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Join 411’s Live AEW Collision Coverage
Image Credit: AEW
Gooooood evening folks! We’re back to our regularly scheduled time for tonight’s LIVE edition of Collision…how are we all doing, gang? Hope it’s been a super week for you all! I secured my Forbidden Door tickets yesterday, and now debating about going to the Dynamite/Collision taping beforehand too. Ticket prices have definitely shot up compared to last year’s UK trip, but hey, man’s gotta treat himself sometimes right?!
It was looking like a surprisingly guarded for tonight’s show but in the past hour we’ve seen some BIG match-ups signed, including an FTR vs Paragon rematch, this time with a 2-out-of-3-Falls stipulation. NICE! We’re also getting a “$100k High Speed Collision 4-Way Match” between Sammy Guevara, AR Fox, Kevin Knight and RUSH, which sounds fantastically chaotic (and slightly panic-inducing for a recapper…). Previously announced earlier in the week, we also have Toni Storm in another Eliminator match, this time giving Lady Frost a potential shot at the title, with the Megasus Megan Bayne taking on Harley Cameron in other women’s action. Lastly, we have the prospect of Brody King vs Josh Alexander which is admittedly pretty meaty.
Looking forward to tonight’s show; that’s a nice mix of styles on paper. Don’t forget, Collision is on TBS rather than TNT tonight, so tune in and let’s DO THIS.
Location: Atlantic City, NJ
Venue: Adrian Phillips Theater at Boardwalk Hall
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness & Tony Schiavone
We are LIVE in Atlantic City on TBS as Adam Cole (BAY BAY!) makes his way to ringside to join commentary. Oh boy I think we’re starting off hot with the 2 out of 3 Falls match?! Oh, nope, here comes Toni Storm!
[AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match] Toni Storm vs Lady Frost
Lady Frost still has that banger theme tune. We see clips of Frost’s recent action in CMLL as she heads to the ring. Cole is on commentary for this which seems odd, perhaps he’s joining for the whole show? Storm knocks Frost down but Frost kips right back up and hits a tijeras to send Storm to the floor. She cartwheels over a strike attempt on the apron and hits a canonball before getting up on the barricade, cartwheeling again into a moonsault! Frost sends Storm back in the ring and covers for 2.
Louise Thesz Press from Storm and she rains down right hands. Pendulum backbreaker from Storm and a vertical suplex for 2. Storm goes for the chokebomb but Frost rolls through into a 2 count. Running lariat from Frost, Storm is down in the corner, handspring canonball connects! Frost to the apron, goes up top and hits a tornillo to a standing Storm for another 2 count. Frost goes back up top but Storm catches her and hits the chokebomb from the middle rope. Hip attack countered, Frost hits the Chiller Driller, 1, 2, no. Misses a roundhouse kick and Storm connects with a German. Hip attack is delivered this time, followed by the newly-implemented “TCM chickenwing”! Body scissors applied too, and Frost taps!
Winner: Timeless Toni Storm
Time: 5:35
Rating: *** – Frost looked great here, a step up from her last AEW appearance. About all you could expect from 5 minutes, this was pretty cool!
Toni Storm takes a microphone. “This slut you can’t rebutt, this tramp is still the champ”. Storm calls her opponent a frosty little sloptart. Toni says everyone is gunning for her, but she comes for everybody. Storm heads out onto the boardwalk and says she will always be ready, and she will always be Timeless. Toni poses as random people walk past the boardwalk below, amazing!
*Jon Moxley speaks at an undisclosed location. Moxley says Joe shouldn’t feel bad that his friends are dropping like flies. Joe deserves the respect he commands. Joe is beyond reproach. So is Bryan Danielson. Steel Cage in Chicago? There’s this notion that Mox should be scared, but Moxley is no stranger to hardship. He will do what he always does, his job. Lock him inside a steel cage? Lock it, this is always how this was going to end. If you think Moxley should be scared, Joe clearly hasn’t been paying attention.
