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AEW COLLISION REPORT – EPISODE 64
SEPTEMBER 21, 2024
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS AT MASSMUTUAL CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
REPORT BY BRIAN ZILEM, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcers: Arkady Aura
Ticket Sales via WrestleTix: 2,423 as of 9-22-24
-Tony Schiavone welcomed everyone to the show.
[HOUR ONE]
(1) DUSTIN RHODES & SAMMY GUEVARA vs. UNDISPUTED KINGDOM (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) – ROH World Tag Team Championship Bunkhouse Brawl
The match started hot as Rhodes and Guevara met Taven and Bennett at the ramp to brawl. The fans chanted “AEW” right away. Rhodes busted up Bennett with his belt buckle. The fans chanted, ” You still got it.” Guervara was left alone, but he railed and beat both Bennett and Taven with a kendo stick. Guervara went for a dive but was greeted with a steel chair. Bennett and Taven followed up with a driving Dooms Day Device to the floor. The fans chanted, ” Holly S***.” Rhodes chased Bennett and Taven with a taser but got a double superkick for his troubles. Rhodes recovered and landed a running bulldog to Taven off the ramp onto two tables with barbed wire. The fans chanted, “Holly S***.” Bennett and Rhodes brawled back to the ring, and as Bennett posed on the apron, Guevara came out of nowhere to land a cutter on two tables on the outside. [C]
After the break, the fans were standing, and shortly after, Guevara was pushed off a ladder through two tables. Taven and Bennett were both busted open. Bennett went for a belt buckle shot to Rhodes, but he grabbed Bennett and Taven by the crotch to stop them in their tracks. Bennett went to hit Rhodes with a bull rope, but Rhodes got ahold of the bullrope and cleaned the house. Rhodes suplexed Taven on a steel chair and got a close a near fall. The fans chanted, ” This is Awesome.” In the match’s closing moments, Rhodes hit the Shattered Dreams in the corner onto Bennett with barbed wire around his boot. Rhodes followed up with the Final Reckoning. And not to be outdone, Guevara followed up with a Swanton Bomb to secure the pinfall victory for his team.
WINNERS: Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara retain the ROH tag team titles in 13:19
(Brian’s Thoughts: Plunder matches like these work hand in hand if the fans are into them, and man, these loved every bit of this match. As the weeks pass, I’m starting to appreciate Taven and Bennett. Both are good, solid workers who always go out of their way to put a baby-face team over. Rhodes should be commended on the work he’s done with Guevara. Rhodes isn’t trying to change Guevara’s style; he reels in his energy to ensure the timing and purpose of his moves.)
-Lexy Nair was backstage to interview the Conglomeration but was interrupted by Mark Sterling.
-A five-year anniversary vignette is teasing the return of Britt Baker on Oct. 2, 2024.
-Commentary confirmed Serena Deeb vs Queen Aminata
-Lexy Nair was backstage interviewing Evil Uno. Darby Allin interrupted, and he told Uno he would bring a fight to Uno. Allin said he wanted to see the dog in Uno tonight.
(2) HOLOGRAM & THE CONGLOMERATION (Kyle O’Reilly & Mark Briscoe w/Rocky Romero) vs. THE PREMIER ATHLETES (Ariya Daivari, Josh Woods & Tony Nese w/Mark Sterling)
O’Reilly and Woods started the match off with great grappling. O’Reilly and Hologram showed off the right teamwork early and pulled off a move I’d not seen before. Hologram hit a standing moonsault, and O’Reilly hit Nese with a jumping knee. Hologram ran wild and did great lucha spots. He hit a shotgun dropkick onto Nese and got a near fall. Sterling distracted the official, which followed the Premier Athletes to jump O’Reilly on the outside. [C]
After the break, the Premier Athletes got the heat on O’Reilly by beating him down in O’Reilly. Hologram got the hot tag, and he ran wild. Briscoe got the hot tag, and he ran wild. Briscoe hit Woods with a DVD and went for the Foggy Bow, but Sterling jumped on the apron to distract the official. Hologram eliminated Sterling with a dive to the outside, allowing Briscoe to hit the Jay Driller to secure the pinfall victory for his team.
WINNERS: Hologram & Kyle O’reilly & Mark Briscoe in 8:56
(Brian’s Thoughts: This was fine, just more reps to showcase Hologram.)
-The show went backstage to the MXM Collection.
