start and Kaun nails him with a clothesline for two. A kick to the face gets Jericho out of trouble though and it’s Omega…well not coming in actually as he rams Toa’s head into the buckle from the apron a bunch of times. Then he comes in with a high crossbody and joins with Jericho fr a double suplex (they look at each other in shock that they seem to work well together in a funny moment).

Prince Nana offers a distraction though and Toa knocks Omega into Jericho for a crash out to the floor. That leaves Kaun to suplex Omega for two, followed by a Backstabber into a running elbow in the corner. We take a break and come back with Omega managing a hurricanrana to Kaun, allowing the tag to Jericho. A top rope elbow puts Kaun down and the Lionsault connects. The Walls are broken up though and a gutbuster gives Kaun two on Jericho. Omega makes the save and now the Walls can make Kaun tap at 11:49.

Rating: B-. This was more of a cool moment than anything else, but Jericho and Omega do feel like something of a dream team. I could go for them being in the big match on their own without Kota Ibushi but at least we got to see them on their own once. Good match here, and it’s not like the Gates have much of a status to lose.

Post match Omega and Jericho say this is about Don Callis. Omega has seen the light and it is going to take more than a vicious attack for him to turn his back on his friends. Ibushi takes that kind of an attack as an invitation. Jericho is ready for Sammy Guevara and quotes Judas to prove it. Vengeance is promised to wrap up a promo that went a bit long.

Video on the Righteous.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage, with Allin suggesting that the match will be the main event of WrestleDream.

Righteous vs. Judas Icarus/Travis Williams

Williams gets beaten up to start so it’s quickly off to Icarus. Dutch chops him down and adds one to Williams on the apron as well. Autumn Sunshine finishes Icarus at 1:52.

Post match Vincent tells Dutch to look at all the paper people in the crowd. They’ll win the ROH Tag Team Titles at WrestleDream and leave the Devil on one hoof, like his partner. Dutch whips out a block of wood and they crush Icarus’ ankles.

Video on Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata.

WrestleDream rundown.

TMDK is ready to win the Trios Titles but the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn interrupt. Shane Haste wants to do his own right and it’s not so good.

Bryan Danielson/FTR/Wheeler Yuta vs. Aussie Open/Ricky Starks/Big Bill

Zack Sabre Jr. is on commentary. Starks bails from Yuta to start so Fletcher comes in instead. Yuta and Fletcher take turns working on the arms until Yuta scores with a dropkick. Harwood comes in and gets to face Davis for a bit of a power showdown. Everything breaks down and it’s a big staredown on the floor. Back with Harwood suplexing Fletcher and flipping over to Cash for the tag.

House is cleaned until Cash and Fletcher take turns escaping suplexes. It’s back to Yuta for a top rope forearm, followed by a bridging German suplex for two on Fletcher. Yuta’s elbows rock Starks but Bill offers a distraction to break them up. A big boot puts Yuta in more trouble and Starks drops an elbow for two. The seated abdominal stretch keeps Yuta down until he can hiptoss his way to freedom. The Aussies come in for a toss sitout powerbomb and we take another break.

Back again with Yuta and Starks down but Yuta makes it over for the tag back to Danielson. The strikes in the corner have Starks falling down rather quickly, but he’s back up to miss a spear. Danielson scores with the suicide dive into a missile dropkick. Starks clotheslines his way out of trouble and the tornado DDT puts Danielson down. Bill comes in but the chokeslam is countered into the LeBell Lock.

Everything breaks down and the villains are left on their knees for a long series of YES Kicks. A missile dropkick into a top rope headbutt gets two on Bill but all of his partners make a save. The fight heads to the floor and Danielson is sent into the steps, leaving Bill to miss a charge into the post. The Sharpshooter is blocked and Starks spears Harwood for the pin at 19:39.

Rating: B. This is an idea that has worked forever in wrestling and it worked well here too. They tied a bunch of pay per view matches together into one here, with commentary even adding in another, and that makes for a very efficient use of time. It also lets you get some cool pairings you might not see very often and the action was still quite good. This was a smart idea and it wound up working very well.

Post match the big brawl is on until Zack Sabre Jr. stands up. He comes into the ring for the staredown with Danielson before slapping him in the face. Danielson slaps him back and tries the LeBell Lock but Sabre Jr. bails to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Once we got past the opening matches, which had nothing to do with WrestleDream, this turned into a pretty by the book go home show. In this case, that’s the best thing they could have done as they made me a bit more interested in a show that hadn’t given me much reason to care coming in. WrestleDream should be good, but as usual, the build hasn’t been much until the very last minute. Strong show here, and it’s the one they needed.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Juice Robinson – Hammerlock DDT
The Kingdom b. Best Friends – Spike piledriver to Taylor
Julia Hart b. Vertfixen – Moonsault
Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega b. Gates Of Agony – Walls Of Jericho to Kaun
Righteous b. Judas Icarus/Travis Williams – Autumn Sunshine to Icarus
Ricky Starks/Big Bill/Aussie Open b. Wheeler Yuta/Bryan Danielson/FTR – Spear to Harwood

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: September 29, 2023
Location: 1stBank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Rampage before WrestleDream and I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make. Rampage can be all over the place when it comes to importance, but there is a good chance that the wrestling itself will be pretty high quality. That should make for an easy show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Trios Titles: Billy Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Hardys/Brother Zay

Gunn and the Acclaimed are defending in ANOTHER open challenge. Zay and Bowens stars things off with an exchange of armdrags until Zay grabs a headscissors (and thrusts his hips into the mat). Bowens is right back with a kick to the ribs into the running Fameasser for quite the crash. Zay manages to send Bowens to the floor so it’s off to Jeff to beat up Caster. Matt and Billy come in for a SUCK IT vs. DELETE off until Gunn is sent into the corner over and over.

It’s back to Jeff for the step up splash in the corner but everything breaks down. The champs clear out the Hardys and Scissor Me Timbers gets two on Zay. We take a break and come back with Caster hitting a dropkick on Zay, followed by a bit of a dance. Gunn comes back in to miss a Stinger Splash, leaving both he and Zay down. The double tag brings in Jeff and Bowens, with the former grabbing a rollup.

The Whisper In The Wind hits the Acclaimed and it’s the Twist of Fate into the Swanton to Gunn. A save is made and a bunch of charging shots in the corner put Matt down. The double tag brings in Bowens and Zay with Zay getting to kick people in the face. Zay hits a middle rope spinning Downward Spiral, followed by an Asai moonsault to Gunn. Back in and the assisted Iconoclasm finishes Zay to retain the titles at 10:36.

Rating: B-. These guys got going in the end and it turned into a rather high energy match. Gunn and the Acclaimed can move on to their title defense against a team from New Japan at WrestleDream while the Hardys can find another team to lose against in another title match. Zay stood out here a bit as well, as he got to show off some of his pretty impressive high flying. Good opener, even if it was another thrown out there title match.

Eddie Kingston is ready to defend the New Japan Strong Openweight Title against Rocky Romero tonight but Jeff Jarrett and company come in. Jay Lethal talks about how he can respect a double champ, but not when it means Kingston is the Ring Of Honor World Champion. That title means something and Kingston is unfit to hold the title. Kingston laughs and walks away.

On Saturday, Andrade El Idolo wants to know why Juice Robinson has a problems with him. See you Saturday at Collision.

