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AEW COLLISION – HITS & MISSES
JANUARY 6, 2024
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
BY DAVID BRYANT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
– Hey! Welcome back to another edition of my loq-ed and loaded AEW Collision Hits & Misses column, and by loq-ed, I mean loquacious, and by loaded, I mean way too much.
Before we get started, there is a quick bit of housekeeping I’d like to attend to. For the rest of January and the entire month of February, I will be going on a two-month-long whirlwind of a trip that will stop in 12 cities in seven states. Because of this, I will be unable to write for PWTorch for the next eight weeks. The next AEW Collision Hits & Misses column that will be penned by me personally, will be on March 2, the night before AEW Revolution.
While I’m gone, I will miss writing this column, and it has been an honor to write it for you. I am so lucky that Wade Keller liked my writing enough to give me the amazing opportunity to share my off-the-wall opinions via his news outlet each week. Few people have been as encouraging, supportive, and kind to me as Wade Keller, and I am truly grateful for that. PWTorch is a wonderful place full of both great writers and great readers. Thank you for choosing to patronize PWTorch, and thank you for choosing to read my columns.
NO COLD OPEN — MISS
I’m not going to hold it against AEW that they seem to have recently decided to drop these cold opens from Collision’s lineup; however, I will hold it over their heads like a Damocles sword that only I know about and/or care about. Seriously, though, I really do miss these segments, and I think they are a great way to separate Collision from Dynamite and start the show off with a bang. I hope AEW will consider bringing these cold opens back in the future.
STING & DARBY ALLIN vs. WAIT. WHAT? — MINOR-MISS
This is Sting’s last match in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it took place against two men whose main qualifications for being a part of such a historic match are having AEW contracts and skin.
AEW’S CAMERAMAN ALMOST MISSES THE WORK HORSEMEN’S PRE-MATCH ATTACK ON DARBY ALLIN — MISS
How is this kind of thing still happening? On Sept. 20, 2023, I wrote a column about AEW’s copious amounts of production mistakes and why I felt such mistakes were important to fix. (You can read that column HERE.) However, little has improved. It is now 2024, and the show’s director just panned from a shot of Sting and Flair walking down the ramp to a shot of Darby Allin already on the ground.
AEW has one of the best in-ring products the U.S. market has ever seen, but actually getting to see it is an important part of getting to enjoy it. I am not giving AEW a hard time on this issue because I’m anti-AEW; I’m giving them a hard time on this issue because I am pro-AEW, and I want good things for them.
THE REFEREE ASKING DARBY ALLIN IF HE WAS OKAY TO WRESTLE BEFORE STARTING THE MATCH — HIT
This kind of thing may seem like a small detail, but it truly helps to bridge the fragile gap between suspension of disbelief and total disbelief.
EDDIE KINGSTON vs. TRENT BERETTA (REALLY?) — HIT
This was a fantastic match, and I had so much fun watching it. Eddie Kingston is one of the most charismatic wrestlers for his body type that I’ve ever seen. In fact, I truly believe he could be an effective AEW World Heavyweight Champion if the promotion ever wanted him to be. When it comes to personality, Eddie Kingston is up there with Kevin Owens and Mick Foley, and that’s some damn good company to be in.
Side Note: He’s not too shabby in the ring, either.
TRENT BERETTA WRESTLING FOR THE CONTINENTAL TITLE — MINOR-MISS
It’s nice to see they’re bolstering the newly-minted Continental Title’s credibility by having it defended at the tippy-top of the very bottom of the first half hour of AEW Collision against Trent Beretta. I have nothing against Trent Beretta, and this match was very entertaining, but Beretta has held zero titles in AEW and makes as much sense participating in this match as The Work Horsemen made participating in theirs.
WILLOW NIGHTINGALE AND KRIS STATLANDER GET OVERSHADOWED BY AN IGUANA — MINOR-HIT
I’m not sure what was said during this promo because I was too distracted by how adorably camera-shy her pet iguana was. (I hope it was her pet iguana. It would be awful if she randomly stole it, and it would be even worse if it randomly hitchhiked a ride on her shoulder for no reason.) Anyway, I’m guessing other stuff happened on my screen, but watching Statlander’s iguana hide their head in Statlander’s hair is the bane of my ADHD, and therefore, this entire paragraph has been about an iguana, and that’s probably for the best.
HOOK CHALLENGES FOR THE AEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP — HIT (MAYBE)
If this is being done to elevate Hook, then I’m all for it. If this is being done to feed Hook to Samoa Joe in a semi-squash match, I hope T.K. drops this idea like it’s the ghost of Taya Valkyrie’s career. (How have they not used this stunning athlete better? She could have been a huge star for them, and instead, she’s… alive?)
NOT-UNDISPUTED-ERA vs. KOMANDER & BRYAN KEITH — MINOR-HIT
I had forgotten Bryan Keith works for AEW. Or is it Ring of Honor? The Jaguars? Anyway, he works for something associated with Tony Khan, and AEW needs to do a better job of making their talent feel like stars. That said, the match itself was fun, but it did not feel particularly impactful and like it came out of nowhere.
