Collision: Fairway to Hell Review – 05.09.26

The week in AEW thus far: Dynamite | Collision

Tonight’s one hour special, Fairway To Hell, comes to the TBS/HBO Max airwaves from The SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The announcers for tonight’s program include Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness on match calls and analysis, Arkady Aura on ring introductions, and Renee Paquette on backstage interviews and breaking news segments. Let’s watch some wrestling!

A golf-related show in AEW? GET SAMMY GUEVARA’S GOLF CART PREPARED IMMEDIATELY

Schiavone puts the arena over as “unique and exciting” and well, it’s definitely unique. If you didn’t watch the show, it’s kind of set up for like a dog show where the floor has no seats on it, and there’s a COVID-like small group of fans surrounding the ring. Also, though, there are actual seats surrounding the floor and those seem pretty full. It’s apparently a huge golf simulator arena, and there’s a green set up in the background. It’s not quite Mall of America cool, but it’s a pretty cool look.

AEW National Championship: Jack Perry (C) vs Mark Davis

Davis has Don Callis with him, while Perry is out alone. Callis joins the broadcast and immediately says that he played 42 holes of golf already today with Tony Khan, Roger Goodell, and Ricochet. I hope someone filmed any bit of that, if true. Davis and Perry do some standing switches in a corner and then Perry hits a dropkick to stop Davis’s momentum. Perry drops ten right hands and then gets dumped to the apron by Davis. Perry snaps off an enziguri but misses a top rope move after Davis slips out of the way. Davis misses a charge and goes to the floor, so Perry ascends and crushes him with a moonsault. Perry hits a dropkick on the floor, but when he tries a wraparound move with a ring post Davis catches him and lawn-darts him into the corner post before running him over with a lariat. Callis does some physics math on commentary while Davis chops at Perry’s chest. Davis runs Perry back in and then yanks on Perry’s hair as he was trying to get back to the floor. Davis chops Perry down and bellows at the camera before continuing to assault Perry. Perry fires up with a jawbreaker and a high boot. Perry gets caught by Davis with a giant right hand and then Davis trucks Perry off the apron into the barricade. We go to commercials.

Davis shakes off a Perry clothesline when the show returns, so Perry decides to start throwing forearms. Perry eats an elbow during a charge and then gets mounted over a top turnbuckle. They slug it out and Perry bites Davis again before tossing some more rights at Davis. Perry hits a sunset flip powerbomb and gets two. Davis hits a lariat, but Perry counters with a couple of thrust kicks and a rana off the second rope to the floor. Perry finally hits his swing around the ring post kick and then ascends for a Savage Elbow that gets two. Davis rises up with a monster lariat and then tosses Perry into a corner. Davis snaps off a running forearm and covers Perry for two. Davis clubbers away with rights. Perry recovers and snaps off a rana that gets two, and then Perry hits a series of thrust kicks. Davis no sells that and cracks Perry with a discus lariat and a quick piledriver. Davis’s cover gets two. Davis ascends and yanks up Perry but Perry decides he’s had enough and hits another rana. Don Callis sprints to the apron, and here’s Ricochet nailing Perry in the back with a golf club. Davis pulls Perry in for a jumping piledriver and covers him for three!

I did not expect that title switch, but Davis is wildly underrated in my opinion, so I’m happy with this overall. It’s nice to see a big brawny dude win a title in a company of not-those-kinds-of-dudes, regardless of said title’s stature. Ricochet being an unrepentant shit-heel at all times seems like he’s not having to act all that much, but perhaps that’s just my impression. This was a fun opener and I felt like it didn’t overstay its welcome despite being about 14 minutes long. 3.5*

Winner AND NEW AEW National Champion – Mark Davis (Jumping piledriver)

Here’s a look at New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, and AEW’s Nick Wayne is in it for the second year in a row. Wayne has his eye on making the finals this year.

Renee Paquette mentions that Will Ospreay has been medically cleared, and he’ll be on Dynamite against Ace Austin this coming week in Asheville, NC. We go to commercials.

