Collision Review – 06.06.26

SK covered Dynamite this week, in case you missed it or want to relive 9000 people running in on a semi-final of a tournament!

Collision is on the TNT/HBO Max airwaves LIVE from the Covelli Center in Youngstown, OH. The announcing team for tonight’s card consists of Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness on match calls and analysis, Arkady Aura on ring introductions, and Lexy Nair on interviews and news segments. It’s Saturday night, and you know what that means. Let’s watch some wrestling!

DONUTS!

AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross) (C) vs TayJay (Anna Jay and Tay Melo)

It’s Jay and Bayne to start and after some back and forth pie-facing, Jay snaps off a reverse thrust kick. Jay pounds awaya and then runs into a Bayne shoulder tackle. Bayne catches Jayne in a bear hug and smashes her into a turnbuckle. Jay slips a charge and wants a bulldog but instead gets mashed by a Bayne right. Kross tags in and she and Bayne want Divine Intervention but Jay fights out of it and chops both champions in the chest. Melo tags in and her and Jay take turns smashing Kross around before Jay grabs a Blockbuster on the way out followed by a Melo running knee. Melo covers and Bayne’s breakup attempt does work at two but she inadvertently smashes Kross in the attempt. Jay and Melo do-si-do after irish whips and then start pounding away at the champs with forearms. Jay and Melo hook in guillotines and after the champs break free, Jay and Melo send them to the floor. Jay and Melo ascend and both hit cross-bodies as we go to commercials.

Kross whips Jay into the champions corner when the show returns, and then busts Jay in the face with a running forearm. Bayne gets a tag and her and Kross pound Jay with kicks before Bayne waffles Jay with a release German that gets two. Kross tags in and tries to prevent Jay from tagging with a big right. Jay hits a springboard bulldog and tags in Melo, as Bayne tags in for the champs. Melo hits a back fist and some running pump kicks. Melo puts the boots to Bayne and fires off another high knee and a hammerlock DDT that gets two. Jay tags in and wants a Gory Special but Bayne fights out of it and tags in Kross. All four are in the ring and Jay and Melo take turns running from corner to corner with high leg strikes. Jay and Melo hit a doubleteam spike DDT on Kross and Jay covers for two as Bayne breaks it up. Kross goes behind Jay as Bayne flies in with a high boot resulting in a release German from Kross. Melo breaks up Kross’s cover at two. There’s a series of strikes and we reset with all four women down. Jay and Kross rise and Kross gets caught in the Queenslayer but Bayne breaks it up. Bayne goes to the floor with Melo and Jay slaps the Queenslayer back on Kross. Kross smashes Jay into the heel corner where Bayne drags her down by her hair. Bayne tags in to join Kross in hitting Divine Domininon on Jay, and that ends things.

A non-squash for the champs and it results in a decent enough tag team title match to open the show. Jay and Melo are a decent babyface crew and for grappler-strikers, they do bring the goods. Bayne and Kross rely on power moves and so this was a decent styles mesh overall. I thought Kross was solid tonight after some up and down efforts in the past, and Bayne played her greatest hits. So, the dominant champs move on and I would assume would be looking for new challengers after this. 3*

Winners AND STILL AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions – Divine Dominion (Divine Intervention on Jay)

Post-match sees Schiavone and McGuinness talk about the women’s Owen Hart Tournament bracket while discussing tonight’s Hazuki-Persephone match. The second men’s semifinal between Swerve Strickland and Brody King will happen this coming Wednesday and both have comments about the match via pre-tapes. We go to commercials.

The Don Callis Family are beating up some nerds backstage ahead of the big talent show musical showdown with Lambda Lambda Lambda, and RPG Vice discuss International Champion Konosuke Takeshita being replaced by TNT Champion Kevin Knight. Callis bought everyone new stuff and Trent Baretta tells Takeshita to have fun with his new “nerd-ass friends”. Lance Archer helpfully mentions that EVERYBODY DIES while cackling with Ogre, er….Jake Doyle.

