Sambus’ AEW Collision Review 11.11.23

Hello and welcome everybody! The weekend is here, and that means we have another instalment of AEW Collision tonight – a rare taped episode, having been filmed after Rampage last night. Despite it not being live, they haven’t skimped on the card as we’ve got a big main event (if a teeny-tiny bit one-sided!) as Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland take on the newly formed trio of Lance Archer & The Righteous. This will be a warm up match for Copeland’s team before facing Christian Cage, Nick Wayne & Luchasaurus next week at Full Gear, so we can no doubt expect some sort of shenanigans from Cage’s faction.

Aside from that, I’ve got high hopes for Daniel Garcia vs Andrade El Idolo; a match which CJ Perry will surely be keeping a close eye on, as Andrade will be giving her his answer regarding her representation later tonight. Plus, we’ve got Willow Nightingale vs Julia Hart, which SURELY guarantees a Skye Blue appearance.

Location: Oakland, CA

Venue: Oakland Arena

Commentators: Nigel McGuinness & Tony Schiavone

 

We kick things off with the pre-show promos. Preston Vance says they’re coming for the tag team titles. When you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Don Callis says Hobbs is going to put someone in the ground. Anyone can get it, according to Hobbs. Daniel Garcia won’t complain about losses, he will take a negative situation and turn it into a positive, and dance over Andrade’s broken body. Andrade will give CJ Perry his answer…right now! Elton John, take it away.

Andrade makes his way to the ring…and as he approaches the ring, the music of CJ Perry hits! She joins Andrade on the ramp, and it looks like Andrade has indeed made his decision. Miro is watching backstage…he doesn’t look tremendously happy.

Match One: Daniel Garcia vs Andrade El Idolo (w/ CJ Perry)

Andrade flips out of an arm wringer, and Garcia does the same, giving us a stalemate. Garcia gets a headlock out of a grapple, tries to throw Andrade to the floor but Andrade is tranquilo, hanging onto the ropes. Shoulder tackle by Andrade to cut Garcia off from dancing. Low dropkick to the face by Andrade. Chops in the corner by Andrade but they fight out and trade blows in the middle of the ring. Leg sweep and a dropkick of his own by Garcia.

Clothesline by Andrade, and a step up rope assisted dropkick sends Garcia to the floor. Andrade heads up top looking for a moonsault but Garcia backs away. Garcia waits for Andrade in the middle of the ring. Up top, crossbody by Andrade for a 2 count. Sleeper applied by Garcia but Andrade gets out of it, only for Garcia to dragon screw his leg through the ropes, and then a running forearm to knock Andrade off the apron. Garcia gets in CJ Perry’s face and dances right in front of her. Andrade thrown back in the ring but he fights back with forearms….but no, Garcia with a German suplex!

During PIP, both men head to the floor and battle by the barricades, with Andrade being whipped hard into one set. Garcia sits Andrade on a chair, takes a run up and gets a running dropkick, knocking Andrade backwards over the chair. Back in the ring, Garcia wrings the leg and stomps on it. He twists the ankle and sets Andrade up on top of the buckles. Andrade tries to fight back, both men heading to the top now. Garcia knocked down but comes back with a running boot. Garcia is looking for a superplex now but Andrade headbutts him down, goes for a diving knee attack but Garcia dodges and gets an ankle lock! Center of the ring! Eventually Andrade kicks his way out but Garcia tackles the leg again…but Andrade gets a leg whip, and another. Flying forearm off the ropes! He kips up, and Garcia is down in the corner. Double knees! 1, 2, no!

Garcia cuts off another top rope attack by taking out the leg. He gets his own double knee attack in the corner, followed by the Three Amigos…no, Andrade cuts him off on the second Amigo and hits his own. But a Brainbuster by Garcia in retaliation! Knee to the midsection and a scoop slam by Andrade and he hobbles over to the turnbuckle, climbing to the top…moonsault feint connects for 1, 2, no. Both men battle on their knees now before firing each other up. Garcia starts to get the upper hand with a flurry of right hands. Back elbow by Andrade! Figure Four locked in….into the Figure 8! Garcia has to tap at 15:45.

Your winner by submission: Andrade El Idolo

Rating: ***1/4 – Nice match with decent time allowed for it. Andrade was a little spotty with his selling of the leg here though, sporadically completely ignoring it. Nitpicking, but when you make a point of targeting a limb and that forms the bulk of the match, you’ve got to keep that selling up throughout.

 

Next, we recap the end of Dynamite this past week, where the Acclaimed were attacked by The Devil and his goons.

