Written By Gino Lewis
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The 34th rendition of AEW Collision comes to us from Dollar Loan Center in Henderson Nevada. This show is about four hours from where I live. I would have definitely been there if there wasn’t a slightly bigger sporting event going on this weekend. The Waste Management Open that is. I kid. Although, that is an awesome event. This will be another small AEW crowd of just over 2,000. However, it might not sound so bad because it’s in a smaller arena with a capacity of 5,567. There isn’t a ton of star power with a main event of Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli facing CMLL’s Star Jr. and Esfinge. Orange Cassidy defends his International Championship against New Japan’s Ishii. There are two women’s matches again which seems to be a new staple on Collision. We’ll hear from Adam Copeland. Mark Briscoe is in action against Brody King and more. It is a solid lineup. Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting. Let’s get to the action!
Tony Schiavone says the show is in Las Vegas Nevada. I get saying that but it’s not true. Henderson is about 40 minutes from Vegas. “Wild Thing” hits. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli are starting the show which means something else is going on last. It was advertised as the main event.
Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli def Star Jr. & Esfinge – The crowd is almost silent. My wife Amber noticed saying “wow it’s a quiet crowd” at the start of the match. It hasn’t been a hot start to the match either. Not much has gone on in the first few minutes. The action and crowd picked up a bit before the PIP commercial break. Esfinge went for a cool looking Indian Death Lock style pin attempt on Moxley that was broken up by Claudio. Star Jr. landed an awesome spinning dive on Claudio outside the ring. Claudio and Moxley did a Gorilla Press/Cutter combo on Star Jr. Moxley tapped out Star with an arm bar. Rating ** ¾
Moxley cut a short promo after the match saying Blackpool will stomp out any team in the world. That got FTR’s attention bringing them out to the ring for a stare down. There was an “FTR” chant. The teams’ started throwing blows. Security and some jobbers from the back were not able to break it up.
Gino’s take – This wasn’t as good as the other matches we’ve seen featuring talent from CMLL. Star Jr. and Esfinge had some good offense but are not quite on the same level as someone like Hechicero or Mascara Dorada. Moxley and Claudio should have been able to finish this match sooner. I’m glad it wasn’t the main event. The stars of CMLL are very impressive but we know they aren’t going to win against BCC. AEW had a chance to make this an awesome rivalry. You can’t get there by having the same side win every match. The crowd enjoyed the post-match brawl. That should set up a big tag team match soon.
Daniel Garcia def Shane Taylor – Taylor used his power and striking ability to dominate Garcia early. Garcia worked over the left leg of Taylor before an early PIP break. Taylor got in a fan’s face during the break. Daniel continued the assault on the leg after commercial. Sound strategy against the big man. Knockout punch and two-count for Shane. His punches look devastating. Garcia slapped on a knee bar which was good enough to make Taylor submit. Rating ** ½
Gino’s take – I like both performers but it’s another random match with nothing at stake like we see so much in AEW. Taylor is a good talent. I would be more intrigued by wrestlers of his ilk if they actually won matches. That could be a running thread of this whole show based on the matchups. There was a decent story with Garcia working over Taylor’s left leg. Shane sold it well and it factored into the finish.
We’re shown a replay of Sting & Darby winning the Tag Team Titles and then being jumped by The Young Bucks. I loved that show ending angle from Dynamite Wednesday.
Eddie Kingston has asked for time with Lexy Nair. Kingston is mad at The Young Bucks and Byran Danielson. He challenges Bryan to a match at Revolution. If Eddie wins Bryan has to shake his hand because he knows Danielson doesn’t respect him.
Gino’s take – That’s a match I’ve been expecting for Revolution and there is the announcement. I like it a lot. I really don’t know who will win. Neither fighter can afford a loss. AEW should book more matches like that. The Young Bucks taking the spotlight from Sting and Darby after they won the Tag Belts was tremendous. AEW doesn’t do a lot of big angles like that. It worked for sure. I don’t think The Bucks have ever been more interesting in AEW. I’m really looking forward to both matches at Revolution which I think AEW has done an excellent job building towards.
Brian Cage def Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) – Cage beat the crap out them and tapped out Turbo with single leg crab. Rating SQUASH
The Golden Knights mascot Chance was ringside during the match. He did Prince’s Nana’s dance before Cage hit him from behind. Hook came out and brawled with Cage.
