By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Collision (Episode 49)
Youngstown, Ohio at Covelli Centre
Aired live Jun 15, 2024 on TNT
[Hour One] Christian Cage welcomed viewers to the one-year anniversary of Collision, noting that he won the TNT Championship on the first episode and that his historic run would never be duplicated again. He promised that we would see why AEW is where the best wrestle and that on the eve of Father’s Day, he guaranteed that his Collision would be very special.
Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary and also welcomed us to the one-year anniversary of Collision… Ring announcer Bobby Cruise delivered the introductions for the opening match…
1. “Blackpool Combat Club” Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta vs. Lio Rush, Rocky Romero, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls. Danielson started out with Rush. Some even chain wrestling by both until Danielson tagged out to Yuta. Romero tagged in and traded blows with Yuta. Castagnoli tagged in and maintained the offense until Romero tagged out to Nicholls. Nicholls and Haste attempted to double team Castagnoli but he was able to tag out to Danielson. Danielson took over on Haste. Danielson locked Haste in the Yes Lock and hit a series of Yes kicks while everyone else brawled around ringside. Nicholls tripped up Danielson, allowing Haste to gain the advantage as the show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]
Coming out of the break, Romero was hitting his trademark of running clotheslines in the corner on Danielson. Danielson hit a Manhattan Drop on Romero from the top rope. Danielson made the hot tag to Castagnoli who cleaned house. Down the stretch, Nicholls broke up a giant swing attempt on Haste. Yuta dropkicked Nicholls. Moxley hit a cutter on Haste and asked for the hot tag, which Castagnoli obliged. Moxley dominated Nicholls until they double clotheslined each other. Rush tagged in and hit a frog splash on Moxley for a near fall. Rush missed a second one and then chaos ensued with everyone hitting various moves. This ended with Castagnoli hitting a giant swing on Romero. Rush jumped on Castagnoli’s back. Castagnoli tossed Rush to Moxley who hit the Death Rider for the win.
Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta defeated Lio Rush, Rocky Romero, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls in about 13:00.
The Blackpool Combat Club celebrated in the ring. Moxley took the mic and said that although Tetsuya Naito was a survivor, Forbidden Door would be his final opportunity at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He said that he wasn’t coming to the pay-per-view to defend the title – he was coming to end Naito’s career, to put him in a pine box and to bury his ass once and for all.
Don’s Take: A fun opener with the expected outcome. Moxley’s promo was solid though I’m never a fan of a wrestler threatening to kill another wrestler as a build to a match since there’s very little chance that this happens.
A video recapped the history between MJF and Rush, previewing their upcoming match on Dynamite.
Tony Schiavone stood in the ring and introduced the Acclaimed. Max Caster said that they would normally be doing their normal rap entrance but they were all serious since the Young Bucks (which he referred to as the Young Cocks (censored) fined Anthony Bowens $5,000 for disparaging the EVPs. In a bit of a flub, he said the only thing they should care about is the Acclaimed winning back their tag team championship titles on Wednesday’s Dynamite (it’s an Eliminator Match).
Bowens corrected the flub and ran down the Acclaimed’s list of accomplishments, saying that they weren’t the same team that the Bucks wrestled four years ago. He said now they just have to beat the Bucks twice, take back their titles and take back AEW.
Caster told them to stick their fine up their virgin asses and started to rap. Brandon Cutler came out and said that on the one-year anniversary of Collision, the EVPs should be praised for carrying the show. He then upped the fine to $10,000. Christopher Daniels came out and said that Tony Khan informed him that the fines had been reversed. He then nailed Cutler with Cutler’s clipboard and threw him into the ring. The Acclaimed hit a Scissor Me Timbers on Cutler and scissored in the ring to end the segment. [C]
Don’s Take: A decent promo by the Acclaimed and a good cover by Bowens for Caster’s flub. I do wish they would clarify what power the Bucks actually have in this storyline and what power Tony does. In theory, Tony should overrule everything they do, but it seems like AEW is selective in when he exercises authority against some of their actions.
2. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa in a No DQ match. Purrazzo attacked Rosa to start. The two brawled around the ring with Rosa introducing a garbage can into the match. The fans chanted for tables. Purrazzo smashed Rosa’s arm between the steel steps and the ring post. The two brawled in the ring and heading into the break, Rosa grabbed a table from under the ring to the delight of the crowd. Purrazzo dropkicked the table into Rosa. [C]
Coming out of the break, Purrazzo attacked Rosa with a chair. Rosa grabbed the chair and hit Purrazzo in the stomach and back. Rosa gave Purrazzo a Samoan Drop on the table which was not set up. Down the stretch, Rosa DDT’d Purrazzo on the chair and put the garbage can over Purrazzo’s head as she continued the attack. She sat Purrazzo in the corner and the jumped off the table which was only set up on one side to deliver a dropkick in the corner. Purrazzo recovered and hit a piledriver for a near fall. She then attacked a ringside camera man and hit Rosa with the camera. She locked in the Venus de Milo in the ropes and the referee declared that Rosa was out.
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Thunder Rosa in about 11:00.
Don’s Take: A good brawl that seemed to have ended a bit prematurely. I’m wondering if there was an injury that led to an audible being called in the ring.
A video set to Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” showcased highlights from the past year on Collision.
3. Hechicero (w/Bishop Kaun, Toa Liona) vs. Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys). This was essentially a showcase match for Hechicero. Castle got in some offense, but Hechicero blocked the Bangarang attempt with a rear naked choke. The finish saw Hechicero hit a high knee in the corner followed by a flying head scissors take down for the win.
Hechicero defeated Dalton Castle in about 4:00.
After the match, Kaun, Liona and Hechicero continued the attack on Castle. The Outrunners (dressed as the Boys) attempted to intervene, but they were taken out. The attack continued until Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard ran out with chairs for the save. [C]
Don’s Take: I was confused to see Kaun and Liona out there until Tony reminded viewers that they had mentioned taking an interest in Hechicero on Rampage. I’ll assume he will be involved in an upcoming Dynamite or the Forbidden Door pay-per-view in one way shape or form.
[Hour Two] Arkady Aura was with Darius Martin, Dante Martin and Action Andretti. They previewed Dante’s match with Lee Moriarty coming up and said that both Top Flight and Shane Taylor Promotions are banned from ringside. Lio Rush entered and said he had history with Andretti and introduced himself to the Martins. He offered his hand to Darius who refused. Rush wished Dante good luck and said that he would see them around.
Shayna Wayne, Nick Wayne and Killswitch were in the ring. Shayna introduced Christian Cage. Christian said that this was the anniversary of Nick Wayne’s biological father, Buddy Wayne, passing away. He said that his death was the best thing that happened to Nick because it led him to Christian. Nick presented Christian with a homemade Father’s Day card in which he said he hoped he would have half the talent that Christian had.
Killswitch presented Christian with a portait of Christian that he made himself. Christian said the portrait was OK, but he loved the card. He asked Killswitch why he couldn’t be more like Nick. Killswitch went to walk out but Christian called him back. He said fathers don’t usually give their kids gifts on Father’s Day but he’s making an exception. He added that Shad Khan lent his son Tony millions to start AEW to see his son smile. He said that there was footage from Double or Nothing that shows that his shoulder was up and that he should be the AEW Heavyweight Champion. He said he asked the EVPs not to show the footage because he doesn’t make excuses. He vowed to become the champion and will start by winning the Trios Championship. He proclaimed himself as Tony Khan’s father and that he now runs AEW.
Don’s Take: I realize that this development is designed so that Killswitch can cost them the match, which will lead to either Christian turning on him or Killswitch eventually getting fed up and leaving the group. What I can’t wrap my head around is why Christian’s storyline character thinks that the meaningless Trios Championship is the best way to get him back to an AEW Championship match, especially since the upcoming Owen Hart Cup tournament guarantees the winner a title match at All In.
The Unified Trios Champions, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn and Juice Robinson cut a backstage promo. They said Christian Cage has to get in line and that tonight when they face the House of Black, they want to see if King, Black and Matthews can hang with them as the match is not for the titles.
4. Lee Moriarty vs. Dante Martin in a qualifier for the ladder match for the vacant TNT Championship at Forbidden Door. The match was even for the first several minutes with the wrestlers ending up on the floor where Dante maintained the advantage. Moriarty knocked Martin off the top rope and to the floor as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the commercial, Moriarty was still on offense. Martin mounted a comeback and down the stretch, Martin hit a cross body for a near fall. Moriarty tried submission and pinfall attempts to no avail. The finish saw Martin hit a Meteora followed by a frog splash for the win.