New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Rocky Romero vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending. Feeling out process to start with Romero’s headlock not getting him very far. Romero’s shoulder doesn’t get him anywhere either but he manages to knock Kingston outside. That’s fine with Kingston, who hits a suplex on the floor as we take a break. Back with Kingston getting caught in the ropes so Romero can hit a middle rope dropkick for two. Kingston is right back with the rapid fire chops in the corner but Romero slugs his way out. That’s fine with Kingston, who hits a pair of spinning backfists into the Stretch Plum to retain at 8:58.

Rating: C+. As usual the match was fine, but it’s another instance of a random wrestler getting a title shot. Between this and the open challenges, there are so many out of nowhere title matches and it takes away some of the impact. As for the match itself, there’s only so much you can do with about nine minutes and a good chunk of it cut out of the middle. Completely fine action though and that’s better than some options they had.

Post match respect is shown but Katsuyori Shibata comes out for the staredown.

Aussie Open is sick of hearing about how great FTR is. They’ve spent the last year working to get here for one more match with them, because it’s time for FTR to feel pain.

Righteous vs. Gunnar/Caleb Crush

Dutch runs them over with a double clothesline to start and adds a swinging Boss Man Slam on Crush. Gunnar gets one of his own and Autumn Sunshine finishes Crush at 1:25.

Video on the history of Santana and Ortiz, who were a great team and then fell apart due to personal issues.

Video on Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin.

Nick Wayne won’t be at ringside for Allin vs. Cage but he wants to face Luchasaurus at Zero Hour. He even has a skateboard for the sake of a receipt.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Zack Sabre Jr. is ready to hurt Bryan Danielson and end his retirement tour a lot earlier than expected. He throws in a little Final Countdown (humming version) for a bonus.

Ruby Soho vs. Hikaru Shida

For a Women’s Title shot. Feeling out process to start with Shida taking her down. The right hands in the corner set up a spinning crossbody, followed by more right hands. There’s a middle rope dropkick to knock Soho down again and we take a break. Back with the exchange of forearms going to Shida before they go outside. The fight goes up the ramp before they both have to run back to the ring to beat the count.

Soho gets two off a Saito suplex and it’s time for the kendo stick. With that taken away, Soho tries the spray paint but the referee gets bumped while taking it away. Destination Unknown connects for no count so Shida sticks her in the head. The Katana connects and another referee runs down for two. Shida misses a top rope Meteora but blocks a top rope backsplash with raised knees. The Falcon Arrow gets two, followed by another Katana to give Shida the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Shida vs. Soho is something that is going to work no matter what they’re doing and thankfully they didn’t do a bunch of nonsense with the referee down. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Shida get the title back as Saraya got her England win last month. At the same time, it would completely surprise me to see Soho win a match that matters, as it certainly hasn’t been her thing yet.

Saraya comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show’s problem continues to be that it is sandwiched between Dynamite and Collision, which doesn’t leave it with much purpose. You had two thrown out there title defenses, both of which will be followed by those same titles being on the line again two days later. That doesn’t make for a thrilling show, which leaves the wrestling to carry everything. As usual, that worked well, as long as you don’t expect a good bit of this show to be anything more than advertisements for later events.

Results
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Hardys/Brother Zay – Assisted Iconoclasm to Zay
Eddie Kingston b. Rocky Romero – Stretch Plum
Righteous b. Gunnar/Caleb Crush – Autumn Sunshine to Crush
Hikaru Shida b. Ruby Soho – Katana

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: September 23, 2023
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time to wrap up another very busy week for AEW and it’s going to get even busier next week with WrestleDream. For now though, we have a big card with Ricky Starks vs. Bryan Danielson in a Texas Deathmatch and a triple threat match for the TNT Title. That should make for a nice night so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Darby Allin, Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, Ricky Starks and Bryan Danielson are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin vs. Luchasaurus

Luchasaurus is defending but Cage has all but said this is a handicap match against Allin. For a bonus, Sting is barred from ringside. They start fast with Allin throwing powder at Luchasaurus and knocking Cage outside for a dive. Back in and Code Red gets two on Cage, followed by a dive onto Luchasaurus. Cage knocks Allin off the apron though and the beating is on, with Luchasaurus sending in a chair.

Back in and Cage chokes Allin on the chair and Luchasaurus suplexes Allin, with the chair flying away as well. Cage doesn’t like Luchasaurus going for the cover…and then gets a near fall of his own. Everyone goes outside and Allin is whipped hard into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Luchasaurus being sent outside so Cage can miss a spear in the corner. Allin and Cage trade rollups until Allin hits a Death Drop. The Coffin Drop to the floor hits both villains but Allin has t flip out of a chokeslam inside. The flipping Stunner works a bit better for Allin so Cage brings in the title. The shot misses so Allin dropkicks him into the corner.

One heck of a chokeslam cuts Allin down though and Luchasaurus FINALLY gets to pick up the title. Cage says hand it over and, after some yelling, gets what he wants. Allin rams them into each other though and belts Luchasaurus in the head for two. The Coffin Drop connects but Cage sends Allin outside and steals the pin on Luchasaurus for the title at 10:03.

Rating: B. That’s an interesting way to go, as so much of the appeal of Cage and Luchasaurus’ act was about Cage holding the title without being champion. At the same time, this might be a step too far for Luchasaurus, who certainly liked holding the title for a little while. That being said, as usual this was about Allin bouncing all over the place like a rubber ball and it made or a heck of a performance. Good match, and they advance the Cage/Luchasaurus story in a big way.

Post match Luchasaurus doesn’t look happy but gets a hug before having to carry Cage on his shoulders.

We look at Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega uniting to go after the Don Callis Family.

The Don Callis Family thinks Omega and Jericho teaming with Kota Ibushi will make Omega weak. They’ve got a third family member and it’s….Will Ospreay. The match is set for WrestleDream. Well that’s big.

Christian Cage talks about how he has always been the undisputed champion and dedicates it to Nick Wayne’s parents. He’s happy to be done with Darby Allin, but Tony Khan has announced Cage vs. Allin, 2/3 falls for WrestleDream.

Rob Van Dam/Hook vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard

Jake Hager and Anna Jay are here with Parker and Menard. Hook takes Menard down to start but it’s quickly off to Parker. Van Dam comes in and easily drops Parker, followed by a rollup for two on Menard. The springboard kick to the face sends Parker outside, giving us the YOU’VE STILL GOT IT chant as we take a break.

Back with Hook not being able to get over for the tag so he settles for a suplex to Parker. The tag brings Van Dam back in to kick away, setting up Rolling Thunder for two on Parker with Menard having to make the save. Hager tries to bring in the chair but gets Van Daminatored. Hook pulls Parker into Redrum and the Five Star Frog Splash finishes Menard at 8:20.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t great but what mattered here was getting Van Dam in there again for a nostalgia moment. Van Dam is still more than good enough to have an eight minute tag match and looked perfectly fine in there. Menard and Parker losing isn’t a big deal so this went about as well as it could have or a quick moment.

We look at Eddie Kingston winning the ROH World Title and now he’s going to defend it (plus the New Japan Strong Openweight Title) against Katsuyori Shibata at WrestleDream.

The Dark Order wants you.

The Kingdom don’t like the Best Friends for not keeping their friends NECK STRONG. Next week, it’s piledrivers in support of neck health.