[$100k High Speed Collision 4-Way Match] Sammy Guevara vs AR Fox vs Kevin Knight vs RUSH
RUSH and Knight attack Guevara and Fox as the bell rings, and then go at each other. Rights exchanged, into a chopfest, until RUSH headbutts Knight. Body slam by Knight, Japanese arm drags from both men, and they come to an Indy Stand-off. Guevara and Fox interrupt and knock them both outside the ring. Go behind from Fox, rebounding off the ropes and Sammy hits a dropkick. Slingshot senton from Fox, suplex follows. Springboard forearm from Knight takes out Guevara, and RUSH hits an overhead biel into the buckles on Knight as all four men go down.
RUSH fakes out Knight in the corner and hits the tranquilo pose. RUSH tells us that he’s Knight’s daddy. RUSH stalks Knight around the ringside area until Knight counters and whips RUSH into the steel steps. Dropkick from Knight on Fox and we see Hologram watching from somewhere. Fox hits a DDT on the apron followed by an imploding canonball to the outside. Sammy is poised…SHOOTING STAR to the outside! RUSH comes in to whip Fox into the safety rails. Shotgun dropkick off the steps by Knight, RUSH comes right back with a HUGE biel on the ramp! Knight and RUSH battle backstage, leaving Fox and Sammy in the ring.
Guevara tries for the G2S, Fox counters and hits the Lo Mein Pain. 450 connects! 1, 2, no! Fox goes back up top, SWANTON but Sammy gets the knees up. Rollup gets 2 for Fox. Running knee from Guevara! Inverted Go to Sleep connects and Sammy picks up the 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Sammy Guevara
Time: 10:36
Rating: ***1/4 – Large majority of this was conducted on the outside, and it was constant action, which was the name of the game. RUSH was probably the standout but everyone got their shit in and looked good.
*Post-match, Sammy Guevara points at Adam Cole, and appears to be interested in his TNT title.
*Samoa Joe speaks in a video package and says he will help Jon Moxley understand what happens when you call a guy like him out. Joe understands Moxley has a ruthless streak, and the ability and will to come after Joe. Joe had to put this match in a cage. The Moxley he looks at today doesn’t have the heart or the balls to get in the ring and get into a firefight with a man like Joe. Come Chicago, Joe will break Moxley, and there will be nowhere to go. He is Samoa Joe and he will be the next AEW World champion, and he will make Moxley understand.
*Old school feel to a hype video package for FTR vs Paragon, with both teams speaking. Stokely says FTR are the experts at 2 out of 3 Falls matches. But Strong and Kyle O’Reilly say they are one of the best tag teams in the entire world and they’re tired of being treated like an afterthought. Once FTR wins, they will never wrestle Paragon again, and they will move on to bigger and better things.
Megan Bayne (w/ Penelope Ford) vs Harley Cameron
Harley attacks Bayne in the corner before the bell rings! Cameron with a gamengiri from the apron, axe kick, and a step up enziguri back in the ring. She looks for a lungblower but Bayne catches her and tosses her overhead. Bayne with knees to the midsection, and then distracts the ref while Ford chokes Cameron out. Bayne with a vertical suplex and a splash in the corner, followed by a butterfly suplex. Cameron with a jawbreaker as she fights back, Sole Food connects, but Bayne is right back in it with a flying uppercut. Cameron rolls to the apron, and Bayne follows up with a pump kick to knock her to the floor, and Ford once again takes advantage.
Cameron tries to rally back again in the ring, but Bayne delivers shoulders to the small of the back and a German suplex. Short-arm clotheslines and a running variation, cover, 1, 2, Cameron kicks out. Body slam as Bayne continues the assault. Another body slam as the crowd get behind Cameron. One more slam connects. Bayne sets up Cameron in the corner, Harley elbows her way out. To the top, Bayne is thinking superplex, but Harley bites her, and punches Ford away too. Tornado DDT connects, 1, 2, no, the Megasus kicks out. Falcon Arrow on Cameron, 1, 2, NO. Cameron wails away with some right hands, tries a clothesline but basically implodes from it haha. Powerbomb from Bayne, 1, 2, NO! She looks for the Fate’s Descent, Harley rolls her up! 1, 2, NO. Harley is poised on the buckles, gets caught, and Bayne tosses her into the Fate’s Descent! 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Megan Bayne
Time: 9:16
Rating: **3/4 – About what you’d expect, with Bayne in firm control for the most part. Good nearfalls in the final stretch, and Cameron lasted a fair while longer than others have in a similar position.