Jack Perry is on the phone and seems perturbed when he hangs up over the loss of the National title. Perry threatens Ricochet and Don Callis and then mentions that he’s got four guys that can join up with Chris Jericho’s team for Stadium Stampede and they are ELITE. Perry says he’s got The Young Bucks, himself, and Kenny Omega ready to go.

Schiavone’s headset is playing the director’s comments over the air, and the poor man is in the middle of trying to talk up this big development about Stadium Stampede. Schiavone throws it to Renee Paquette who’s with Mark Davis, Don Callis, and Ricochet. Callis is thrilled about being able to have his guys beat up Perry, the Bucks, Jericho, and Omega in one night. Ricochet gets assurance that Mark Davis will be part of the Stampede team, and Callis and Ricochet leave to get a drink and discuss the fifth member.

AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion (Lena Kross and Megan Bayne) vs Ruthie Slay and Rachel Lay

Arkady Aura announces a five minute time limit for this match, and in an inset Kross and Bayne inform us that their non-title matches will have the stip that if any team lasts the five minutes with them, they get a title shot moving forward. I guess that saves us….something.

Slay tries a dropkick, and then Lay tries an enziguri on Kross to no effect. Kross yanks up Lay for a side suplex and then drops a charging Slay on top of Lay. Kross crushes Lay with some back elbows and a high boot. Bayne runs in a for a release German and then Kross tags in to do the same. Bayne tags back in and hits another release German before hoisting Lay up on her shoulders. Slay gets a blind tag and jumps into Bayne’s arms, so she dumps both Slay and Lay with a Samoan drop. Kross and Bayne hit a double team lofted chokeslam and Kross covers Slay for three.

I actually didn’t think this thing would last two minutes and fifteen seconds, but here we are. I guess this is a good way to go with these two for awhile but I wouldn’t just have them keep squashing nerds forever, you know? Where are the masked luchadoras who turn out to be like….the wacky duo of Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker or something like that? 1*

Winners – Divine Dominion (double team chokeslam)

Schiavone announces that Thekla will defend her AEW Women’s Championship in a four-way at Double or Nothing against Jamie Hayter, Hikaru Shida, and Kris Statlander. Also, the brackets for the Owen Hart Foundation tournament will be announced on Wednesday’s Dynamite. We go to commercials.

Here’s Don Callis with an announcement that Kazuchika Okada is on family business in Japan and his place in the Men’s World Championship match on Wednesday will be taken by Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita is told to go win the title, and he says he will be the person to do just that, unlike THAT YELLOW DOG COWARD OKADA.

Schiavone throws to a video highlights package on Kyle O’Reilly’s very successful return from injury. Schiavone then throws to a match graphic for Wednesday night’s big ten man tag match with The Young Bucks, Orange Cassidy, and Cope & Cage vs The Dogs, Tommaso Ciampa, and FTR. WE GO TO A STANDBY MATCH FOR SOME REASON.

Speedball Mike Bailey vs Kiran Grey

AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight is out with Bailey. Grey attacks prior to the bell, and Bailey doesn’t like that one bit. Bailey smashes Grey around and he bails, so Bailey crushes him with a moonsault from the second rope to the floor. Bailey ascends again and Grey meets him up there for some slugging. Bailey forearms Grey off, but Grey gets pushed off. Grey crotches Bailey and then smashes Bailey’s head into the top turnbuckle. Grey screams to the crowd and then stomps away on Bailey’s chest. Bailey fires off a forearm and smashes Grey’s head into the top turnbuckle. Bailey rises to the top and hits a 450 knee drop before covering Grey and getting three.

How can you have a “standby” match when theoretically you have no idea how long the main event might actually go with a no-countouts stip? 1.25*

Winner – Speedball Mike Bailey (450 knee drop)

Post-match sees Knight grab a mic to tell Bailey how much he enjoyed watching Bailey work, and wants to keep doing the JetSpeed thing with him so they can both make it to the top. They shake on it and we go to commercials.

