By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Collision (Episode 50)
Taped June 20, 2024 in Allentown, Pennsylvania at PPL Center
Aired June 22, 2024 on TNT
[Hour One] Entrances for the opening match took place while Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary. Bobby Cruise was the ring announcer…
Powell’s POV: I guess we’ll never know if this particular Saturday night was alright for fighting because they did not run the Collision opening with the Elton John classic theme song.
1. Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Hook vs. Josh Woods, Ariya Daivari, and Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling). Late in the match, Shibata hit Nese with a boot in the corner and then worked him over with a series of strikes. Shibata dropkicked a seated Nese in the corner and then suplexed him before covering him for a two count. Shibata forced Nese to submit to a crossarm breaker…
Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Hook vs. Josh Woods, Ariya Daivari, and Tony Nese in 7:30.
Powell’s POV: The heels got some offense in, but there was zero mystery regarding the outcome. I assume we’ll see Joe, Hook, and Shibata go after the AEW Trios Titles sooner rather than later.
Backstage, Juice Robinson, Colten Gunn, and Austin Gunn delivered a promo on the interview set. Robinson said AEW officials are not recognizing him as one of the AEW Trios Title holders despite the fact that hew as anointed. Colten took issue with House of Black being given a shot at the AEW Trios Titles…
Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith made their entrance. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy made their velvet rope entrance…
2. Chris Jericho and Big Bill (w/Bryan Keith) vs. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy. Bill got the better of Quen and then smiled and waved. Bill tossed Quen across the ring and then went for a corner splash that Quen avoided. Quen dropkicked Bill and then threw punches at him in the corner. Bill eventually shoved Quen away and then dropped him with a punch.
Jericho tagged in. Bill pressed Quen and tossed him toward Jericho, who helped slam him to the mat. Kassidy eventually took a hot tag and threw punches at Jericho. A short time later, Quen checked in and was distracted by Keith. Jericho clotheslined Quen and then waved to the crowd heading into a PIP break. [C]
Jericho went for a Lionsault, but Quen put his knees up. Kassidy performed a Swanton on Jericho. Quen followed up with a 450 splash on Jericho for a two count. Moments later, Kassidy jumped from the ropes and was hit with a big boot from Bill. Jericho covered Kassidy for a two count.
The quiet crowd actually came to life for a moment when Jericho put Kassidy in the Walls of Jericho. Kassidy broke the hold by reaching the ropes. Bill tagged in and hit Kassidy with a Bossman Slam for a near fall. Bill dorked it up by giving a double thumbs up. Quen ran in. Bill grabbed Quen and chokeslammed him onto his partner. Bill covered Kassidy for another two count.
Jericho tagged in late and was hit with a huracanrana into a Codebreaker, but it only led to a two count for Private Party. Kassidy put Jericho down with a clothesline and then ran the ropes. Bill distracted the referee while Keith hit Kassidy with something at ringside. Jericho covered Kassidy and got the three count…
Chris Jericho and Big Bill defeated “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy in 14:55.
After the match, the heels worked over Private Party. Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata ran out for the save. Shibata stomped on the arm of Keith. Joe took the mic and mockingly waved to Jericho while telling him hi. Joe said every idea that comes from Jericho’s tree absolutely suck (he’s not lying). Joe issued a challenge for a trios match at Forbidden Door… [C]
Powell’s POV: A needlessly long match. The Learning Tree gimmick was not over with this disinterested live crowd. I suspect they’ll have someone replace Bryan Keith in the Forbidden Door match given the way Keith was selling his arm after the match.
Entrances for the eliminator match took place…
3. AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Ultimo Guerrero in an eliminator match. Okada got Guerrero in Alabama Slam position and opted to perform a neckbreaker over his knee heading into a PIP break. [C] Guerrero had a run of rough offense that Okada cut off with a dropkick.
Guerrero ducked a Rainmaker clothesline. Okada avoided a charing Guerrero in the corner and then tried to remove his mask, but Guerrero executed a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. Guerrero sat Okada on the top turnbuckle and climbed up behind him, but Okada raked his eyes.
