Sambus’ AEW Collision Review 10.05.24

 

Hey 411ers! We are going head to head with WWE Bad Blood tonight, providing some stiff competition (I’m already hearing tremendous things about the Punk vs McIntyre HIAC match). Nonetheless, we have a previously taped edition of Collision on our hands, with an AEW World Tag Team Championship Number One Contenders match highlighting the card, featuring Top Flight vs House of Black vs Private Party. Private Party have made a bee-line for the Young Bucks, so let’s see how they fair tonight. On with the show!

 

Location: Toledo, OH

Venue: Huntington Center

Commentators: Nigel McGuinness & Tony Schiavone

We are LIVE to tape (and LOL, TrillerTV has messed up and is airing the Spanish dub on the English channel, and vice versa…). Darby Allin makes his way to the ring for our opening contest.

 

Darby Allin vs Johnny TV

After trading side headlocks, Johnny TV pokes the eye to take the early advantage. A middle rope sliding German suplex connects for a 2 count on Darby as the crowd get behind him. A hard Irish whip follows, and Johnny TV heads up top, but Darby cuts him off with a slap and a superplex. Johnny TV gets Darby on the apron and delivers a Russian Leg Sweep off the apron to the floor! He follows up with a knee lift, knocking Darby backwards off the steel steps. Darby avoids a twisting senton, heads to the top and nails a Coffin Drop to the floor. He sends Johnny TV back inside the ring, who sweeps Darby’s legs and hits a spinning heel kick to knock Allin down. Darby rolls him up briefly for 2.

Johnny TV gutwrenches Darby into a modified crucifix bomb, then heads up for Starship Pain but it misses! Code Red from Darby gets 2. Coffin Drop connects for the 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Darby Allin

Time: 7:41

Rating: **3/4 – Perfectly fine for what it was – Darby took a few shots and ultimately capitalized for the definitive win.

Darby takes the mic, and says he issued an open challenge on Dynamite for Wrestle Dream, and he wants to make it official tonight. Nobody comes out, so Darby calls out the locker room for being complacent. He’s giving them the opportunity, and nobody is going to step up? Darby’s music hits again, so it appears no one is going to take him up on the opportunity as of yet.

BUT HERE COMES BRODY KING! He pounces Darby on the stage, knocking him all the way down the ramp! King then delivers a powerbomb onto the apron, chokes him out against the ringpost, and then shouts I ACCEPT! Brody King vs Darby Allin at Wrestle Dream…’Just violence!’

 

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*We get an Outrunners VHS-style promo featuring FTR, and it’s maybe the best thing I’ve seen all month. FTRunners appear to be a thing going forward, and I’m totally here for it.

 

The Outrunners vs Grizzled Young Veterans

Magnum and Drake begin this match, before we tag out to Gibson and Floyd. Gibson grounds Floyd but Floyd overpowers him and shoves him to the side. GYV capitalize with some great teamwork, Drake in but gets back body dropped. Double dropkick from the Outrunners, atomic drop and a double atomic drop as Floyd and Magnum get the upper hand.

Gibson kicks Magnum in the back to provide the distraction, allowing Drake to hit him from behind. Gibson in, forearm shot to Magnum, and now Gibson targets the leg. Magnum tries to body slam Gibson, but his leg gives way. Gibson responds by slamming Magnum against the ropes, further bothering the leg. Drake in, working over the knee….but Magnum reverses when Drake tries to apply an Indian Deathlock. Gibson tags in, but Magnum takes on both GYV members. Floyd rallies the crowd, and eventually Magnum makes the tag! Scoop slam on Gibson, then one to Drake, another to Gibson, another to Drake as Floyd is a house of scoop slam fire! He even scoop slams Magnum onto both guys.

Gibson is down, allowing the Outrunners to hit the double bicep drop. Floyd gets tossed to the outside, Gibson gets Magnum on his shoulders, and as Drake ascends the buckles for a Doomsday Device, Floyd tosses him off the top rope. And that allows Magnum to hit a victory roll for the surprise 1, 2, 3!

Winners: The Outrunners

Time: 10:00

Rating: ***1/4 – Traditional tag vibes on show here, and the Outrunners have really gained traction as of late. Great to see them get a big win here, although I’m worried that GYV have already lost so much in their short time on the roster.

