wrestling / TV Reports
Jeremy’s AEW Collision Review 6.15.24
Image Credit: AEW
Loading...Hello AEW fans! It’s Saturday night and…we know what that means! It’s time for the ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of AEW Collision. Is there going to be cake? I want cake. Anyway, Jeremy Thomas filling on your Collision coverage as Theo is away doing stuff tonight. AEW has quite the show planned for tonight with a TNT Championship Ladder Match qualifier between Lee Moriarty and Dante Martin, a No DQ match between Thunder Rosa and Deonna Purrazzo that should be a blast, and most importantly — Christian Cage Father’s Day Special! We also have Hechicero vs. Dalton Castle, the Blackpool Combat Club vs. TMDK, Lio Rush, & Rocky Romero, and a promo from the Acclaimed. Sounds like a fun show, so let’s jump into it.
As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.
* Christian Cage is here! He says it’s been 365 days since he put this show on the map and had a legendary reign with the TNT Title as will never be seen again. In the spirit of his Collision, he’s going to guarantee tonight that this is where the best wrestle and on the eve of the most important day of the year — Father’s Day — he guarantees that this week’s Collision will be very special.
Blackpool Combat Club vs. TMDK, Lio Rush & Rocky Romero
Danielson and Rush kick it off and Rush ducks a kick, gets sent into the ropes and dodges another shot. Test of strength, Danielson kicks Rush in the gut and lays in the forearms. Rush springboards into a rana and comes off the ropes, waistlock by Bryan and he tags in Yuta. Some counterwrestleing, Rush with an enzuigiri and Romero tags in.
Big shot by Romero, YUta fires back and they trade slaps to the chest. Romero into the ropes, gets a kick caught but his a spinning heel kick, Yuta takes him down for two. Claudio takes in and kicks Rocky in the side, then chops him. Rocky into the ropes, he ducks under a couple swings and hits a rana.
Nichols tags in, Haste joins him and they take Claudio do0wn, snapmare and running lariat for two. Haste is now in, Claudio blocks a whip into the ropes and collides them, then hits a double bulldog. Danielson tags in, he’s up top for a front missile dropkick, kippup and he charges in for a running kick to the head. He backs up but Haste follows with an elbow the head. Haste goes in but Bryan catches him in the YES Lock! All hell breaks loose in the ring but Haste is still locked in; he gets to the ropes for the break as the rest of the two teams brawl on the outside.
Danielson with YES kicks to the chest of Haste in the ring, he goes for the roundhouse but Haste ducks and Nichols trips him up before slamming his head into the apron. And we’re on PIP break.
We’re back as Rocky charges in on Danielson in the corner and then puts him on the top rope. Rocky climbs up and showboats — and Danielson grabs him for a super inverted atomic drop! Both men down, Haste tags in and he goes after Danielson, who ducks and tags in Claudio! Claudio in hot, he takes everyone off the hostile apron side and takes it to Haste. Big back body drop and he goes to the outside to run over Rocky!
Claudio grabs a chair and sets it up, diving onto Nichols, and comes in the ring for a double stomp to Haste. He calls for the giant swing and grabs Haste, but Nichols clotheslines him. Yuta nails Nichols and sends him over the top — he dives but gets knocked down. Moxley in now and kicks Haste!
Claudio gets the tag to Moxley, Nichols in and gets blasted. Whip across the rope and a charging clothesline, he climbs for the 10-count of punches and then nails a piledriver, cover gets two. Moxley right into the rear naked choke, but Nichols with a back elbow. He comes off the ropes into a pump kick, back into the ropes and they take each other out with clotheslines. Rush in and up top for a frog splash that gets a nearfall.
Rush goes right back up, he leaps but Mox rolls out of the way. Pump kick, Death Rider but Rush moves and TMDK takes out Moxley. Danielson in, he pushes TMDK into each other and hits a psycho knee. Everyone in to trade finishers, Claudio grabs Rocky for the giant swing! Romero dumped — and Lio Rush jumps on Claudio’s back! Claudio pulls him around, tosses him to Mox for the Death Rider and the pin.
Winner: Blackpool Combat Club (14:14)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: Very good eight-man tag; it followed the standard formula but everyone executed well. There was no question who would win, but they made it fun at least.
Mox has the mic and says that Tetsuya Naito of NJPW is a survivor, but Forbidden Door is the final conflict. He says this is Naito’s last chance and he’s not coming to defend the title; he’s coming to FD to put an end to Naito once and for all. He’s coming to FD to finish his career, put him in a pine box, put him in the ground and bury him once and for all!
* We get a video hyping MJF vs. RUSH for next week’s Dynamite that recaps their rivalry over the past couple weeks.
