By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Collision (Episode 51)
Taped June 27, 2024 in Buffalo, New York at KeyBank Center
Aired June 29, 2024 on TNT
[Hour One] Entrances for the opening match took place while Excalibur and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary. Bobby Cruise was the ring announcer…
1. Orange Cassidy and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shane Haste and Robbie Eagles. Haste and Eagles were listed as making their AEW tag team debut. Haste and Cassidy started off and exchanged moves until Cassidy tagged out to Ishii. The babyfaces got the better of the heels in the early going. Eagles tagged in and performed some nice takedowns on Cassidy. Cassidy retaliated and rolled Eagles up for a near fall. Cassidy slammed Eagles’ head into the turnbuckle ten times. Eagles played dizzy to distract referee Aubrey Edwards, allowing Haste to slam Cassidy’s back on the apron. Eagles dove onto Cassidy on the floor as the show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, the heels worked over Cassidy. Cassidy kicked Eagles into Haste and made the hot tag. Ishii cleaned house. Down the stretch, both teams exchanged moves with Cassidy missing an Orange Punch but hitting a Stun Dog Millionaire. Eventually Cassidy hit his Beach Break finisher on Eagles for the pinfall.
Orange Cassidy and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Shane Haste and Robbie Eagles in about 10:30.
Don’s Take: A decent opener and it looks like Ishii is on the Forbidden Door: Zero Hour card in a last minute add. Also, Tony Schiavone noted on social media that he lost his voice at the end of Dynamite, so I am assuming this is the reason we have Excalibur doing play-by-play as Collision was taped right after Dynamite.
A Hangman Adam Page video aired. It was in black and white and showed flashbacks of when Swerve Strickland broke into his house and spoke to his baby son in his crib. The video showed Page drinking and sitting on the floor in an empty living room. It also looked like he knocked over a picture of him with the Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes, but it was tough to make out. The song spoke about the “End of Days”… [C]
Don’s Take: Interesting. I had thought that Page would be the Jacksons’ wild card entrant in the Owen Hart Cup tournament but now I am not so sure.
Chris Jericho, Big Bill and Bryan Keith were shown walking backstage. Jericho talked about Buffalo being the 79th biggest city in the world. They ran into an enhancement talent and Jericho asked him who taped his wrist. The talent said the trainer and Jericho said it was done wrong. They then ran into the trainer and Jericho said that you have to wrap the tape around the wrist three times so that it sticks. He then told Bill and Keith as a veteran tip to take a roll of tape from the trainer’s room so you don’t have to pay for it. Keith did that before joining the group.
2. NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer vs. Lady Frost in a non-title match. Before the match began, TBS Champion Mercedes Mone made her way to the ring and sat at ringside. Vaquer gained the early advantage, locking Frost in an STF hold. Frost got to the ropes. Heading into the picture-in-picture break, Frost and Vaquer battled on the floor. Frost did a handstand and was super kicked by Vaquer. Vaquer and Mone had a stare down. [C]
Coming out of the break, Vaquer maintained the advantage. Frost made a comeback and hit several offensive moves down the stretch. Vaquer retaliated with a series of rapid head butts and finished Frost off with a package piledriver set up into a back breaker.
NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer defeated Lady Frost in about 8:00 in a non-title match.
After the match, Vaquer stared down with Mone again. Zeuxis entered and attacked Mone from behind. Mone hit the back stabber on Zeuxis. Vaquer super kicked Mone and hit the same move on her that she used to win the match.
Don’s Take: Although it would have been nice to see Vaquer be a bit more dominant, I like the idea of showcasing Vaquer on TV to give U.S. fans some exposure to her work before she meets Mone on pay-per-view. I don’t know that it leads to tons of extra pay-per-view buys, but if you can score a few, mission accomplished.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Penta El Zero Miedo, Ray Fenix and Alex Abrahantes. Titan and Hiromu Takahashi entered. Fenix informed them that PAC was concentrating on the Owen Hart Cup tournament and that their partner would be Mistico for the first-time ever. Takahashi acted scared before acting exciting. Takahashi and Titan team with Yota Tsuji to face Mistico, Fenix and Penta at Forbidden Door: Zero Hour.