Guerrero ducked another Rainmaker and rolled up Okada for a two count. Okada ripped off Guerrero’s mask, which got a rise out of the crowd. Okada hit Guerrero with a Rainmaker clothesline and then pinned him…
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defeated Ultimo Guerrero in 11:45 in an eliminator match.
Powell’s POV: Woof. This may have been someone’s dream match, but it clearly wasn’t for the quiet fans in attendance. This wasn’t even a good match. Guerrero was lazy when it came to whipping Okada into the ropes and ring post. He also did a weak clip of Okada’s leg at one point. I don’t follow CMLL, but I’ve seen Guerrero work without his mask several times, so I’m not sure why it was supposed to be a big deal that Okada removed his mask.
Lexi Nair interviewed Dante Martin, Darius Martin, and Action Andretti. She congratulated Dante on qualifying for the ladder match for the vacant TNT Title at Forbidden Door. Dante spoke about the horrific injury he suffered the last time he was in a ladder match and then spoke about how he would win the TNT Title.
Lio Rush showed up. Andretti congratulated him on his Rampage win. Rush asked Darius if they were cool. Darius nodded. Rush told Dante that he’s always had his back, but he wants the TNT Title for himself. Dante stepped forward and said he wants the title too. Rush said he would see Dante at Forbidden Door and they would see who the better man is… [C]
A video package recapped Christian Cage and his crew taking out Buddy Matthews on last week’s Collision…
Jacked Jameson and The Iron Savages made their entrance. Jameson spoke was they walked to the ring and ran down Christian Cage and his crew. No one seemed to care. Jameson closed by saying that he and the Savages would take The Patriarchy to Titty City. The quiet crowd popped when Cage’s entrance theme played and then Cage and company made their entrance…
4. Christian Cage, Nick Wayne, and Killswitch (w/Mother Wayne) vs. Jacked Jameson and “The Iron Savages” Boulder and Bronson. Cage sat in on commentary to start.
[Hour Two] The Iron Savages did their awful Titty City spot on Wayne. Late in the match, Killswitch chokeslammed Bronson. Nick tagged in and hit Wayne’s World. Cage said it looked like his partners needed his help. Cage left the broadcast table and headed to the ring. Cage tagged in and hit Bronson with his Killswitch finisher and scored the pin…
Christian Cage, Nick Wayne, and Killswitch defeated Jacked Jameson and “The Iron Savages” Boulder and Bronson in 4:45.
Powell’s POV: Cage stealing the glory at the end was good fun.
A Mercedes Mone video package aired. She spoke about traveling to CMLL to make a statement while footage was shown. She said she would beat Stephanie Vaquer to win the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship at Forbidden Door…
5. AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm and Maria May (w/Luther) vs. Lady Frost and Leyla Hirsch. The entrances for both teams were televised. May put Frost down with a spinning side slam and then knocked Hirsch off the apron. Storm tagged in and booted Frost out of the ring. Storm and May posed heading into a PIP break. [C]
Storm and May slapped each other’s asses and then sent a double hip attack, but their opponents recovered. Frost and Hirsh worked over May. Frost performed a corkscrew dive onto May, but Storm covered her partner. Luther played to the crowd at ringside. Storm and May hit the simultaneous hip attacks. Storm performed Storm Zero on Hirsch and then had May cover her for the three count.
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm and Maria May beat Lady Frost and Leyla Hirsch in 8:05.
Powell’s POV: Storm and May were over with the live crowd and seemed to play into the cheers more than they have in the past.
Serena Deeb delivered a backstage promo. She spoke about feeling untouchable heading into Double Or Nothing. She said she’s had three of the toughest losses of her career since then. She spoke of stopping the downward trend. She said she would be at Collision next week and challenged someone to step into her dojo…
Malakai Black and Brody King made their entrance while their opponents were already inside the ring…
6. Malakai Black and Brody King vs. LSG and MSG. McGuinness said LSG and MSG are a brother team. Black and King dominated the match. Black passed LSG to King, who hit him with a Gonzo Bomb and scored the pin…
Malakai Black and Brody King defeated LSG and MSG in 1:55.