* The Acclaimed are here! And fortunately we don’t get a rap (yet). But Max has the mic. He says usually The Acclaimed comes out and have a rap, some punchlines. But today, the EVPS — the “Young Cucks” — issued a $5,000 fine to Bowen for “disparaging company executives.” He says the execs are out of touch with the AEW fans and the people don’t want a couple of women’s suit-wearing cucks acting like a couple snitch-ass bitches. They want Max on the mic roasting everyone, Bowens and Gunn scissoring, and The Acclaimed winning the titles on Wednesday.
Bowens says the Bucks shouldn’t focus on tweets but on the fact that they’re going to lose the titles. Bowens says they’re not the same team the Bucks previously faced and have the same accolades as the Bucks. He runs down the Acclaimed’s accolades including being the winningest team in AEW. They just have to beat the Bucks twice. So fine them, fine him, because they’re going to do what they have to to win the titles. Max says the Cucks can take their fines and stick it up their virgin asses because he’s going old school.
Max starts to rap and says “Listen!” But Cutler says “Nooooo!” He says this anniversary should be a night of praise for the EVPs who have carried the show on their backs since Day 1. They want a fine, they’ve got it. It’s now $10,000, and next time it’ll be 15.
Christopher Daniels is out here and says Tony Khan has reversed the fines, and that’s all they need to hear from Cutler. Cutler shows Daniels the clipboard, and Daniels nails Cutler with it and puts him in the ring. The Acclaimed grab him for the Scissor Me Timbers.
No Disqualification Match
Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo
Deonna attacks Rosa before the bell and sets her in the corner. My feed went wonky but when it comes back Rosa is chopping Deonna on the outside, and throws her into the ring steps three times. Rosa goes under the ring and throws a bunch of weapons in the ring, and nails Deonna on the outside with a trash can lid. She sets it against Deonna and charges in but Deonna dodges and Rosa hits the ring steps.
Deonna puts Rosa’s arm between the steps and kicks them, then throws more weapons in the ring. She sets a charge in the ropes in the corner, Rosa reverses an Irish whip but Deonna stops short. Deonna with the Irish whip and Rosa up short, she hits a DVD. Rosa out to slide a table in the ring, but Deonna hits a baseball slide dropkick into the table.
Deonna slides the table in and works over Rosa’s arm on the outside, then slams her headfirst into the ringpost. She rolls Rosa into the ring and follows, grabs the table and picks Rosa up for a snapmare onto the not-set-up table. Deonna wraps Rosa up and slams her repeatedly head-first into the table, then covers for two. Shot to Rosa and a short-arm clothesline, cover gets two. Deonna gets Rosa on her shoulder but she slides off, Deonna into the ropes and ducks a shot, double pump kick and both women down.
Both women up to their knees going for the same chair. They get up and try to wrest control of the chair — Deonna gets it and swings! Rosa moves and kicks the chair into Deonna’s face, then blasts her across the back with it twice. Deonna on Rosa’s shoulder Samoan drop onto the table and a cover for two.
Rosa puts Deonna on the top and climbs, they battle on the top but Deonna slides down and grabs Rosa. Rosa fights back and Deonna pulls her head down, then kicks her in it! Rosa in the Tree of Woe, Deonna charges in for a big shoulder! Cover gets a nearfall. Deonna has Rosa — but Rosa counters with a DDT onto the chair for two!
Deonna put in the corner and Rosa puts a trash can over her, then kicks her and sets up the table at last — as a ramp! She runs up it for a diving dropkick into the can (and thus Purrazzo)! Cover gets two-plus, and Rosa is frustrated. She sets the table the rest of the way up, Deonna has the chair and slides it at Rosa, who dodges. Rosa nails Deonna with the edge of the table, double underhook but Deonna counters out and hits a Tombstone! Cover gets two-plus.
Fujiwara armbar by Deonna — into the Venus Di Milo! She doesn’t have it long though, and angrily rolls out of the ring to deck a cameraman and nail Rosa with his camera! Deonna back in and wraps Rosa into the ropes — Rosa is out.
Winner: Deonna Purrazzo (10:39)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Good work here, though it didn’t have the intensity of a feud ender necessarily. Otherwise, glad to see Deonna get the win.
* We get a one-year retrospective of AEW Collision featuring everyone (well ,most everyone) from Collision over the past year. We get clips of MJF vs. Omega, moments from the Continental Classic, Adam Copeland’s TNT open challengers and more.
Dalton Castle vs. Hechicero
They go head to head to start and then Dalton shoots for the knee but gets caught in a front facelock. Ref calls for the break as they’re on the ropes and Hechicero with a shot — that Dalton returns! They trade blows and Castle takes over, comes off the ropes but is chased and Hechicero over the ropes into a sleeper, and knocks Dalton down. Missile dropkick gets two.
