It was Thursday! You knew what that meant — that you had forgotten Collision was once again on some random day of the week!
Taped from Kent, Washington!
Matches
Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs Christian Cage & Nick Wayne: Wayne is home in the PNW and the 17 DEFY fans chant for him at the top. Wayne and Keith start off and are kinda fun together, Keith getting the better of it before a tag to Cage, who is 2000s WWE big, so Bill has to be tagged in, too. That’s right, we’re at Christian Cage: Big Man. But Cage doesn’t feel he’s a Big Man, so he tags Wayne back in. Fun opener where Keith especially has a nice night. The ex-Jericho flunkies are ostensibly the babyfaces here, but (1) they’re not really babyfaces, and (2) Wayne is at home. Match finds a nice groove when the Patriarchy boys take the advantage.
Tony Schiavone doesn’t “know what spell Christian Cage has over that beautiful woman,” which, like, Tony, he’s an undeniably handsome, fit, well-off, successful man. What the hell is there to get?
Kip Sabian gets to take a bump. Remember him? Wayne almost gets a foot-on-ropes pin on Keith, but ol’ Badapple is hanging in here. Mom Wayne distracts and saves Son Wayne from getting pinned. Wayne and Cage put the pieces together well enough and win clean — well, more or less-ish. ***¼
Backstage after the match, MVP greets the Patriarchy by himself, knowing they are targeting the tag belts. He’s a little condescending toward them, but MVP says he has a lot of respect for Christian, and asks him, “Please don’t do this to yourself.” Cage is disrespectful to MVP in return. I’d be happy to have more of these two together in the coming weeks.
Hechicero & Rocky Romero vs Brody King & Templario: Now hang on, this might kick ass. It does! It kicks a little ass! King is super over in Warshington, and he delivers as he pretty much always does, gelling nicely with Templario as a makeshift tag team of guys who are largely covered in tattoos. Romero and Hechicero have to focus on their technique and craftiness, especially Romero, because neither of them really have the size to deal with King, and Templario is at the very least their equal otherwise. But craftiness can be a hell of a weapon, especially in a tag setting, especially against a team that isn’t experienced working together, even if your team also isn’t. On paper, Romero and Hechicero just have more in common, stylistically and in experience. But you also can’t go toe-to-toe with King, and King’s gonna force that as much as possible. This was proper Colliding. King pins Romero after Templario takes Hechicero out of the equation. ***¾
Megan Bayne vs Vertvixen: I have seen her wrestle a fair bit before and have often enjoyed ol’ Vert. Anyway, Vert does not do well even though the DEFY fans chant for her. Which is nice of them! Nigel says Vert is “no tomato can” and “very credible,” and Tony notes that she’s held many titles in independent promotions, and also she has had many matches in AEW! Anyway, she’s now 0-20 in AEW.
Adam Cole vs Josh Alexander: For Cole’s TNT title. This is an OK match that Alexander puts on his back, Cole really just isn’t the same anymore and might be better off hidden in tags — or trios! — so that he can go in bursts and what have you. And it’s really not even just the physical, I think a couple other things happened. (1) He’s lost his old swagger as a babyface, and (2) the timing for his return was just atrocious to wrap up the MJF feud. I said then that I might have held him out just a bit longer but I’m sure he was itching to get back to work and all that, too. But what was meant to be his big story played out really badly. Anyway, Alexander continues making his mark as another AEW guy who can just go out and have a good match, which is something this company is built on for those it’s meant to appeal to, AEW aren’t spending all their time trying to please non-fans like WWE has the luxury of doing with its enormous 20-years-as-the-only-big-show advantage. WWE, from some perspective, should be doing that. AEW trying to would be stupid and wouldn’t work. Cole retains his title. **¾
Queen Aminata vs Skye Blue: Tony tells me how many matches Blue has had in AEW and that she’s 2-1 all-time against Aminata. He does not tell me about the pervert photo shoots they do together. Julia Hart is with Blue as they continue having no actual personality traits other than what type get-up they wear. Aminata’s selling is still a little, like, bad if she’s hoping to actually move up the ladder, but yes, the stiff strikes look good and I do enjoy watching her. Honestly, when a lot of people say something like “looks like the indies” in a derogatory fashion, they tend to mean “too many” highspots, or some type “garbage wrestling,” but for me it’s stuff like watching Aminata sell, she’s just not really TV-level with that yet. It’s little stuff where she just kinda goes in and out of remembering what she’s doing at the moment. Skye is OK in this one, it’s an OK match. Aminata wins. **½
After the match, Aminata and Hart stare at each other after the match, and then Thekla joins the scene. Skye jumps Aminata, and then it’s a 3-on-1 before Anna Jay and Tay Melo come down with weapons in hand, sending the heel collective scurrying. BUT WAIT! Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford — or MegaLope, as I call them, because I’m a dipshit! — also join so that Tony can say these people will all be in the Gauntlet. Tay Melo has unfortunately taken lessons from Thunder Rosa on how to make certain everyone knows you don’t even give a flip about anything happening! That makes it better when you lose, because everyone knows you don’t really care.