Gino’s take – Hook beat these same jobbers last week. It was Cage’s turn this week. Hook and Cage will face each other soon. This wasn’t that exciting of a way to build that match up. There is a ton going on but none of it has been great so far. It’s been hard to keep up and write about everything.
Undisputed Kingdom is backstage with Ishii. This was okay. It’s the same thing UK has been doing lately with Orange Cassidy’s opponents. Undisputed Kingdom is not nearly as hot as they should be considering they ended the last AEW PPV by taking out the former Champion MJF. Why did the newly formed Bang Bang Scissor Gang forget they hate UK when they only formed to even up the odds? Bad booking.
Let’s hear from Adam Copeland – Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Copeland. Cope has his pick of what title he wants to go after other than the World Championship since he is the number three rated contender. Cope gives Nicholas and Matthew Jackson a warning after what they did to Sting and Darby Allin. He also says he’ll fight Eddie Kingston someday. Interesting. Orange Cassidy and Eddie Kingston already have matches lined up which brings him to Christian Cage. That brought out Daniel Garcia. Very interesting. Daniel says he’s also been picking up a lot of wins like Adam. Garcia says he deserves a shot at the TNT Title. Copeland challenges Garcia to a match on Dynamite where the winner will face Christian Cage. Cope says he’s going to beat Daniel’s ass next week.
Gino’s take – I liked this a lot. I wouldn’t say it was some epic segment. It was the best part of this show so far. This was a great way to make it seem like the ratings and winning matches’ matter. The match on Dynamite should be excellent. I’m looking forward to it. Like Kingston vs Danielson it’s another bout that has high stakes because both wrestlers are getting a push and can’t afford a loss. More matches like that please!
Renee Paquette is backstage with Stokely Hathaway, Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale. Julia Hart and Skye Blue confronted Stat and Willow after their win over Saraya and Ruby Soho on Rampage. Kris and Willow talked about that. Sounds like another match we’ll see soon.
Brody King def Mark Briscoe – Cannonball splash from Brody giving him the advantage. Very loud chops from King. Tope Con Hiro off of a chair from Briscoe. Mark brought out a table. Referee Rick Knox actually did his job and stopped Mark from setting it up. King smashed Briscoe into a chair that was against the railing outside the ring. We go to a well-timed commercial break with Brody in firm control. Briscoe landed a great looking twisting moonsault from the top rope on the outside. King Kong lariat from King getting a near fall. Mark had Brody down and was going for the Froggy Bow. Julia Hart made a distraction allowing King to knock Briscoe though the partially set up table outside. King won with a Gonzo Bomb right after that. Rating ***
After the match King held Mark Briscoe while Julia Hart hit him in the head with a spike busting him open. Mark was bleeding badly.
Gino’s take – There has been a budding rivalry between Briscoe and House of Black after Mark got involved in the escape the cage match with Daniel Garcia and FTR a couple weeks ago. The post-match attack certainly adds fuel to the fire. I would have liked to see Briscoe get the upset victory before the attack. King would have gotten his heat back anyway by making Briscoe a bloody mess. AEW matches have been far too predictable this year. The crowd seems lively. It was silent at times again in this one. I think it might be more of a sound issue in the building or on the broadcast. The action in the ring, especially the chops are louder than the crowd at any time. It wasn’t even that loud when the table was brought out.
“Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith gets a little time to talk. He is looking to climb the standings and earn his bounty.
Deonna Purrazzo def Kiera Hogan – Two former TNA Knockouts Champions. It’s in the 9:23 timeslot like most AEW women’s matches. Deonna is working over Kiera’s arm. The crowd is quiet again. Amber says “I’m glad we didn’t go to this show”. Sadly, I can’t say I disagree. Backstabber and two count for Purrazzo. Deonna made Hogan tap out with her painful looking double arm bar submission after a Russian Leg Sweep. Rating **
Gino’s take – Purrazzo is now 6-0 in AEW. She is being built up well. I can’t say this was a compelling match at all. The wrestling was fine. There just hasn’t been anything meaningful and the crowd has been quiet the whole show. There have been a lot of submission finishes.