Hechicero stomps at Castle, but Castle comes back and hits a DDT. Elbows to the shoulder and a waistlock, Hechicero elbows out but is caught for the Bangarang — Hechicero counters and locks in a bodyscissors. Castle pushes Hechicero’s shoulders into the mat for two and they jockey a bit until Castle hits a back elbow and goes to charge across the ring but Hechicero follows for a slpash and knife-edge chops.
Hechicero backs up and charges in but is caught with a suplex. Castle picks Hechicero up, but he turns it into a sunset flip for two. Castle with a pump kick, Hechicero comes back and hits a twisting legdrop and cover for three.
Winner: Hechicero (3:51)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: As good as a just-under four minute match can be. Obvous result is obvious.
Hechicero attacks Castle post-match and beats him down, with the Gates of Agony joining in. Here come The Boys but they get sent over the top. More brutalization and they pick Castle up — DANIEL GARCIA is here with Matt Menard! They make the save.
* Dante is asked about everyone being banned from ringside for his match and says Lee Moriarty used to be all about fairness. They say he’s going to be the new TNT Champion and Lio Rush comes up, saying they have history. He wishes Dante luck and says maybe he’ll see him around.
* Mother Wayne starts to talk in the ring with Nick and Killswitch with her but she’s booed and shames the crowd for it. She demands the people get on their feet right now and pay respect to the greatest father who ever lived — our Patriarch, Christian Cage.
Here comes Daddy! Christian is in the ring with a mic and sits down. He says he didn’t exactly have “spending the most important holiday of the year in the Rust Belt,” but here we are. He tells everyone to sit down and says he would be remiss of he didn’t acknowledge what day it is — the anniversary of Nick’s bio dad’s passing. He says that can play mind games, you start to wonder how the universe can be so cruel. But in way that’s the best thing that could have happened to Nick because it brought him to him.
He says he loves Nick and asks about the gift in the ring. Nick gives him a handmade Happy Father’s Day card which says “To Dad. You are the greatest TNT Champion in history and I can only dream of having half your talent but I’ll keep striving to prove my worth.” He says thank you and then asks if can open the gift — it’s a painting of Christian. He asks Killswitch if he did it himself? That’s, ah…that’s okay. But Nick’s card is beautiful and he’s never been so proud to be a father. It’s so thoughtful.
Christian asks Killswitch why he can’t be more like Nick. Killswitch goes to leave and Christian says he didn’t say he could leave and get back in line. He has something to say and Killswitch is not going to want to miss this. He says it’s no secret that at DoN he came up short in his quest to win the World Championship, but there’s alternate footage showing his shoulder was up. The EVPs wanted to do the right thing and show the footage, but he says the family doesn’t make excuses; they just get right back to work. He will be World Champion, and their path there starts with the Trios Championship. He says that’s his gift to Killswitch and Nick.
He says it’s uncommon for the father to give gifts on Father’s Day but that’s what good fathers do. Tony Khan’s father lent him millions to start a wrestling company just to see him smile. But he is now declaring AEW as his company. He’s the most talked about star in this sport and won’t stop until he goes down as the greatest wrestler in history. He says “Tony, I’m your father now.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
* The Bang Bang Gang are here and Juice says they’re looking at the Collision Cowboys who built the brand brick by brick. Colten says they have all the gold and have House of Black tonight, and Christian Cage wants a shot? Get in line. Austin says that tonight isn’t about the titles, it’s about whether you can hang with the Collision Cowboys.
TNT Championship Ladder Match Qualifier
Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty
Circle and Lee goes for the knee but gets put on the mat. Into the ropes, some leapfrogging and dodging. Circle again, Lee with a testing kick before they lock hands and Lee puts Martin on the mat with a kick. Dante kicks him away into the ropes and hits a rana from the mat, into the ropes for another rana. Lee charges, Dante flips over him, Lee out of the ring. Dante goes to leap out but Moriarty moves and talks shit to the camera — and Lee nails him from behind with a dropkick through the ropes!
Chop to the chest of Lee, and Dante rolls him in. Dante on the ropes but gets shoved to the floor as we go to PIP break.
We’re back and Dante fights out of a submission hold, then hits a kick and some strikes. Irish whip blocked, Martin put in the corner but he dodges to the apron, nails Lee and hits a springboard crossbody for two. Danie goes for a half nelson suplex but Lee blocks it and wraps up Dante’s wrist before snapping it. Lift into a slam, crossface by Moriarty! Martin is trying to get to the ropes, Lee stomps on his hand but Martin gets his foot on the ropes. Suplex into a slam from Moriarty gets a nearfall.