Julia Hart vs. Kiera Hogan

Brody King is here with Hart and Hogan is taking an injured Willow Nightingale’s place. Hogan starts fast with a running hip attack against the rope but gets pulled down by the hair. A suplex lets Hart hammer away but Hogan is back up with some shots to the head. Hart knocks her down again and hits a standing moonsault to set up the chinlock. The sliding clothesline to the back of the head sets up Hartless to make Hogan tap at 3:35.

Rating: C. This was about as good as it was going to get as Hogan hasn’t been treated anything special and the real fight is with Nightingale. Hart gets to be built up a little more before the showdown. The match was little more than a squash and now we can get to the Nightingale match, whenever it happens.

Post match Hart goes after Hogan again until Skye Blue tries for the save. That earns Blue (who Hart beat last night) the mist so King can challenge Kris Statlander for the TBS Title at WrestleDream.

We look at the Righteous becoming #1 contenders to the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

The Righteous walk through a garden and act all creepy, because that’s a totally new concept in wrestling.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Jay White

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is here with White. Andrade powers him into the corner to start and grabs a headlock. A shot off the top looks to set up Three Amigos but White slips out of the third. That’s fine with Andrade, who dropkicks him off the ropes and out to the floor. Back in and White knocks Andrade to the floor for a change and we take a break. Back with White taking him down for some shots to the chest.

They chop it out until Andrade snaps off some dragon screw legwhips. A flying forearm sends White into the corner and then out to the floor. Andrade hits a big moonsault onto the Club (and lands on his feet), followed by the double moonsault for two back inside. White knocks him outside and hits a swinging Rock Bottom for two, followed by a quickly broken chinlock.

Back up and Andrade drops him for two, setting up the running knees in the corner. The hammerlock DDT gets two as Juice Robinson puts a foot on the rope. A Figure Four keeps White in trouble and Andrade bridges up into the Figure Eight. That’s enough to bring in the Club for the distraction, allowing Robinson to deck Andrade. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 16:23.

Rating: B. These two had a heck of a match as this was Andrade being motivated and working hard in there to look good. At the same time though, White is on a roll right now and it’s cool to see him getting a big win like this one. This was rather awesome and I could go for more of both of them.

Ortiz talks about how Mike Santana has used him for years. Then Santana ran from his problems, but he won’t be able to run much longer.

Shane Taylor is made at Keith Lee leaving him in ROH, but Taylor became a legend there anyway. If he has to put Lee in the ground to take care of his kids, so be it. First though, Lee can face Lee Moriarty.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Workhorsemen

FTR is defending and Aussie Open is on commentary. Wheeler and Henry take turns going to the mat with neither getting much of an advantage. Drake comes in to miss an elbow and it’s Harwood coming in to try a running shoulder. A running shot puts Harwood down for two and it’s back to Henry. That’s fine with Harwood, who plants him with a brainbuster. Drake cuts Wheeler off though and hits a Cannonball on Harwood. A moonsault gives Drake two and a forearm rocks Harwood again. Drake tries a middle rope hurricanrana but gets slammed out of the air. The Sharpshooter retains the titles at 4:34.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to go very far and that is about as good of an idea as they had here. No one was buying the Workhorsemen (though that moonsault was good) when the Aussies were already on commentary and talking about WrestleDream. I can go with these short form FTR title defenses, as having them go this long with teams like the Workhorsemen, who barely ever win anything, is a bit of a stretch.

Post match the Aussies get in the ring to talk about how they’re having this match to show they’re still the team that took FTR to the limit last year. That’s cool with Harwood, who wants the baddest team to come after them. Top guys out.

CJ (not Perry) is here to make her husband Miro a champion again but he’s preoccupied. Miro comes in to say CJ is his temptation. She talks about liking the challenge of guiding people, but she doesn’t need Miro to save her. It seems she’s going to find someone else to manage. Just stay away from her future clients. Miro walks off without saying anything.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Video on WrestleDream.

Ricky Starks vs. Bryan Danielson

Texas Deathmatch (Last Man Standing) and there is no Big Bill for a change. They go right at it to start with Danielson sending him outside for a dive. Starks gets crotched on the barricade and they fight into the crowd. Back to ringside and Starks sends him into the crowd again, setting up a big dive to talk out a pair of guards.

We take a break and come back with Starks sending him into the announcers’ table over and over. Starks cracks him in the knee with a chair and then drives it into the ribs. Danielson is busted open so Starks goes after the cut, which just fired Danielson up. Starks drops him again though and we take another break.

Back again with Starks hitting a spear and choking Danielson out with a chain. That’s good for nine but another spear is countered into the LeBell Lock. Danielson chokes with the chain as well but Starks fires up. Danielson elbow shim in the head over and over, followed by a running knee to send a chair into Starks’ face. Starks is bused open and Danielson stomps away. The running knee, with chain, finishes Stark at 20:06.

Rating: B. These two work well together and that should wrap up the feud, which never saw Starks beat Danielson in a singles match. For now though, it was a good fight with Danielson elevating Starks up a good bit. Danielson seems to be on his retirement tour though and if that means running someone over, it’s likely going to happen.

Post match Wheeler Yuta and Big Bill come out to check on their friends and almost get in a fight to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a stacked card and it mostly delivered with a trio of solid matches. I had a good time with the show and the White vs. Andrade match was a treat. They also rapid fired the build towards WrestleDream, which certainly needed it with about a week to go before the show. They might want to work on that in the future, but I have no reason to believe they actually will. For now though, rather strong Collision here, though I’m not sure they’re going to be able to have this strong of a card every week.

Results
Christian Cage b. Luchasaurus and Darby Allin – Coffin Drop to Luchasaurus
Rob Van Dam/Hook b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker – Five Star Frog Splash to Menard
Julia Hart b. Kiera Hogan – Hartless
Jay White b. Andrade El Idolo – Blade Runner
FTR b. Workhorsemen – Sharpshooter to Drake
Bryan Danielson b. Ricky Starks – Running knee with a chain around the leg

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Collision
Date: September 16, 2023
Location: Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

The new era of Collision continues and we have some big matches this time around. First up we have FTR facing the Iron Savages, but the main event will see Kris Statlander defending the TBS Title against Britt Baker. The latter has the potential for quite the upset so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, Big Cass, Ricky Starks, Kris Statlander, Britt Baker, Dark Order, Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Ricky Starks/Big Bill vs. Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli

Danielson and Starks start things off but it’s off to Bill before anything happens. Bill chops away in the corner but Danielson comes right back with the kicks to the leg. Castagnoli comes in for the test of strength before slugging it out with Bill instead. With Danielson coming in for the double team, Bill clotheslines both of them down and hands it back to Starks to forearm away in the corner. Danielson strikes away in the corner and hits a middle rope hurricanrana for two. Bill comes back in for the splash in the corner and Danielson is sent outside, where Starks unloads again.

We take a break and come back with Danielson still in trouble in the corner. That’s broken up and Danielson hits a clothesline to leave them both down. The double tag brings in Castagnoli and Bill with the former firing off the uppercuts and clotheslines in the corner. A TKO gets two on Bill but he’s right back with a chokeslam for the same. It’s back to Starks, who is quickly caught in the Swing for two.

