AEW Collision results (4/20): Murphy’s review of Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher in a Bunkhouse Brawl, The Elite vs. Pac and FTR

[Hour One] The Collision opening aired complete with Elton John and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”… Tony Schiavone and the returning Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary. Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston each got their own entrance, while Dante Martin, Darius Martin and Action Andretti came out together.

1. Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, and Eddie Kingston vs. Dante Martin, Darius Martin, and Action Andretti. Andretti started out with Briscoe with both exchanging moves early on and Andretti eventually getting the better of the exchange. Tony Schiavone ran down the line up for both Collision and Rampage. Briscoe backed Andretti into the corner and tagged in Copeland who took over on offense. Andretti retaliated and tagged in Darius Martin. Dante got a flurry of offense and tagged in Darius. The two doubled up on Copeland for a bit until Copeland regained the advantage on Dante. Copeland tagged in Kingston who kept up the offense as the show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]

After the break, Kingston was still on offense. Dante hot tagged Darius while Kingston tagged in Briscoe. Darius cleaned house for a bit. Andretti dove onto Copeland on the floor while Dante dove onto Kingston. Briscoe hit exploder suplexes on Darius and Andretti. All six wrestler double clotheslined each other. Andretti traded blows with Kingston.

Down the stretch, Copeland hit an Impaler on Dante while Briscoe hit a Jay Driller on Darius. Andretti was alone in the ring. He received a back fist from Kingston and a spear from Copeland. Briscoe finished him off with a Froggy Bow elbow for the win.

Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, and Eddie Kingston defeated. Dante Martin, Darius Martin, and Action Andretti in about 12:08.

After the match, the lights went out. Brody King and Buddy Matthews were on the big screen. Matthews said that they should all thank each other because in 24 hours at Dynasty, the House of Black will eradicate all their dreams. Malakai Black entered the frame and addressed Adam Copeland. He said that they will dig so deep that they will reach their darkest fears and they will wonder if they are close to hell. He said that, in a way, hell will feel familiar because for people like Black and Copeland, hell is where the heart is. King barked.

Don’s Take: I am sure the match will be fine, but the build does nothing for me. It was your typical “out there” House of Black promo that could be used with just about anyone. The match itself was fine with the outcome never being in doubt.

A video recapped the events of last Wednesday’s Dynamite between Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland.

2. Powerhouse Hobbs (w/Don Callis) vs. CJ Esparza. Esparza was making his AEW 2024 debut. Don Callis sat in on commentary that saw Hobbs quickly dispose of Esparza, getting the submission win with the Torture Rack back breaker.

Powerhouse Hobbs defeated CJ Esparza in about 1:10.

After the match, Callis took the mic and said that the Don Callis family is the talk of professional wrestling. He hyped the Bunkhouse Brawl between Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita. He said out of concern for his personal safety, he will not be at ringside. He then hyped Hobbs vs. Jon Moxley for Wednesday’s Dynamite. He said he was responsible for Kenny Omega’s IWGP Championship win in 2017. He said he was responsible for the biggest match in Japan history in 2018 – Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho. He added that the match set New Japan wrestling on a course of success that they enjoy to this day. Callis said that in return for this, he might one day ask New Japan for something in return. He added that he has cashed in all his “favor” chips and announced that Moxley vs. Hobbs on Dynamite will be for the IWGP Championship

Don’s Take: While there’s no reason to believe that Moxley will drop the title so quickly, it is a nice hook for Wednesday’s show.

A video previewed Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson at Dynasty….[C]

A video recapped the HOOK/Chris Jericho segment from Dynamite. Chris Jericho then cut a backstage promo. He apologized for his actions on Dynamite and said that he didn’t blame HOOK for his reaction. He added that when HOOK had him in the corner, he said he would show him how good he was anytime and anywhere. Jericho said he will take him up on that and went to Tony Khan and had the match made for Dynasty for the FTW Championship. He said that the learning tree will teach HOOK the hardest lesson…the lesson of humility and losing something that means the world to you. He added that he didn’t just want to make HOOK a better wrestler, but also a better person. Jericho said what happens at Dynasty will hurt him much more than it hurts hook.

Don’s Take: I’m guessing HOOK beats him and Jericho snaps into full on heel.

All four brawled in the ring. Jay White threatened Tony Schiavone. The brawl continued into the picture-in-picture break. [C]

After the break, the Gunns had the advantage on Caster until he hot tagged Bowens. Bowens cleaned house. Bowens hit the Fameasser on Colten for a near fall. Colten attempted to pin Bowens with his feet on the ropes but was caught by the referee. Down the stretch, the Gunns gained several near falls on Bowens. Bowens tagged in Caster. Caster went for the Mic Drop on Colten but Austin crotched him on the ropes. Bowens took down both Gunns. Caster recovered and hit the Mic Drop on Austin for a near fall. Caster went to roll up Colten from outside of the ring, but Colten sat on Caster, held onto Jay White’s bat and got the win.

The “Gunn Club” Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn defeated “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens in about 10:00.

Don’s Take: Weird opening aside, this was a fine match. The feud overall does nothing for me.

A video recapped the feud between the Blackpool Combat Club and the Don Callis Family on last week’s Collision and Dynamite…

Lexy Nair was backstage with Bryan Danielson. She asked Danielson about his matches tonight and tomorrow night. Danielson said it sounds like a lot but it makes him feel alive. He speculated that the Don Callis Family attacked him because Don Callis isn’t as confident in Will Ospreay as he says he is. He added that he gets to get revenge on Takeshita tonight for dropping him on his head and gets to test himself against the man they say is the best wrestler in the world in Will Ospreay. Ospreay entered and said he wanted Danielson at 100 percent and had nothing to do with the last two attacks. Danielson said “Sure” and walked out. [C]

A video recapped the Toni Storm/Thunder Rosa segment from Dynamite…

[Hour Two]  The brawl continued as Takeshita attacked Castagnoli with the ring bell hammer while Danielson choked Fletcher with a zip tie of some sort.