Back from commercial, the music of Christian Cage hits! Here comes the TNT champion with his ‘boys’, Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne. Looks like it’s Nick Wayne who will be competing.

 

Match Two: Nick Wayne (w/ Luchasaurus & Christian Cage)  vs Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys)

Wayne backs into the ropes from the off. Castle ‘peacocks’ in the middle of the ring while Cage gives Wayne a pep talk. Pie face by Nick, who peacocks himself. Amateur wrestling roll on the mat with Castle in control, back elbow by Wayne to escape. Twisting back suplex by Dalton Castle, and a knee drop, followed by a gutwrench, nice combo. Front slam to Wayne, and more knees to the midsection. Nick gets a rope whiplash on Dalton, and a snapmare takeover. Back elbow by Castle and a clothesline to take Wayne down.

Gutwrench suplex to Nick, but a rollup by Wayne gets 2. Huge German suplex from Castle, catching Wayne out of the corner. Luchasaurus tries to get involved by The Boys stop him, only for them to get chokeslammed on the outside. Quick rollup by Castle, 1, 2, no! Wayne sends Castle into the ringpost. Oscutter out of the corner, 1, 2, 3! Nick Wayne gets the pinfall at 6:53.

Your winner by pinfall: Nick Wayne

Rating: *** – I like this kinda match on Collision; this combination of guys felt different and very ‘un-Dynamite’. Better showing for Castle too, he got a chance to shine much more than in other recent efforts.

Hangman Adam Page is backstage, and he says it is a shame. Swerve could have taken his spot, but instead he made the biggest mistake of his life, when he opened the door and stepped into Page’s house. At Full Gear, Page will take him down to the depths of hell. It will be a Texas Deathmatch at Full Gear! Page offers advice for this coming week – make the most of the time you’ve got. At Full Gear, Page will leave him in fire for eternity. Page will piss on Swerve’s grave.

 

Match Three: LFI (Rush & Dralistico) vs The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)

Henry and Dralistico begin, hurracanrana by Henry, then a headscissors by Dralistico. Kick to the midsection by Henry, take to Drake, and he springboard sentons his way into the ring on top of Dralistico. Drake and Dralistico trade chops. Tag to Rush, who wants part of the chop battle. Damn, HARD chops from Rush! Dropkick takes Drake down. Rush gets a big running clothesline, takes Henry off the apron, and tags Dralistico back in for a double team on Drake. Corner splashes and double dropkick from LFI.

Drake and Dralistico battle on the outside briefly before Drake sends him back inside. Henry on the outside takes Rush out by the announce table. Oh, abrupt commercial break, no PIP for Fite viewers? Odd.

Back from break, Rush kicks Drake hard in the corner and poses. Henry dives for an attack but Rush gets a spinning forearm shot. Powerslam on JD Drake to follow up. Tag to Dralistico, sequence of kicks to Drake, who is now slumped in the corner. Rush prepares for attack but Henry pulls him out of the ring. Double team by the WorkHorsemen with an assisted flatliner on Dralistico. Cannonball by Drake! Drake up top, MOONSAULT but no, Dralistico avoids it. Rush tagged in, German suplex on Drake, Dralistico gets a Codebreaker on Drake, then Rush follows up with the Bull’s Horns in the corner for 3 at 8:25.

Your winners by pinfall: La Faccion Ingobernable

Rating: **3/4 – Perfectly acceptable, did the job in getting Rush & Dralistico over as a new force to be reckoned with.

House of Black appear in a video package. HoB will obtain the tag titles, and make LFI chase them. Brody King says ‘the enemy of our enemy…is now also our enemy’. Big Bill, Ricky Starks…the Kings of the Black Throne are coming for the AEW tag team championships at Full Gear. Julia Hart says Willow and Skye keep rejecting her gift. If Julia wins tonight, she wants Kris Statlander for the TBS championship again, also at Full Gear.

Lexi Nair is with Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale. Kris will defend the title at Full Gear in a 3-way. Willow vs Julia Hart tonight is to determine the first spot, and next week Red Velvet vs Skye Blue will determine the second.

 

Match Four: Roderick Strong (w/ The Kingdom) vs Darius Martin

Strong is a house of fire already. Arm drag to ground Martin. Forearm and a headlock takeover keeps Strong in control. Martin battles out and gets a crossbody off the top for 2. Half nelson back breaker by Roddy! Big time chops in the corner. Pendulum backbreaker as Strong talks trash to Martin. Knee to the gut in the corner by Strong and the 10 count punches connect. Martin gets out of a fireman’s carry, but is met with a dropkick by Strong, which gets a 2.