Everything breaks down and Danielson dropkicks Bill to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Another uppercut gets two on Starks and Danielson kicks away at this chest. The LeBell Lock is blocked though and Bill gets in a cheap shot from the floor. The spear gets two with Castagnoli making a save this time. Bill and Castagnoli fight on the floor, leaving Danielson to load up hit belly to back superplex. Starks turns that over and lands on Danielson for two, leaving Bill to distract the referee. That’s enough for a low blow into a Roshambo to finish Danielson at 16:36.

Rating: B. There is a simple formula for success in AEW: let Bryan Danielson have a match. It is more or less impossible to screw that up and it worked again here, with everyone else doing very well at the same time. Everyone was working hard here and it was a good, long match as Danielson vs. Starks gets to continue going forward.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page are ready to face the Mogul Embassy, but let’s make it a Trios Titles match. They’re on for Rampage.

Powerhouse Hobbs promises destruction.

Miro says Powerhouse Hobbs should be thanking him for not making Hobbs humble. They’ll have to meet up again, but now he needs to talk about his wife. Miro is ready to hurt anyone who won’t be redeemed.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Iron Savages

The Savages, with Jacked Jameson, are challenging. Jameson talks trash before the match and gets Shatter Machined for his efforts. That leaves Wheeler to get planted so a top rope splash can get two. Harwood is sent outside and it’s a sitout chokebomb for two more as the champs are in trouble early. A missed charge sends Bronson into the corner and it’s off to Harwood, who dropkicks Boulder. That doesn’t last long either as it’s Bronson going up, only to miss a moonsault. The Shatter Machine hits him and it’s a PowerPlex to Boulder for the pin at 3:16.

Rating: C+. Well they made good time. I can go with the idea of flying through a match like this, as the Savages don’t seem like a team that have the longest shelf during a match. Let FTR get in there, do their stuff and get out with what felt like an impactful win. It was quick and got the job done, which is about as good as anything else they were going to do here.

Post match the Workhorsemen come out and want a title shot, as Aussie Open watches in the back.

Keith Lee is in the back (after a director claps his hand and says Collision Take 22) but Shane Taylor interrupts. Taylor (Keith’s former tag team partner) introduces Lee to Lee Moriarty, the newest member of Shane Taylor Promotions. Keith doesn’t seem impressed and looks ready for Shane.

John Silver vs. Anthony Bowens

Hold on though as Silver has a microphone and a piece of paper. First of all though, he Googled scissoring and they’re doing it wrong. The paper is a contract, banning Billy Gunn and Max Caster from ringside. Silver jumps him from behind but Bowens fights back in the corner to take over. Bowens snapmares him over and we get a scissoring, which has Silver so annoyed that…he gets sent outside. Back in and Bowens gets knocked off the top and we take a break.

We come back with Bowens kicking him in the face a few times, setting up the running Fameasser for two. Silver strikes away to cut him off and hits a fisherman’s buster for two of his own. Bowens is fine enough to knock him outside for the discus forearm but cue Evil Uno from under the ring. A posting is enough to set up Silver’s running kick to the head for the pin at 9:11.

Rating: C+. Bowens is someone who has all kinds o charisma and that should be enough to carry him somewhere. He and Caster are great together and that might be the way to go for him, but there might be something else there if the team stops working. Acclaimed/Gunn vs. Dark Order should work for a title feud, at least until someone better comes along to go after the belts.

Eddie Kingston talks about his history with Claudio Castagnoli. They were friends in 2006 or 2007 but then Castagnoli started judging and disrespecting him. Castagnoli left potholes in the road that they had to follow and now he’s supposed to fix it. At Grans Slam it’s title for title and no matter what, that’s it between them. Everywhere he goes in New York is his and no one is beating him in New York. Try to beat him there. This was Kingston at his best: thundering away and saying whatever came to his mind about what he was doing.

Hook and Orange Cassidy share Doritos and agree to team together at Grand Slam. Renee: “….cool.”

Aussie Open vs. ???/???

The Aussies jump them and it’s an Alabama Slam into a sitout powerbomb for the pin on one of the unnamed at 43 seconds.

Post match the Aussies call out FTR for WrestleDream, titles on the line or not.

We get a sitdown interview with Toni Storm (called Portrait Of A Star). She insists that she has NOT changed and this company wouldn’t know talent if it slapped them. Oh and she does NOT like this lamp. More on this later. I’m not sure how to define what Storm is doing but it’s good.

Scorpio Sky is ready for Andrade El Idolo.

Scorpio Sky vs. Andrade El Idolo

Feeling out process to start until Sky snaps off an anklescissors. Andrade runs him over and goes up but gets knocked down hard as we take a break. Back with Andrade shrugging off a kick to the face and dragon screwing Sky’s leg. Andrade sends him into the corner but the running knees are cut off. The middle rope sunset flip gives Sky two so Andrade bails to the floor. There’s the big running flip dive but Andrade kicks out the leg back inside. The Figure Four goes on and Andrade bridges up into the Figure Eight for the tap at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I still like Sky quite a bit, but he might not be the most interesting star outside of having a string of good matches. The positive thing about that: it more or less guarantees him a job for as long as he wants one, as there is always going to be a spot for someone like that on a roster. Andrade is still very talented and gets to show that occasionally, but he needs something new to do.

Post match Andrade shows respect but Billet Club gold interrupts. Jay White introduces all of them and challenges Andrade for next week.

Video on Kenny Omega’s history with Kota Ibushi as Don Callis and company are coming for Ibushi.

Katsuyori Shibata will be at WrestleDream.

Hardys vs. Righteous

Matt sends Vincent into the three buckles over and over before Dutch is low bridged to the floor. The Hardys hit Poetry In Motion but Dutch plants Matt hard as we take a break. Back with Matt getting over for the tag to Jeff so house can be cleaned. The Twist of Fate looks to set up the Swanton but Dutch makes the save. Autumn Sunshine (assisted Dudley Dog) finishes Jeff at 7:26.

Rating: C. The Hardys losing so often means that the story here, while good for the Righteous, doesn’t have the biggest impact. It’s also still sad to see the Hardys out there looking old and banged up, even if that is exactly what they are these days. More of the Righteous is a good thing though, as they’re a different kind of team.

Post match the Righteous talk about how they’re here to tell you the truth, which will kill your ego, which leads to false love and friendships. Kind of like the fake love and friendship between Adam Cole and MJF.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows, including the return of Rob Van Dam next week.

Claudio Castagnoli knows Eddie Kingston better than Eddie knows himself. He’s beaten him before and he’ll do it again.

FTR is ready for the Workhorsemen and then Aussie Open.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker

Statlander is defending. They take their time to start until Statlander hits a slam, sending Baker bailing to the floor. Back in and they slug it out until Baker hits a running neckbreaker. Statlander grabs a powerslam for two and we take a break. We come back with Statlander missing a moonsault, allowing Baker to wrap the legs around the post. The sling Blade hits Statlander but she is right back with a blue Thunder Bomb for two more.

Baker knocks her down again and loads up the glove but Statlander grabs the hand. They slug it out and a double knockdown leaves them down again. Baker hits a knee but the Panama Sunrise is countered into Saturday Night Fever, which is countered into a rollup for two. Baker hits a Canadian Destroyer into Angel’s Wings into a Stomp for a rather close two. Something like an octopus into Lockjaw goes on but Statlander rolls her up to retain at 11:57.