Kyle O’Reilly vs Kyle Fletcher: Well, I watched Mr. Perfect vs Mr. Hughes, this is kinda like that. Nigel: “As my good friend Mauro Ranallo would say, ‘Styles make fights.’” Ah. Yes. Mauro Ranallo, the man who coined that idea. But that does plant the basic idea of what this match is. Fletcher is bigger, stronger, athletic, explosive, a heavy hitter and a risk taker, a main eventer on the rise. O’Reilly, though, is dangerous with his technique and submission ability, and if he can ground this, he’s got real advantages. Fletcher allows that to be made very clear, and early, as he really freaks out when O’Reilly starts working for submissions, desperately trying to get free as quickly as possible.
I’d heard this match rocked ass and indeed it does. This is the Kyle O’Reilly who has been one of my absolute favorite wrestlers of the last decade. He’s a guy who can kind of just float along when he doesn’t have much going on that interests him, still good but missing that zing, that pop, and then you give him a match like this to get up for and you go, “Oh, right, this guy absolutely rules.” He is extremely good at a style that is not by nature a “TV wrestling style,” because he broadens that approach just enough.
O’Reilly is also extremely good at building the sort of momentum in a match that lets you believe, sink into, buy into, however you want to put it, that he might win a match you know GD well he ain’t winning. Also, AEW do have guys at the O’Reilly level (or at least in theory at that level1) win upsets occasionally.
A wrestling crowd once again wears out a joke and you get the feeling they are barely paying any attention to this match. I experienced this in person with the Ricochet vs Claudio match last November in Chicago, where the crowd just did “bald” stuff for the entire match, and I can tell you that at least in that situation, yeah, they really weren’t paying attention to the match much at all. This is fine or whatever, everyone shouldn’t be like me, but it does chap my ass a smidge. That’s me, though. That’s on me. I’m the one who doesn’t fit in with my fellow fans more often than not.
Anyway, I’M paying attention, and this match is outstanding. Another true Collider of a match. Lance Archer gets involved so that O’Reilly doesn’t just lose — in fact, he pretty much had the match in control, and he gets to kick out of a Fletcher finish attempt once just to show how tough he is, and how much he was “ahead on points,” if you will, how much fuller his hit bar was. But he can’t hold it off for long and Fletcher’s brainbuster gets him. ****¼
Post-match, Fletcher and Archer do a number on O’Reilly before Adam Cole and Roderick Strong hit the ring to chase them off, flanked by Daniel “Danny” Garcia. The Callis Family vs Paragon & Dan issue is ONGOING!
Other Stuff
Wow, the first thing I see, after Tony Schiavone, is The Outrunners. And then we get FTR with Stokely. These fellas have to hash it out. Stokely opens by trying to present a logical reason that FTR are basically running their own tag division while the Hurt Syndicate run the part with the belts. Cash Wheeler makes the point that without their association, the Outrunners were just a silly “enhancement” duo, but this gets around to FTR’s newfound selfishness. Wheeler introduces a Sad Piano Video Package of the four of them. The memories.