Jawbreaker by Darius, and a Manhattan Drop, backing Roderick into the corner with chops of his own. Rebound pele kick out of the corner by Martin gets a 2 count! Goes for a springboard from the apron but Strong with a rising knee and a sick kick, followed by the End of Heartache! 1, 2, 3. Neck Strong prevails at 5:52.

Your winner by pinfall: Roderick Strong

Rating: **3/4 – This Roderick Strong character arc is great, I love Neck Strong Roddy. He is milking it for all its worth and it’s tremendous. Too short for anything more than an extended squash but it’s all good fun.

The Kingdom gets a low blow ‘Weiner Punch’ on Martin post-match, followed by the assisted spike piledriver. Action Andretti runs down but waaay too late to do anything about it.

Tony Khan is standing backstage with Bryan Danielson. Khan announces that Bryan Danielson will be at All In at Wembley Stadium next year in the latter part of Danielson’s last year of full-time active competition. Khan also announces the Continental Classic, beginning in just a few weeks! This sounds like AEW’s version of the G1 Climax…HELL YEAH. It will culminate at World’s End on Dec 30th. The first participant will be…Bryan Danielson! Danielson says this is the kind of tournament he’s wanted to do his entire career. If we’re not getting Danielson at the G1 next year, at least this scratches that itch. Good stuff.

 

Match Five: Willow Nightingale vs Julia Hart

Again, the winner of this one will face Kris Statlander and the winner of Red Velvet/Skye Blue at Full Gear next week. Willow with a hair pull/biel on Hart out of the corner. Brody king pulls Hart out of the ring as Willow attempts a cannonball, and Hart runs back in and attacks from behind. Shoulder block from Willow, stomps on the back of Hart, and a big body slam. Sliding crossbody gets a 2 count. Gory Special by Willow as we see Skye Blue watching backstage. Woah, ULTRA Gory Special, Willow has almost pretzelled her! Hart escapes, goes for a headscissors but Willow catches her into a sideslam. Julia scoots to the apron and pulls Willow to the floor.

Willow with a suplex on the floor! Back in the ring, Hart takes control, wrapping her legs around the back of Willow’s head in the ropes, choking her. Hart works over the wrist of Willow now, and slams it backwards repeatedly on the canvas. Knee drops to the outstretched arm. Hart stomps on the arm now, and then wraps it around the rope for leverage. Modified Money Clip! Willow fights out f it, misses a spin kick but hits a clothesline with her good arm, giving herself some breathing room.

Hip attack in the corner by Willow, misses a boot, but kicks Hart away. Spinebuster off the ropes, 1, 2, no! Doctor Bomb atttempt but no, Willow’s arm is messed up, she can’t lift her. Hart with a springboard back elbow, and a sliding clothesline from behind. She’s looking for the Hartless but Willow back to her feet …no, Hart with clubbing blows to the back. POUNCE from Willow out of nowhere! They head to the outside and again Brody King steps in the way. Willow goes for the cannonball on the outside but Hart moves and Willow goes straight into the steel steps!

Back in the ring, Hart is up on the top rope…Willow grabs her for a Full Nelson slam, 1, 2, NO! Doctor Bomb but Hart sits out on it, gets a lariat from behind. MOONSAULT by Julia Hart for the 1, 2, 3 at 11:56.

Your winner by pinfall: Julia Hart

Rating: ***1/2 – This was some really good stuff, with strong arm work. Willow sold it well until the very end when again it was vaguely cast aside. Slight miscommunication on that last Doctor Bomb evasion but this was a good showing from both women, especially Julia who continues to grow before our eyes.

Lexi Nair is with Ricky Starks & Big Bill backstage. They don’t want to be bothered by any of these teams gunning for them. They say they are never going to wrestle them…except Lexi tells them that Tony has signed for them to face all 3 teams at Full Gear. LFI vs FTR vs House of Black vs Starks & Big Bill. Starks is still confident about their chances, and they aim to be the longest reigning tag champs in company history.

Paul Wight joins the commentary desk for the next match.

 

Match Six: Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Don Callis) vs Jobber

Big clothesline to start, with clubbing blows across the chest to follow. Spinebuster! Falling powerslam for the 3 count at 55 seconds. Hobbs had eye contact with Paul Wight for the majority of that.