After the match, Ian Riccaboni interviewed Black and King on the stage. Riccaboni congratulated them on their win and then asked them how it felt after what happened to Buddy Matthews last week. Black said it was a human question and stormed away. King said revenge is never a straight line and they feel nothing… [C]
Powell’s POV: I’ve seen LSG work a lot in Ring of Honor over the years and I always felt like he was underutilized. I’m not familiar with his brother Max. The brothers were in enhancement roles, as this was a total squash win for House of Black…
Hechicero made his entrance for Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun. Matt Menard made his entrance…
7. Hechicero (w/Toa Liona, Bishop Kaun) vs. Matt Menard. Menard had his ribs wrapped. Menard got a little offense and tried hard to get the quiet crowd involved. In the end, Hechicero caught Menard in a submission hold and got the win.
Hechicero beat Matt Menard in 3:20.
After the match, Menard sold an arm injury and walked away from ringside while the trainer ran after him…
MJF was hyped as appearing on next week’s show…
A video package aired with Jeff Jarrett talking about being in the Owen Hart Cup tournament. An emotional Jarrett spoke about teaming with Owen and said those were the best days of his career. He spoke of letting Owen’s children know what a great man their father was. Jarrett said the Owen Hart Cup tournament means more to him than anything he’s ever done. Jarrett mentioned Toby Keith passing and his song about not being as good as he once was, but said he’s good once as he ever was…
Powell’s POV: Hechicero winning was no surprise given that he will be facing MJF at Forbidden Door. Meanwhile, the Jarrett promo was the highlight of the show thus far.
Schiavone ran through the previously advertised matches for Dynamite, then hyped Deonna Purrazzo vs. Hikaru Shida in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match for next week’s Collision. Schiavone hyped the main event as coming up next… [C] Entrances for the main event took place…
8. Will Ospreay vs. Brian Cage for the AEW International Championship. Cage got some early offense in, but Ospreay came back and hit him with a dive from the ring to the floor going into a PIP break. [C]
Daniel Garcia was shown watching the match on a backstage television. Ospreay went for an OsCutter, but Cage dropkicked him. Ospreay came right back with a sit-out powerbomb, but Ospreay was unable to make the cover. Cage battled back and barked at the referee after getting a two count heading into yet another PIP break. [C]
Late in the match, Cage went for his Drill Claw finisher, but Ospreay countered into a Stundog Millionaire. Ospreay followed up with a Poison Rana and then hit the OsCutter, but it only led to a near fall (really?). Ospreay hit the Hidden Blade and scored the pin.
Will Ospreay defeated Brian Cage in 17:20 to retain the AEW International Championship.
Ospreay celebrated his win to close the show…
Powell’s POV: The main event was an AEW special. Good action and yet the match felt needlessly long because the outcome felt so predictable. In fact, every match felt predictable and the show lacked meaningful storyline developments. While the in-ring action is enough for some viewers, AEW’s downward turn shows that it’s simply not enough for the masses and yet that doesn’t seem to matter to the booker for some reason. Rampage was actually better than Collision this week. Will Pruett’s weekly audio reviews of Collision are available exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
I read somewhere that Guerrero has been wrestling without a mask for years so he didn’t bring one. Tony wanted him to wear a mask since they showed the highlight package of him wearing a mask. He had to borrow one that didn’t fit. If you notice he keeps adjusting the mask and he later said he couldn’t see out of it. That’s partially why the match was a dud.
18 minutes to beat the guy who lost to Tessa Blanchard?
Bruv needs to actually win a match like a star instead of going too long with everyone.
>>I don’t follow CMLL, but I’ve seen Guerrero work without his mask several times, so I’m not sure why it was supposed to be a big deal that Okada removed his mask.<<
Dude, no offense, but now you're just being ridiculous when it comes to your comments regarding AEW.
Great, now tell that to Ultimo Guerrero, who wrote on social media that he didn’t even bring a mask to the show because he hasn’t worn once since 2014.