Shane Taylor vs Alan Angels

There’s a confrontation at the announce desk between McGuinness and the Infantry guys before they back off to second Taylor. Taylor smashes Angels around and gets hyped up by the gigantic entourage that joins him ringside. Angels brief flurry is cut off by a devastating right from Taylor. Taylor yanks Angels up for a package piledriver and that finishes things.

Join the Dark Order! .5*

Winner – Shane Taylor

Post-match sees Taylor grab a mic to threaten the Death Riders prior to the six man tag match happening next. Taylor says the Riders reign of terror ends tonight and Shane Taylor Promotions will become the most violent faction in AEW. Taylor promises his guys will break Jon Moxley’s ass. You might be able to guess who’s music fires up immediately.

The Death Riders (PAC, AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley, and Claudio Castignoli) vs Shane Taylor Promotions (Carlie Bravo, Shawn Dean, and Ring of Honor Pure Champion Lee Moriarty)

Taylor joins commentary as the Death Riders appear to be in full babyface mode again this evening. Moxley starts with Moriarty and there are a bunch of folks patrolling ringside including Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, Trish Adora, and Christiyan XO. Moxley goes to the mat as Moriarty works his wrist. Moxley rises and waffles Moriarty with a chop. Moriarty springs up and drives Moxley into the heel corner for some pounding. Bravo tags in and he chops Moxley before pounding away in a corner. Moxley tries to fire up and invites Bravo in for some forearms and mounted rights. Moxley jams his thumb in Bravo’s eye and then yanks Bravo halfway across the ring in an armbar so he can tag in PAC. PAC hits a snap suplex and then mashes Bravo with a running elbow that gets two. PAC chops away at Bravo and tags in Castignoli. Castignoli fires off an uppercut and yanks Bravo into an overhead toss suplex that gets two. Castignoli stands on Bravo’s hand and then pounds him with a right and some chops. Bravo manages to shove Castignoli into the heel corner for some mayhem. Moxley and PAC don’t think much of that so they charge over to start a three on three fight. Everyone starts fighting as we go to commercials.

Dean is pounding away on PAC in the heel corner when the show returns. Dean stretches PAC with the help of Christiyan XO at ringside as Garcia stands helplessly watching and pointing instead of….doing anything to help his guy. Where the hell is Marina Shafir to stick her toe in someone’s butthole, I ask you! Dean covers PAC for two. Bravo tags in for some mounted right hands before biting PAC’s forehead. Dean tags back in and he and Bravo hit some combined offense that ends in a Dean lariat that gets two. A frustrated Moxley is pacing like an expectant father as Dean works a rear chinlock on PAC. PAC breaks free and is dragged back to the heel corner before being able to get a tag. The Infantry pound away at PAC and Dean hits the BBC while riding PAC from the front. Moxley charges over to break up all the fun but it’s to no avail. Moriarty tags in and PAC crushes him with a German to a huge babyface pop from the crowd. Castignoli gets the hot tag and he runs absolutely wild on everyone. Castignoli is just hammering Bravo with rights before snap-maring him with his head. Castignoli gets a tag with PAC but he stops for the Big Swing on Bravo before exiting. PAC goes up and Shane Taylor sprints away from commentary to have a chat with the ref while Trish Adora pulls PAC down. Garcia and Yuta FINALLY do something of note as they handle Taylor with a Yuta tope suicida. Christiyan XO leaps on to the apron for some words with the ref as Adora sneaks into the ring with a chair. Here’s Marina Shafir joining the proceedings to kick Adora in the face before dropping XO with a right. Shafir continues battling with Adora and the Death Riders start their Conveyor Belt of Destruction. PAC mashes Bravo with a lariat and slaps on the Brutalizer. Bravo taps with the quickness.

