‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Nov 4th 2023)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW’s latest television show, Collision, which brings wrestling back to Saturday nights! We’ve got the commentary team of Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly and Tony Schiavone calling the action, with JR commentating on the main event as well this week, so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Swerve Strickland def. AR Fox
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Fox attacked Swerve as the show was coming onto the air. They brawled onto the ramp. AR Fox jumped off the stage and landed on Swerve with a crossbody press! They made it to the ring and Fox flipped over the top rope and landed on Swerve on the arena floor, Fox clearly taking the fight to Strickland. Swerve hip tossed Fox onto the ring apron, with Fox’s legs taking the brunt of the impact. Swerve whipped Fox into the steel guardrail. Prince Nana called down the Gates of Agony to ringside. Back in the ring, Swerve flung Fox onto the top turnbuckle. Swerve superplexed AR Fox, with Prince Nana yelling for Swerve to finish off Fox. AR Fox fired back with an offensive flurry, including a 450 splash off the top for a near fall on Swerve. Swerve stunned Fox with a neck breaker and then a kick to the back of the head. Swerve squashed Fox with a double foot stomp and pinned Fox!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #2: The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) def. James McGregor and Brixton Nash
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Taven and Bennett charged into the ring against their opponents, James McGregor and Brixton Nash! Mike Bennett nailed McGregor with a Death Valley Driver. Taven jumped off the top rope and they hit a spiked piledriver, quickly pinning their opponent. Roderick Strong jumped into the ring and connected to one of the Kingdom’s opponents with a jumping knee strike, and then quickly rolled out of the ring and back into his wheelchair.
My Score: 0 out of 5
Match #3: Darby Allin def. “The MurderHawk Monster” Lance Archer
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Lance Archer hurled Darby to the mat. Darby fired back with a big right hand. Lance Archer pounced at Darby Allin, sending Darby crashing outside of the ring. Lance followed up with a knee breaker. Lance tried to walk the top rope, but Darby knocked him off. Darby rocketed out of the ring and right at Archer with a tope suicida. Lance Archer rocked Darby with a release suplex! Lance cracked Darby with a knee strike in the ring. Darby escaped a Black Out attempt and cradled Archer for a near fall. Archer blocked Darby’s modified Coffin Drop attempt. Archer drilled Darby with a choke slam! Archer picked up Darby again and choke slammed Darby over the top rope and onto the edge of the ring! Jake Roberts was about to hit Darby with Darby’s skateboard, but the ref saw it and then ejected Roberts from ringside. Lance Archer clocked Darby with a stiff right hand! Darby scraped at Archer’s back and connected with a Destroyer off the top rope, scoring the pin on Archer!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #4: The Acclaimed def. Dalton Castle & The Boys
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Dalton Castle and the Boys walked onto the ramp, crashing The Acclaimed’s 69 Day Championship celebration. Daddy Ass flung Castle overhead. The Boys dropkicked Billy Gunn. Bowens blasted the Boys with a double clothesline. Dalton Castle was taken down with a fameasser from Bowens. Daddy Ass tagged in, and body slammed a Boy. Bowens jumped from the top with a Scissor Me Timbers. Caster crashed down with the Mic Drop and the Acclaimed and Daddy Ass retained the titles!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #5: Mark Briscoe, Dustin Rhodes, and “Limitless” Keith Lee def. Kip Sabian & The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Kip cracked Briscoe with a cannonball in the corner. The Workhorsemen came in, but Mark stopped Henry and then threw JD Drake out of the ring. Sabian hit an Arabian moonsault onto Mark Briscoe. Mark threw Henry down with an exploder suplex and tagged in Dustin Rhodes. “The Natural” powerslammed JD Drake. Keith Lee powerbombed Henry onto Sabian. Mark Briscoe dropped the Froggy Bow on Sabian and pinned him!
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #6: Willow Nightingale def. Emi Sakura
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
They rammed each other with shoulder tackles. Willow got the upper hand, her power knocking Emi to the mat. Emi slapped Willow in the face. Emi connected with a cross body, knocking Willow off the apron. Emi splashed Willow, sandwiching her against the steel ring steps. Outside the ring, Willow smashed Emi with a Death Valley Driver on the arena floor. Willow followed up with a shotgun dropkick for a near fall. Emi clobbered Willow with a swinging neck breaker. Willow dropped Emi with a spinebuster. Willow finished off Emi with the Doctor Bomb, pinning Emi!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #7: FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) and LFI (Preston Vance & Rush) def. Big Bill & “Absolute” Ricky Starks and Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jim Ross joined the broadcast team to provide his main event analysis. Big Bill and Preston Vance locked up. Preston battered Big Bill with forearms in the corner. Big Bill walloped Vance with a lariat. Bishop Kaun tagged in and suplexed Preston Vance. Cash Wheeler tagged in and jabbed at Bishop Kaun. Dax grabbed a tag and FTR hit Kaun with a drop toehold elbow combo. Toa Liona rocked Dax with headbutts. Dax answered with chops to Toa’s chest. Toa nearly knocked Dax out of his boots with a lariat. Rush tagged in and rammed Ricky into the guardrails! Rush kicked Ricky in the corner and then powerslammed him for a near fall. Big Bill blocked a discus elbow from Preston with a chokeslam. FTR were looking for the Big Rig, but Big Bill ran over them with a double clothesline. Ricky Starks speared Rush out of nowhere. Ricky starched Rush with a thrust kick. Rush fired back and then tagged to Dax. Rush and Dax smashed Kaun with the Big Rig! Rush charged at Kaun and nailed him with the Bull’s Horns, grabbing the pinfall victory on Bishop Kaun!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3/5
A mixed bag this week for Collision, the show opened strong with a superb match between AR Fox and Swerve Strickland – two guys who are veterans of indy wrestling and seemingly have forgotten more than a lot of today’s indy wrestlers know. I could watch them go at it all day. In fact, let’s give them all the time MJF and Kenny Omega got last week AND give them the main event too… The Kingdom (and Roderick Strong) need to rethink this, frankly shit, gimmick and get back to actually wrestling; because this WWE-lite schtick is the WORST thing happening in AEW right now. Yes, worse than Juice Robinson’s over-acting! It was awesome to see Lance Archer back on TV and in a high-profile match against Darby Allin rather than squashing some jobber. More of him please… and more of Jake Roberts’ new, and hopefully growing, faction! The Acclaimed stuff was, honestly, nearly as bad as The Kingdom’s appearance this week. Good god, they need something more than this jokey sex-based stuff. They really do – it feels like Billy Gunn re-running the OTT New Age Outlaws schtick with two new guys and needs a rethink fast. Whilst the match was a quasi-squash, I really enjoyed seeing The Workhorsemen and Mark Briscoe on TV after something of a hiatus for those particular guys. As always, I really LOVE seeing Willow Nightingale in action and she had a great opponent in Emi Sakura, with the two delivering a slugfest. More of this stuff in the women’s division (and more OF the women’s division in action) would be most appreciated! Unfortunately, the main event was a bit of a mess – to be expected given that this was an eight-man match but again, I hate to sound like a broken record, the highlight was seeing talent that haven’t been in action in some time get to shine on TV – in this case LFI’s Rush and Preston Vance. Overall this week’s show was decent, if not entirely remarkable.
