AEW Collision: September 23, 2023

September 24, 2023 5:19 PM - Season 1, Episode 15

This week on Collision: the past and future of the FTW title meet as Hook and Rob Van Dam team up, Julia Hart makes the next moves in her mind game on the women's division, two title defenses, plus an honest-to-gosh Texas Death Match!

Your humble poster didn't catch this live (neither on TV nor in-person) so this post will borrow some post-show analysis courtesy of the Wrestling Observer.

The card for Collision:

AEW TNT Title Triple Threat Match Christian Cage defeated Luchasaurus (c) & Darby Allin

"This was a great match, with Allin in constant motion to try and overcome the handicap situation. Luchasaurus finally holding the belt he had won on the first episode of Collision, only to lose it a few minutes later was funny. I’m in favor of Cage officially being the champion, as it was basically his anyway...

Cage dedicated the win to Nick Wayne’s mother and late father, as he was sure they were rooting him on. Cage believed he was done with Allin, but Schiavone announced that Cage would be defending the title against Allin in a Two Out Of Three Falls match at WrestleDream in Seattle."

Also announced for Wrestledream: Six-man tag is official -- Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Sammy Guevara, Konosuke Takeshita, & Will Ospreay

Hook & Rob Van Dam def. Matt Menard & Angelo Parker (w/ Jake Hager & Anna Jay at ringside)

Eddie Kingston, fresh off his ROH World Title victory over Claudio from Dynamite: Grand Slam, challenged ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata to a match for WrestleDream, with Kingston defending both the ROH World Title & NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.

Julia Hart (w/ Brody King) def. Kiera Hogan

"Willow Nightingale was scheduled to wrestle Hart after a run-in on Rampage, but Hart misted Nightingale before the show. Hogan took her place to get revenge for her friend... Skye Blue came to stop the [post-match] attack. Hart hid behind Brody King before misting Blue in the face. King took the microphone, noting Hart’s 25-match winning streak. He said the violence would continue until Hart avenged her last loss, which came at the hands of TBS Champion Kris Statlander. The challenge was made for the TBS Title at WrestleDream before Hart warned that the House always wins."

Me here: With the departure of Jade Cargill and the apparent scarcity of Nyla Rose, Statlander is now the hossiest woman in AEW. So it's a good plan to pit Julia Hart against her, as Hart's style of offense is entirely different. See, for reference, Charlotte Flair vs. Alexa Bliss in 2021.

Jay White (w/ Juice Robinson & The Gunns) def. Andrade El Idolo

"This was a very good television version of this match, but I think these two have bigger and better in them. With the way the finish went, I wouldn’t be surprised if we got it sometime soon. I also like them putting two names of similar stature together and having a winner, albeit not a clean winner."

Ortiz cuts a promo on Mike Santana

"Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty were backstage. Taylor talked about his history with Keith Lee, noting their successful team in Ring of Honor [eg. The Pretty Boy Killers] before Lee left to go 'work for the other billionaire.' Taylor said that he stayed in Ring of Honor and became a legend in that promotion. "

WWE and Vinnie Mac hardly ever get any callout, no matter how oblique, on AEW shows, so this suprised me. The last time it was when Adam Cole and MJF were having a promo battle that was very familiar.

AEW World Tag Team Title Match: FTR (c) def. The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)

"A short showcase for the Workhorsemen, who have been highlights of Ring of Honor television. They made the most of their time here, getting an incredibly convincing nearfall on the champs even with a booked title match for WrestleDream. I would love to see more of them on AEW television to give more depth to the tag team division."

"Lexy Nair was backstage with The Hot and Flexible CJ, who talked about her husband Miro avoiding temptation. Miro entered, stating that CJ’s temptation was the spotlight. CJ said that she loved the grind. Miro said that his path was salvation and that she might end up in his way. CJ understood before asking Miro to stay away from any future clients of hers."

This dynamic is so odd. She wants him back, and he refuses to return before he's "redeemed", so she's going to use other burly wrestlers as proxies to challenge him and try to beat him up until he returns? Which might be what he secretly wants? It's so hot and wrong at the same time.

Texas Death Match: Bryan Danielson def. Ricky Starks

"Danielson and Starks have fantastic chemistry, and it displayed itself here in this vicious and bloody main event. Starks looked to be burying the hatchet post-match, but Wheeler Yuta shut it down. Starks may not be done with the BCC just yet."

If I can fantasy book for a moment, how does this sound: With Mox just losing the International title (albeit unexpectedly) and Claudio also losing to Eddie Kingston, those two get consumed by self-doubt and anger. While they sulk, Danielson is having his extended retirement tour, but he's also looking to recruit new wrestlers like Starks and Bill to join Wheeler Yuta for the stable he envisioned and pitched to Moxley when he first joined AEW. So it ends up that the BCC parts ways, and Bryan gets to semi-retire as the Professor X to the next generation of bloodthirsty technicals. Like it?

posted by The Pluto Gangsta (1 comment total)

Re: CJ Perry and her plans to manage other wrestlers, this is actually a long-term goal for her. She knows that as a wrestler, she was kinda mediocre. Having her as her husband's mouthpiece would be pointless, as Miro's big promo energy is already well-known. But she has a more theatrical and acting background than your average wrestler, so having her as a mouthpiece for someone who's less engaging in promos makes sense.

Also, if we believe Lexy Nair, then "Hot & Flexible" is her actual sobriquet going forward.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:41 PM on September 24, 2023