*Britt Baker celebrates her victory from Dynamite this past week. She says she belongs in the AEW Women’s world title picture. Time is up for Mariah May. She’s been watching May and she likes what she sees, but she’s done waiting at home. Baker doesn’t expect anything to be handed to her. Title Tuesday, the road to redemption starts now.

 

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*Lexy Nair is with the Conglomeration alongside Willow Nightingale. Willow starts by saying she heard Britt Baker, but she needs to back off as Willow has Mariah May’s number first. Willow heads off for her match, and Briscoe takes the mic. He will turn his attention to Chris Jericho soon, but for now, the word of the day is sophistication, as they are the most sophisticated members of the roster. Briscoe is fired up and heads off with Kyle O’Reilly as OC says he’s getting better at this.

 

Willow Nightingale vs Trish Adora

Mariah May is watching this one from ringside. Willow takes down Adora with a shoulder block. Adora comes back with a Pele kick to the arm, and starts to work over the shoulder. Adora hits the ropes but runs into a Pounce from Willow. Chops to the chest, body slam combo, but a senton from Willow misses. A right hand knocks Willow down as we are sent to commercial.

Back from break, Adora goes for an Air Raid Crash, and holds on with a submission before dropping to connect with the move. She charges into the corner but Willow avoids it. Clubbing blows to the back from Willow, clotheslines in the corner, and a shotgun dropkick from the middle rope gets 2. Trish comes back with a crossbody and a suplex for 2. Bridging German suplex connects for 2 as well. Willow comes back with a big boot and the Babe with the Powerbomb for the 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Willow Nightingale

Time: 7:27

Rating: **1/2 – Not bad at all, but missing some of that fire. Willows gets the win seemingly out of nowhere, and now presumably moves on to face May for the title at Wrestle Dream.

Post-match, Willow gets in the face of Mariah May, who attempts a cheap shot, but Willow drags her over the barricade and starts beating on her. Willow tries for the Babe with the Powerbomb on the steel steps, but Mariah May escapes and heads up the ramp! Willow celebrates getting the upper hand.

*Kelly Madan is backstage with Wheeler Yuta, asking about his preparation, but Pac and Claudio appear to intimidate him. Claudio tells Yuta to let it out. Yuta says he has done everything for him, but what has Claudio done? He betrayed Bryan and now acts like everything is normal. Claudio says, did he ever steer Yuta wrong? He always had his back. What did Bryan ever do for him? No matter what happens, he always will have his back.

 

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*Lexy Nair is backstage with Mariah May. May says everyone is drooling for a shot at her. Britt Baker wins one match and think she deserves a title shot? May is glad that Willow recognises how lucky she is to be here. Christopher Daniels is here to tell us how it’s going to go down. This Title Tuesday, it will be Britt Baker vs Willow Nightingale, with the winner facing Mariah May for the title at Wrestle Dream. May doesn’t seem too impressed.

 

Wheeler Yuta vs BEEF

Yuta goes right for BEEF as the bell rings. BEEF cartwheels away and nails a dropkick, before charging into the corner with a lariat. Right hand jabs connect, but Yuta avoids the final shot. We see BCC watching from the crowd. Back body drop by Yuta as he stomps away at BEEF in the corner. He traps the arms for added damage, before delivering the hammer and anvil elbows. Cattle mutilation locked in, and BEEF has to tap.

Winner: Wheeler Yuta

Time: 2:17

Rating: N/R – Squash match for Yuta as he deals with his inner frustration.

*Lexy Nair is now with HOOK backstage. He’s going to keep it simple – he’s calling out whoever took out Taz earlier in the week. He wants to take them on this coming Title Tuesday, and issues the challenge.

*Next, we get a recap of Ricochet vs Ospreay at Dynamite 5 this past week, leading to Ospreay vs Richochet vs Takeshita being booked for Wrestle Dream.

 

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The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy) vs Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari)

Daivari cheap shots OC in the early goings, as Nese joins in for the double team. OC and Kyle turn the tables and get a series of strikes on Nese, leading to a double dropkick. Kyle drops a knee off the apron to Daivari, but Nese comes in with a suicide dive to the outside, as does OC. Nese traps OC in the ring skirting and dropkicks him, before sending him into the barricade.