(3) MARIAH MAY vs. LADY FROST
May blew a kiss to Nigel and got rolled up for a close near fall. May took down Frost from the top rope and followed with a shotgun dropkick. Frost went for a splash from the top rope and got a close near fall. Both women exchanged German Suplexs. In the match’s closing moments, May landed a headbutt and finished off Frost with the Storm Zero to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Mariah May in 3:29
(Brian’s Thoughts: I preferred the match these two had back in January more in terms of quality, but that’s okay. That’s not the story of the match. The match was to confirm, though May struggled with Frost in January. May has evolved her game since then.)
-A highlight package was shown to hype up Mariah May vs Yuka Sakazaki at AEW Grand Slam.
-Lexy Nair was backstage with Willow Nightingale. Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie interrupted the interview, and Nightingale challenged Valkyrie to a match this Friday on AEW Rampage.
-The Acclaimed was backstage, and Max Caster cut a rap.
-The commentary team promoted upcoming matches for AEW Grand Slam.
-A video package was shown to hype up Darby Allin vs Jon Moxley at AEW Grand Slam.
Check out the latest episode of the “All Elite Conversation Club” with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(4) EVIL UNO vs. DARBY ALLIN
Uno bull rushed Allin early as Allin fired him up earlier. Uno used his belt to hit Allin over the back. Allin recovered to hit a code red and dive to Uno on the outside like he was shot out of a cannon. Allin started to rip off Uno’s mask, a callback from a prior match with Moxley and Uno. Uno tripped up Allin, which allowed Reynolds to interfere. Uno hit a running cannonball to the steel steps and got a near fall in the ring. Allin looked in the Moxley bulldog choke. Uno broke the submission attempt and hit a flat liner for a near fall—Allin dove to the outside to take out Reynolds. Uno went for a cannonball but crashed and burned. In the match’s closing moments, while Uno was laid out on the floor, Allin hit A Coffin Drop, followed by another Coffin Drop inside the ring to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Darby Allin in 5:13
(Brian’s Thoughts: Good callbacks from Allin from Moxley’s past match with Uno. I assume Allin will remember the prior matches in which Moxley beat him and ensure he doesn’t make the same mistakes.)
[HOUR TWO]
-A recap of the Hangman Adam Page and Jeff Jarrett brawl from this past Wednesday on AEW Dynamite was shown.
-Renee Paquette interviewed Jeff and Karren Jarrett backstage from AEW Dynamite. Jeff Challenged Page to a lumberjack strap match at AEW Grand Slam.
(5) SERENA DEEB vs. QUEEN AMINATA
The match started with Aminata tackling Deeb directly to the mat. Both women did great grappling work early and often. Deeb locked in a painful surfboard stretch, but Aminata wouldn’t submit. Aminata tripped Deeb and followed up with dropkick. Deeb recovered and hit a neckbreaker against the ropes. [C]
After the break, Deeb had Aminata in an abdominal stretch, but Aminata railed to hit an air rade crash to break up the submission hold. Aminata hit a great-looking twist and shouted for a near fall. After a release, German Suplex used her long legs to hit a great-looking big boot on Deeb while tied up against the ropes. Deeb recovered to hit a Pespi twist for a near fall. Both women exchanged roll-ups. Aminata hit a headbutt, but Deeb, against the ropes advantage, nailed a chop block to their leg of Aminata. The fans chanted, “This is Awesome.” In the match’s closing moments, Aminata throws Deeb back into the ring after hitting the brain drain. Deeb hit a nasty dragon screw leg whip and followed up the Detox to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Serena Deeb in 10:23
(Brian’s Thoughts: Excellent showing from both women in this match. Aminata certainly has the poise and presence of a star, but man, she showed in the ring with Deeb during this match. AEW isn’t perfect at booking, but AEW should be commended for their work in building the women’s mid-card.)
-Highlights from AEW Rampage, during which Saraya challenged Jamie Hater to a Saraya rules match at the Grand Slam, were shown.
-Renee Paquette interviewed Saraya backstage. Harley Cameron read the match rules, which, more or less, Saraya has zero rules to follow.
-Lexy Nair was backstage with Sammy and Rhodes. Sammy challenged Okada to an eliminator match at AEW Grand Slam.