3. Serena Deeb vs. Kelly Madan. This was a complete squash as Deeb won by pinfall after the Deebtox.
Serena Deeb defeated Kelly Madan in about 1:20.
After the match, Deeb took the microphone and said that after failing to win the AEW Women’s Championship, she refuses to go into wrestling purgatory and asked AEW to give her someone to wrestle that’s on her level. Riho came out and two had a stare down, likely setting up a future match.
Don’s Take: If she’s on Collision, she’s already in wrestling purgatory. Seriously though, as I’ve said before, I’m never a fan of anyone having no direction coming out of a title program. And that’s in any company. Here’s hoping this reset for Deeb results in her climbing the ladder to challenge for one of the titles again. She’s not a great promo but could a solid challenger for Mercedes Mone or even one of the ROH Women’s Championships.
Chris Jericho was outside the men’s room and asked a staffer if he washed his hands as germs spread easy this time of year. The gentleman went back into the restroom. [C]
After the break, Chris Jericho, Big Bill and Bryan Keith continued walking backstage. Bill commented that the arena was constructed well. Jericho said they play hockey here and he’s really good at it. They saw a Zamboni. Jericho gave the history of the invention of the Zamboni and said he wanted to make sure that the staff knew how to operate it properly. He opened a door and was attacked by Samoa Joe, Hook and Katsuyori Shibata.
The two trios fought to the ring. In the ring, Jeff Cobb emerged and took out the babyfaces. Cobb was revealed to be Jericho’s partner at Forbidden Door.
Don’s Take: A fine angle with Cobb being a good addition to the trios match at the pay-per-view.
A video aired previewing Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door…
Lexy Nair was backstage with Orange Cassidy. Cassidy said his world was crashing down around him and was ready to face the best technical wrestler in the world. He said he watched Sabre’s match with Kyle O’Reilly on Dynamite and wondered why Sabre wasn’t out there tonight. He said Sabre didn’t respect him which prompted Sabre to enter. He said he did respect him and that he didn’t need to watch the match tonight because he knew all of Cassidy’s moves. He said he waited a year to beat him, to which Cassidy said that he’ll pin Sabre with his hands in his pockets. Sabre challenged him to do it now. Cassidy grabbed Sabre as Nair urged for them to stop. Sabre said it was OK as he’d already won.
4. Hechicero vs. Kevin Blackwood. Another complete squash as Hechicero gained the submission win in short order.
Hechicero defeated Kevin Blackwood in about 2:20.
Don’s Take: This was another effective use of TV to give a last-minute push for the pay-per-view by showcasing a talent that may not be familiar to U.S. viewers, especially since he’ll be working with MJF – one of AEW’s top stars.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Christian Cage, Killswitch, Nick Wayne and Mother Wayne. Nair said that it looked like Cage was going after the Trios Championship. Cage said he was the uncrowned AEW Champion and as such, the Patriarchy needed to be recognized with the nine belts that come with Trios Championship.
Jay White, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn entered. White said it was nice to meet Christian but said it wasn’t nice to lie to his family as he had said “I Quit.” He commented that it was tough to tell the wife and the dinosaur apart. In terms of Nick Wayne, he said it was too bad Mother Wayne had to drink so heavily during the pregnancy. White challenged them to a match if they’re up for it.
After the match, Garcia and The Butcher shook hands and embraced….
Don’s Take: It seems that the creative forces are finally getting behind a real push for Garcia, with two big matches upcoming with Will Ospreay and MJF. I’m interested to see where this goes but am concerned that the Wembley Stadium audience will be witness to the epic Matt Menard betrayal (sarcasm intended) which would be a letdown.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Will Ospreay and asked if his issue with Swerve Strickland was personal. He said a little bit. Don Callis, Trent Beretta, Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita entered. Callis said it would be just like when he helped Ospreay beat Kenny Omega. Ospreay reiterated that he didn’t need any help but asked Fletcher to accompany him for the weigh-in tonight since Swerve will have his entourage out there. Callis said everything was fine and everyone was happy. Rush grabbed Callis by the shoulder and the two walked off… [C]
An ad aired previewing the new Brodie Lee sneakers being released by ChampsSports.com on Monday, July 1…
Lexy Nair was backstage with Jack Perry. Perry said he never agreed to wrestle in the six-man tag team match tonight but would win the TNT Championship at Forbidden Door. Christopher Daniels entered and said that if Perry didn’t wrestle tonight, he would lose his spot in the TNT Championship ladder match’…
6. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Hikaru Shida in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match. The match was even for the first several minutes before ending up on the floor. Shida hit a knee strike but Purrazzo responded with a stomp to the arm and a pump kick as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Down the stretch, Shida made a strong comeback. Purrazzo locked in the arm bar but Shida got to the ropes. Shida hit a Falcon Arrow for a near fall, followed by a katana kick for the win.