*Penelope Ford picks up Cameron again after the match, and sends her in for another Fates’ Descent. Here comes Anna Jay! Jay smacks Bayne in the back with a 2×4 but no effect! Bayne grabs and throws the 2×4, runs in but Jay low bridges the ropes, sending the Megasus to the floor. Anna Jay helps up Harley Cameron as Bayne and Ford retreat.
*Back from break, Marina Shafir and Jon Moxley arrive at ringside, taking out a bit of security. Jon Moxley calls out Samoa Joe. He heard what he said. What exactly is it he doesn’t understand? What’s he gonna do, kick his ass? Beat him up? Moxley has faced the supposed baddest men in every promotion, every country. And they all said the same things Joe said…until they weren’t. He can feel the moment it happens and they realise they don’t want to be here anymore. They’re not in a chess match, they’re in a war. Joe, you think Moxley doesn’t want to get into a real firefight? They’ve been in one this entire time. With that, Moxley exits the ring and heads out into the crowd again. Not sure what that achieved that his earlier promo didn’t, but here we are.
*We recap RPG Vice taking out the Outrunners last week. Now we’re gonna hear from the Youngest Men Alive, the Outrunners backstage. They want to get a little physical with RPG Vice.
Brody King vs Josh Alexander
Both men lockup to start and Josh goes for the leg but can’t take the big man down. Alexander ducks a chop to the face but can’t dodge a big chop to the chest. Alexander tries to whip Brody into the corner, King puts the brakes on and takes advantage, beating Alexander down in the corner. Brody lays out Alexander across the top rope and chops the heck out of him. To the apron they go, Josh kicks the knee and nails the crossbody through the ropes, but NO Brody catches him on his shoulders and hits a DVD onto the floor! Nicely done.
More chops connect and Alexander gets thrown sternum-first into the barricade. King suplexes him back inside the ringside area, and briefly rolls into the ring to break the count. He sits Alexander on chair, takes a run up but Josh moves and King sees it in time, putting the brakes on again. Josh tries to launch off the apron but dives into a forearm to the face. Alexander focuses on the leg now, wrapping it around the bottom rope and hits a reverse DDT on the apron before taking a quick breather.
Josh stomps away at Brody in the corner, driving the boot into the throat. Alexander continues the focus on the knee as Brody struggles to his feet. They trade right hands. Body slam and a senton from King as a moment of hope but he can’t capitalize. Brody brings Alexander to the top rope and heads up with him…superplex attempt? Josh slips out and gets BRODY ON HIS SHOULDERS! King evades, and they trade massive hard slaps and chops. Repeated chops from King now. Josh pulls down the straps, he wants more! Brody obliges with a double chop to the chest. Alexander comes back with a shot to the knee and a kick to the face. Alpamari Waterslide connects, and now Josh may be thinking C4 Spike but King counters with a back body drop. Alexander runs, gets caught with a Black Hole Slam for 2. King looks for a powerbomb, can’t get it, GERMAN from Alexander! King is back up and hits a misdirection lariat, and both men go down. Canonball from King connects, 1, 2, NO. Alexander rolls to the ropes and clings on. Brody lifts him back up and climbs in the corner…top rope superplex connects! We get the 1 minute remaining call. Josh takes out the knee in the corner, and locks in the Ankle Lock! Grapevine, but King is back up. German suplex by King, huge lariat too! 10 seconds. Ganzo Bomb connects!! But Josh Alexander rolls to the floor so King can’t make the cover, and the bell rings as we hit the 15 minute time limit.