Moriarty stomps on Martin and backs up, taking aim — he charges in but Martin ducks the kick and hits a high kneelift. Lee with a pump kick and charges into another pump kick. Meteora from Martin, up top for a frog splash and that’s it!
Winner: Dante Martin (8:51)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: Great little match here that saw the two matched up well. Exactly the kind of match you’d expect from these two guys.
STP comes out and attacks Martin after the match and beat him down. Taylor holds him up for a shot — and here come Darius and Andretti! But they get laid out too. Lio Rush comes out and slides in the ring, he ducks under Taylor and lays out Ogogo, then sends Taylor over the top. Moriarty is kicked out of the ring too. STP are pissed at Rush.
Top FLight and Andretti look at Rush, and it’s awkward before Darius and Andretti leave. Dante acknowledges Rush and goes too.
* We get a video of Hikaru Shida highlighting her run in AEW and accomplishments. She says she’s joining the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Anthony Henry
Roddy Strong and The Kingdom are at commentary for this match. Circle and lockup, they fight for position and trade waistlocks. KOR kicks Henry down, they’re back up and go into the test of strength. Hip toss by Henry, O’Reilly with a Thesz press and he picks Henry up, but Henry with a double wristlock. KOR goes for the submission but Henry gets to the ropes.
KOR works over Henry’s arm and kicks him the thigh, but Henry with a side legsweep. He kicks out of a leg submission and kicks KOR in the head a few times. Kyle isn’t happy, he’s up and takes some strikes before firing back and sweeping the legs. Splash in the corner, he snaps the arm over his shoulder and slams Henry down. Submission, Henry taps.
Winner: Kyle O’Reilly (2:51)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: RIP Anthony Henry.
KOR glares at Strong and walks off post-match.
* The commentary team runs down the matches thus far for Dynamite and next week’s Collision.
Bang Bang Gang vs. House of Black
My feed went off again — blame Xfinity folks, and we come back as Brody sends The Gunns over the top and then Juice afterward. The HoB goes to dive but the BBG are in the ring and get kicked down! The brawl spills to the outside as we go to PIP break.
We’re back as Black tags in Buddy, who comes off the top with a double stomp to Colten’s arm. He angers Austin to get him to try and run in for fun and tags in Black, who gets brought to the hostile corner. Austin tags in and pounds on Black, whip into the ropes and Colten is in, double dropkick and Juice with a senton for two.
Juice sends Black hard into the corner and argues with Aubrey. Snap suplex to Black, cover gets two. He puts Malakai in the hostile corner again, Colten tags in and nails Black in the head. More strikes Austin tags in and they continue to beat Black down. Juice tags in now and hits a headbutt to Black — Black fights back and takes it to Juice but is hit with a leg lariat for two.
Juice applies a sleeper on the mat, Black fights to his feet and nails Juice but Juice with a throat thrust. He backs up and charges in for the cannonball, Black moves! Colten tags in and puts Black in the corner, Black moves to dodge a Stinger SPlash and tags in Buddy! Buddy’s in hot and kicks Austin down, then lays out Colten. He grabs Austin, puts him on his shoulder, and throws him into Colten. Jackhammer and a cover but Juice breaks it up.
Juice is in the ring now, puts Buddy on the apron but Buddy with a kick to Juice’s head. Up top, Meteora, cover gets two. King tags in as we go to PIP #2.
We’re back and during the break, Buddy was tended to by officials after his knee was injured during the Meteora. He is being helped to the back as we come back. The Bang Bang Gang attack Black and King and bring King into the ring for Juice to stomp down in the corner. Colten tags in and continues, Austin takes his turn. Juice back in for stomps to King, then charges in for the cannonball. Cover gets a nearfall.
The Gunns send King into the ropes but he swats one and then the other down, then hits Juice with a Boss Man Slam. Black gets the hot tag and takes it to Austin, then Colten, then nails Austin and kicks the shit out of Colten. Diving dropkick to Austin, he goes for the Asai moonsault and Juice takes it. German suplex to Colten for two.
Black lies in wait but Juiice grabs the leg. Colten with a leaping forearm to the back of the head, cover for a nearfall. Austin tags in, Black fights them both, Juice nails Black from the apron and Colten knocks him down for two. The Gunns grab Black, Juice climbs up — and Brody is here. 3:10 to Yuma on Brody, Juice is on the top — PAC IS HERE! He trips Juice! Black with the kick to Colten for three!
Winner: House of Black (Timing Issues)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: This match got awkward with the injury (worked or not) to Buddy, but other than that this was very solid for a Collision main event.
Christian Cage appears on the Tron with the Patriarchy and tell them they are #1 contenders to the Trios titles, but aren’t a Trio anymore. Buddy Matthews was taken out with a chair! House of Black run backstage.
And with that, we’re done for the night!
