By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Collision (Episode 62)
Taped September 12, 2024 in Dayton, Ohio at Nutter Center
Aired September 14, 2024 on TNT
[Hour One] Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary as Jack Perry drove his “Scapegoat” bus to the outside of the arena…
1. Jack Perry vs. Christopher Daniels for the TNT Title. Perry started out strong and dominated Daniels for the first several minutes, opening up a small cut on Daniels’ head. Daniels made a strong comeback down the stretch, hitting a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. Perry turned an Angels’ Wings attempt into a roll-up for a near fall. Daniels went for a German suplex off the ropes but Perry held onto the second rope. Perry hit a stunned Daniels with a knee strike for the win.
Jack Perry defeated Christopher Daniels in 5:04 to retain the TNT Title.
After the match, Perry walked back to his truck and drove away saying, “the people that don’t like me can’t handle the truth…
Don’s Take: I’m usually not a fan of on-air authority figures moonlighting as wrestlers, but they’ve been regularly telling the story of Daniels having issues with the Elite, so it makes sense. In any case, they’re taking the time to rebuild Perry and give him some wins after his loss to Bryan Danielson.
A video recapped the Blackpool Combat Club turning on Bryan Danielson at All Out. For those wondering, they showed Jon Moxley about to begin suffocating Danielson, but the camera cut just before the bag was placed over Danielson’s face…
Lexy Nair caught up with a distracted Wheeler Yuta. Nair asked Yuta how Bryan Danielson was. Yuta said that out of respect to Danielson and Brie, he wouldn’t divulge too much but said he was doing the best he could under the circumstances. He had Nair repeat the question and he gave the same answer, adding that he hadn’t spoken to the rest of the group. He said that his opponent tonight, Anthony Henry, was a great competitor and should not be taken lightly. He said he had a lot on his mind but was channeling a quote by Danielson, saying that when he’s in the ring, everything else is on pause…
Don’s Take: Solid acting and selling of the angle by Yuta.
2. Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, and Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos, Tony Nese, and Ariya Daivari (w/Mark Sterling, Josh Woods). Sterling did his usual pre-match mic work. The match started with the babyfaces taking turns working over Daivari. Mortos tagged in and took out each opponent until he focused on O’Reilly. O’Reilly rebounded and tagged in Hologram who went to work on Nese. O’Reilly tagged back in to continue the attack but was pulled to the floor by Daivari. O’Reilly was attacked by Daivari, Nese, Sterling, Woods and Mortos as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, the heels continued to work over O’Reilly. O’Reilly made the hot tag to Briscoe. Mortos blocked a Jay Driller attempt on Nese. Hologram tagged in and hit a destroyer on Nese for a near fall, broken up by Daivari. Down the stretch, everyone took turns diving onto the pile on the floor. Briscoe attempted the spot where he used a chair to launch him, but Sterling stood in the way. Briscoe hit Sterling with a low blow and then launched over the ropes by standing on Sterling’s back. Back in the ring, Hologram hit a spinning, tornado DDT on Nese and rolled him up for the win.
Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, and Hologram defeated The Beast Mortos, Tony Nese, and Ariya Daivari in about 10:37.
After the match, Mortos attacked Hologram, with Briscoe and O’Reilly making the save…
Don’s Take: Can you really call it a Collision without a Premier Athletes match? I’ll bet that’s the contract clause that’s taking the new WBD deal so long to announce. Hologram continues to just be “there.” I’m not sure a program with Mortos will help that.
A video package showed highlights of last night’s sold out CMLL show, including Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero and Kojima in Trios action, along with Chris Jericho vs. Mistico in a two-out-of-three falls match…
Renee Paquette was backstage with Orange Cassidy, Before she could ask him about CMLL, he was attacked by Big Bill and Bryan Keith. They put his backpack over his head while Chris Jericho smashed the photo of “Best Friends” over his head. He told Cassidy he would see him Wednesday. [C]
A brief video showed Stokely Hathaway watching some tag team matches from AEW’s history…
Lexy Nair was backstage with AEW Woman’s Champion Mariah May. May asked for Mina Shirakawa to return so that she can have her Championship celebration. Yuka Sakazaki entered and said she wanted a title shot and May said she would rip her head off. Sakazaki no-sold the threat…
3. Wheeler Yuta vs. Anthony Henry (w/Beef). The two had a competitive open sequence. Henry suplexed Yuta on the floor against the barricade as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Henry held the advantage after the break. Henry slapped Yuta and said that Bryan Danielson wasn’t there. Yuta snapped and threw Henry into the ringside barricades several times. He also took out Beef at ringside. Back in the ring, he hit series of elbow strikes before locking in the Catle Mutilation submission for the win.
Wheeler Yuta defeated Anthony Henry in about 9:02.
Don’s Take: Yuta did a superb acting job at All Out when the Blackpool Combat Club turned on Bryan Danielson and then again tonight. It was apparent that, from a storyline standpoint, he wasn’t in on it. I’m looking forward to the follow-up. He’s definitely talented and can be more than Danielson’s “little buddy.”
Lexy Nair was backstage with Queen Aminata and Serena Deeb. Deeb offered to take Aminata under her wing again telling Aminata “your not ready.” Aminata said no and said she had a match to get ready for. Deeb said “let the professor show you how it’s done” and predicted a win over Sakazaki. [C]
An Anna Jay video aired. Jay talked about her time in Japan and how hard it was but said she wants more. She put the women’s division on notice, particularly AEW Women’s Champion, Mariah May and TBS Champion Mercedes Mone.
