Collision – 10.14.26

SK covered Dynamite and that leads us to the third hour of tonight’s big THREE HOUR EXTRAVAGANZA.

Collision comes to the TBS/HBO Max airwaves from the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH. The announcing team for tonight’s show includes Excalibur, Walker Stewart, and Tony Schiavone on match calls and analysis, Justin Roberts on ring intros, and Renee Paquette on news and interviews. WrestleDream is this weekend, and there’s a lot going on, so let’s watch some wrestling!

Collision begins at 15 minutes after the hour in the wake of Samoa Joe and Tommaso Ciampa defeating AEW Men’s World Champion Will Ospreay and AEW National Champion Andrade El Idolo in the Dynamite main event. Ospreay and Andrade are licking their wounds mid-ring, but it’s time to move on.

Renee Paquette is with The Death Riders and she asks AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley about their losing streak. Moxley reacts by tossing his water bottle at the wall before starting to destroy the backstage area with a pipe. Moxley bellows in pain and Paquette asks him what’s going on. Moxley says he’s in a lot of pain and he can’t tell the difference in terms of what it is. Here’s Marina Shafir to tell him that the only way out is through. This fires Moxley up and the rest of the Death Riders follow him out of shot. (If this is a commentary on carrying grief, I fully get it.)

Clockwork Carnage Qualifying Match: Ricochet vs Ace Austin

Aubrey Edwards is your referee. Jay White was apparently meant to be the opponent here before his injury at All Out, so get well soon, Jay. Ricochet takes the early advantage before Austin fires off a kick. Austin hits an armdrag and slaps on an elbow lock. They go to the floor and Austin flips over the ring steps before mashing Ricochet with a roundhouse kick. Austin takes Ricochet back in but can’t suplex him. Austin gets dumped to the floor by a Ricochet shove, and Ricochet follows with a twisting tope. We go to commercials.

Ricochet gets dumped to the apron when the show returns, but he drops Austin with a roundhouse kick. Ricochet pulls Austin out and they go back in with vertical suplex attempts. Austin nails Ricochet with an enziguri. Ricochet flips out of the corner but runs right into an Austin brainbuster. A chop battle breaks out and Ricochet ends it by sweeping the leg before crushing Austin with a knee. Ricochet rolls through a German and gets a two count. Ricochet ascends and misses his move as Austin fires off an elbow. Austin yanks Ricochet up for some leg presses before tossing him over with a facebreaker that gets two. Ricochet fires off a headbutt at the charging Austin, and follows with the Spirit Gun. The Vertigo powerbomb ends things.

A perfectly cromulent match with a bit of story to go with it, so I’ll take it. This was less aerial than I was expecting, quite frankly, but anytime two guys want to go out there and punch each other’s lights out, I’m there for it. 3*

Winner – Ricochet (Vertigo inverted sit-down powerbomb)

Renee Paquette is with Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight, and sadly Don Callis is also there. They’re expecting the Young Bucks for a sit-down, but they are not there, so Callis sits down. Fletcher says he and Knight have gelled spectacularly, and Knight agrees while calling Fletcher a “bona-fide stud”. Knight compares them to Jordan and Pippen, and Shaq and Kobe. Callis imitates Paquette by saying she was going to point out that Knight and Fletcher haven’t been a team for very long, but Callis knows all the Bucks secrets and isn’t scared of them. Here’s AEW Men’s Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks in to smash Knight and Fletcher as Callis backs away. The Bucks tell Paquette to tell “these pricks that we’ll be on time this Saturday”.

Here’s Justin Roberts with some pre-written index cards to introduce Nick Wayne. Wayne is out to celebrate his win over Chris Jericho in France and he’s now doing promos in the third person! Wayne gets some pyro when he mentions beating Jericho, and I’ll be damned, but here’s Chris Jericho out for a response. Wayne cuts off “Judas” and says he’s running this segment. Jericho enters as Wayne continues to berate him about the France win. Wayne basks in it after the highlights play, and a skeptical Jericho smirks before saying that Wayne left out some parts, so his friends in “editing” have put together a video for Jericho. Wayne’s low blow is highlighted in this one, and Wayne wants to know if Jericho thinks that’s clever when it’s actually an excuse. Jericho admits Wayne beat him and they’re now 1-1, but the story isn’t over and Jericho wants the rubber match at WRESTLEDREAM. Wayne says it’s on under one condition. Wayne says Jericho has to apologize when he loses, and lists off the reasons why. (Jericho has some real “alcoholic aunt who shows up unexpectedly to Thanksgiving” vibes going on tonight.) Jericho promises to teach Wayne some more lessons, and blasts Wayne square in the nuts with a kick. Jericho barks at Wayne about seeing him on Saturday and leaves as “Judas” rings out again. We go to commercials.

Renee Paquette is with Tommaso Ciampa and Samoa Joe and apparently Ciampa has secured a shot at Andrade’s National Championship at WrestleDream. Joe promises that everyone else in Clockwork Carnage will get choked out, and he’s excited to find out who the last person in the match will be.

Hyan and Dani Luna vs AEW TBS Champion and CMLL Women’s World Champion Persephone and Dr. Britt Baker DMD

Paul Turner is your referee for this one. Baker has a Terrible Towel with her FOR THE HEAT and she annoys Hyan and Luna with it, so Hyan blasts Persephone with a dropkick in response as the bell sounds. Hyan smashes Baker on the floor but turns into a Perspehone tope suicida. Luna mashes Persephone with an elbow but Persephone takes control until she turns into a Hyan cross-body. Luna yanks up Hyan and smashes her on top of Persephone before covering and getting two. Luna drives Persephone into the team corner and Hyan tags in. Persephone and Hyan get held up by the non-legal partners, but Persephone breaks free as Baker drops Hyan with a neckbreaker on the floor. We go to commercials.