Dante Martin defeated Lee Moriarty in about 9:00 to earn a spot in the ladder match for the vacant TNT Championship at Forbiddern Door..
After the match, Anthony Ogogo and Shane Taylor attacked Martin. Action Andretti and Darius Martin ran out for the save but were overmatched. Lio Rush came out and cleared the heels from the ring. Top Flight and Andretti nodded in approval at Rush.
Don’s Take: The match was fine, as was the post-match angle. Apparently there’s a story between Andretti and Rush. Google it people!
A video on Hikaru Shida aired where she announced that she will be in the Owen Hart cup tournament. [C]
5. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Anthony Henry. Roderick Strong was on commentary, while Mike Bennett and Matt Taven stood behind him. This match was all O’Reilly who won with the arm bar submission.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Anthony Henry in about 3:00.
After the match, O’Reilly stared at Strong while Strong applauded.
Don’s Take: A simple squash to forward the story of Strong and O’Reilly potentially getting back together.
Tony Schiavone ran down the Dynamite lineup. Chris Jericho and Big Bill vs. Private Party was announced for next week’s Collision. [C]
6. Unified Trios Champions “Bullet Club Gold” Juice Robison, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn vs. “House of Black” Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews in a non-title match. A feeling out process to start. King threw Robinson and the Gunns out of the ring. The House of Black went for a triple dive but Bullet Club Gold re-entered the ring and gave the “guns up” symbol. The House of Black hit a triple knee strike and threw them out of the ring again as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Coming out of the commercial, the House of Black held the advantage. Bullet Club Gold took over the offense on Black which went on for several minutes. Robinson missed a cannonball in the corner and Black was able to thwart the Gunns to make the hot tag to Matthews. Matthews cleaned house but appeared to injure his knee after a Meteora on Robinson. Matthews tagged in King as the show went to its final picture-in-picture break. [C]
Coming out of commercial, officials escorted Matthews to the back. Back in the ring, Bullet Club Gold attacked King and Black. They eventually concentrated the attack on King as Black was on the floor. King eventually fought back and made the hot tag to Black who cleaned house.
Down the stretch, Bullet Club Gold regained the advantage and was about to finish off Black when PAC came out and distracted Austin Gunn. Gunn walked into a Black Mass kick finisher, enabling Black to get the pinfall victory.
“House of Black” Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews defeated Unified Trios Champions “Bullet Club Gold” Juice Robison, Austin, Gunn, and Colten Gunn in a non-title match in about 18:00.
After the match, Christian Cage, Nick Wayne, Killswitch and Shayna Wayne were on the big screen. Christian congratulated the House of Black on becoming the number one contenders to the Trios Championship. He added that the only problem was that they’re no longer a trio. The camera panned down to show Buddy Matthews having been laid out by a Conchairto. Black and King ran to assist Matthews as Collision went off the air…
Don’s Take: I wasn’t sure if Matthews was selling the injury or if it was legitimate. The fact that he pounded the mat after the spot leads me to believe it was real. And if the Christian attack was planned on the fly to remove Matthews while he recovers, it was a smart move given the announcement earlier tonight. Hoping nothing but the best for Buddy Matthews.
Not a very newsworthy edition of Collision aside from the Christian segment which still baffles me. Again, I get the direction. They’re involving Killswitch so that it leads to the eventual split. That’s fine, but given that the Owen Hart Cup tournament earns the winner a title shot, which is what Christian wants, it would have been more logical to go that route and have Killswitch cost him the tournament somewhere along the way. Let’s see where this goes and if it eventually all makes sense.
That’s all from me for tonight. I’ll be back on Friday night for Rampage. Until then!
So they actually showed Punk highlights during the anniversary video.
Lol
Did they? I’ll go back and watch. For full transparency, these shows can be hard to keep up with in real time when I’m covering…so I tend to skip video packages unless it’s wrapped with a promo of substance
Yeah there was definately some Punk highlights. Also,not that it really matters,but Caster call them the Young Cucks not Cocks.