4. Komander and “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy vs. Jon Cruz, Lord Crewe, and Ren Jones. In a picture-in-picture video, Private Party and Komander vowed revenge on the BCC. This was a simple squash match with Private Party hitting Gin and Juice on Jones for the win.
Komander and Private Party beat Jon Cruz, Lord Crewe, and Ren Jones in 1:37.
Don’s Take: Thank goodness! When the Blackpool Combat Pool prevented this match from happening on Dynamite, my life was incomplete. Thank you Tony for giving me a reason to watch again.
They cut to the announcers at the desk. McGuiness threw to a video package about his history with Bryan Danielson. McGuiness said that Danielson was afraid of him and haunted by the memories. He said Danielson would leave Arthur Ashe Stadium with the title, but that McGuiness would try to end his career.
[Hour Two] 5. Serena Deeb vs. Yuka Sakazaki. Mariah May joined the commentary team. The two went back and forth with Sakazaki catching Deeb in a roll around the ring and Deeb catching Sakazaki with a neck breaker over the second rope as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, the two exchanged moves and several near falls. Deeb attempted a leg submission but Sakazaki made it to the ropes. Sakazaki hit Deeb with an inverted brain buster type move followed by the Magical Girl splash from the middle of the top rope for the win.
Yuka Sakazaki defeated Serena Deeb in about 10:39.
After the match, Sakazaki was celebrating on the stage but was attacked by May. May attempted a piledriver but Sakazaki countered with a super kick…
Don’s Take: Sakazaki isn’t featured with any consistency but her win is no surprise as she’s being built as a challenger for Mariah May for the AEW Women’s Title. As for Deeb, add her to the same category as Nyla Rose in that she’ll win a squash match here and there before being used as an enhancement talent in a higher profile match. Again, this is a shame because she’s a hell of a worker but her lack of ability in the promo department seems to hold her back. Funny thing about that is that AEW’s featured female star has a hard time cutting promos as well and isn’t as good as a worker. And yet…
A throwback Outrunners video aired….[C]
Outside the arena, Top Flight, Action Andretti, Leyla Hirsch, and Lio Rush were talking about the food they had just eaten. Andretti flipped out and brought up the recent losses. He said they should be concentrating on winning and brought up the House of Black. Rush was disturbed by Andretti’s tirade as Andretti said they needed to get their act together.
6. Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona vs. Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn. The teams were fairly evenly matched early. Eventually Liona got the better of Austin Gunn and Cage suplexed Gunn from the ring apron into the ring as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Down the stretch, more back and forth actions from the teams with all six fighting in the ring. Juice hit a variation DDT on Cage for the win.
Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn defeated Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona in 10:35.
Don’s Take: I never thought I’d say this, but when is Jay White coming back? Not that I love him as part of the Bang Bang Gang but makes the group a bit more interesting. I’ve given up on hoping that Kaun and Liona are going to be any more than what they are, which is a shame.
Lexy Nair spoke with Queen Aminata and Serena Deeb backstage. Aminata asked Deeb, “Is that’s how it’s done?”
7. Queen Aminata vs. Robyn Renegade. While Renegade got in a bit more offense than I expected, this was a showcase win the Aminata, who won with a headbutt.
Queen Aminata defeated Robyn Renegade in about 3:03.
After the match, Serena Deeb attacked Aminata and locked her in a leg submission until security broke it up…[C]
Don’s Take: A minor thing here. I grew up during an era where you’d see the same enhancement talents on the different syndicated shows throughout the weekend. So, I get it. That said, they just had Kamille destroy Renegade on Rampage. If they’re building Kamille up to be a monster, I would have liked to see Renegade off TV for a couple of weeks to sell the beating. But again, that may just be a “Don” thing. The match teased with Deeb is mildly interesting.
The House of Black spoke about the challenge from Top Flight and said they didn’t like their odds…
8. “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler vs. “The Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake. Both teams were even with Wheeler back suplexing Drake into the ring from the second rope as the show went to its final picture-in-picture break.[C]
After the break, the heels worked on Wheeler who made the hot tag to Harwood. Harwood came in and cleaned house. FTR broke up a Grit Your Teeth finisher attempt. Wheeler tagged back in after a failed spike piledriver attempt and locked Drake in the sharpshooter for the win.
“FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler defeated “The Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake in about 9:20.
After the match, the GYV continued with the attack until the Outrunners ran out to make the save and clear the ring. The Outrunners shook hands with FTR to end the show…
Don’s Take: I was excited when I saw this match on the lineup, and I felt it could have gone a little longer by shaving a few minutes from some of the other matches on the show. I also would have liked to see GYV get the first win but this likely won’t be the first time these teams meet, so there’s an opportunity to even the score. Perhaps a “best-of-seven” series? I’d sign up. And the Outrunners appear to be gaining traction. They’re not for everyone but for fans from my era, they’re a nice throwback. I’m definitely not complaining.
Good wrestling on this week’s Collision without much in the way of character development or storyline advancement. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before. As I’ve been saying, I’ll be interested to see how Collision lands when the new TV deal is announced.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back on Friday in my usual spot with Rampage. Until then!
Sakazaki hasn’t been featured regularly because she’s been injured. She left TJPW, moved to America and then got hurt in her match with Emi Sakura, but I imagine she’ll be featured regularly going forward.
We’ll see. Even before the injury, she wasn’t a regular player which is likely do to her commitments in Japan. We’ll see if that changes but historically AEW cycles talent in for a higher profile TV match and one that’s done, they go back into the pile until the next time they’re needed.
Meanwhile it looks like Riho has disappeared again much to Cornette’s dismay..
Riho. Case in point. She’ll surface on Rampage again and win a squash match when they want to feed her to one of the two champions.