Rating: B. They had me with the ending, as I would have bet on Statlander losing the title. Baker looked smoother out there this week and it would be nice to see her getting back to how she was before. Statlander piles up another win, and this time it is over another established name. More of those and the TBS Title will be getting closer to the Women’s Title’s level.

Statlander helps her up and respect is shown (with Baker looking at the title) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show managed to get over the hump in the end as it felt like the wrestling show for the week. That’s how Collision was looking before the mess with CM Punk and it’s good that they seem to be getting back on that path. What matters is finding some consistency, and if this is what they’ll be consistently doing, this show has an encouraging future.

Results
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli – Roshambo to Danielson
FTR b. Iron Savages – PowerPlex to Boulder
John Silver b. Anthony Bowens – Running kick to the face
Aussie Open b. ???/??? – Assisted sitout powerbomb
Andrade El Idolo b. Scorpio Sky – Figure Eight
Righteous b. Hardys – Autumn Sunshine to Jeff
Kris Statlander b. Britt Baker – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Collision
Date: August 5, 2023
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another big title night as FTR defends the Tag Team Titles against Big Bill/Brian Cage and Ricky Starks challenges CM Punk for….whatever we’re calling Punk’s title. Ricky Steamboat will be the guest referee, which sounds like a way to boost things up for the local crowd. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

CM Punk, Ricky Stark, Brian Cage, Big Bill, Prince Nana and FTR are all ready for tonight.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Brian Cage vs. FTR

Bill and Cage, with Prince Nana, are challenging and Cash Wheeler’s mother is here for a bonus. Wheeler and Cage start things off with Cage being a bit too strong. Harwood comes in and gets clotheslined but reverses a gorilla press into a crossbody for two. Cage runs him over though and it’s Bill coming in (to quite the response) for a double shoulder. It’s already back to Wheeler, who is promptly slammed and elbowed for two.

Everything breaks down though and it’s a double clothesline to send Cage outside, but Bill blocks the Shatter Machine. Instead, Bill chokeslams Wheeler onto Harwood and then presses him out onto Harwood on the floor as we take a break. Back with Bill hammering on Wheeler in front of his mom, who is completely unfazed and even slaps Bill in the face. Cage plants Wheeler for two back inside but Wheeler slips out of Bill’s torture rack. That doesn’t work for Bill, who blasts him with a clothesline to cut off any comeback.

Bill misses a splash in the corner though and a German suplex drops Cage, allowing the big tag to Harwood. Right hands abound and Cage gets caught in a Steiner Bulldog for a rather near fall. Back up and Cage gets Harwood in a fireman’s carry before catching Wheeler in the air (geez) and dropping both of them.

A Jackhammer gives Cage two (as Bill chokeslams Harwood) and Bill sends both champs outside. Cage busts out his big no hands flip dive (because that’s something he can do), setting up a big boot to give Bill two on Wheeler. Back up and Wheeler sends Cage into Bill, who gets caught with a quick Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 15:03.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and Bill/Cage are a much better team than I was expecting. They did the power stuff well and looked impressive doing it while making FTR work to retain the titles here. I was getting into this one and it was a rather awesome match, especially given how new of a team the challengers are.

Post match FTR grabs the mic and says they’ve done a lot, but there is one more thing they need to do…..so how about they finish things with the Young Bucks at All In?

Video on CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks over the REAL World Title.

Juice Robinson, with Jay White cardboard cutout, says when you’re hot you’re hot. Cue the real White to chop the cutout (a distraught Robinson takes it away) and introduce the Gunns (now the TOP Gunns) to mock commentary in a bit of a weird bit.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Mercedes Martinez

Statlander is defending and they start fast, with Martinez slipping out of a suplex attempt. A running boot to the head misses for Martinez but Statlander misses a flipping splash. Martinez sends her into the corner and elbows her way out of another suplex as Statlander isn’t off to the best start. A chokebomb drops Statlander for two more and a hard forearm puts her down in the corner as we take a break.

Back with Statlander making a comeback and knocking Martinez to the floor. Statlander misses a crossbody off the apron but manages a backbreaker to slow Martinez down again. Martinez cages her on top though and a rather nasty looking release German superplex drops Statlander hard. A running knee gives Martinez two and a quick fisherman’s driver gives Martinez the same. Martinez drops her again but a running forearm to the back of the head is countered into a rollup to retain the title at 10:15 (Martinez’s shoulders looked to be up).

Rating: C+. This got better near the end but Martinez was dominating most of the match until the quick ending. Statlander working with a veteran like Martinez is a good thing and hopefully she got something out of it. Martinez is someone who has not gotten a ton of TV time in recent months and it would be nice for that to change.

Post match Martinez says her shoulders were up and jumps Statlander. Cue Diamante to help Martinez beat her down until Willow Nightingale makes the save.

Here’s the problem with that post match angle:

1. Diamante has not wrestled a match on AEW TV since last September (A loss to Jade Cargill which ran about two and a half minutes. Her most recent TV match before then was in 2020.).

2. This week on ROH TV, ROH Women’s Champion Athena told Diamante to find what she was missing and fix it.

3. The only thing mentioned about Diamante’s time on this week’s ROH TV was that she lost to Athena. No mention whatsoever of Athena’s comments to her.

Again: Tony Khan really needs to stop assuming that everyone is watching every show, because otherwise this was an unprovoked turn from someone who has had one match in AEW in about two and a half year. Show us a clip, tell us what happened or give us some reason why this is taking place.

Toni Storm seems to be on the verge of snapping over losing the Women’s Title last week. She goes into a rant about how she deserves better because she’s that good.

Samoa Joe vs. Serpentico

Non-title and the Koquina Clutch finishes Serpentico at 16 seconds (more than a fourth of which was spent in a staredown).

Post match Samoa Joe says we are coming up on All In and he has no one to face. He has had to deal with things over the years, while a certain REAL World Champion got to travel the world. Joe knows that man is nowhere near his level, but that REAL World Champion took something from him in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. A rollup is not good enough for their legacy, so Joe wants to be given what he wants. One more time at Wembley Stadium. If Joe has to wait until next week, he’s coming for Punk (the only time Joe said the name).

Andrade El Idolo seems happy with getting his mask back last week over Buddy Matthews.

We get a sitdown interview with the Acclaimed, who have Billy Gunn’s boots. They have talked to him and he is confirming that he is retiring. Gunn was the only one who believed in them and helped them become champions. For now though, they are going to bring Gunn’s boots to the ring with him. Well that’s morbid.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Action Andretti/Lee Johnson/Darius Martin

The House, with Julia Hart, is defending. Actually hold on as the House Rules are back and the Dealer’s Choice rule is Hart being banned from ringside. King runs Martin over with a shoulder to start but Martin knees him in the face, only to have his high crossbody bounce off. Black comes in to strike away at Andretti, who knocks him outside but gets kicked in the face.

Matthews jumps off the top to stomp on Andretti’s arm before tossing him ribs first onto the top rope for a good looking visual. Andretti is knocked into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Johnson hitting a moonsault into something resembling a double reverse DDT. Black kicks him into the corner though and everything breaks down. Andretti dives onto Black and Murphy before Martin’s top rope splash to King’s back gets two. Matthews and Black knee Martin out of the air though and the titles are retained at 9:10.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where the ending wasn’t in doubt but you got some cool moments before the inevitable. There was no way a thrown together team was going to win the titles here, even with the return of the not quite necessary House Rules. It’s a perfectly nice title defense though and they let the guys have some fun.

