This was a weaker episode of AEW Collision than we have come to expect in recent weeks, but it was nonetheless a solid show. The main event, while not the spectacle I’d necessarily hoped for, was still a very entertaining match with an electric final act, while King/Briscoe and Taylor/Garcia also delivered well in the ring. The women’s matches were slight and undercooked but Toni Storm continues to delight in her character work and it continued the climb towards Revolution, even if the incline is very slow. To it’s credit the show did put much more focus on story than it typically does, and while nothing was necessarily terrific enough to push the storytelling rating much higher, they did all work to enhance characters or feuds to a decent level, which is to its credit. The crowd was a bit odd and sometimes dead but did come alive when they needed to. A filler episode, but a watchable 2 hours overall.
Tonight on AEW Collision, Orange Cassidy defends the International Championship against the Stone Pitbull Tomohiro Ishii. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli continue their war against CMLL as they face Star Jr and Esfinge in a tag match. Elsewhere on the card, both Toni Storm and Deonna Purazzo are in singles action and Daniel Garcia takes on Shane Taylor. Lets get at it!
GOOD Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs Star Jr and Esfinge
A fun opening match that showed off Star JR and Esfinge very well. Got a nice amount of time and a few minor botches and an occasionally quiet crowd aside this was simply an exciting wrestling contest that I had a lot of fun with. I do hope CMLL get their wins back in Mexico though because they have lost every match of significance so far in this invasion. However, FTR vs BCC that started at the end of this match excites me greatly.
Result: Jon Moxley by Submission via Armbar
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
GREAT Daniel Garcia vs Shane Taylor
A simple match structure executed really well, this was one of Shane Taylor’s best showcases, and if I’m honest I was more impressed by him here than I was Garcia. The psychology around Taylor’s leg was really well done and I love Taylor’s offensive style. The ending was a tad abrupt but this was a very good match to highlight both guys
Result: Daniel Garcia by Submission via Knee Bar
David Sheldon WR Star Rating: 3.5 Stars
Eddie Kingston challenges Bryan Danielson to a Revolution match which will always be fun.
SQUASH Brian Cage vs The Outrunners
A short and simple squash, but Cage is very good at this formula, as are the outrunners. Hook saves a hockey mascot at the end which the crowd pop for. All fun stuff
Result: Brian Cage by Pinfall
Too Short To Rate
GREAT Adam Copeland/Daniel Garcia Promo
This was an effective and efficient segment. Copeland tells us why he should be TNT Champion, Garcia tells us why he should be TNT Champion, they make a match, they say why they want to fight each other where the winner gets what they want. All boxes ticked, easy as you like! Great segment
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
GREAT Mark Briscoe vs Brody King
This match had some phenomenal high spots and I thoroughly enjoyed the clash of styles between King and Briscoe. It is unsurprising both wrestlers put on a great match given their talents in the ring. However, the crowd were quite irritating with consistent we want tables chants, there is a massive logic hole around said table (why did the ref tell Briscoe he couldn’t use it but King could) and some of the middle action was structurally a bit dull in places. I feel like the match was a bit too long and it dragged the momentum down in between the really great spots.
Result: Brody King by Pinfall
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
SQUASH Deonna Purazzo vs Kiera Hogan
Easily the weakest match of the night so far, this was a sadly quite dull affair. It wasn’t terrible, it was just nothing, which felt like a bit of a waste of time. I’m still waiting for that real showcase performance from Deonna in AEW, as I haven’t seen the level from her I’ve seen elsewhere.
Too Short To Rate
GOOD Toni Storm vs Queen Aminata
Toni Storm has adapted her wrestling style to be more like an old school wrestler. She is a genius. Aminata is very good as always, but this match is a bit limited and basic and not much happened so my rating can only be so high. I liked it more than the rating suggested though, mostly for how clever I think Toni Storm is.
Result: Toni Storm by Pinfall
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
AVERAGE Toni Storm Promo
I don’t quite know how to rate this. It’s a mess of babbling that befits the character, and very much made me chuckle, so job well done I suppose, but god it was odd and all over the place
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.5 Stars
GREAT Tomohiro Ishii vs Orange Cassidy- Watch Match Here
I have waited years to see Ishii and Orange Cassidy wrestle. Even since the beginning of AEW when I was first introduced to Cassidy I wanted a match with Suzuki and with Ishii. While I pray the Suzuki match does eventually come, I was overwhelmingly excited for this. However, as a reviewer I must look at this objectively so let’s do so. I feel like it took a little bit for these guys to find their chemistry, as it was a little bit clunky early doors and the crowd were quiet. It picked up after the first advert break and came alive though, as their styles went from a bit at odds to very harmonious. The last act was electric, even if a more innovative ending could’ve been used. While this might’ve been more fun in a smaller venue with a more raucous crowd, this was still a very entertaining main event with some phenomenal sequences of character ingenuity peppered throughout.
Result- Orange Cassidy by Pinfall via Roll-Up
David Sheldon WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
Overall…
This was a weaker episode of AEW Collision than we have come to expect in recent weeks, but it was nonetheless a solid show. The main event, while not the spectacle I’d necessarily hoped for, was still a very entertaining match with an electric final act, while King/Briscoe and Taylor/Garcia also delivered well in the ring. The women’s matches were slight and undercooked but Toni Storm continues to delight in her character work and it continued the climb towards Revolution, even if the incline is very slow. To it’s credit the show did put much more focus on story than it typically does, and while nothing was necessarily terrific enough to push the storytelling rating much higher, they did all work to enhance characters or feuds to a decent level, which is to its credit. The crowd was a bit odd and sometimes dead but did come alive when they needed to. A filler episode, but a watchable 2 hours overall.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 2.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling- February 10th 2024
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
