This episode of AEW Collision delivered one of the company’s best matches of the year in its main event slot, and while the winner was never in doubt, they still had a phenomenal contest that deserves a huge amount of credit. It wasn’t the only excellent match on the show however, as both White vs Fox and Harwood vs Starks were also excellent encounters. Storytelling on the show was more limited, and I did want more, but the return of LFI and the increasing number of circling sharks around MJF’s title give both the main event and tag scenes needed depth and intrigue. Although they were all good enough on their own merits, three squash matches on the show was too many, and did hurt the show structure, with The Gunn’s match probably the most skippable. I also dock points to an otherwise fantastic crowd for their irritability in the Shida vs Abadon match, far too in love with their own voices to care what was going on in the ring, even if the match’s execution was rather tacky. Still a very strong show with some great wrestling and a barnstormer of a main event.
Tonight on AEW Collision, MJF puts his AEW World Championship up for grabs against Kenny Omega. Elsewhere on the card, it’s spooky season as Abadon gets a shot at Hikaru Shida’s AEW Womens Championship, and AR Fox battles Jay White. Let’s get at it!
AMAZING AR Fox vs Jay White
It’s a real shame to see just how much momentum AR Fox has lost since being prematurely kicked out of the Mogul Embassy the week of All In. With that said, Fox is still immensely talented and him and White had a really terrific opener. A lot of the match was what you’d expect from White and Fox, but there is an extraordinary sequence towards the end for a nearfall that genuinely shocked me in just how amazing it was, and the crowd agreed. Excellent opener!
Result: Jay White by Pinfall via Blade Runner
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Max Caster gets catfished by a fake MJF account. That is brilliant.
SQUASH The Boys vs The Gunns
Very short and very easy win for The Gunn’s. This was entertaining and The Boys sell brilliantly.
Result: The Gunn’s by Pinfall via 3:10 To Yuma
Great video package for MJF vs Omega, put forth the story very well and I am super excited for the match.
Another video package for Danhausen. It really is a fantastic parody of the Halloween 3 advertising it really is.
Ryan Nemeth is back on TV. I can’t possibly think why. Anyway he’s killed by Miro.
AVERAGE Abadon vs Hikaru Shida- AEW Women’s World Championship
So nice to see Abadon, I think they are genuinely fantastic and deeply underrated as a character performer. A shame then that I felt her presentation was a little off here, but still nice to see her. The action in this match was standard, the hardcore spots ranged from good fun to deeply tacky, and the crowd irritated me to no end, loving the sound of their voice far too much. The spot in which Shida has to sell for Abadon crawling under the ring was terrible, as was the sweets as thumbtacks, but the kick to the pumpkin head was very funny I shall admit. I can’t say this worked for me, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some fun to be had.
Result: Hikaru Shida by Pinfall
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 2.75 Stars
Another promo for Keith Lee and Shane Taylor. Please can we just do the match now?
SQUASH Samoa Joe vs Rhett Titus
This made Samoa Joe look like a monster but it’s a bit of a shame for Rhett who is a former holder of this title, with only a short Minoru Suzuki run separating Joe and Titus. Fun squash, just feel like they could’ve beaten someone with less of a history with the title.
Result: Samoa Joe by Submission via Koquina Clutch
QTV are back. This was a nothing promo really, but QT wants to fight Luchadores. Fair enough QT you do you.
Very good pre taped promo for Claudio on Orange Cassidy ahead of their match on Dynamite. Had a Taken energy about it which was fun.
AMAZING Ricky Starks vs Dax Harwood
Another terrific match wrestled brilliantly well, even if the ending made no sense. Why the referee couldn’t see the blatant cheating by Big Bill is beyond me.. Still this was a great back and forth, and great to see the returns of both Julia Hart and LFI in the post match. That is very exciting.
Result: Ricky Starks by Pinfall via Piledriver
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4 Stars
Andrade El Idolo said something backstage, but it was hard to hear him as he spoke very quietly and his diction wasn’t great. Needed a bit more volume in this one.
I love promos like the one Willow, Skye Blue and Statlander had. How does promo time work, Statlander specifically requested time on TV because she wanted to talk directly to Skye. Why not do it privately? She then comes on screen to immediately blank the question and walk off. Are people mandated for interview time even if they don’t want it? These questions keep me awake at night people.
SQUASH Claudio Castagnoli vs Local Competitor
This poor sod doesn’t even get a name before he’s munched by Claudio. Again, it makes Claudio look great, but did we need 3 squashes on this show. Was it really necessary?
Result: Claudio Castagnoli by Pinfall via European Uppercut
MUST WATCH MJF vs Kenny Omega- AEW World Championship- Watch Match Here
This is possibly the biggest match AEW have in its playbook, and it certainly delivered everything we expected. The action was outstanding, exciting, well paced and extremely innovative. Even the few minor slips that occurred were either nicely covered or acknowledged as part of the matches internal story, so I see no reason to dock marks in the fundamentals department whatsoever. Where it becomes slightly more murky is the Storytelling department. There was undoubtedly some great physical storytelling in here in short bursts, from Omega’s fracturing mind to MJF’s neck to Don Callis. There was some excellent stuff. There was however a problem which, very narrowly, keeps this from the full 5 stars. From the way the match was built, nobody believed Omega could win, and no matter how well the wrestlers tried to make you suspend your disbelief, the match buildup hadn’t thrown in enough reasonable doubt for me to fully invest. Because the result was never in doubt,you then want to see the match have something to sink your teeth into going out of it, some story beat or angle that draws you in and fascinates you. We got something like it once the match was over with all the challengers shown backstage, but I wanted something more substantial within the match itself, be it an overarching story arc or a big moment to keep us talking to be able to call it a truly perfect match. That is however a minor gripe for what is otherwise a fantastic achievement from two generational talents.
Result: MJF by Pinfall via Heat Seeker
David Sheldon WR Star Rating- 4.75 Stars
Overall…
This episode of AEW Collision delivered one of the company’s best matches of the year in its main event slot, and while the winner was never in doubt, they still had a phenomenal contest that deserves a huge amount of credit. It wasn’t the only excellent match on the show however, as both White vs Fox and Harwood vs Starks were also excellent encounters. Storytelling on the show was more limited, and I did want more, but the return of LFI and the increasing number of circling sharks around MJF’s title give both the main event and tag scenes needed depth and intrigue. Although they were all good enough on their own merits, three squash matches on the show was too many, and did hurt the show structure, with The Gunn’s match probably the most skippable. I also dock points to an otherwise fantastic crowd for their irritability in the Shida vs Abadon match, far too in love with their own voices to care what was going on in the ring, even if the match’s execution was rather tacky. Still a very strong show with some great wrestling and a barnstormer of a main event.
Matches: 0.75/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling- October 28th 2023
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
