AEW COLLISION FEUD TRACKER: Evaluating the top new and ongoing feuds including Miro vs. Hobbs, Acclaimed vs. House of Black, Starks vs. Punk, Bullet Club vs. The Elite

C.M. Punk vs. Samoa Joe

Well, C.M. Punk finally accepted Samoa Joe’s challenge to finish their 20 year long rivalry at All In. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how they got there though. The whole Golden Vampire thing was a little cheesy for my taste. Just have Punk come out and confront Joe after Joe murders another poor enhancement talent. Keep it simple. Also, there was no need to randomly make the match for Punk’s counterfeit title and, by default, telegraph the outcome. Nonetheless, we’re going to get a great match at Wembley and likely a great promo on the go-home Collision.

Grade: B-

Ricky Starks vs. C.M. Punk

Starks has officially entered the Sean “Puffy” Combs phase of his career acting as artist and manager. I guess that makes his new charge The Notorious B.I.G Bill? I mean, he and Biggie are both unusually large men from NYC; it works. The question is how long this pairing lasts. AEW already had Tony Schiavone re-word the terms of Starks’s suspension from 30 days to 4 weeks which just so happens to make Starks available for All Out. It certainly seems like we’re headed to a Punk-Starks blow-off, perhaps involving the belt Starks has taken to carrying around. I just hope Starks has the good sense not to want anything to do with Punk’s phony title.

Grade: B+

Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Martinez & Diamanté

Willow and Diamanté had really good match. The two highlights were Willow’s Pounce which knocked Diamanté, as we say down South, ass over tea kettle, and her Doctor Bomb finish which I would like to officially lobby for her to start calling Black Girl Magic. Midway through the match, Mercedes came out to provide immoral support and that eventually brought Kris Statlander out to even the odds. Mama cleaned house, neutralizing Mercedes. After the match, Mercedes made it clear she’s not done with the TNT Champion. I’m absolutely here for more matches involving these four women.

Note: This is unrelated to the feud, but I feel like Toni Storm deserves a special shout out. Her turn as an old Hollywood starlet slowly departing further from reality each week has been fantastic. It’s like something out of “Sunset Boulevard” and I want to join the chorus of people praising her work.

Grade: A

House of Black vs. The Acclaimed

The HOB funeralized Billy Gunn’s career by laying his pilfered boots to rest… in a trash compactor. I don’t see that one sitting well with the Acclaimed or Daddy Ass. This was simple and moved the story forward, setting up the Acclaimed to respond. We’re definitely getting that match at All Out.

Grade: A+

Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage & Luchasaurus

Christian’s commitment to his Evil Steve Jobs character is to be commended. It cannot be easy to wrestle in a sleeveless turtleneck, but wrestle he did. He and Darby put on a great main event. Darby is like a modern day Mick Foley. He has a defined reckless disregard for his own body but sells his tail off. That dropkick from the top to a seated Christian was wild. The post-match angle was a great way to add fuel to Darby’s fire. I also appreciated how they weaved in Darby’s feud with the Mogul Embassy by showing A.R. Fox and Swerve watching the match in the back.

Grade: A+

Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Kevin Ku, we hardly knew ye. Powerhouse Hobbs crushed him inside of 90 seconds with a spinebuster and then put him in Miro’s Game Over camel clutch after the match for good measure. The best part of this entire segment, though, was Miro’s promo. There were so many great lines culminating with the ultimate final dig when he said, “I know you’re not (godless) because you pray to me now.” That’s about as cold-blooded a line and delivery as there is. Just great work from Miro.

Grade: A+

Bullet Club Gold vs. The Elite

Obviously we didn’t see the Elite on Collision but all the members of Bullet Club Gold were in action. First, Jay White squared off with Dalton Castle. Castle is an absolute treasure and should be on AEW TV more often. I mean, the man’s submission move is named after the original Catwoman for goodness sake. After King Switch beat the Party Peacock, the Gunns and Juice Robinson decided they wanted a warm-up match for Dynamite. Their challenge was accepted by Jeff Jameson & The Iron Savages. The Iron Savages are quickly becoming spiritual descendants of stalwart WCW Saturday Night circa 1993 enhancement teams like Disorderly Conduct or The Wreckage Crew. They have a personality/look and enough size that beating them feels like a minor accomplishment even if they always lose, which they did here. In this case, though, Jameson took the pin which protects the team a little bit. Next up for BCG a trios match against the Elite on Dynamite .

Grade: A+

RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW COLLISION RESULTS (8/19): Zilem’s alt-perspective report on Samoa Joe vs. The Golden Vampire (C.M. Punk), Jay White vs. Dalton Castle, Christian vs. Darby, Willow vs. Diamante

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW media call report: Live notes on Tony Khan’s pro wrestling media session ahead of Sunday’s AEW All In pay-per-view