Daivari tags in, whipping Orange into the buckles. Knee drop connects for 2. Mark Sterling chokes out OC on the middle rope while the referee is distracted. Nese gets OC in the tree of woe, then has an abs workout, with bicycle kicks to OC while doing twisting crunches. Daivari tags in, gets OC on his shoulders, but Orange slips out and shoves him to the floor. Nese and Daivari both block OC from tagging in Kyle, but Orange makes it to his corner somehow. O’Reilly tags in, knee lift to Daivari, kitchen sink to Nese and a slap to the face. Running forearm in the corner and a back suplex to Daivari, followed by a kneebar until Nese breaks it up.

Guillotine applied by O’Reilly, but Daivari comes back with a uranage and Nese hits a 450 for the 1, 2, OC breaks it up. Nese tries to clothesline O’Reilly but Kyle ducks it, and Nese takes out Daivari. Satellite DDT to Nese, Nese counters it but can’t counter the stundog millionaire. O’Reilly in, Nese hits the big shoulderbreaker. Orange Punch misses, but the Satellite DDT connects as Nese was looking for the shoulderbreaker again. Josh Woods tries to get involved but Rocky Romero puts a stop to that! Mark Sterling low blows Romero, and starts beating up Romero along with Josh Woods, but the music of Mark Briscoe hits! Briscoe and Woods go toe to toe on the ramp, heading backstage, leaving Mark Sterling in the ring for OC and O’Reilly. Orange nails him with a right hand, but Nese rolls up OC! 1, 2, no. Orange Punch connects, O’Reilly chokes out Daivari, and OC hits the Beach Break for the 1, 2, 3.

Winners: The Conglomeration

Time: 10:18

Rating: ***1/4 – Much better showing from the Premier Athletes than in previous weeks, with the crowd buying into a couple of the nearfalls. Good stuff.

*Lance Archer is backstage, destroying jobbers. He tosses a guy into the production truck, reminding everyone that everybody dies. Don Callis shows up and asks if he’s still represented by Jake Roberts. FORESHADOWING?!

 

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*Lexy Nair welcomes the CEO, Mercedes Mone, along with Kamille. Mone asks Toledo to say hello, and then says Mone Corporation is growing. With Kamille by her side, she’s unstoppable. Kamille is more than just a woman. Kris Statlander shows up, and says “More than a woman, huh?” Statlander tells them both to watch her match tonight.

 

Hologram vs Komander vs Nick Wayne vs Action Andretti

Hurracanranas and tijeras galore as Hologram and Komander kick us off in style. Wayne and Andretti are left in the ring, headscissors and a dropkick connects for Andretti, followed by a bottom rope springboard tornillo. Komander walks the ropes, eventually nails a headscissors on Hologram. Hologram comes right back with a crazy tijeras, sending Komander to the outside. He goes for a dive, but Nick Wayne sweeps the legs. Andretti flips to the outside and nails a senton off the apron. Andretti with an Asai moonsault takes out Komander and Wayne.

Back in the ring, Wayne hits a suplex on Andretti, and follows with a Kurt Angle-esque pirouette to celebrate. Komander gets tossed to the floor as Wayne focuses on Hologram, and we head to commercial. Back from break, Hologram flips out of some offense, steps off the chest of Andretti, and hits a stereo DDT/side slam and a suicide dive to the outside. He goes up top, 450 connects on Wayne for a 2 count. Standing switches from Hologram and Wayne, Komander in to take both men down with a tijeras. Springboard hurracanrana connects too! Andretti knocks Komander down, misses a springboard 450, but the Spanish Fly connects for 2.

Wayne shoves Andretti to the outside. Mexican Destroyer from Komander on Hologram! All four men are down. Tiger feint kick to the legs of Hologram, following by a massive springboard poisonrana. Komander walks the ropes, shooting star press! Wayne rolls him up for 2. Wayne’s World! Andrettu in with a brainbuster on Wayne. Hologram slips and slides into an enziguri but runs into a right hand. Hologram with an airplane spin into a Blue Thunder Bomb! 1, 2, 3!