Hikaru Shida beat Deonna Purrazzo in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match in about 8:52.
After the match, Purrazzo continued to attack Shida until Thunder Rosa made the save.
Don’s Take: Shida will likely be in the finals of the tournament against Mariah May. As May will likely challenge Toni Storm at Wembley Stadium, a tournament win over Shida would boost her credibility going into that match.
A Jeff Jarrett promo aired with Jeff, Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh talking about how important the Owen Hart Cup tournament is for him to win. Well done. [C]
Toni Storm cut a rather incoherent backstage promo about how she will raise her title inside the Forbidden Door….
7. El Phantasmo, Jack Perry, and Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe, Lio Rush, and Dante Martin. Don Callis joined the commentary team. Takeshita took the early advantage over Rush. Rush retaliated and the babyfaces worked over Phantasmo, who countered on Martin and went to tag Perry but Perry dropped to the floor. Briscoe hit a sliding dropkick on Perry as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, Phantasmo and Takeshita worked over Martin. Perry was still on the floor as Phantasmo and Takeshita began to shove each other. Martin hot tagged Briscoe. Briscoe cleaned house. Briscoe got a near fall on Phantasmo which was broken up by Perry. There was quick action down the stretch as Rush and Martin each hit a frog splash on Phantasmo. The pin was broken up by Perry. Briscoe threw Perry onto the floor but missed a dive.
Martin and Takeshita battled in the ring. Martin had Takeshita down and went to the top rope. Perry pushed Martin off the top rope. Martin kicked Perry off the apron. Whild distracted, this allowed Takeshita to deliver a knee strike for the win.
El Phantasmo, Jack Perry, and Konosuke Takeshita defeated Mark Briscoe, Lio Rush, and Dante Martin in about 11:00.
After the match, Perry knocked down Takeshita and took the TNT Title. The other participants took turns with the title until Mark Briscoe knocked down Martin and Rush with the ladder. Briscoe climbed the ladder and held the title up high before diving on to everyone on the floor…
Don’s Take: This was a good way to close out Collision from an in-ring standpoint. These spot-fest ladder matches are always a crowed pleaser, so this was a good way to potentially secure a few last-minute buys. On a side note, during my Rampage review, I completely missed that by defeating AR Fox, Phantasmo qualified for the final spot in the match. My error.
Excalibur ran down the Forbidden Door lineup….
Prince Nana hosted the weigh-in between Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland. Ospreay came out first with Kyle Fletcher. Ospreay weighed 220 lbs. Strickland came out with his entourage and weighed 230 lbs.
Ospreay said that tomorrow night Strickland would know his name. Strickland responded that the pressure is on Ospreay as he had never been to that level before. Strickland offered to give Ospreay’s wifr a contract. The two brawled which was broken up by security and officials. Ospreay hit the Hidden Blade on Strickland to end the show.
Don’s Take: A strong segment to encourage last-minute buys. I truly hope we’re not getting an outside interference finish with the Don Callis Family but I think this is where we are headed.
Aside from Jeff Cobb being revealed as Chris Jericho’s second partner and Hikaru Shida advancing in the Owen Hart Cup tournament, this wasn’t a news heavy edition of Collision. But what the show lacked in storyline advancement; it made up for in using the time to give U.S. viewers a preview of some talents performing at Forbidden Door that they may not be familiar with. Like I said, this may not result in a ton of extra buys, but if they moved anyone to order the show through tonight’s episode, it can be considered a win.
That’s all from me for tonight. Check out my Forbidden Door thoughts and predictions on the main page on Sunday morning and I’ll be back next week with another Rampage review. Until then!
Great not to hear schivonne – he’s so over the top lately & seriously annoying