Boy, that’s a LOT of people involved in what was supposed to be a six man tag in the first hour of a random Collision, but here we are. Twelve people took offense of some kind in this match, by my count, and that feels like a lot. The Death Riders are full on babyfaces at this point based on the pops they’re getting and the opponents they’re getting booked with, and I guess that’s convenient in that everyone knows what an asshole Moxley can turn into at the drop of a hat, so they’ve got that in their back pocket should they need it. This was wildly overbooked nonsense but the crowd ate it up, so good for them. 3.25*

Winners – The Death Riders (PAC Brutalizer on Bravo)

Post-match sees Schiavone announce a match with PAC facing Mark Briscoe at Dynamite and like…PAC’s the heel in that, right? I don’t get this booking. Speaking of overbooking, here’s a look back at Dynamite ending with the 1756 people who ran in on the Ospreay-Davis Owen match. Schiavone mentions that Tommaso Ciampa will be up next as we go to commercials.

Tommaso Ciampa vs Beef

Man’s name is Beef. Ciampa pounds away at the bell, but Beef has other ideas and hits a cartwheel/dropkick combo. Beef hits some running lariats but Ciampa stops a bulldog attempt and mashes Beef with the Boston Knee Party. Ciampa puts on the Walls of Ciampa and Beef decides he’s had enough.

Two first-hour squashes? MUST BE COLLISION! .5*

Winner – Tommaso Ciampa (Walls of Ciampa)

Post-match sees Ciampa turn back for more violence before telling Schiavone that he’s coming for Jericho. Schiavone grabs a microphone as Ciampa has Beef stretched and insists that Schiavone say that Ciampa is better than Chris Jericho or he’ll break Beef’s back. Ciampa snatches the mic and says Schiavone is one hundred years old and has known Jericho his whole career. Ciampa reminds Jericho he’s coming for the snake.

McGuiness says there’s a commotion in the back and it’s Shane Taylor and Trish Adora standing over a fallen Wheeler Yuta. Taylor has used a hockey stick on Yuta and wants Jon Moxley for the title next week.

Clark Connors vs Juice Robinson

Connors and David Finlay threaten some poor stagehand with a lit match before Connors makes his entrance. The Bang Bang Gang come out together but the Gunns and Ace Austin also stay in the back. Connors attacks at the bell and pulls Robinson’s shirt off. Connors uses the shirt to clean his undercarriage before pounding away at Robinson’s head. Robinson snaps Connors down and goes to work with some rights in response before firing off a headbutt. Robinson says the next one is for Schiavone, and then he starts pounding away at Connors ending with a Side Russian that gets two. Robinson fires some jabs and Connors bails to the announce desk. Robinson lifts his leg to freak out Connors, and then wallops Connors with a rolling tackle from the apron. Connors responds by ramming Robinson into a ring post before driving him into the barricade back-first. Connors lights another match and throws it at Robinson. Connors chats with some fans before continuing to assault Robinson outside the ring (there’s no count or anything being applied here by the ref, for the record, as he’s out on the floor). Connors finally gets Robinson back in the ring for some left hands and a hard whip to a corner. We go to commercials.

Connors has Robinson tied up when the show returns. Robinson fires up and they start slugging it out. Connors hits THE POUNCE and covers Robinson for two. Connors fires up Robinson with some jabs and Robinson murders him with a shoulder and some back elbows. Robinson hits a Misawa-esque senton according to McGuinness, and then goes to chops and jabs. Robinson hits a cannonball and yanks Connors into a powerbomb that gets a LONG two. Robinson signals for something and wants a Killswitch but Connors escapes it and yanks Robinson into a powerslam that gets two. Connors rises first and misses his charge before running into a Robinson flapjack. Robinson lariats Connors to the floor and Robinson follows with a cross-body. Robinson fires Connors back in and as the ref checks on Connors, here’s David Finlay back with his shillelagh. Robinson ducks a shot and murders Finlay with a left. Robinson hits a leg lariat on Connors and starts firing more jabs before mashing Connors with a left. Robinson pulls Connors up but when he runs the ropes Finlay sneaks in a shillelagh shot before Connors mashes Robinson with a spear that ends things.

So to sum up, we needed twelve people for the Death Riders-STP match but Robinson’s pals have to stay in the back during extended heel interference? Sure. Anyway, the Dogs have the current storyline here with CAGE-N-COPE so they were fairly obvious winners, and the BBG have eaten enough pins at this point to have achieved perma-over status with the crowd. It’s the logic that kind of gets to me but I’m not going to dwell on it too much. My brain will explode if I do. 3*

Winner – Clark Connors (Spear)

Post-match sees the BBG finally come out to help Robinson while chirping helplessly at the retreating Dogs.