Winner: Hologram

Time: 10:38

Rating: ***1/2 – FLIPPY GOOD SHIT. Peak athleticism, and Hologram is now 13-0, building up an impressive winning streak. This was a heck of a fun time, and while selling kinda goes out of the window, you can’t deny that this was impressive.

Lexy Nair is with the Beast Mortos backstage! She asks him if he’s joined LFI, and he just roars haha. The United Kingdom show up, saying they thought they had something special. Strong warns Mortos not to make the wrong decision. Amazing.

 

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Kris Statlander vs Zoey Lynn

Lynn goes for Statlander at the bell, but Kris quickly turns the tables and lifts her into a military press. Staturday Night Fever connects for the 1, 2, 3.

Winner: Kris Statlander

Time: 47 seconds

Rating: N/R – RIP Zoey Lynn.

“CEO! CEO!” Mercedes Mone appears post-match. She says Stat is going to find out what happens when you mess with Mercedes Mone. Kamille enters the ring…and Statlander goes for her! Kamille knocks her back, and hits the Road to Damascus as Mone looks on.

 

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*Darby Allin reflects on the fact that he has never pinned Brody King. On Title Tuesday, he wants to see Brody King face to face in that ring, to tell a story. House of Black didn’t get King here; Darby Allin did. King wants everything Darby has? He’ll have to work really hard to take it from him.

*We see footage from TJPW of Emi Sakura competing recently in Japan, and she will be returning to the US for her 30th year in wrestling. This Tuesday, it’s Mercedes Mone vs Emi Sakura for both of Mone’s titles.

 

[AEW World Tag Team Championship Number One Contenders Match] Top Flight vs House of Black vs Private Party

Winners will challenge the Young Bucks at Wrestle Dream next Saturday. Zay and Dante begin this one, working to an early stalemate. They tag in their partners, and both teams go face to face. Private Party hit stereo dropkicks and stereo tope suicidas. House of Black go for dives too, but slide outside instead, clubbing Private Party. Quen goes for a dive and meets a big boot from Black. Zay goes for a dive instead, but gets caught by both Black and Matthews, who slam him hard into the ring apron. Dante gets tossed into the barricade as the path of destruction continues for the House of Black.

Running big boot by Black to Dante. Matthews tags in Black, running PK to Quen and a knee drop connects for 2. Back elbow knocks Quen down again, 1, 2, no. Matthews tags in and delivers some uppercuts, goes for a suplex, but Quen counters into small package for a quick 1 count. Dante tags in and hits a crossbody, followed by a tijeras on Matthews, and a Meteora on Black. Up top, frog splash to Quen gets 2 until Zay breaks it up.

Gamengiri by Quen connects, giving him some space. Zay and Darius tag in, big chop from Darius. Twist of Fate is shrugged off, Manhattan drop from Darius, cutter from Zay across the top rope! Springboard flatliner connects from Darius. Silly String! Malakai Black tags in, but Budy Matthews tags himself in instead. House of Black double teaming ensues with a series of strikes on all opponents. Dante fights both men off, X-factor from Zay! Fisherman’s buster by Darius, Black Mass from Black. Matthews is on the top rope, shrugs off the Gin and Juice. Matthews hits the Jackhammer and Black follows up with a double stomp for the 1, 2, NO.

House of Black heads outside but Dante takes them out with a dive. Zay dives off the back off Quen with a tope con hilo, taking out everyone. Dante is reeling on the ropes, Gin and Juice connects! 1, 2, 3.

Winners: Private Party

Time: 11:52

Rating: *** – Some decent moments of offense from each team, but that finishing stretch severely lacked heat. I like that Private Party have had the rocket strapped to them over the past couple of weeks to rebuild them as we head to the tag team title match, but the crowd don’t seem to be buying into them as legit threats just yet.

With that, we are done for the night as Private Party celebrate their victory. Good night everyone, see you next week for Wrestle Dream!

 

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

Perhaps due to running head-to-head with Bad Blood, this was a marginal step down from the usual Saturday night action we’re accustomed to. The build towards Wrestle Dream continued in a fine way, solidifying opponents for Darby Allin as well as the Young Bucks, but it didn't seem overly enthralling. Outrunners/GYV and the Flips Galore Four-way are both worth a watch, but outside of that this was a passable episode.