AEW Collision: January 4, 2024

January 5, 2025 8:53 PM - Season 2, Episode 27

The first episode of Collision to simulcast on TNT and HBO Max tried hard to distinguish itself from the looming shadow of the NJPW double bill of Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty -- which aired at the same time and is the reason Yours Truly is posting this late Sunday. As a reward, the show offered two title defenses, Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purazzo "for the first time (wink)", and the honest-to-goodness Rock N' Roll Express in the house.

(Quoted sections from The Wrestling Observer)

AEW TNT Championship Match – Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Mark Briscoe

"This was a fun start to the show. After entering the Continental Classic immediately after winning the title, Daniel Garcia’s TNT Title reign truly kicked off here. Charlotte was behind Briscoe on this night, and Garcia rolled with the punches and let Briscoe get a ton of shine here. I wouldn’t panic about the weaker reaction for Garcia, but they do need to give him something to sink his teeth into as TNT Champ moving forward. [...] After the match, Briscoe shook hands with Garcia, noting that he came just that close to beating him."

Jeff Jarrett defeated Aaron Solo

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match – Private Party (Quen & Zay) (c) defeated Action Andretti & Lio Rush

"A solid TV defense of the titles. Give Private Party a couple more of these nice little defenses and you’ll have something going with them. The Top Flight/Andretti & Rush story would benefit from ending soon and moving them around in the division."

Toni Storm defeated Deonna Purrazzo (w/ Taya Valkyrie)

"This Toni Storm goofiness just doesn’t work for me. She’s been back for weeks, and instead of restarting her feud with Mariah May, she’s got amnesia. I get we need to kill time before the Australia show in February, but maybe don’t bring her back until we’re closer to the show? Or find another way to keep them apart? On another note, I don’t know what this Vendetta group is supposed to be accomplishing, other than giving these two pin eaters something to do on the weekends."

$100,000 High Speed Collision Four Way – Brian Cage defeated Dante Martin (w/ Leila Grey), Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes), The Beast Mortos

"This was awesome. Just four guys going out there and fighting for some cash. Komander was spectacular here, as he had two great bases to work with in Cage and Mortos. The mercenary Cage gets the big check in the end. [...] The action was fast and furious to start, with Martin and Komander flying onto the big guys to start. Those two got in a pinning predicament before Mortos broke it up, but Komander hit a triple-rotation headscissors to send him to the floor before hitting a double-jump corkscrew dive to Mortos and Cage on the floor. Martin hit his own double-jump dive to the floor before Lio Rush jumped Martin and sent him into the barricade as payback for earlier in the night.

Back in the ring, Mortos squished Komander with a pop-up Samoan Drop before Cage dropped Mortos with a spinny facebuster deal. Look, I don’t know every move name. After a commercial, Martin tried to fight his way back into the ring before Cage booted him down. We got a lot of minutes of a lot of moves, and Cage pinned Martin with a Weapon X."

"FTR were backstage with The Rock N’ Roll Express, who brought up the angle from 2020 where FTR hit Ricky Morton with a spike piledriver. Harwood apologized for that before The Outrunners entered the frame, complaining about gas money they were owed from 1982. Morton apologized, and the Outrunners did the Predator handshake with the Rock N’ Rolls. The only way this could have been better is if it was in front of the crowd."

Can't find this segment on YouTube... yet.

Rated FTR (Cope, Cash Wheeler, & Dax Harwood) defeated The Learning Tree (Big Bill, Bryan Keith & Chris Jericho)

"We got a lot of action, including a Big Bill powerbomb on Harwood, before Cope hit Jericho with the Impaler. Cope went for the spear but Jericho hit the Codebreaker for a nearfall. The Learning Tree isolated Cope in their corner for a while before he got a tag into Wheeler. Wheeler ran wild on Big Bill, finally taking him down with a tornado DDT. Rated FTR hit Bill with a Double PowerPlex – well, a single Plex and a double Power. A triple Shatter machine got broken up, with Bill hitting a Bossman Slam. Jericho & Harwood had dual submissions on before Cope and Bill broke them up. Cope sent Bill to the floor and hit a big dive to the floor, with Harwood following with a big topé suicida. Harwood & Jericho were left, but as Harwood went up for a diving headbutt, Keith hit Harwood with the ROH Title for a long nearfall.

Harwood moved out of the way of a Lionsault, and FTR hit Jericho with a Shatter Machine. Cope followed up with a spear, and the good guys won. After the match, Jon Moxley appeared on the screen before revealing that he had The Rock N’ Roll Express tied up in the back. The Outrunners came to try and help before Wheeler Yuta & Marina Shafir laid them out. The Death Riders bailed out before Copeland and the Death Riders could catch them in the back."

posted by The Pluto Gangsta