Next week: CM Punk and FTR get a Trios Titles match. Ok.

QTV throw out Tony Schiavone to talk to Will Hobbs. They offer him a gold chain and suggest that Hobbs get in the ring at All Out. Hobbs doesn’t want or need their help, but he’ll take the chain.

Christian Cage, with his daughter, and Luchasaurus are here with Christian talking about how he wants to be a good father to everyone. She asks to hold his title, but Christian says she didn’t win it so go find your mom and get out of here. Christian: “Security, she’s not credentialed. Have her removed from the building.” Well that was awesome.

Metalik vs. Jay White

The Gunns and Juice Robinson, with the cardboard Jay White (Cardblade) and the former join commentary. White knees Metalik in the ribs to start but gets a headscissors into the corner. A springboard doesn’t work so well for Metalik but he gets knocked back to the apron. White snaps him throat first across the top but misses a baseball slide, allowing Metalik to springboard moonsault onto him. White has had it with this though and grabs a cobra clutch suplex, setting up the Blade Runner for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C. It was a nice way to get White in the ring and keep him hot as the Bullet Club gets to do their wacky antics. It wasn’t meant to be some competitive back and forth match and while Metalik got in some offense, he isn’t anywhere close to White’s level and everyone knows that. They stuck to the point here and that is nice to see.

Video on Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Jim Ross is back for the main event.

Real World Title: Ricky Starks vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and Ricky Steamboat is the outside referee. They start fast with Punk knocking him out to the floor but pausing to let him back in. Punk runs him over with a shoulder and steals Starks’ pose a few times for a cute spot. Starks is right back with the armdrag (you knew that was coming) to send Punk outside and there’s the mocking the go to sleep motion. Back in and Starks hammers away in the corner, setting up a Cactus Clothesline.

We take a break and come back with thinking picking way up, including Starks unloading with right hands in the corner. Punk strikes away as well (nowhere near as fast but he was trying) until Starks is sent outside. Back in and Starks manages to knock him outside for a change, followed by an elbow to the face back inside. The Steamboat style chop to the head lets Starks glare at Steamboat before grabbing a waistlock. Punk fights up and hits a spinning middle rope crossbody but can’t get a sunset flip (Starks grabbing the rope didn’t help).

We take another break and come back again with Punk hitting a top rope superplex. Some right hands into a swinging neckbreaker keeps Starks in trouble and there’s the running knee into the bulldog for two. Starks rolls through a high crossbody (not exactly smoothly) for two before countering another running knee in the corner with a powerbomb.

The GTS is broken up but Starks misses a charge into the corner and hits the buckle. Punk kicks him in the head for two but Starks’ Alabama Slam gets the same. The ref gets bumped (of course) so Starks goes to yell, allowing Punk to roll him up, with Steamboat (very eventually) counting the pin to retain Punk’s title at 22:20.

Rating: B. They took some time to get warmed up here but it was rolling once they got into the rhythm of things. Punk continues to be able to shift from good to bad in the blink of an eye and he was full on fan favorite this week. Starks continues to be someone who feels like a star, though the loss after that long of a wait on the count didn’t help him. Steamboat looks to be about twenty years younger than he is (if not for the hair color, you wouldn’t think he aged) but he didn’t get to do much here.

Post match Punk pays homage to Steamboat but Starks shoves Steamboat into him. Starks whips out a belt and whips the heck out of Steamboat (he can still sell) until Punk (also very eventually) makes the save. Punk glares at Starks and then chases him off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As tends to be the case with a lot of shows, the opener and main event were the best parts, with the stuff in the middle being mostly ok. What mattered here was setting things up for the future, as Punk vs. Starks isn’t done but Punk also has the House of Black and Samoa Joe to deal with coming up. Collision has really started to figure out what it wants to be and is turning into one of the best shows of the week as a result.

Results
FTR b. Big Bill/Brian Cage – Shatter Machine to Cage
Kris Statlander b. Mercedes Martinez – Rollup
Samoa Joe b. Serpentico – Koquina Clutch
House of Black b. Lee Johnson/Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Double knees to Martin
Jay White b. Metalik – Blade Runner
CM Punk b. Ricky Starks – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Collision
Date: July 29, 2023
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another title match as FTR is defending the Tag Team Titles against MJF/Adam Cole. No matter what the outcome, the result is likely to have a big impact on All In/Out. Other than that, CM Punk is here and that should mean something is going down with Ricky Starks. That should be enough to carry the evening so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Darby Allin, MJF/Adam Cole and FTR are ready.

Opening sequence.

Buddy Matthews vs. Andrade El Idolo

Ladder match for Andrade’s mask and Julia Hart is here with Matthews. They slug it out to start until Andrade knocks him outside, where Andrade jumps onto a ladder and moonsaults down onto Matthews. Back in and Andrade hits Two Amigos but takes too long on the third. Not that it matters as Matthews is hiptossed into the ladder in the corner. Andrade gets tossed down as well though and we take a break with Matthews’ shoulder in trouble.

Back with Andrade in trouble and Matthews (shoulder seems to be ok) pulling out the really big ladder. Said ladder is bridged between the apron and the announcers’ table and they fight over a suplex. Andrade tries a spear through the ropes but gets DDTed onto the ladder. The table is loaded up in the corner but Matthews takes too long, meaning it’s time to slug it out on the ladder outside. Andrade goes big with a sunset bomb to drive Matthews onto a bridged ladder for a terrifying crash and it’s time to climb.

Back in and Matthews (who should be like, down at least) pulls Andrade into a knee to the face as Hart pulls out some handcuffs. Andrade fights back though and ties Matthews up, only to have Hart climb on his back as he climbs up. That takes long enough that Matthews makes the save, only to be knocked down again. Hart slaps Andrade on the ladder, so he shoves her off and into Matthews, through the table in the corner. Andrade gets the mask (that he doesn’t wear in the ring) to win at 18:06.

Rating: B. It’s a ladder match. That’s about all there is to say on this one, as there is very little that can make something like this stand out. The huge sunset bomb onto the ladder with Matthews up in thirty seconds was stupid, but at this point you just kind of have to accept something like that in this kind of a match. Good enough, but this felt like a ladder match for the sake of having a ladder match.

Miro is asked about the upcoming battle he has promised when Aaron Solo (I believe at least, as he isn’t identified) jumps him with a chair. Miro fights him off and uses the chair on him without much trouble.

Here is Darby Allin with an open challenge.

Darby Allin vs. Minoru Suzuki

Allin wastes no time in dropkicking Suzuki off the apron during his entrance, setting up the suicide dive (with Allin nearly dying). A dropkick off the apron hits Suzuki and they head inside for an opening bell and two. Suzuki grabs a choke over the ropes and kicks Allin down to the floor. We take a break and come back with Allin standing up to start the chop off. This doesn’t go well for Allin so he picks up the pace and hits a springboard body block. The Coffin Drop is pulled into a rear naked choke but Allin backflips over to pin Suzuki at 8:12.

Rating: B-. Well that came out of nowhere and that’s a bit weird. I’m not sure why you would have a fan favorite like Suzuki out there with no notice but it was a fine enough one off match. Allin picks up a win on the way towards All Out, and for a surprise match it went about as well as could be expected.