Toni Storm came out. The screen turned black and white. Even the brilliant Toni Storm couldn’t get Amber to pop as much as she normally does.
Toni Storm def Queen Aminata – This is not a Title match. Mariah May and Luther are with Toni like usual. The announcers put over how Aminata has a lot of wins in Ring of Honor. That doesn’t matter. Almost none of the AEW audience watches ROH that you have to pay a subscription fee to see. We go to an early commercial. It’s like AEW is cramming two women’s matches into their normal time slot. Again, the action is pretty good. It’s a back-and-forth match. Good near fall after a big kick to the back of the head from Queen. Toni is bleeding from her nose. Air Raid Crash and two count for Aminata. The announcers reacted way too much for it. Hip Attack and Storm Zero gave Toni the predictable win. Rating ** ½
After the match the screen goes black and white again. Toni says they are not in Las Vegas but Henderson. Thank You! Toni is releasing a brand-new film on Dy-na-mit-e. The way she said it was funny. Toni was excellent as always.
Gino’s take – I like Aminata. She’s becoming less interesting the more I see her lose. Like I wrote about with Shane Taylor, I don’t like parading the same wrestlers out to lose every week. When Collison first started I was very critical of AEW using the talented Action Andretti that way. You can only see a competitor lose so many matches before you look at them as being irrelevant. I like the rivalry between Storm and Purrazzo. Toni’s match was much better and it was only an average match. The women got about 15 minutes tonight. That’s definitely an improvement. I still wouldn’t call it a great night for the division. It’s been difficult watching so many matches with the same formula on this show.
There is a rundown of the matches on Dynamite. I thought Wednesday’s episode was the best AEW show of 2024. Next week looks like another strong lineup. There have been a couple great Collision’s this year. Dynamite has been a much better show recently. It’s now the “A” show for sure.
International Championship: (C)Orange Cassidy def Ishii – We all know Ishii won’t win but I should enjoy this. Ishii is a much bigger deal than the other wrestlers who lost matches tonight. He has had a lot of fantastic bouts in New Japan. There was a bit of a strange start with Orange trying to match power with Ishii and it actually working after he knocked him down with shoulder tackle. Loud chop from Ishii. The chops have sounded better than anything on this show. Diving DDT from the top rope gave Orange a near fall. Both men are down after doing strikes and power moves. The crowd chanted “this is awesome” The chant was probably the loudest reaction of the night.
Vertical suplex from the second rope and two count for Ishii who finally has the momentum. Orange took a few chops trying to Hulk up but collapsed. The pace has really picked up with Cassidy getting three near falls after rollups. Orange drilled Ishii with a great looking Orange Punch and Beach Break. Excellent near fall after that. I thought it was over. Dragon Suplex, big lariat and near fall for Ishii. Ishii hit a Sliding Clothesline for another near fall. Orange hit another Orange Punch that didn’t knock Ishii down. Ishii fought back. Orange won with a tight small package. Rating *** ½
Undisputed Kingdom attacked Orange after the match. Ishii ran back to the ring to chase them off.
Gino’s take – The first ten minutes or so were a little slow but the last five minutes were outstanding. Ishii looked pretty weak until the end. Orange beat him down with power moves most of the match. It was a weird way to book a powerhouse like Ishii against a small underdog type like Cassidy. Orange did look strong and he’s an AEW talent so I get it from that perspective. It probably would have worked better if it were the other way around with Orange playing the face in peril then making the comeback. It did end up being very good by the end.
Overall rating for AEW Collision – 6.5/10
2024 Average Rating: 7.33
Final Thoughts – It’s hard to tell if it was the small crowd or the broadcast that made the crowd seem quiet because they did pop at all the right times. That said, the quiet crowd hurt the match quality and wild brawls all night long. That was the most noticeable part of this episode of Collision. I might have liked it more with a louder crowd. However, I also think the matches didn’t mean anything with so many predictable outcomes featuring wrestlers we see lose almost every week. One thing I liked about the show was that it is clear long-term story telling has become a much bigger focus in AEW. With the challenge from Eddie Kingston to Bryan Danielson and the attack of Sting and Darby Allin by The Young Bucks we now know of five matches for Revolution which is still three weeks away. There are solid rivalries in place to fill out the rest of the card as well. I don’t recall AEW booking a PPV this far out before.
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