SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW COLLISION REPORT
OCTOBER 28, 2023
MOHEGAN SUN ARENA UNCASVILLE, CONN.
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
BY BRIAN ZILEM, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, and Tony Schiavone
[HOUR ONE]
-The Collision opening theme by Elton John aired. Then, Tony Schiavone introduced the show.
(1) JAY WHITE (w/Colten & Austin Gunn, Juice Robinson) vs. A.R. FOX
The commentary team recapped how Jay White stole the Triple B title belt from MJF. The commentary team highlighted the most recent matches from A.R Fox. White started the match with a headlock takeover on Fox. White worked over Fox in the corner with hard chops to the chest. Fox got to his foot and did a great-looking shooting star press from the outside while holding the ring post. Once both men were back in the ring, White continued to throw hard chops at Fox. White landed a Jake the Snake Robets DDT onto FOX; then the show went to its first commercial break of the night. During the break, White celebrated with Bullet Club Gold and Cardblade.
After the break, White was working over Fox in the corner. Fox finally found his fire after nothing back-to-back dives onto Bullet Club Gold and White. The fans popped huge for Fox during his fire-up spots. Fox did a Swanton bomb for a near-fall finish. Fox went for a 450 splash, but he missed, which became an excellent sequence. White hit a dragon sleeper suplex and the blade runner to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Jay White at 11:20
(Brian’s Analysis: The match started slowly but picked up after the commercial break. Knowing Jay White has excellent counters, pairing him with A.R Fox was a seamless pairing. Also, giving White a clean win was a great call. Having your faction interfere is fine at times, but it’s also good to remind fans heels can win clean without any help.)
-Post-match, MJF tried to steal the Triple B back from Jay White.
-Afterwards, the show went backstage as the Acclaimed welcomed everyone to the 69-day regin celebration as trios champions next week on Collision.
(2) THE BOYS vs. THE GUNNS
WINNERS: The Gunns win a squash match in 1:39
-After the match, a hype video highlighted the main event match between MJF and Kenny Omega.
-After a commercial break, a video was shown promoting Danhausen returning to AEW
-Lexy Nair was backstage with Ryan Nemeth. Nemeth said he was going to get a new manager and was outside the door of C.J. Perry. The door opened, and Miro was there waiting and beat up Nemeth.
(3) HIKARU SHIDA vs. ABADON – Fright Night match for the AEW Women’s Title
Before the match started, The commentary team discussed how fans have waited to see Abadon more in AEW. Before the bell rang, the ring was decked out in Halloween decor. The match started with Shida locking in a headlock on Abadon. The fans were into both women. Shida landed ten hard punches and followed up with a missile dropkick onto Abadon. Both women went to the outside of the ring, where Abadon gained momentum by landing an elbow on Shida and a trash can lid. Afterward, the show went to a commercial break. During the break, Abadon would land headbutts and weapon shots at Shida.
After the break, both women exchanged forearm strikes in the middle of the ring. Shida grabbed a broomstick and went for a top rope dive onto Abadon but missed. Shida hit Abadon with forearm strikes, but Abadon no sold them. Abadon hit a closeline on to Shida for a near fall. Abadon poured out a bag of candy and hit a blockbuster onto Shida. Both women had a stare-down of weapons. Abadon tried to hit Shida with a pumpkin, and Shida instead hit Abadon with a kendo stick to the head and followed up with a knee and got a near fall at two. Shida grabbed the pumpkin Abadon was using, placed it on her head, and hit another knee to Abadon to secure the pinfall. The fans popped for the finish.
WINNER: Hikaru Shida at 10:00 to retain the AEW Women’s World Title.
(Brian’s Analysis: This was a fun match that had an opportunity to showcase Abadon on a bigger stage. This may not be the best way to highlight Shida as the ACE of the women’s division, but this was miles better than the match these two had against each other back in 2021.)
-Post-match Timeless Toni Storm came down and danced around the ring.
-A video was shown to hype up the singles match between Ricky Starks and Dax Harwood.
-Next, a video was shown to promote AEW’s PPV World’s End.
-After a commercial break, a video was shown with Shane Taylor and Keith Lee.
(4) SAMOA JOE vs, RHETT TITUS- ROH TV Title match
Before the match started, the commentary team put over how Joe is five days away from breaking the longest ROH TV title reign. The fans were very into Joe. Titus climbed to the top rope for a splash, but Joe turned into the Nope spot. Joe wins the match viva the Coquina Clutch to secure the submission and made quick work of Titus.
WINNER: Samoa Joe in 2:00 to retain the ROH T.V. Title.
(Brian’s Analysis: Very by the numbers, Samoa Joe match that will never get old for me. Plays the hits get in and out.)
-In the post-match, the fans were very into Samoa Joe.
-Afterward, a recap video was shown from Rampage, where Renee Paquette spoke with QTV.
-Next, a video was shown recapping the Dyamite match between Kazuchika Okada & Orange Cassidy vs Claudio Castagnoli & Bryan Danielson. Castagnoli then cut a promo stating he would get revenge against Okada and Cassidy for hurting Danielson.
(5) DAX HARWOOD (w/Cash Wheeler) VS. RICKY STARKS (w/Big Bill)
Before the match started, the commentary mentioned Bryan Danielson would need surgery and would be out of action in the ring until he recovered. Once Dax entered the ring, the lights went off, and you could see the House of Black among the fans to watch the match. Both men showed great fundamentals to start the match. Dax bulled Starks in the corner and chopped and followed with a suplex. Starks railed to hit his top rope pose and followed with a leg drop onto Dax. After both men exchanged shoulder blocks, Starks trapped Dax in the ring apron and followed with a suplex to the stage as the show went to a commercial break. During the break, Starks hit a backbody drop to the outside.