Dax takes over and reckons the Outrunners are jealous because they have a lower ceiling than FTR. I mean, y’know. Yeah? Dax then goes on to point out that as many shirts as they sold and stuff, when they got a title crack they shit the bed. I mean, y’know. Yeah? Dax figures that’s when people realized they were “a joke, a meme, a comedy act.” It’s a good promo in a post-Russo way. Dax mic drops them and FTR leave, Outrunners having said fuck all.
But wait! The Shorter Outrunner is on the mic now. He’s the one who can go serious a little bit. The other one can never quite get the smile off his face. The Taller Outrunner does his best but he doesn’t quite have the mic ability of the other one. He’s trying here but there’s something just a little fake about his fire. FTR opt not to fight them right now despite being challenged, but they’ll do it next week when they’re in the FTR-deserving metropolis of Ontario, California.
Mercedes Mone gets to say “tits” on TV. Mone believes Storm is “just an act,” which is an interesting thing to say, and “a mark, just like All of These Fans,” which isn’t. Mone drops three F-bombs. As always, Mone can’t do a longer promo without kinda flubbing 3-4 things. But she’s like Lonnie Smith making errors in the outfield, she’s such an expert at slightly screwing up lines that she just recovers and rolls on like it didn’t happen. It’s a developed skill.
After a break, Lexy Nair is with Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa. Mercedes faces Mina next week. Toni says “snatch” and “tits” and yada yada, she’s about to say “cunt” but Mina interrupts and asks Toni to promise she won’t get involved on Dynamite, no matter what happens. So, well, something bad is happening to Mina on Wednesday.
Anthony Bowens speaks by himself. This dude’s still a jerkoff2. He’s telling us he’s officially entering the Casino Gauntlet. Billy Gunn is at home working on a new strategy. I hope his strategy is “get a new tag team partner.”
Ricochet walks up on AR Fox outside, following their Dynamite tag where Ricochet bailed on Fox, who is dumb enough to remember why. Gates of Agony jump Fox, so I guess Ricochet’s gang is coming together finally.
Whoa, a video package on Alex Windsor. Good signing.
Lexy is now with Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard. Before they speak, Rocky Romero represents the Don Callis Family to say they have no problem with Garcia and bring up the Callis offer to Garcia again. Once again someone points out that Matt Menard is actually a pretty huge loser to be considering your mentor or whatever.
Three Stars of the Show
Kyle O’Reilly: That match was designed for O’Reilly to look great and stand out working near home, and he made it count. It’s the sort of performance that can plant a seed that this guy might be ready for a bit more. Maybe you inch him along into secondary title contention. He and Roderick Strong both had great weeks, with Strong’s tremendous showing on Dynamite. Adam Cole … also had a match. :)
Kyle Fletcher: Tremendously unselfish work from Fletcher in giving O’Reilly so much and making him look so threatening, but also just another really good Fletcher performance, he didn’t make himself less than his normal self, he just gave so much to O’Reilly that they both looked at the dead same level.
Brody King: I thought Brody would have been a great rep to send over for the G1 this year, but AEW has Takeshita over there, technically/sorta, and I also can’t blame NJPW for not wanting to farm out too many spots to international talent, even if it would be cool. Also maybe King didn’t feel like spending a month in Japan. Also maybe AEW didn’t feel like sending him over for a month. Anyway, he was kickass again in that really good tag match.
Any and all support makes a massive difference for me! If you’re feeling generous or just loving all this Great Content, you can tip via Ko-fi!
By “in theory” I mean that realistically, the fact that he does win fairly regularly means Mark Briscoe is actually a level up the ladder from the O’Reilly types, but in the way you think of them, they’re about the same.
The wrestling character, I mean. The man seems nice enough for a wrestler, as best I can tell.
I would love to see KOR get a spot in the Continental Classic this year because 1. He’d be great and 2. AEW has been very smart about getting guys “big” wins in the C2 to plant the seed that these guys could beat anybody. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Briscoe and King have been in the tournament each of the last two years and have risen to the level of “plausible threat for top guys” now