The TBS Championship will be decided in a Survival of the Fittest match, and Hikaru Shida claims she’s the best joshi of all time and will win the title. Kris Statlander knows she shouldn’t have trusted Shida and knows that Survival of the Fittest will prove that she’s the best. Mina Shirakawa and Harley Cameron also have thoughts and know it might come down to them for the title. Queen Aminata has beaten every obstacle she’s ever faced. Zayda Steel claims she’s the underdog but she wants that role. We go to commercials.

Jon Moxley has some words for Shane Taylor, and he’s with Marina Shafir. Moxley says Shane Taylor has gone to some extraordinary lengths tonight to get to Moxley and he wouldn’t have made those moves unless he was absolutely sure. Moxley says when you get to him in a Contintental title match, you might find out you aren’t who you thought you were. Moxley agrees to defend the title against Taylor on Wednesday night and glares into the camera.

AEW World Trios Tag Tag Team Championship: The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong) (C) vs LFI (ROH World Tag Team Champion Sammy Guevara, Rush, and Dralistico)

Guevara wrestled in Mexico on Friday night, Youngstown on Saturday, and is going back to Mexico to wrestle again on Sunday according to Schiavone. “Makin’ the Towns” Sammy Guevara! It’s Cassidy and Guevara to start and Guevara objects to the “Freshly squeeezed!” chant with a sweet tranquilo pose on the mat. Cassidy joins in and the hands go into the pockets. Cassidy and Guevara run the ropes and want dropkicks at the same time. Guevara fakes playing around some more and drives a kick into Cassidy’s gut to break up the fun. Strong gets a tag and he trucks Guevara down for a one count. O’Reilly tags in for some double team stuff with Strong, and Cassidy tags back in. Cassidy goes all the way from the top turnbuckle to the floor to drop his gigantic Savage Elbow that gets one. Guevara throws a Greco-Roman thumb to the eye and drives a knee into Cassidy’s gut. Rush tags in and the LFI guys start a Conveyor Belt. They stomp away at a helpless Cassidy and Guevara ascends before jumping down and flicking Cassidy in the eye with a poke. Cassidy breaks away and Strong comes in to start smashing everyone around. Strong just murders all three guys and then hoists Cassidy up to use him as a missile against Dralistico. Everyone flies in for moves and Guevara hits an Uehara moonsault on Strong as we go to commercials.

LFI triple team Strong when the show returns. There’s a triple dropkick and Rush covers Strong for two. Rush chops away at Strong in a corner but Strong reverses. Rush reverses, Strong reverses, and they start slugging it out mid-ring. Strong no-sells a headbutt and mashes Rush with a lariat. O’Reilly and Dralistico get tags. O’Reilly works over a charging Guevara and mashes him with a running knee. O’Reilly slaps the ankle lock on Dralistico and Guevara superkicks O’Reilly down. O’Reilly fires up with a double lariat on Dralistico and Guevara and Cassidy grabs a tag. Cassidy runs wild on Dralistico and Guevara for a bit but Dralistico catches Cassidy with a Codebreaker that gets two. Dralistico gets hit with the Stundog Millionaire but Rush flies in to prevent the Orange Punch. Rush puts the boots to Cassidy and signals for the Horns, but Cassidy slips out of the ring. Rush goes out and gets caught by a Strong dropkick and a knee from O’Reilly. Strong backdrops Rush on the barricade and O’Reilly mashes him into the crowd with a high boot. Dralistico hits a huge cross body on Strong and O’Reilly before getting caught with a tope suicida from Cassidy. Guevara mashes Cassidy with a knee lift and then hoists Cassidy on his shoulders. Cassidy escapes the mayhem and pounds Dralistico with the Orange Punch. Cassidy drags Dralistico over and covers him for three.