Your winner by pinfall: Powerhouse Hobbs

Rating: N/R – SQUASH

Don Callis on the mic, says the Callis family is the greatest family in wrestling, greater than the Briscoes, the Harts, the Von Erichs. In a few days, the family will be involved in the Like a Dragon Street Fight. Hobbs broke Jericho not too long ago…so Jericho phoned the last friend he has in the world, Paul Wight. Callis says only a blithering idiot would face the Callis Family after everything they’ve done…but it’s not too late for Paul Wight to back out of it. Callis thinks he sees a scared giant before him. Callis has buried 2 giants in his career, and he’ll happily do it again. He tells Hobbs to take Wight out…but Wight gets to his feet, ready for him. The Callis Family back off for now.

Lexi Nair is with FTR, who says they’ve been back on a roll. Dax says it doesn’t matter about the distractions from all those other teams, their only goal is to regain the AEW tag team championships. Top Guys, out.

 

Match Seven: Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland vs Lance Archer & The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch)

Copeland starts this one out with Dutch. Show of strength by Dutch, slamming Copeland to the mat. Dutch absorbs Copeland’s offense until he gets a flying clothesline to take him down. Tags to Darby and Vincent now. Side headlock takeover by Darby. Headbutt by Vincent, tag to Archer, who takes Darby up to the top rope, no Darby slaps his hand away. Tag to Sting! Sting and Archer go face to face. They have a woo-off!

Sting takes out Dutch and Vincent with a double clothesline, and clotheslines Archer to the floor as we go to PIP. All six men are battling on the outside now. Darby throws Vincent into the barricade. Copeland whips Dutch into the ring apron. Sting with a steel chair to the back of Archer! Sting walks Archer around the ring, bashing him into barriers as he goes. Aaaand we get another awkwardly placed commercial break…

Sting and Vincent are in the ring now. Tag to Dutch, Archer whips him in for a clothesline train on Sting. Archer back in, stomps to Sting to knock him down in the corner. Tag to Vincent, Sting ducks a clothesline and hits a shoulder tackle to take down Vincent. Sting with the tag to Darby Allin, shotgun dropkick to the Righteous. Darby with a coffin splash in the corner to Vincent. Goes for a Code Red but Dutch clotheslines him right off, nice!

Darby and Dutch legal now, with a neck crank applied to Darby. Vincent in, knee to the face, clothesline from Dutch and a flatliner from Vincent gets 2. Snapmare from Vincent into a headlock to ground Allin. Running back elbow by Vincent as Darby starts to fight back. Archer in who just TOSSES Darby with a wild suplex across the ring. Vincent in but Darby tries a rollup, which gets a 2. Archer takes out Sting on the outside, but Copeland sends Archer into the ringpost. Darby makes the tag to Copeland! Diving double clothesline to the Righteous. Spear to Archer on the apron! Copeland with a suicide dive to take out all 3 on the outside!

Copeland and Vincent in the ring now, Copeland sets up for the spear….but no, Archer pulls the leg. Coffin drop onto Archer though! Boss Man Slam on Copeland by Dutch! Sting takes on both members of The Righteous! Scorpion Death Drop with an elbow drop assistance from Copeland on Dutch. Stinger Splash on Vincent, and a spear by Copeland gives the expected win at 16:20.

Your winners by pinfall: Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland

Rating: *** – It’s a shame that a team that only formed last week had to be sacrificed this quickly, but them’s the breaks! This had that house show six-man tag feeling, which is no bad thing, and I did appreciate The Righteous at least having a long control segment. We never doubted the result, but Sting, Darby & Copeland got to build some cohesion together in the run up to their big match next week, and it served as a fun brawl to close the show.

Post-match, the music of Christian Cage hits again, and here come Cage, Wayne & Luchasaurus to lock eyes with the winners. Cage holds his TNT title aloft as the broadcast ends.

That’s all for this week, folks! Don’t forget that next week’s Collision will be a day earlier on Friday 17th due to Full Gear taking place next Saturday. Helluva lot of wrestling headed out way next week!

 

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I'll always give Collision props for feeling different from Dynamite & Rampage -  a match like Dalton Castle vs Nick Wayne is something you wouldn't really see on a Wednesday. We had some decent story progression tonight, with Andrade accepting CJ Perry as his new manager, Julia Hart earning her spot in the Full Gear TBS championship 3-way, and the tag title scene falling into place nicely. Andrade/Garcia and Willow/Hart are the matches to check out this week, which both delivered despite a few inconsistencies in selling. Bit of a 'house show' main event which is fine but means you're not missing anything if you skip it. I fear next week could be a throwaway show coming directly before a live Rampage and the go-home for Full Gear, but we'll see!