‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Aug 5th 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, who are joined by Jim Ross this week for the main event too(!), so let’s get into the review!

Match #1: AEW World Tag Team Championship Match – FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) def. The Embassy’s Big Bill & Brian Cage

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Brian Cage steamrolled Cash with a shoulder tackle. Dax Harwood tagged in and charged at Cage with his own shoulder block. Cage nailed Dax Harwood with a forearm. Cage ran through both members of FTR with a massive running shoulder ram. Big Bill tagged in, and he scoop slammed Cash. FTR tried for the Shatter Machine on Big Bill but Dax couldn’t lift up Big Bill. Cash was choke slammed by Big Bill onto Dax’s back! Big Bill press slammed Cash over the top rope and threw Cash down onto Dax on the arena floor. Big Bill hammered Cash outside the ring, right in front of Cash’s mother! Big Bill blew a kiss at Cash’s mother and she had enough of the taunting, slapping Big Bill right in the mush. Brian Cage superplexed Cash into the ring. Big Bill hoisted up Wheeler in the torture rack. Cash escaped but Big Bill decapitated Cash with a clothesline. Cash made the hot tag to Dax and Dax cleaned house on Big Bill and Brian Cage with a flurry of offense. Dax lifted up Cage on his shoulders and Cash jumped off the top rope with a bulldog, a play out of the Steiners’ playbook, for a near fall on Cage. Brian Cage managed to lift both members of FTR at the same time and hurled them to the mat. Brian Cage jumped over the top rope with a cannonball to FTR outside the ring. Big Bill blasted Cash with a big boot for a near fall. FTR connected with the Shatter Machine on Brian Cage and pinned him!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: TBS Championship Match – Kris Statlander def. Mercedes Martinez

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Martinez charged in and clubbed Kris with strikes. Statlander rallied back with a shotgun dropkick. Martinez took down Statlander with a butterfly suplex. Kris cracked Martinez with a big kick. Statlander, unrelenting, resilient, determined, smashed Mercedes with a running boot. She jumped at Mercedes with a crossbody press to the outside but Mercedes moved out of the way. Kris came back with a snap powerslam on Martinez for a near fall. Martinez came back with a spider suplex to the champ. Martinez rocked Kris with a running knee strike for a two-count. Statlander planted Martinez with a fishermen’s buster driver for a near fall. Martinez countered a wheel barrel, almost scoring an upset pin on Kris. The champ rolled back with a bridge and pinned Martinez.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #3: Samoa Joe def. Serpentico

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Samoa Joe locked Serpentico right into a submission and forced him to tap out right away!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #4: AEW World Trios Championship Open House Match – House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews & Brody King) def. Action Andretti, Darius Martin & Lee Johnson

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Brody rocked Martin with a shoulder block. Martin connected with a thrust kick. Martin jumped with a high cross body, but he bounced right off Brody, who didn’t budge. Malakai tagged in and hit a back elbow on Martin. Action tagged in and took down Black with a hurracanrana. Black shoved Action into the barricade. Malakai swept out the leg of Action. Matthews launched Andretti, tossing him onto the top rope! Lee Johnson tagged in and moonsaulted into a double DDT on Buddy and Black! He jumped a second time with double cutters. The House of Black engulfed Lee with the three-headed beast. Action jumped in to make the save. He moonsaulted to the outside on Black and Buddy. Martin and Action nailed Brody with double thrust kicks. Brody wiped out Martin with a discus lariat and then pinned him.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #5: Jay White def. Metalik

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Jay White backed Metalik into the turnbuckles and began to stomp a mudhole into him. Jay White planted Metalik with a DDT for a near fall. White drove Metalik into the steel ring post. Jay White nailed Metalik with a back breaker. Metalik jumped off the ropes with a hurracanrana. Metalik tried for a moonsault, but Jay White moved out of the way. White blasted Metalik with a cobra clutch suplex and then finished him off with the Blade Runner, scoring the pin!

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #6: “Real World Championship” Match – CM Punk def. Ricky Starks

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Jim Ross returned and joined the commentary team for the main event. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was the special guest outside referee for this match. Punk hip tossed Starks. Ricky Starks used Steamboat style arm drags on Punk. Starks mocked Punk, mimicking his GTS hand gesture. Starks pummeled Punk in the corner with closed fist strikes. Starks hit Punk with a clothesline and both men tumbled over the top rope and to the arena floor. Punk and Starks traded open hand strikes. Punk answered with body shots, unloading on the challenger. Starks slapped Punk in the face, playing mind games. Punk mounted Starks outside the ring and grounded and pounded him. Ricky Steamboat pulled Punk off Starks. Starks used a baseball slide right to Punk’s face. Punk attempted a sunset flip, but Ricky held onto the ropes. Punk superplexed Starks off the top rope! Punk built momentum with a swinging neck breaker on Ricky. Punk hit his signature bulldog on Ricky for a near fall. Punk lowered his kneepad. He charged at Ricky and Ricky caught him and power bombed Punk for a near fall. Starks shoved Punk into the steel ring post. Starks went for the spear, but Punk dodged him. Punk blasted Starks with a big kick to the head. Ricky countered a piledriver with a beautiful overhead Alabama slam. Starks accidentally collided with the referee, knocking the ref out of the ring. Starks used a double leg takedown. He covered Punk but had his feet on the ropes. Ricky Steamboat wouldn’t allow for it, and he knocked Starks’ feet off the ropes. As Starks stared at Steamboat in disbelief, Punk rolled up Starks and pinned him!

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3/5

This was a pretty decent , if not remarkable, episode of Collision. Thankfully what this show did do was give us some insight into what matches we’re going to see at All In at the end of the month (it’s about time TBH) and gave us two title matches – well, I say two but is Punk’s “Real World” title actually a title? It feels very much like an old-school trope to have a champ that didn’t get pinned say he’s still the champ, even when someone else IS the champ. Luckily the other title match, for the women’s TBS Championship, made a lot more sense AND delivered on the promise of an actual title match. Plus we got the intriguing ending to this match with Martinez AND Diamante beating down Statlander at the end! I don’t know why the hell Jay White was relegated to wrestling Metalik and why, for that matter, Bullet Club Gold aren’t more high-profile in the company, taking on the “bigger” names on the roster?! Speaking of taking on bigger names, Samoa Joe faced Serpentico of all people – but then this wasn’t really a match, it was more of a way of getting Joe to hit a promo and call out CM Punk for All In – so I can get behind this squash match!