(6) HOOK & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) & THE OUTRUNNERS (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) vs. GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS (James Drake & Zack Gibson) & RODERICK STRONG & RUSH & THE BEAST MORTOS
Everything broke down after Wheeler and Drake started the match, and all ten men brawled in the ring. [C]
After the break, Mortos and Harwood exchanged hard chops in the middle of the ring. Mortos went for a splash and didn’t get all of it but went for the pin attempt and got a near fall. Harwood tagged in Hook, and GYV double-teamed him. Strong got the tag from his team. Hook Strong exchanged chops and throws. [C]
After the break, GVY got the heat on Hook, made the hot tag into Floyd, and ran wild. Turbo and Floyd dropped their handshake elbow, and afterward, everything broke down again. The heel team beat down and got the heat on Magnum. Strong dropped Magnum for a suplex and got a near fall. Mortos hit a frog splash for a near fall. [C]
After the final break, Magnum finally got the hot tag into Harwood and ran wild. Hook and FTR hit stereo German Suplexs, and the match broke down. Rush and Harwood exchanged hard chops in the ring. FTR went for the Shatter Machine, but Mortos made the save for Rush, which allowed them to double-team Harwood. Rush hit the Bull’s Horns onto Harwood in the match’s closing moments and secured the pinfall victory for his team.
WINNERS: James Drake & Zack Gibson, Roderick Strong, Rush, & The Beast Mortos in 24:20
(Brian’s Thoughts: Five minutes too long, to be honest, but a fun match nonetheless. I’m surprised Rush got the pinfall victory over Harwood. I wonder if AEW will consider pushing Mortos and Rush as a tag team moving forward.)
-The show went backstage to Deeb, and she challenged Britt Baker to a match at the AEW Dynamite fifth anniversary show.
-Nigel closed the show and cut the following promo: “A week and a half ago on Dynamite, the world saw me challenge Bryan Danielson to face me at Arthur Asch Stadium. And true to form the American coward, Danielson has refused to answer my challenge. The AEW World Champion is a representative of this company. How pathetic. And what’s even worse is this clam-digger hiding behind this fake injury when the truth of the matter is Bryan fears Nigel. Bryan, if you’re not going to do it for me, and you’re not going to do it for you, and you’re not even going to do it so your family isn’t embarrassed by you anymore, maybe you should do it for the fans. The truth is, while they cheer you, they identify with me. You deny me; you deny them. All right.”
Tony Schiavone said, “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but this needs to be said. I’ve been working beside you since last year as your broadcast partner. And I’ve come out and heard what you have said about Brian Danielson each and every week, every time he broadcasts. And I see what you’re trying to do here. I see what you’re trying to do to Bryan Danielson. Yeah, I do, because Danielson feels that the fans are the reason he continues to fight and come out every week. Your claims are ridiculous. Brian Danielson is not afraid of you. And everybody here would agree that he’s not afraid of you. He is not cleared to wrestle. He would be in the ring against you if he were cleared to wrestle. We’ll find out at Grand Slam if Bryan Danielson is cleared to wrestle. We don’t know that. He is not afraid of you. Okay? No, he’s not. Let me say this about Bryan Danielson. I’ve been broadcasting wrestling for the past five decades. Brian Danielson is the greatest I have ever seen; I have ever called in my career.”
Nigel said: “You are one of the luckiest sons of a bitches I have ever seen, because if anybody else had said those words to me, spat on my soul, I would have knocked their head off. Tony, don’t tempt fate twice. If you have an ounce of respect left in your body for me, sit down and shut your mouth. You might be drinking the coward made, But I’m not. Bryan, I don’t care whether you do it for me, you, your family, or all the fans in the world. On Wednesday night, I want you to walk down this pathway. I want you to walk up these steps, and I want you to meet me in the middle of this ring for the final chapter of our rivalry. Because it is my destiny.
“Since I retired, I have told anyone who would listen, shouting at the moon like a lunatic and saying I was as good as you, Bryan. But nobody, nobody listened to me. Nobody believed me. And why would they, Bryan? The truth of the matter is that there are only two people in the world today who know that what I’m saying is true. Me and you. That is exactly why you have refused to answer my challenge. If you show up at Arthur Ashe Stadium, I will beat you. I will destroy you, and I will finally have vindication. Once again, you’re taking away the one thing I deserve from me. But this time, it doesn’t matter. This time, even if you don’t show up, I will still be vindicated because the world knows why. And so the ball is in your court, Bryan. Quite simply, I hope you choose option A and show up.”
FINAL THOUGHTS: In terms of balance, this was one of the better shows AEW puts out on Saturday nights. The crowd was hot from start to finish, and AEW did an excellent job of making this go-home show feel like a big deal. My cohost Amin and I on the PWTorch “Collision Cafe” podcast (VIP-exclusive) have advocated for Collision to have more promos on the show, and I’m glad AEW allowed Nigel to close the show. This was one of the best promos I’ve seen regarding emotion and performance. It’s not always the word’s last matter in a promo. It’s the way a wrestler makes you feel. Genuinely speaking, from rare emotion, I could tell why he needs this match with Bryan Danielson at AEW Grand Slam.
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