Winner: DRAW
Time: 15:00 time limit
Rating: ***3/4 – Meaty goodness! More of this please. Smart work from Alexander focusing on the leg, and King sold well. Just an extremely solid match all round.
*Lance Archer lifts up Josh Alexander and is about to help him out, but Brody King launches on them with a huge suicide dive! King sits Archer on a chair, stacks up security on top of him and nails the running crossbody against the railing. King is asking for 5 more minutes…but Josh Alexander attacks from behind and locks in the Ankle Lock. Archer is back up to lay in some licks too, and he helps Josh Alexander up the ramp.
*We hear from CRU. It was inevitable that they would be Top Flight. They’re not in AEW to waste time. They tried to drift off into the sunset but Top Flight couldn’t stand seeing them in the rear view mirror. They hope everyone learnt the lesson that you should fear Cru.
*Max Caster is in the ring, and says that Atlantic City is looking live at the best wrestler alive. These people just witnessed a 15 minute time limit draw, and that got him thinking that no one can survive 5 minutes in the ring with Platinum Max. He asks to put 5 minutes on the clock. Before his next victim comes out, he wants the crowd to prove they’re not drunk and degenerate tourists, and wants them to do his chant correctly. Who is the one to last 5 minutes with the Best Wrestler Alive?
Daniel Garcia answers the call!
Max Caster vs Daniel Garcia
Haha Nigel is amazing here, “15 seconds gone. 20 seconds gone.” Garcia with a shotgun dropkick and the piledriver to get the 1, 2, 3 in just one minute.
Winner: Daniel Garcia
Time: 1:00
Rating: N/R – Poor Max.
*Garcia calls out FTR. He just handled his business, they should handle theirs, and then they need to talk after.
*Lexy Nair is with Billy Gunn and Anthony Bowens. Bowens reminds everyone he is the 5 tool player. He is in his home state of NJ, and he will climb his way to championship gold. Blake Christian and Lee Johnson show up and all they hear is bla bla bla. Christian says Bowens got outshined the other week. Johnson believes he is 150% better than Bowens. Christian softened him up, and he can put him down. Bowens tells them to step up and get their asses mollywhopped by the 5 tool player, anytime, anywhere. Not sure I buy this whole ‘5 tool player’ thing but let’s see where it goes.
The Gates of Agony vs Ray Jazz and Goldy
Inset promo from the Gates saying that there are worse things than death. Agony awaits! Boot from Bishop Kaun and a vertical suplex. Liona in as Kaun biels Goldy in, and Liona hits a running pounce to send Goldy over the top rope to the floor! Running knees in the corner, double arm slam ‘thingy’ gives them the 1, 2, 3.
Winners: The Gates of Agony
Time: 1:14
Rating: N/R – I guess we’re heating up the Gates this month.
*We see CRU watching at ringside while the Gates celebrate their victory. Big Bill and Bryan Keith show up on screen and say they’re in the parking lot, and they want the Gates to come find them.
*Signed for Dynamite this coming week, Ricochet & the Young Bucks vs Swerve, Mark Briscoe and Mike Bailey (PWG says hello!), plus Samoa Joe vs Claudio Castagnoli.
*Bryan Keith and Big Bill are waiting in the parking lot, and here comes the Gates of Agony! They all come to blows as Kaun throws Keith through a section of fencing, and Bill knocks out Kaun with a big boot. Some local guy gets tossed to Liona, who throws him into a sign. Bill and Liona square up against each other and Keith jumps on Liona’s back. All four continue fighting as the cameras leave them and we head back to ringside for our main event.
