‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Aug 3rd 2024)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW’s, Collision, which brings wrestling back to Saturday nights! We’ve got the commentary team of Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness calling the action, so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Claudio Castagnoli def. Champion Lee Moriarty and Tomohiro Ishii
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Ishii and Claudio knocked down Lee with a double shoulder tackle. Lee fired back with a dropkick to both men. Moriarty rocketed out of the ring with a tope suicida and wiped out Ishii and Claudio. Back in the ring, the three men battled it out, trading chops! Lee and Ishii both chopped Claudio. Ishii and Claudio and Lee exchanged German suplexes! Claudio rocked both men with lariats. Claudio hurled Lee around the ring with the Giant Swing! Ishii came in and nailed Lee with a lariat. Lee rallied back with a Border City Stretch on Ishii, but Ishii rolled up Lee for a near fall. Claudio planted Lee with the Neutralizer and went for the pin, but Ishii jumped in to break up the pin. Claudio cracked Lee with a flying European uppercut and pinned Lee Moriarty!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #2: Mistico & Hologram def. Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The Premier Athletes double teamed Hologram in the corner. Hologram hit a poison rana on Nese and followed up with a leg sweep. Mistico tagged in and took flight, cleaning house on Nese and Daivari with his high flying offense. Mistico smashed Nese and Daivari with a double back elbow. Hologram tagged in and jumped off Daivari’s shoulders and then took down Nese! Hologram rocked Nese with a round kick. Hologram jumped through the ropes and speared “Smart” Mark Sterling! Hologram launched Mistico into the air and Mistico landed on Nese and Daivari with a tornillo! Hologram finished off Daivari with a 450 splash and scored the pin!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #3: Toni Storm def. Rache Chanel
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
“The Glamour” Mariah May joined the broadcast booth for the next match. Toni Storm charged at Mariah May! Mariah May grabbed a shoe and bashed it into Toni’s head. Christopher Daniels ran down and pulled Mariah May back, trying to escort her backstage. Toni Storm jumped off the ramp and crashed down onto Mariah and Christopher Daniels, wiping out both of them. Toni Storm and Mariah May traded strikes!Toni’s opponent “The Fashionista” Rache Chanel took the opportunity to blindside the distracted champion! Back in the ring, Toni Storm rocked Rache with a running hip attack! Toni spiked Rache with the Storm Zero and won via pinfall!
My Score: 0 out of 5
Match #4: Kyle Fletcher def. Brian Cage
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Cage took down Fletcher with a big back elbow. Fletcher fired back with a big knee strike! Fletcher jumped out of the ring with a tope suicida to “The Machine!” Cage whipped Kyle into the steel ring steps. Cage tried to suplex Cage on the ramp, but Kyle countered with a thrust kick! Kyle charged down the ramp and smashed into Cage with a cannonball. Back in the ring, Cage suplexed Fletcher and drilled Fletcher with a Death Valley Driver! Cage began to pick Fletcher apart. Fletcher rallied back with two thrust kicks to Cage, followed by a brain buster! Fletcher flew at Cage with a forearm in the corner! Fletcher hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Cage for a near fall! Fletcher jumped off the ropes and crashed into Cage with a springboard elbow drop! Cage retaliated with a discus lariat. Fletcher power bombed Cage out of nowhere for a near fall! Kyle attempted to superplex Cage, but Cage countered with a spinning slam off the middle turnbuckle for a two-count on Kyle! Cage called for the Drill Claw, but Kyle rolled up Cage for a near fall! Fletcher spiked Cage with a tombstone piledriver and pinned “The Machine”!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: Thunder Rosa def. Taya Valkyrie
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Taya stomped on Thunder Rosa in the corner of the ring. Taya chopped Thunder Rosa and then kicked Rosa after a snap mare. Thunder Rosa cracked Taya with a knee strike and then a sliding lariat. Taya rolled out of the ring to collect her thoughts. Taya evaded Thunder Rosa and then wrenched on Thunder Rosa’s arm. Taya smashed Thunder Rosa with a double knee strike in the turnbuckles. Thunder Rosa found an opening after a neck breaker. Thunder Rosa mounted a comeback, hammering Taya with strikes and kicks. Thunder Rosa blasted Taya with a running dropkick for a near fall. Johnny TV yanked Taya out of the ring! Johnny TV got in between his wife and Thunder Rosa. He lured Thunder Rosa in while Taya speared Thunder Rosa on the arena floor! This only served to infuriate Thunder Rosa. She locked Taya in a modified cobra clutch and Taya tapped out!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler), Mark Briscoe & Darby Allin def. The Beast Mortos & The Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong, Mike Bennett & Matt Taven)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Roddy ate a shoulder tackle from Dax, followed by an arm drag. Cash grabbed a tag, and he whipped Roddy into the turnbuckle shoulder first. Mark and Darby worked over Roddy’s arm. Dax tagged back in, but Roddy slugged him and tagged Bennett. Dax and Bennett had a chop fest until Dax brought Bennett to the mat with a snap suplex. Dax and Mark hit a double shoulder tackle on Bennett. Briscoe suplexed Taven. Darby dropped Taven with an arm drag. Cash back dropped Roddy and then Mike Bennett. Cash walloped Taven with a bulldog. Roddy ran in to prevent Cash from tagging out to his partners. Mark Briscoe finally got the hot tag, and he cleaned house on the Undisputed Kingdom with redneck kung fu. Briscoe flipped off the apron with a neck breaker onto the Beast Mortos! Mark Briscoe blasted Taven with a brain buster for a near fall! Briscoe planted Taven with a Death Valley Driver. Cash hoisted up Taven and tossed him to Dax and Dax nailed Taven with a neck breaker. Mark followed up with a Froggy Bow. Dax went for the cover but Roderick Strong ran in to break up the pin attempt. The Beast Mortos flew out of the ring with a tornillo to Mark and Cash. The Beast splashed Dax with a cannonball in the corner! Roderick entered the fray and mocked Dax. Roderick and Dax collided with clotheslines, both men knocking one another to the mat. Darby charged in with splashes on Roderick and Taven. Briscoe and the Beast Mortos brawled outside the ring. Dax superplexed Taven. Cash splashed Taven from the top! Mark dropped the Froggy Bow and then Darby nailed Taven with the Coffin Drop and picked up the pin!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
The improvement over July’s less-than-stellar shows in recent weeks has, thankfully, turned things around on Saturday nights for AEW. In fact, the Texas residency for this show does seem to be really working – as evidenced in this week’s episode of Collision. Everything here was solid, even the squash match was used to good effect to continue the Storm/May feud – and I’m not typically a fan of squash matches these days! From the get-go this show was stacked with action and there was a nice cross-section of wrestling styles and a variety of wrestlers from the AEW roster, something which is always good to see – after all, there have been times on AEW TV where we’ve seen the same folks over and over and over again, so some variety is ALWAYS welcome. A great show overall!
