‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Jul 22nd 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 McGuiness and Kevin Kelly calling the action, so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) def. Action Andretti & Darius Martin
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Darius and Jay began with a collar and elbow tie-up. Jay White stomped Darius in the corner. White chopped Darius Martin. Action tagged in and hit a springboard tornillo on Juice Robinson for a near fall. Action and Darius hit a double drop kick on Juice. Juice connected with a side kick and tagged in Jay White. Juice grabbed Action and nailed him with a draping neck breaker off the apron and onto the arena floor. Action countered a vertical suplex from Juice with a cradle for a near fall. Martin tagged in and cleaned house on Bullet Club Gold with a flurry of offense. Darius jumped onto White with a cross body press off the top rope, good for a two-count. Action nailed Bullet Club Gold with an Arabian Press. Juice splashed Action and Darius in the corner with cannonballs. Juice blasted Action with a left hand and then a pendulum DDT. Jay White smashed Action with the Blade Runner and pinned Action!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Miro def. Nick Comoroto
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Nick ambushed Miro as Miro was making his entrance! Nick rammed Miro into the steel ring steps! Comoroto whipped Miro into the turnbuckles and followed up with a running lariat. Miro rallied back with a German Suplex. Miro blasted Comoroto with a big boot! Miro locked on Game Over and submitted Nick Comoroto!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: AEW World Trios Championship Match – House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) def. The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The House of Black didn’t wait for Max to finish his rap! They attacked the Acclaimed and brawled with them around the ring. Malakai and Buddy double teamed Max with their tandem offense. Malakai rocked Caster with a back elbow. Brody clocked Caster with stiff chops. Brody followed up with a senton. Daddy Ass tagged in and cleaned house on the House of Black but then Malakai spun around with a roundhouse kick and pinned Daddy Ass! Malakai whispered into Daddy Ass’s ear and then left the ring. Billy Gunn began to unlace his wrestling boots. The Acclaimed looked at him, confused. Billy Gunn left his wrestling boots in the center of the ring and walked away without the Acclaimed.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #4: Taya Valkyrie def. Skye Blue
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Taya shoved Skye Blue to the mat. Taya chopped at Skye. Taya knocked Skye down with a shoulder tackle. Taya Valkyrie knocked Skye off the ring apron. Taya followed up with a spear on the arena floor! Taya planted Blue with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Blue closed the gap with a shotgun dropkick. Blue hit a cross body press onto Taya for a near fall. Taya slammed Skye with a German Suplex. She rocked Skye with a lariat. Taya curb stomped Blue and then pinned her.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: CM Punk & Darby Allin def. Ricky Starks & Christian Cage
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Punk cradled Starks with a small package but Starks kicked out. Punk went for the GTS right away, but Starks escaped and tagged Christian Cage. CM Punk ran Christian’s head into the turnbuckles. He followed up with an arm drag. Punk and Darby utilized quick tags to isolate Christian and work over Christian’s arm. Darby used a backslide for a near fall on Christian. Punk tagged in and connected with a leg lariat on Christian Cage. Punk and Darby hit double clotheslines on Starks and then on Christian. Punk connected with a tope onto them. Darby nailed Starks and Christian with a Coffin Drop. Scorpio Sky was in a skybox watching the match. Punk nailed Starks with a swinging neck breaker. Darby tagged in and blasted Christian with a cutter. He used a Code Red on Starks! Darby tried for a tope suicida onto Luchasaurus, but Luchasaurus blocked it with a stiff shoulder, shrugging off Darby’s high-flying offense. CM Punk body slammed Starks. He served one up to Christian. Then Punk followed up with knee strikes. Punk hit a bulldog-clothesline combo on Christian Cage and Ricky Starks. Punk dropped Christian with a clothesline for a near fall. CM Punk hit a cross body press on Christian but Christian rolled through with Punk’s momentum. Christian covered Punk for a two-count. Punk rallied back with an elbow drop off the top rope for a near fall. Starks tagged in and Punk attempted the GTS, but Starks blocked it. Punk and Starks exchanged forearms in the center of the ring. Punk leveled Starks with a high kick to the head! Darby tagged in but Starks planted him with the Rochambeau! Darby Allin impaled Starks with a reverse DDT off the turnbuckles for a near fall. Punk rocked Christian with the GTS outside the ring. Darby climbed to the top rope but while the ref was distracted by Punk and Christian, Luchasaurus decked Darby Allin. Starks cradled Darby, held onto the ropes, and pinned Darby!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3 /5
We only got a 5-match show this week thanks to a boatload of talking throughout the episode… No idea what the focus was with all the gibber-gabber, why we needed five men to come out and chat shit to open the show I’ll never know. Plus, you’ve got to ‘love’ (please note the sarcasm) the fact that the women’s match was the best match on Rampage but on Collision it’s treated like a piss-break between the Trios match and the main event – even though it was one HELL of a match, no matter the gender! Classy AEW, real classy. Overall this wasn’t as good an episode as last week but… last week didn’t have Billy Gunn leaving his boots in the middle of the ring post-trios match! Yes, the traditional sign of a wrestler retiring pretty much shocked EVERYONE in attendance and no doubt at home. Though watching the match back I think this is a work – especially considering the commentary team reference Billy Gunn costing The Acclaimed matches AND their tag titles! That’s what I’ll certainly remember about this week’s Collision, over and above anything else that took place.