RENEE PAQUETTE INTERVIEWS DEGENERATION-Z — HIT
If the Gunn Club, Jay White, The Acclaimed, and Billy Gunn want to form one big faction, I am here for it. I love all six of these athletes, and if this stable is properly executed (big if), it could potentially sell a lot of t-shirts and pop a lot of fans.
ADAM COPELAND CUTS A PROMO WITH HIS BACK TO THE CAMERA — MINOR-MISS
Remember way back in the old days of Oct. 1 when Adam Copeland felt like one of the biggest stars on the planet? I have not seen a ball dropped this spectacularly since New Year’s Eve, which wasn’t that long ago, but neither was Adam Copeland’s superstardom.
BTW, that previous paragraph is not meant as an indictment of Copeland. Copeland is everything you could ask for in a star (except he needs to turn around and face the camera when he’s talking), but starlight can only shine so bright, and how bright starlight appears is at least partially due to the circumstances surrounding it. Right now, AEW has a light pollution problem. They are unwilling to dim some lights to make other lights shine brighter.
When every light is shining bright, no light stands out.
ADAM COPELAND vs. GRIFF GARRISON — MINOR-HIT
Did Griff Garrison just get a near-fall on Adam Copeland? Am I seeing this right?
Why?
Why would they do that?
COLE KARTER NEARLY MURDERING ADAM COPELAND — MISS
Matt Rife’s stunt double, Cole Karter, attempted to perform a 450 splash onto Adam Copeland, but Copeland rolled out of the way. However, before Copeland could get “fully” out of the way, Karter’s knee came within a hairsbreadth of Copeland’s skull. Because of this, I had to pause the show to re-swallow my heart after projectile vomiting it across my living room. Let’s not do that again.
FLAIR AND STING CUT A PROMO — HIT
This went very well. While I’m not a fan of some of Ric Flair’s personal choices, I will always be a fan of his promo style. Few people can hype wrestling matches like Ric Flair hypes wrestling matches.
SKYE BLUE vs. KIERA HOGAN — HIT
This match went very well, and both women should be proud of the work they put into it. Blue’s more recent matches have been very hit-or-miss, but tonight’s was definitely a hit with me.
Side Note: I’ve also been enjoying the work Skye Blue has been putting into her new look. She is truly personifying this dark character in the best ways possible with dark lipstick, Elvira-like cleavage, and tonight’s “Spice Girl” hair horns.
Second Side Note: Skye Blue should change her name to Skye Black and change her finisher’s name to The Dead Star.
SERENA DEEB PRACTICES MAGIC — HIT
To prepare for her in-ring return, Serena Deeb has been studying Houdini because he had a legendary world title run back during never.
CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. ANDREW EVERETT — MINOR-HIT
There were some rough moments near the end of this match, but overall, it was short, sweet, and the last name Everett reminded me of Bret Everett, and he’s hot AF, so that’s nice.
RICKY STARKS & BIG BILL CUT A PROMO — HIT
This promo was a good promo in that the words, expression, and emphasis were all on point; however, why are Big Bill & Ricky Starks offering up their tag team titles in a random street fight? This kind of thing seems to happen a lot in AEW, and it doesn’t make sense.
FTR vs. HOUSE OF BLACK — MEGA-HIT
This match was outstanding, and honestly, the word outstanding does not do it justice. This might even be in my top twenty favorite FTR matches of all time, and that is a pretty high accolade, considering how good of a tag team FTR is.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I live in North Carolina, and I really wish I could have been in the building for tonight’s show, but because I am getting ready to travel for two straight months, I was unable to attend it. However, I am sure the atmosphere was electric because the Bojangles Coliseum is a great venue for AEW-style shows. It is small, but it doesn’t feel small; there are no bad seats, there is no upper level, everyone is close together, and sound reverberates around the building. Everything I’ve ever attended at that particular arena has felt lively, exciting, and in your face. I can’t imagine this show was any different.
That said, as a viewer watching at home, this show was good but not great. The in-ring action was nice, and the off-the-charts main event helped save what was an otherwise middle-of-the-road show. Still, I wish Collision would lean into continuing Dynamite’s storylines more often. Right now, it feels like all of AEW’s biggest stories are taking place on Dynamite, and Collision is mostly just matches. Don’t get me wrong, matches are great, but great matches are made greater by giving them meaning.
DAVID’S DODGY MATCH RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Best Match: FTR vs. HOUSE OF BLACK
- Second Place: EDDIE KINGSTON vs. TRENT BERETTA
- Third Place: SKYE BLUE vs. KIERA HOGAN
SHOW GRADE: B-
Thank you all for reading. I truly appreciate it. And as always, I’m still working on my sign-off, but until next week, remember, good things come to those who wait is a saying that has never been said in a doctor’s office.
(David Bryant’s new bathroom-selfies can be found on his “Artist Formerly Known as Twitter” account @IamDavidBryant; a video of David Bryant being knocked unconscious by an exploding television set can be found on his Instagram account @IamDavidBryant, and David Bryant’s Threads account is threadbare and also located @IamDavidBryant because David Bryant sucks at usernames. David is a published author, circus artist, drag promoter, male pageant winner, unrenowned musician, sloppy figure skater, and the inventor of the world’s first bored game, which is even less exciting than it sounds. Less impressively, he studied screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.)
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