Post match Christian Cage, with Luchasaurus, pops up on screen to say that Allin is no longer worthy of being the TNT Champion. Cage promises to send him back to Hot Topic.

Toni Storm is ready for Hikaru Shida, “the pandemic champion”, next week on Dynamite.

Samoa Joe vs. Gravity

Joe’s ROH TV Title isn’t on the line (as Gravity is still in the tournament to crown a new #1 contender). Gravity dodges him to start but gets knocked into the corner. Back up and Gravity manages a shot out of said corner, only to take too long going up. The MuscleBuster finishes for Joe at 2:05. So Gravity just got squashed by a champion who he could still earn a shot at later. I can’t wait to see how far he goes next week on ROH.

Here is CM Punk, with the bag, for a chat. He had a rough travel day but always makes his towns because he won’t disappoint his fans. Punk brings up All In, even referencing that the show has pretty much not been acknowledged. Maybe we’ll figure that out by the end of the night, but now he wants to talk about Ricky Starks. Ricky has beaten him twice, but he is more disappointed than anything else.

Now as for the bag, it isn’t that he’s carrying it, but rather he’s been left holding it. After a WHAT’S IN THE BAG chant, Punk pulls out the AEW World Title, which he has never been pinned or submitted for, which is why his name (and blood) are still on it. Punk whips out some spray paint and paints the X on the title. It has been his symbol since the 90s and it still is here.

Cue Ricky Starks, to say play his music because he wants to make an entrance. Starks’ music plays and Nigel loses it because WHAT A SURPRISE, RICKY STARKS IS HERE. Speaking in the third person, Starks says he’s focused on gold right about now. He bit Punk before Punk can bite him and that title belongs to him because he’s beaten Punk twice. Starks calls himself the face of collision but Punk calls him the face of cheating. Punk thinks Starks wants a title shot and says we can do it a third time….with a special referee.

Starks recommends Julio Dinero or Dave Prazak (or someone from Stamford) but Punk has already made a phone call to someone from his past. They shake hands and the match is made for next week….and Tony Schiavone announces Ricky Steamboat as guest referee. Cool reveal, though I’m wondering why MJF, the official World Champion, who is in the building tonight, didn’t storm the ring to say NOT SO FAST.

Video on MJF/Adam Cole.

Bullet Club Gold vs. Darius Martin/Action Andretti/El Hijo del Vikingo

Juice Robinson/The Gunns here but no Jay White. The Gunns get taken down by Martin and Andretti and we take a break less than thirty seconds in (it’s stupid when WWE does it and it’s stupid here). Back with Vikingo diving for a tag but the Gunns pull his partners away. A full nelson slam gets two as there is now a cardboard cutout of Jay White at ringside. The hot tag to Andretti goes through a few seconds later and a double Tajiri handspring elbow connects with the Gunns. Everything breaks down and the 3:10 To Yuma finishes Martin at 6:53.

Rating: C+. I guess this was the “Bullet Club Gold Gets Momentum Back” match, though the thing with the cardboard cutout was a little weird. What mattered here was having a fun enough match without going too far and it worked well enough. That being said, Robinson and White are a lot more interesting than the Gunns, who really don’t need to be involved in this thing.

Kiera Hogan vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez tags her in the face to start but charges into an elbow in the corner. A brainbuster gets two on Hogan, who comes back with a knee to the face for a breather. Martinez shrugs it off and hits a neckbreaker out of the corner for two more. We take a break and come back with Martinez suplexing her way out of trouble. The Brass City Sleeper (surfboard dragon sleeper) goes on to make Hogan tap at 7:03.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, but Hogan shouldn’t be any kind of a serious threat to Martinez anyway. Martinez hasn’t been around much lately so it’s nice to have her back in action. There aren’t many more polished stars in the women’s division so she could give anyone around a rather nice rub. That being said, this was also the third straight match to have a break in the middle without going ten minutes, and that isn’t helping anything.

Post match Martinez won’t let it go so here is Kris Statlander for the save. Martinez gets the TBS Title and knocks Statlander silly, saying she’s coming for the title. Willow Nightingale makes the real save. I’ve heard far worse ideas than Martinez vs. Statlander.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Adam Cole/Maxwell Jacob Friedman

FTR is defending. Cole and Harwood exchange headlocks to start before it’s off to Wheeler for a headlock of his own. Everything breaks down and the threat of the double clothesline sends FTR to the ropes for a breather. Harwood slams MJF down but gets kicked away, only to have MJF hurt his knee on a leapfrog. They don’t even waste time with the gold bricking this time though as MJF is up with a poke to the eye. Some shoving causes everything to break down and we take a break.

Back with MJF in trouble but escaping a Sharpshooter attempt. That’s not enough for the tag so he crawls through some legs and hits a double DDT. Now it’s back to Cole to pick up the pace, including a rollup and superkick out of the air for two each. MJF comes back in but can’t hit the double clothesline, instead settling for a fight over a Tombstone with Wheeler.

Cole makes the save and MJF gets two off a rollup but the double clothesline is broken up again. A top rope PowerPlex gets two on Cole, followed by a heck of a slingshot powerbomb for two on MJF. Everything breaks down and MJF, after thinking about it, hits Shattered Dreams for two on Harwood. The Boom is broken up but MJF shoves Cole away from the Shatter Machine and blocks it himself. The Heatseeker is loaded up but MJF gets rolled up for the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B. This was a weird one as while the action was good, the focus was on whether or not Cole or MJF would turn on the other. I’m glad they didn’t change the title here as MJF/Cole can easily continue without the belts involved. FTR is on another planet of awesome right now among the tag teams and having them lose for a short term angle between Cole/MJF wouldn’t have been a good move. Solid main event here, but the angle (or lack thereof) was what mattered.

Post match FTR shows respect to Cole before leaving. Cole helps MJF up and turns his back on him, saying do what you have to do. MJF loads up the belt shot but throws the belt down and hugs Cole instead. They raise each others’ hands to end the show. I’m glad they didn’t pull a trigger here as Cole vs. MJF only has to be set for either All In or All Out and that means they still have time to milk a lot more out of this.

Overall Rating: B. This was a definite improvement over last week and felt a lot more energetic. It was a show that felt like it wrapped up some things while keeping some other stories moving and that is always great to see. While I really didn’t need a ladder match on this show, it felt more like the Collision we had been seeing and that is a very good thing.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Buddy Matthews – El Idolo pulled down the mask
Darby Allin b. Minoru Suzuki – Rollup
Samoa Joe b. Gravity – MuscleBuster
Bullet Club Gold b. Darius Martin/Action Andretti/El Hijo del Vikingo – 3:10 To Yuma to Martin
Mercedes Martinez b. Kiera Hogan – Brass City Sleeper
FTR b. Adam Cole/MJF – Rollup to MJF

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Collision
Date: July 22, 2023
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to what I guess passes for normal around here after last week’s huge show. That could make for some interesting changes, as this week’s show features a Trios Titles match. Other than that I’m sure CM Punk is going to want some revenge on Ricky Starks after last week’s screwy finish so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, Action Andretti and Darius Martin, Bullet Club Gold and Ricky Starks are ready for tonight.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone brings out Ricky Starks, with the Owen Hart belt and a bag, for a chat. The fans tell him he deserves it and he certainly seems to agree. As for the bag…..there’s nothing in it but he wanted to show off what he treated himself to after he won last week. As for the controversial ending, it isn’t about how he won but how many he won, and anyone in his (Prada) shoes would do the same thing. It’s by any means necessary so talk to him about how stylish he is. He doesn’t want to be a pillar because he stands by himself and those Pillars haven’t won any Owens.