AEW Men’s World Championship: Darby Allin (C) vs PAC

Again for the record, this is announced as having a sixty minute time limit. You run the STANDBY match if this goes short, not prior to it. PAC is still pretty vascular, if you get my drift. Schiavone sends condolences to Bobby Cox’s family as being part of the TBS family. Allin goes out of the ring to the golf course set up as the bell rings, and PAC gives chase. They start slugging it out above a sandtrap, and Allin drops PAC with a headbutt. PAC shakes that off and hits a back body drop, but Allin immediately fires up and sends PAC into a sand trap with a release sunset flip powerbomb. PAC is going to have sand in his rental car tonight, poor lad. Allin snaps off a dropkick that sends PAC into another bunker. PAC yanks Allin up for a reverse overhead suplex into the bunker, and then slaps on the Brutalizer in the bunker. The ref admonishes PAC because he can’t win the title in the sand trap, he has to pin or submit Allin in the ring. PAC hoists Allin up and press slams him into the sand trap. We go to commercials.

We’re back in the ring when the show returns, and PAC is tying Allin up in a corner with the tag rope around his throat. PAC smacks Allin right in the face with a pump kick. PAC drops Allin back-first on the mat and then yanks him up for a full back body drop. Allin trips up PAC and hits the Scorpion Death Drop before covering and getting three. Allin ascends and PAC drops him down with a smack to the calf. PAC ascends and hits an avalanche Falcon Arrow for two. Allin goes to the floor clutching his hip, and PAC follows him out. PAC grabs a table and sets it up before placing Allin on it. PAC ascends and Allin slips off the table as PAC’s Shooting Star Press ends with him going through the table alone. Allin pushes PAC back in and slaps on the Scorpion Deathlock. PAC makes the ropes to break it and then waves on his team. Allin takes notice of Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, and Marina Shafir making their way out and PAC smacks him from behind while that’s happening. PAC gets Yuta and Garcia to bring out another table and PAC yanks Allin up for a tombstone piledriver on the ring steps. Garcia and Yuta are making a tower of tables and it ends with two sets of two tables set up. PAC puts Allin on his shoulders and exits the arena as we go to commercials.

Of course they’ve made their way to the second level of the building over top of the table set-up below when the show returns. Shafir is up there as well and PAC uses the distraction she presents to send Allin all the way to the floor through the front set of tables. PAC sprints down to the first floor and grabs a devastated Allin to push him back in the ring. PAC covers and gets two. Garcia, Yuta, and PAC are all stunned. Garcia provides a chair, which the ref sees and admonishes everyone on that side of the ring. In the meantime, Shafir finds the title belt and slides it into the ring. Allin springs up and goes low with a kick on PAC. Allin wastes PAC with a belt shot and mashes him with the Coffin Drop. Allin’s cover gets three.

Listen, if this title reign of Allin’s is meant to be short, you might as well go full batshit with it and that’s what the little twerp seems to have in mind. I would never ever recommend anyone doing the spot he did tonight and as an OLD, I’m starting to wonder if we might have to go back to the days of “These guys are professionals, do not try this shit at home” announcements. Anyway, the no-countout thing was strictly so they could do the stunt spot, and if that’s what they wanted out of this match, mission accomplished I guess. These two could have an in-ring match that would probably be great but you know, gotta have the viral moments, especially for the morning after a WWE PLE. 3.25*

Winner AND STILL AEW Men’s World Champion – Darby Allin (Coffin Drop)

Post-match sees a bunch of angles of the second level stunt shown, followed by Allin’s low blow and Coffin Drop response. PAC gets dragged to the back by Yuta and Garcia, while Allin struggles in the ring. Schiavone runs down the Dynamite card as the credits roll and we’re out.

The two bookend matches were fine for what they were. As I mentioned, Davis beating Perry was a cool thing and a good reward for a guy who’s been grinding it out since his tag team broke up. There was a bit too much Don Callis in this hour but when does Collision ever happen without a lot of Don Callis? The middle two squashes were just filler, but I guess Divine Dominion now has the five minute gimmick and maybe Knight is going to turn on Speedball? Who can tell. Anyway, this was an hour of wrestling and you can tell all your friends that you read about it!

Thanks for reading and commenting. Have a good Sunday.