If I start talking about the crowd at the outset of one of these paragraphs, it’s code for “I hated this but the crowd loved it so I’m tempering my dislike by reminding myself that the paying crowd are the actual arbiters of this, not some old goofball who likes structure and psychology with his tag wrestling”. Hey, the crowd loved this. 3*

Winners AND STILL AEW World Trios Tag Team Champions – The Conglomeration (Orange Punch on Dralistico)

The Dogs have comments about The Young Bucks. Finlay reminds everyone that the Dogs were the ones who laid out COPE-N-CAGE and they want the Bucks in Cincinnati so they can end things. The Dogs do the FIVE SECOND POSE and we go to commercials.

The Conglomeration with Tomohiro Ishii are confronted by RPG Vice when Lexy Nair wants comments. Rocky Romero throws out a challenge for Dynamite for Cassidy to face Andrade, and Cassidy shoos them away before accepting.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament: Hazuki vs CMLL Women’s World Champion Persephone

The winner of this gets to job to Mercedes in the next round, so feel that excitement build! There’s fifteen minutes of show left, so strap in. Hazuki works a side headlock and Persephone’s eye, previously misted by Julia Hart, appears to be bothering her. Persephone grabs a wristlock and Hazuki reverses. There’s some rope running and Hazuki gets rolled up for two. They exchange covers for two and rise to go face to face. Hazuki wants an STF but Persephone makes the ropes quickly to break that up. Hazuki catches Persphone with a boot but when she charges Persephone drops her with a shotgun dropkick. Persephone goes to ground and pound and then yanks Hazuki up for a a slam. Persephone wants a springboard but Hazuki rises and mashes her with a Backstabber. Persephone goes to the floor where she catches a Hazuki dive. Persephone hits a fall-away slam and we go to commercials.

Persephone is caught in an STF when the show returns, but she rolls Hazuki over for two. Persephone trucks Hazuki down after some rope running and yanks her up for chops. Persephone hits a reverse thrust and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Persephone yanks Hazuki up and wants a Razor’s Edge but Hazuki slips off. Hazuki snaps off a rana and mashes Persephone with a back elbow. Hazuki is on the apron and hits a springboard shotgun dropkick that gets two. Hazuki gets Persephone in a spread-legged mount over a second turnbuckle and crushes her with a Lungblower. Hazuki ascends and Persephone joins her. Persephone hits a superplex and both ladies are down. McGuinness helpfully points out that Persephone didn’t protect herself by tucking her chin as to why she’s down as well. Persephone rises and hoists up Hazuki for a jumping powerslam that gets two. Persephone yanks Hazuki up again but she slips off and grabs a roll up for two. Persephone snaps off a bridging German that gets two. Persephone gets caught with another Lungblower. Hazuki rolls Persephone into La Magistral and that ends things.

I thought this was very weird in terms of the styles clash but they got there in the end. Persephone works at a pace that I think is slower than Hazuki likes to go so there was a lot of awkwardness where Hazuki would get in position to take moves while Persephone was gathering herself. It just felt clunky to me, I guess. There wasn’t really anything majorly functionally wrong and no one looked too out of place, there was just minimal heat for this and it just felt like going through the motions knowing Mercedes is the monster at the end of this book. 3.25*

Winner – Hazuki (La Magistral cradle)

Post-match sees a baffled Persephone wondering what just happened as the ref explains it to her. The bracket graphic is shown and there’s a handshake between the competitors. Hazuki exits and here’s Mercedes Mone in to attack Persephone from behind with the Owen belt. Mone puts on the Banks Statement and finally lets it go when Hazuki returns to stop the attack. Mone flies back in to attack Hazuki and here’s some Security goobers and referees to finally end all of this. Mone gets some boos before a recovered Hazuki flies between the ropes with a tope. The fight continues as Schiavone runs down a bunch of upcoming matches.

I’ve seen worse Collisions but this one wasn’t great. The Mercedes thing at the end was cool enough, but everything else never really got to a “you have to see this” level for me. The Owen women’s main event was decent enough but it was a hell of a styles clash and felt clunky to me. This show has the aura of “let’s just throw everything out there and see what works” some nights and tonight was Example A of that.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Enjoy your Sundays.