Don’s Take: I wonder if Danielson will be fired. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google it…see? It works both ways.

Takeshita had the advantage on Castagnoli until Castagnoli caught him in the giant swing. Danielson hit him with a dropkick coming out of the swing for a near fall. Fletcher threw a chair at Danielson’s head and threw salt in Castagnoli’s eyes and hit a power bomb for a near fall. Danielson was bleeding as we went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]

Coming out of the break, the brawl continued as Danielson DDT’ed Takeshita on the ramp. Down the stretch, Fletcher, who was also bleeding brought in a chain. Takeshita went to hit Danielson with the chain but Castagnoli and Danielson caught Fletcher and Takeshita in LaBell locks. Powerhouse Hobbs ran in and attacked Danielson and Castagnoli. Moxley ran in and brawled with Hobbs into the crowd.

Danielson blocked a top rope power bomb on a chair by Takeshita. Castagnoli threw Takeshita out of the ring and clotheslined Fletcher with the chain. Danielson then hit the Busaiku knee for the win.

Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli defeated Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher in a Bunkhouse Brawl in about 13:00.

After the match, Danielson took the mic and said a lot of people wondered why he would wrestle a Bunkhouse match on the eve of his big match with Will Ospreay. He said it’s because when some people think of heaven, they think of streets of gold or forty virgins. He said his spirit is in the ring and when he dies, heaven will be him bleeding in front of the fans in Peoria, Illinois. He closed by saying he would beat Ospreay’s ass at Dynasty. [C]

Don’s Take: A wild brawl and I’m one of those that surprised they had Danielson in this type of match before facing Ospreay. That said, Bryan gave a good explanation and a fiery promo. Tomorrow night should deliver against the expectations.

A video recapped Julia Hart and Brody King vs. Adam Copeland and Willow Nightingale on Dynamite…

Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale and Stokely Hathaway were backstage. Statlander said they were fired up which, when abbreviated, stood for “F-U.” Hathaway said “F-U” to King and Hart. Nightingale said that a confident champion wouldn’t hit her opponent with a chain days before the title match. She promised to power bomb Hart through the match and said, “I’m walking out with the TBS Championship, you bitch”…

5. Skye Blue vs. Leyla Hirsch. Julia Hart came out onto the stage with Blue before returning to the back. Blue attacked Hirsch at the opening bell. This was a back-and-forth match that saw Hirsch slam Blue off the ropes for a near fall. Hirsch climbed the ropes but fell off. Schiavone said she might have gotten tied up in her knee brace. Blue performed a face slam followed by a dragon sleeper for the submission win.

Skye Blue defeated Leyla Hirsch in about 5:00.

Don’s Take: A bit of a clunky match that served no purpose. Is Blue in the House of Black or not? I’m guessing she plays a role in the Hart vs. Willow Nightingale match at Dynasty.

Tony Schiavone ran down the Dynasty lineup…[C]

6. “The Elite” Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson, and Nicholas Jackson vs. PAC and “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler. Okada and PAC started out. The babyface team worked over Okada for a bit until the Bucks pulled Okada to the outside. All six men brawled on the floor.

Back in the ring, the babyfaces held the advantage on Okada. Okada rebounded and tagged in Matthew Jackson. FTR and PAC worked over Matthew. Matthew tagged Okada back in and the offense against him continued. All six men brawled on the floor again as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C].

After the break, Matthew was working over Wheeler.  This attack lasted several minutes before Wheeler made the hot tag to PAC. PAC cleaned house. PAC and Harwood hit a spike piledriver on Okada for a near fall. PAC attacked the Bucks on the apron and was hit with a kick by Okada.

Okada distracted the referee as the Bucks rammed PAC into the stairs. Okada held the advantage on PAC through the final picture-in-picture break. [C]

PAC tried to fight back, hitting a tilt-a-whirl back breaker to Nicholas. PAC hot tagged Harwood who cleaned house. Down the stretch, tons of action by all six competitors. Okada and Harwood exchanged blows. Harwood put the sharp shooter on Okada which was broken up by the Bucks with a double super kick. Okada and the Bucks hit a triple super kick in Harwood. Matthew hit a top rope elbow for a near fall. FTR hit a super plex and splash combination on Matthew followed by a 450 splash by PAC for a near fall.

All six brawled again. The Bucks hit a Shatter Machine on PAC for a near fall. They then hit an EVP trigger for another near fall. FTR hit a Shatter Machine on Matthew and threw Okada out of the ring. Okada and Nicholas attacked Harwood on the floor. Wheeler dove onto Nicholas and Okada. In the ring, PAC hit his Black Arrow finisher on Matthew for the win.

PAC and “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler defeated “The Elite” Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson, and Nicholas Jackson in about 22:00.

After the match, the heels attacked the babyface team. Daniel Garcia ran out and everyone brawled in the ring. PAC locked Okada in the Brutalizer until the Bucks pulled him to safety. Collison transitioned to Rampage…

Don’s Take: A fun main event which set the stage nicely for two big matches on Dynasty. With the babyfaces getting the win and the upper hand at the end, I’m expecting the heels to avenge the loss in their respective matches. I’m not quite sure why they felt the need to have Daniel Garcia run out, but I guess they’re still trying to elevate him so they have to find things for him to do. My review of Rampage will be available on Sunday morning. Will Pruett’s audio review of Collision and Rampage will be available on Sunday morning for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).