[HOUR TWO]
After the break, both men fought on the top rope, and Dax hit a superplex f onto Starks. After both men recovered, they exchanged chops to the chest, and Starks hit a great-looking closeline onto Dax. Starks went for a DDT, but Dax reserved it for a brain buster for near fall. Dax hit a nasty-looking power driver onto Starks. It appeared Dax had the match won, but Big Bill interfered while the official’s back was turned. During the chaos on the outside of the ring, Starks recovered and hit a power driver of his own onto Dax to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Ricky Starks at 12:45
(Brian’s Analysis: When this match was booked, I was worried it would go 15-20 minutes, but that was not the case. Twelve minutes was the perfect length for this match. Great showing from both men, and I’m glad Starks was kept strong by winning the match.)
-In the post-match, the lights went out, showing Julia Hart on the stage. The lights returned and showed the House of Black facing off against FTR, Starks, and Big Bill. But before anything happened, LFI returned to make the save for FTR. LFI and House of Black brawled, and the babyface team stood tall afterward.
-The show went backstage with Lexy Nair and Andrade. Lexy asked Andrade about his business with CJ Perry. Andrade said that was his business and walked off.
-The show returned from a commercial break with Lexy Nair interviewing Kris Statlander, Skye Blue, and Willow Nightingale. Kris wanted to know why neither Skye nor Williow won the fatal four-match on AEW Rampage. Blue said any business she has with Julia Hart would be addressed on her own.
(6) CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. TRACY WILLIAMS
WINNER: Claudio Castagnoli wins a squash match at 0:40.
-Post-match, Castagnoli put a submission hold on Williams after the match.
-A split screen was shown with MJF and Omega. Samoa Joe approached MJF while he was warming up and asked if he thought about the offer he gave MJF from AEW Dyaminte. Joe let MJF know if he needs help in the main event, all he has to do is ask.
(7) MJF vs. KENNY OMEGA – AEW World Title match
Jim Ross joined the commentary team to call the main event. Both men received great reactions from the fans. After the bell rang, the fans started to cheer,” Holly S***. The fans were split, cheering both men throughout. MJF was able to a cradle pin on Omega for an early near fall.
MJF asked Omega for a handshake and then poked Omega in the eye. Both men exchanged dives. Omega busted out his traditional terminator dive, and MJF followed up a dive of his own onto Omega. When both men returned the ring, MJF hit a backbreaker onto Omega for a near fall. MJF would focus on Omega’s left arm throughout the match to hit up the salt-of-the-earth submission. MJF would taunt Omega with the gun pose, which Omega followed up with a dragon suplex. Omega hit MJF with a closeline that knocked him to the outside and followed up with a dive onto MJF. Omega would then hit a missile dropkick to the back of MJF for a near fall.
MJF recovered and landed hard punches into the corner and bite Omega. MJF called for the kangaroo kick, which he landed on Omega. Once Omega recovered, MJF rolled outside to avoid a V trigger. Omega then set up a table to the outside. Once both men returned to the ring, Omega hit a buckle bomb, and MJF hit a closeline. The fans cheered” AEW” following the exchange. Omega, knowing MJF has had a back neck, his recent matches hit a Dragon suplex onto MJF on the apron. Omega would then utilize the table he set up minutes before to land a powerbomb through the table onto MJF. Afterward, the show went to a commercial break. During the break, both men sold the table bump on the outside.
After the break, both men struggled to return to the ring. In the middle of the ring, both men exchanged punches while they could barely stand. Omega went for the one-winged angel, but MJF reversed it to a poison rana, and Omega followed up with a poison rana of his own onto MJF.
Omega nailed MJF with the final cut and power driver for another near fail as the show went to a commercial break. During the break, a clock was shown on a split screen to let us know the time remaining before the show returned from commercial break.
After the break, Omega hit MJF with a powerbomb on the steel railing on the outside. Omega hit another knee dragon suplex combination for another near fall. Omega went for the one-winged angel but was distracted when Don Callis walked to the ring. Both men exchanged rapid roll-up pins for near falls. Don Kellis was ejected from ringside by the official. MJF recovered and hit Omega with the heat seeker for a near fall. In the closing sequence of the match, MJF would hit a Panama Sunrise and another heat seeker onto Omega to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: MJF in 30:15 to retain the AEW World title.
(Brian’s Analysis: Fantastic main event. The match blew away any expectations that I had coming into this match. The entire night, AEW did a great job making the main event feel like a big deal, and it’s safe to save both men delivered on the night.)
-Post-match Samoa Joe, Wardlow, and Jay White were shown backstage looking at MJF. Omega showed a sign of sportsmanship by acknowledging MJF as the world champion to end the show.
FINAL THOUGHTS: What I enjoy the most about AEW is that they are showing consistent synergy for all of their T.V. programs. Knowing now, AEW doesn’t have to officiate who’s on what T.V. show makes the Saturday night viewing of AEW Collision much improved. Some people may complain Omega and MJF could have built for a PPV main event, but who’s to say AEW can run this match back a year from now?
RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW Dynamite Ratings Report (10/25): Viewership below NXT night before, key demo rating ties lowest of the year, comparison to NBA, yearly averages so far
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Collision results (10/28): Powell’s live review of MJF vs. Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship, Hikaru Shida vs. Abadon for the AEW Women’s Championship
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