Hyan and Persephone get tags when the show returns. Luna mashes Perspehone with a single leg dropkick and yanks her up. Luna blasts Baker with a high boot after slipping off, and then waffles Persephone with a dropkick. Luna catches an ascending Baker with an elbow and then goes up with Baker for a superplex. Luna drops Persephone and yanks her up for a powerbomb that gets two. Persephone starts firing off elbows and drops Luna with a German. Hyan grabs a blind tag and yanks Persephone up for a Falcon Arrow, but Baker breaks it up at two. Persephone trucks Luna and Hyan gets rolled up by Persephone for two. Baker gets a blind tag and Hyan spears her for two. Luna tags in and she yanks up Baker, but Persephone catches Hyan sneaking up for a double team and smashes her into the announce desk. Baker hits a ripcord elbow and a neckbreaker before covering Luna for two. Baker yells at Turner and Persephone grabs the TBS title. Baker almost gets hit with the belt as Luna slips a charge, and Luna pushes Baker into Persephone before rolling Baker up for three.

I like it! Give Luna a big win on one of her first outings, and it also gives Hyan a big notch on her belt as well. The match was chaotic and didn’t make a lot of sense structurally, but we got there in the end. 2.5*

Winners – Luna/Hyan (Luna rolls up Baker)

Post-match sees a pissed Persephone fly in to attack Luna from behind. The heels take control and demolish Hyan and Luna until Queen Aminata flies out to break things up. Aminata is barefoot and toting a belt, and apparently Tony Khan has made a match for WrestleDream for the TBS title with Persephone defending against Hyan, Luna, and Aminata! We go to commercials.

Here’s a video previewing an arrival of who is surely Ilja Dragunov. It’s time for the main event (Entrances starting at seven minutes past the top of the hour, for the record.)

TNT Championship/Clockwork Carnage Qualifying Match: Darby Allin (C) vs CMLL World Heavyweight Champion Hechicero

Bryce Rembsburg is your referee for this. Hechi charges at the bell and Allin slips it before tossing Hechi over with an armdrag. Hechi fires up with an arm torque and a stomp onto Allin’s chest. Hechi yanks Allin’s arms back and puts a knee into Allin’s back. Allin breaks out of it and Hechi yanks Allin down by his injured knee. Hechi yanks Allin into a surfboard and rolls back again before Allin breaks out. Allin makes the ropes to try to stop the assault, so Hechi yanks Allin’s leg over the top rope to torque on it. Allin bites Hechi’s hand and then starts firing off forearms. Allin jams Hechi’s arm into the ring post before smashing it with a fist. Hechi yanks Allin up and drops him face-first onto the apron. We go to a commercial break.

Hechi eats a headbutt, but he shakes that off before being rolled up by Allin for two. Hechi fires off a shoulder tackle and covers Allin for two. Hechi puts the badmouth on Allin and goes to some SMALL JOINT MANIPULATION. Hechi nails Allin with a running knee to the face and pulls him up before ascending up the ropes. Allin fights out with some elbows and wants a powerbomb, but Hechi fights him off for a hangman’s choke. Allin slips out of that to again bite Hechi’s hand. Allin fires off some chops and then nails him with a top rope jackknife that gets two. Allin gets caught charging and Hechi snaps off a dragon screw through the ropes. Hechi ascends and crushes Allin with a guillotine elbow that gets two. Hechi spins Allin around, but Allin fires off a crucifix driver that gets two. Hechi misses a charge and Allin nails him with a destroyer that gets two. Allin ascends but meets Hechi’s bodyscissors during his Coffin Drop attempt. Allin gets rolled over and breaks the cover at two. They slug it out and Allin pulls Hechi in between the ring apron and the ring. Allin nails Hechi with a tope suicida and ascends for a Coffin Drop to the floor. Allin ascends for another pair of Coffin Drops in the ring and that ends things.

24 minutes after the top of the hour and we finally get through the main event. Sure. Allin moves on to Clockwork Carnage and Hechicero goes back to gooning it up in the dregs of the DCF. Maybe try something new for once with him? He’s better than this, that’s for damn sure. 3*

Winner AND STILL AEW TNT Champion – Darby Allin (Coffin Drop x 3)

Post-match sees the Don Callis Family attack until Will Ospreay and Speedball Mike Bailey come out to help. Kazuchika Okada drops Ospreay with a dropkick, and wants the Rainmaker, but here’s Adam Copeland out to go nose to nose with Okada. They slug it out and here’s Ricochet in to take out Copeland. Ricochet ends up holding the world title belt before Konosuke Takeshita comes in to drop him with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Takeshita picks up the belt and here’s Samoa Joe in for a battle with Takeshita. Joe waffles Takeshita with a lariat and Ospreay springs up to flatten Joe. Copeland inadvertanly spears Ospreay, and everyone starts firing off finishers. A giant brawl ensues and we’re finally out at TWENTY EIGHT MINUTES after the top of the hour.

These combined shows ending at 11:30 PM Eastern, I’m not sure how good of an idea it is for people that have to go to work and to school the next day, but here we are again. I know they’ve been under a lot of stress as a company and as performers, so I’m willing to cut them all some slack here. No one could have anticipated what happened after All Out and how it would essentially eliminate a week of an already-compressed timeline between All Out and WrestleDream. That being said, AEW usually delivers good-to-great PPV’s, so even with the compressed build and debuting a brand new match type for the Men’s World Title, I remain a believer in their ability to produce a good show on the biggest stage. I also wanted to point out the work of Jon Moxley tonight in particular. As someone who’s still suffering through traumatic grief myself, I thought Moxley was excellent in conveying what he was going through during the backstage interview with Renee. Well done all around.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of your week and if you watch, enjoy WrestleDream.