AEW Collision’s debut show was a very watchable, entertaining show without any bad segment on the card. Though I am still wary of the angle Punk is taking in his return, it is undeniable he was great on the show, bookending proceedings with a well delivered promo and a really fun match. The Chicago crowd elevated the show massively with their remarkable atmosphere, a staple of the city’s wrestling fanbase. AEW helped the atmosphere with a smartly booked show , with every match naturally structured to be crowd pleasing and get stars over with the crowd, which they were successful at. The overall vibe of the show felt more old school than Dynamite, with a lot of traditional wrestling tropes used to good effect. The production was also very clean and well produced, with a good commentary team and improved pacing. The biggest downside to the show was a distinct lack of any real storytelling beyond this weeks show. Storylines weren’t adequately advanced for next week's Collision, outside of an Andrade/Malakai feud teased, which could really come back to bite them with regards to viewership retention, as currently outside of the promise of a fun wrestling show led by Punk they didn't give you any real story reasons to tune in next week, which is a misstep. It feels like they are relying on the novelty of Punk to fuel viewership, but that novelty will wear off quickly and you have to build foundations of where you go next, otherwise people will stop watching, no matter how fun the wrestling is (see Rampage).However, that doesn't take away from the fact that the show has a ton of potential and the episode in a vacuum was really easy to watch and gave me a really fun two hours. The show wasn’t ground-breaking, nor the action mind blowing but I do think it was a mostly successful and enjoyable pilot show and I am excited to see how this show can develop once storylines begin to develop.
Saturday nights alright for fighting and Tony Khan agrees as tonight sees the launch of AEW’s newest weekend venture ‘Collision’. The show’s biggest selling point sees the return of CM Punk in his first AEW appearance since the infamous incident at the All Out media scrum. In his own words, he has plenty of things he wants to get off his chest, and he will be able to do so both on the mic and in the ring. In our main event Punk teams with tag champs FTR to take on Juice Robinson, Jay White and Samoa Joe, in a match really highlighting the dynamics of old and new in the AEW Roster. Elsewhere on the card, Luchasaurus battles Wardlow in a grudge match for the TNT Title, Andrade El Idolo and Miro return to television with Andrade in action against Buddy Matthews and Willow Nightingale teams with Skye Blue to battle The Outcasts. Will this be AEW’s shining light, or simply Rampage 2.0? There’s only one way to find out…lets get at it!
AMAZING CM Punk Promo– Watch The Promo HERE
CM Punk gets the hero of all hero’s welcomes in Chicago. He comes to the ring with his boots tied around his neck and a drawstring bag in his hand, which is a slightly odd visual I’ll admit. CM Punk begins by saying he’s tired of being nice. Punk essentially says that he got where he’s got on the back of passionate pro wrestling fans and says he loves them because they love him. He is unapologetic and says that his mere presence makes people uncomfortable and that no matter whether people boo or cheer him, they’ll know he’s right. He says he is the one true article in a world of counterfeit bucks, a clear swipe at Matt and Nick Jackson. Punk says he will never change, and basically calls other wrestlers weak. He takes some swipes at MJF, alluding to the thing in his bag being the AEW Title he never lost. He bets some fans wish he’d walk off in the sunset, but he’s gonna keep going until someone can fill his boots. Objectively this was an excellently delivered promo by Punk and as always the Chicago crowd were molten hot for him. The content of the promo in an isolated vacuum was very well done, with Punk very much setting himself up in a tweener role going forward, which is great for him given he will be inevitably unpopular in some locations. I just have some fears that by taking this stance, kayfabe or not, we are opening a major can of worms in terms of company morale.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
GOOD Luchasaurus vs Wardlow- TNT Championship
Huge hoss fight here with two huge slabs of meat slamming into each other for our viewing pleasure. Christian Cage is the consistent outside distraction, allowing Luchasaurus to take control through the picture in picture. Some of the mightily impressive power spots here include an Electric Chair by Wardlow and a one handed top rope chokeslam by Luchasaurus. Towards the end of the match, Wardlow begins a Powerbomb Symphony, but gets caught by a chokeslam for a near fall. Wardlow gets a powerslam and swanton bomb, but Cage hits Wardlow from behind the refs back with part of a camera for Luchasaurus to pin and win the TNT Title. Christian Cage is the man to celebrate with the title, making Luchasaurus look like his lap dog doing his bidding. This was good and functional, though rather slow in places and not given enough time to get out of second gear. Very much felt like an old school match of this style with some new elements thrown in (namely Wardlow’s agility). I think Luchasaurus will be a great TNT Champion if booked well, but I fear Wardlow may soon win it back and continue this titles vortex.
Results: Luchasaurus by Pinfall via Christian Cage interference
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.25 Stars
Lexi Nair is backstage with QT Marshall and Powerhouse Hobbs. They announce that Hobbs will be in the Owen Hart cup, and they predict he will win.
AMAZING Andrade El Idolo vs Buddy Matthews
Incredible reception here for Andrade from the Chicago crowd here. This is flawlessly wrestled by both men technically, with it being so nice to watch two wrestlers at the top of their game go at it. Buddy targets Andrade’s shoulder here, while Buddy sells a re-injured knee. In the picture in picture doctors attend to both men, but both men fight through the pain and demand to continue. The match goes on now as a chess battle, with both guys trying to target each other’s injuries. This makes the nearfalls so much more exciting as it feels so targeted to the individuals involved. Andrade gets the win with a figure eight, paying tribute to his wife in a really sweet way. That was a genius match in terms of psychology, brilliantly playing with the human anatomy. Could’ve used a bit longer to go into the upper echelon tier, but nevertheless it was terrifically done for the time it had
Results: Andrade by Pinfall via Figure Eight Leglock
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 4 Stars
Post match, Andrade wants a handshake, but is attacked by The House Of Black instead. Face Andrade is nice to see, and a match with Malakai I would pay all my pennies to see.