[2 out of 3 Falls] FTR (w/ Stokely Hathaway) vs Paragon (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly)
O’Reilly and Cash Wheeler start this out with Kyle going right for the arm of Cash. Armbar applied, Cash rolls up Kyle for 1, and they break. Strong tags in, as does Dax. Chops from both men, trading back and forth. Dropkick from Strong connects, tag to O’Reilly, and Dax tags in Cash too. Quick tags, Kyle hits a pair of kitchen sinks and delivers kicks to both opponents. Leg sweep to Dax, covers for 2. FTR go for Shatter Machinr but Strong cuts that off, backbreaker to Dax, PK to follow up. Brainbuster from Kyle, Strong with a basement dropkick! Kyle is left in the ring with Dax, picks the leg, ankle lock! Dax tries to help out by holding the hands for leverage but Strong stomps the hands. Stokely tells Dax to tap and that’s it, Paragon gain the first fall! (4:50)
Winners of the first fall: Paragon
Both teams get a 90 second rest period. Kyle and Dax kick off the second fall. Kyle gets taken out with a double clothesline, and Cash delivers a slingshot elbow drop for 2. Stomps by Cash as Stokely talks some trash. Snapmare to Kyle, chinlock applied by Wheeler. Running shoulder thrust to the midsection as Cash locks in another chinlock. Kyle avoids the running knees in the corner and tags in Roddy, who comes in as a house of fire. Backbreaker, stomach breaker tossing Dax onto Cash. Train of offense with forearms, and the faceplant mat return connects for a 2 count. Strong whiffs on a kick to Cash, sits him on top of Dax on a chair and the chair collapses under the weight. O’Reilly launches off the apron with a missile dropkick anyway! Strong and Dax fight out into the crowd, heading up into the stands. Meanwhile Cash and O’Reilly tussle for a suplex, neither man can get it.
Back to the ring, Strong takes out Dax but Cash picks the leg. He stomps the leg against the bottom rope and hits a leg DDT. Dax rings the leg around the ringpost as Strong is in trouble here. Oh but Roddy gets a rollup for 2! Dax locks in a Figure Four in the center of the ring. Dax tries to lock it in again but Roderick kicks him away and makes the tag to O’Reilly. Diving knee off the aron to take out Cash. Leg sweep on Dax. Kyle re-enters the ring, running forearm to Cash, suplex transition into the armbar. Nope, flips round into the ankle lock, but Dax tries for a sleeper. Jawbreaker connects. Rollup by Kyle for 2, rollup by Cash for 2. Kick to the back of the head, elbow smash, 1, 2, Cash kicks out. Ankle lock once more, Dax gets back body dropped, double team by Paragon in the corner! Strong tags in, Cash shoves O’Reilly away and they hit the SHATTER MACHINE! 1, 2, 3! (17:32)
Winners of the second fall: FTR
Sudden death, no rest period here. FTR look for the spike piledriver, but Kyle comes in with a diving knee, Roddy with a jackknife. O’Reilly tags in but looks exhausted. FTR try for Shatter Machine again but Roddy shoves Cash out of the way. High-Low connects, 1, 2, 3!! No, Stokely put the foot on the ropes so the referee calls it off. O’Reilly has the ankle lock on Cash, Cash taps but he’s not legal. Shatter Machine to O’Reilly! 1, 2, 3.
Winners of the third and final fall: FTR
Time: 19:27
Rating: **** – FTR are so good at what they do, and they seem revitalized since this heel turn. The 2 out of 3 Falls tag team match is almost a Collision specialty, and it never fails to meet that high bar. Another terrific encounter from these guys with things building to a pretty intense close. The false finishes got a tiny bit overblown but ultimately FTR used their sneaky tactics to come away with the big win, and now they never have to face Paragon again.
*FTR celebrate, but the music of Daniel Garcia hits and he marches down to the ring with a crowbar. Stokely demands Garcia calms down. Garcia says he wanted to beat all three of them with the crowbar, but he can’t because he has too much love for the two of them. When his mentors left him stranded, FTR picked up the pieces of him. After what they did to Cope and Daddy Magic, he’s left looking for answers. He won’t get them by having a therapy session with them. So he’s got an idea. How about next week, Garcia wants to meet them in the ring and beat the answers out of them. Great fire from Garcia to end the broadcast.
*Collision is back for a special Thursday broadcast this coming week, so we’ll see you then! Have a great week, folks!