Cue CM Punk (no music) to say this is Starks’ celebration and he is only mad at himself. He’s cheated some people before and so has everyone else. Maybe if the New Jersey Devils did it before, they could have made it out of the first round. Punk says he can live with the loss, but isn’t sure if Starks can live with the win. He goes to leave, but Starks says the bag Punk has been carrying is empty, which brings Punk back.

Punk says he is the real world’s champion…but here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus to interrupt. They are contractually obligated to be here as champion but this is taking too long. Christian says that he, er, we, are the faces of TNT but here is Darby Allin to interrupt. Allin promises to become the new face of TNT at All Out, though that’s a ways off. For tonight, let’s have a tag match (Allin: “Christian you don’t wrestle anymore so give me the TNT Champion.”) This was the most WWE opening since the last time WWE opened a show in their signature “talking leads to a main event” style.

Andrade El Idolo was not allowed in the building due to his actions last week.

Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Bullet Club Gold

The Gunns are here too. Martin takes over on Robinson to start and hands it to Andretti for the twisting crossbody. Andretti’s multiple springboard wristdrag sends Robinson down again but he’s right back with a kick to the face. A hanging neckbreaker on the floor drops Andretti and he’s sent hard into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Andretti hitting an enziguri and diving over for the tag to Martin. Some right hands and a high crossbody get two on White, followed by Andretti’s Asai moonsault to the floor. Back in and a dropkick into a German suplex (which didn’t look great) gets two on Robinson. Andretti gets dropped though and Robinson hits the big left. The forward DDT into the Blade Runner finishes Andretti at 10:18.

Rating: C+. This was one of those matches that wasn’t about drama but rather Bullet Club Gold having to work a bit to get their momentum back after last week’s classic. There’s nothing wrong with a match like that and it worked well here without lasting too long. Andretti and Martin are fine as the young high fliers and everything worked out there.

We look at Willow Nightingale winning the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament last week and then losing to Athena last night at Death Before Dishonor because Ring Of Honor isn’t about having fun.

Miro vs. Nick Comorato

Comorato jumps him from behind on the stage and sends him into the steps to start fast. Some shoulders in the corner have Miro in trouble as the match officially starts. Miro avoids a charge though and hits the jumping superkick, setting up Game Over to finish Comorato at 1:26.

Video on FTR.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

The House of Black is defending and break up Caster’s rap to start fast. Caster gets caught in the wrong corner and Black hits him in the face for two. King drops the backsplash for two and Matthews drives Caster into the corner. Caster manages to send Matthews outside and then kicks him away, allowing the tag off to Gunn. House is cleaned but King blasts him with a clothesline, setting up Black Mass to retain the titles at 4:30.

Rating: C. This was pretty much a squash as Acclaimed and Gunn never got anything going. It was little more than destruction and that isn’t what you expect to see from them. Also, unless I missed it, there was no mention of the House Rules deal so maybe that has already been dropped.

Post match the House seems to show respect to Gunn. The House leaves and Gunn takes off his boots, leaving them in the ring to show his retirement. The Acclaimed tries to stop him but he walks off anyway.

Here is FTR for a chat about their Tag Team Title defense next week against Adam Cole and MJF. They have unfinished business with a bunch of teams but first they have to deal with these two. Wheeler gets that the fans like MJF and Cole at the moment, but he has first hand experience dealing with MJF’s lies. Harwood talks about having to get a job when he was about 14 and some of the rich kids made fun of him for having to work. He always wanted to punch them in the face but it brings him here, where people like MJF take wrestling as a joke.

We pause for a DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE chants before Harwood talks about how he doesn’t like how much of a joke MJF and Cole make wrestling. Next week, Harwood is giving them the beating he should have given those other kids. Nice job here of keeping composure when the fans were on the other side.

Video on Blood & Guts.

Skye Blue vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya goes with the power to start and takes Blue down, allowing some kicks to the ribs. Back up and Blue gets in an armdrag but is knocked hard off the apron. Blue gets back inside and gets Blue Thunder Bombed for two as we take a break. We come back with Blue kicking away but getting caught in the ropes for the sliding German suplex. Taya hits a hard clothesline and a curb stomp finishes Blue at 8:54.

Rating: C. That was quite the surprise as Taya more or less ran through her here without much trouble. It’s a bit weird that Taya seems to be getting reheated, though I’m not sure how far that is going to take over. Blue seemed ready to move up the ladder and then she just gets beaten clean like this. Weird but ok then.

Post match Taya calls out Britt Baker for Dynamite.

Video on AR Fox.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ricky Starks/Christian Cage vs. CM Punk/Darby Allin

Luchasaurus is here too. Starks has to start with Punk and is so hesitant to get in that the referee gets to a nine count with Starks on the apron. Once inside, Starks gets rolled up twice in a row and has to get away from the GTS. Christian comes in and gets caught in an armbar, allowing Allin to come in and stay on said arm. It’s already back to Punk, with Christian having to convince Starks to come back in. Punk and Allin clean house, setting up the double dives and we take a break.

Back with Punk in trouble as Scorpio Sky is watching from the sky box. Punk gets away and brings Allin back in for the house cleaning, including a Code Red for two on Starks. Allin’s suicide dive is knocked out of the air by Luchasaurus and Cage sends him head first through the bottom of the announcers’ table. Back with Allin still in trouble but Christian misses a top rope headbutt. Starks pulls Punk off the apron though and there is no one for a diving Allin to tag.

Allin kicks christian away and it’s back to Punk to clean house, including body slams and cartwheels. A clothesline gets two on Christian and the top rope elbow gets the same. Starks blocks the GTS and hits a headbutt to really rock Punk. He’s fine enough to get over to Allin off the tag but a quick Roshambo gives Starks two. Starks takes him up top but a superplex is reversed into a super reversed DDT. Christian saves but gets pulled outside into a GTS on the floor. Luchasaurus breaks up the Coffin Drop though and Starks grabs a rollup, with rope, for the pin at 25:07.

Rating: B. Another long main event here and Starks continues his rise after last week’s big win. The interesting thing here is that he cheated again after saying it didn’t matter earlier, as he is leaning into his turn a bit more. That could be quite the thorn in Punk’s side going forward and I’m curious to see where it goes. Allin vs. Cage/Luchasaurus is already set, so the other side worked well on its own. Good match here, with the time well spent.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was how much Tony Khan produced wrestling I’ve seen in the last few days but this show felt long and didn’t have nearly the same pop to it that the previous episodes have had. There was no big moment for this one and it was hurt a bit as a result. That being said, there was good wrestling throughout and it advanced enough stuff to make it worth a look. Certainly not a bad show, but the first few episodes gave it a pretty high bar.

Results
Bullet Club Gold b. Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Blade Runner to Andretti
Miro b. Nick Comorato – Game Over
House Of Black b. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn – Black Mass to Gunn
Taya Valkyrie b. Skye Blue – Stomp
Ricky Starks/Christian Cage b. CM Punk/Darby Allin – Rollup to Allin while holding rope

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