Video package for Scorpio Sky. Nice to see him showcased on the new show.
SQUASH Tony Nese vs Miro
Tony Nese is in the ring to insult the crowd, calling them all fat and leading them in group fitness training, which brings out Miro to much rejoicing. Miro is in incredible shape and is also incredibly over with the Chicago faithful. Nese tries to escape Miro with agility, but it is no avail as Miro eats him alive. Nese gets some counters in, but they offer little challenge as Miro batters Tony to the crowd’s delight, finishing him with his Camel Clutch. Nice and dominant squash from Miro, though I noticed he was aping Sheamus in his offence tonight which was quite amusing. I enjoyed this a lot for what it was
Result: Miro by Submission via Camel Clutch
GREAT Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue vs The Outcasts (Toni Storm and Ruby Soho)
Great hometown reaction for Skye Blue, really emphasising why she should’ve had her title match tonight instead of the tag. The Outcasts blindside the faces immediately before the match, but the faces are able to turn the tide, helped by Skye Blue’s mother slapping the heels from ringside. This is a basic tag structure in its onset, with Willow getting worked over for the Skye Blue hot tag. Skye takes it to the champion, and looks really awesome. Toni is put in the Texas Cloverleaf, but unlike Dynamite Skye is able to escape it. Toni tries the spray but it’s intercepted by Willow, blinding Soho in the chaos and allowing Skye to hit the Code Blue for the win. A simple but super well done tag match, giving the heels some comeuppance and a fun babyface win. A very good match for what it was intended to be.
Result: Skye Blue by Pinfall via Code Blue
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.5 Stars
Ricky Starks is confirmed for the Owen Hart cup and Jeff Jarrett vs Mark Briscoe is confirmed for Dynamite in a good video package from Jarrett.
GOOD The Acclaimed Promo-
The Acclaimed will never not make me smile. Billy Gunn has a scissor outfit which is funny. They reconfirm their commitment to the trios title, saying they will be on both Collision and Dynamite and lead the first ever Collision Scissor. Hardly anything to this promo content wise, but boy I smiled through the entire thing.
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3 Stars
Nothing announced for Collision next week on the rundown, which is interesting for your new major weekly show.
GREAT CM Punk and FTR vs Jay White, Juice Robinson and Samoa Joe
Jim Ross joins commentary for the main event, but he is sounding a bit worse for wear. We have plenty of time left on the clock for this, so it should get plenty of time. Crowd unsurprisingly electric for this. Jay White and Dax Harwood kick us off with some good pro wrestling action. These opening exchanges really remind me how damn good Jay White is as a seller as he flies around the ring for Dax. Samoa Joe is established as an immediate threat in this through body language alone. Punk and Joe get in the ring and the crowd go INSANE. In one of my favourite sequences, Joe and Dax clatter each other with chops and strikes, in a very Suzuki esque fashion. Joe comes out on top in that sequence and Dax gets worked over, building to a Cash hot tag. As the match goes on, Cash gets worn down and worked over, building to the awaited Punk hot tag. Punk runs wild on Jay and Juice and looks good in the sequences he has, with the shaved head helping him look a lot younger in the ring. Punk plays the hits, but a Juice distraction allows White to get a nearfall from Punk off a Urinagi. FTR get back in and all three men hit high flying moves, although the legal man gets a little confused at this stage. Punk and Joe slug it out in the ring, but the BCG and FTR enter the fray and a brawl breaks out. Punk gets caught in a sleeper but FTR save the day. FTR catch Juice in a Shatter Machine into the GTS for the win. That was a very entertaining main event and exactly what it needed to be. It felt a bit like a house show tag and I never bought the faces in any peril, but for the first episode of a new show, to have the faces go over in a match of this style makes total sense. Everyone looked good, the action was mostly very clean and well executed and although it didn’t set the world on fire, it was a very fun main event.
Result- CM Punk by Pinfall via GTS
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 3.75 Stars
Overall…
AEW Collision’s debut show was a very watchable, entertaining show without any bad segment on the card. Though I am still wary of the angle Punk is taking in his return, it is undeniable he was great on the show, bookending proceedings with a well delivered promo and a really fun match. The Chicago crowd elevated the show massively with their remarkable atmosphere, a staple of the city’s wrestling fanbase. AEW helped the atmosphere with a smartly booked show , with every match naturally structured to be crowd pleasing and get stars over with the crowd, which they were successful at. The overall vibe of the show felt more old school than Dynamite, with a lot of traditional wrestling tropes used to good effect. The production was also very clean and well produced, with a good commentary team and improved pacing. The biggest downside to the show was a distinct lack of any real storytelling beyond this weeks show. Storylines weren’t adequately advanced for next week’s Collision, outside of an Andrade/Malakai feud teased, which could really come back to bite them with regards to viewership retention, as currently outside of the promise of a fun wrestling show led by Punk they didn’t give you any real story reasons to tune in next week, which is a misstep. It feels like they are relying on the novelty of Punk to fuel viewership, but that novelty will wear off quickly and you have to build foundations of where you go next, otherwise people will stop watching, no matter how fun the wrestling is (see Rampage).However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the show has a ton of potential and the episode in a vacuum was really easy to watch and gave me a really fun two hours. The show wasn’t ground-breaking, nor the action mind blowing but I do think it was a mostly successful and enjoyable pilot show and I am excited to see how this show can develop once storylines begin to develop.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 1/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.25/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: AEW – June 17th 2023
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