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AEW COLLISION ON-SITE REPORT – EPISODE 54
JULY 27, 2024
ARLINGTON, TEXAS AT ESPORTS ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
LIVE IN-PERSON REPORT BY BRIAN ZILEM PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
TICKETS DISTRIBUTED (per WrestleTix): 1,333 SOLD OUT
THE PRESENTATION
As I walked through the arena, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities to an old-school ROH taping. However, it had a much more upscale feel, similar to an Impact taping. My main concern with the audio quality during the first AEW Collision show at this arena was addressed.
THE ATMOSPHERE
With back-to-back shows on Friday and Saturday, I wanted to see what the fans’ attendance and energy would be like. The fans were lined up at the door by 5:00 PM and ready for the show. I wouldn’t have thought adding 100 people would make a difference regarding noise, but it did. I received messages from friends and colleagues saying this was one of the better AEW crowds all year.
MATCH RESULTS & ANALYSIS
(1) ORANGE CASSIDY vs. JOHNNY TV (w/Taya Valkyrie)
WINNER: Orange Cassidy in 10:31
(Brian’s Thoughts: This was a fun match to open the show. The crowd popped big for Willow Nightingale, making the save for Cassidy during the post-match.)
(2) BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) vs. BRIAN CAGE & LEE MORIARTY (w/Shane Taylor) vs. TOP FLIGHT (Dante Martin & Darius Martin) (W/Action Andretti)
WINNERS: Blackpool Combat Club in 10:36
(Brian’s Thoughts: Great action throughout from all three teams. Hopefully, with Wheeler no longer the ROH Pure champion, this frees up the BCC to be more of a constant in the tag team division.)
(3) HOLOGRAM vs. THE BEAST MORTOS
WINNER: Hologram in 12:06
(Brian’s Thoughts: What an impressive delay of Lucha Libre. I am glad to see Hologram’s shaky debut, which may have just been a one-off performance. The chemistry between Hologram and Mortos was great, and I hope AEW will run this one back.)
(4) THUNDER ROSA vs. MAYA WORLD
WINNER: Thunder Rosa in 3:30
(Brian’s Thoughts: A straightforward rebound win for Rosa.)
(5) THE CONGLOMERATION (Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. THE PREMIER ATHLETES (Ariya Daivari, Josh Woods & Tony Nese) (W/Mark Sterling
WINNERS: The Conglomeration in 10:20
(Brian’s Thoughts: A very good party match. It’s impossible to ignore the fact that Mark Briscoe’s pre-match promo featuring his infant son was fantastic.)
(6) LANCE ARCHER vs. GKM
WINNER: Lance Archer in 0:56
(Brian’s Thoughts: This was a straightforward squash match for Archer to build towards his singles match this coming Wednesday against Will Ospreay.)
(7) FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. MXM COLLECTION (Mansoor & Mason Madden)
WINNERS: FTR in 12:20
(Brian’s Thoughts: This is an excellent debut for AEW from the MxM Collection. They are the needed flavor or ingredient to a team tag division that lacks in-depth personality. You couldn’t tell by watching Dax Harwood, but I wouldn’t have known he was dealing with a bad back injury. Dax and Cash gave a lot to put over MxM in their debut and still showed that they should be a serious threat to the Young Bucks.)
(8) PAC vs. LIO RUSH
WINNER: Pac in 13:30
(Brian’s Thoughts: This match benefited greatly from the crowd. I think the crowd cheered so much for Pac, even he was thrown off at times. Additionally, this was a distinct strategy from the usual AEW main event. AEW is attempting to bring back Pac’s main event popularity from its 2019 debut.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was beyond an overdeliver for a card that wasn’t announced until the night before. The fans were on fire from start to finish, and 95% stayed for the next hour to watch Battle of the Belts.
NOW CHECK OUT THE LATEST EPISODE OF “THE AEW CONVERSATION CLUB,” PART OF THE PWTORCH DAILYCAST LINE-UP: CLICK HERE TO STREAM (or search “pwtorch” in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe for free)
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Collision results (7/27): Powell’s live review of Pac vs. Lio Rush, Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV, FTR vs. MxM Collection, Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos, Thunder Rosa vs. Maya World
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