Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Collision and Battle of the Belts X on April 13.
Here is a look at the lineup for both shows:
- Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Powerhouse Hobbs and Kyle Fletcher
- Lee Moriarty and Katsuyori Shibata
- Toni Storm vs. AZM
- House of Black vs. Dante Martin, Action Andretti and Matt Sydal
- Roderick Strong vs. Rocky Romero (International Championship)
- Athena vs. Red Velvet (ROH Women's Championship)
- Hook vs. Shane Taylor (FTW Championship)
Let's take a look at what happened during Saturday's supersized Collision and BOTB.
House of Black vs. Martin, Andretti and Sydal
Collision opened with clips of Jon Moxley winning the IWGP World Championship Friday night before Danielson and Castagnoli spoke from backstage.
Back in the arena, Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews and Brody King made their entrance for a trios match against Sydal, Andretti and Martin.
Matthews and Andretti started with a simple exchange of wristlocks and counters. The high-flyers seemed to have the upper hand for the first few minutes, but nobody stood a chance once King tagged in.
This was a surprisingly by-the-books contest. Tags were being made, rules were being observed and illegal partners were staying out of the ring for most of the match. Things started to break down a bit at the end, but it was always easy to follow which members of each team were legal.
This might not have had the breakneck speed some fans would have expected until the final couple of minutes, but it was a well-structured match that gave all six wrestlers time to shine. After a couple of near-falls on both sides, HOB got the win with a triple-team attack on Sydal
Result: House of Black defeated Sydal, Martin and Andretti
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Daddy Magic and LA Knight shop at the same stores.
- The announcers said Darius Martin was getting his pilot's license and was unable to compete, so Sydal stepped in.
- Seeing a guy like King do a dive out of the ring will always be fun.
- Dante had a great series of high-flying moves toward the end.
Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Shibata was looking to prove Moriarty's win in a trios bout on Dynamite was a fluke, so they fought in a single match this week. The Wrestlers was alone but Moriarty had Shane Taylor and Anthony Ogogo with him.
These two men have very similar skills. They are both incredibly technically sound while also possessing great striking ability.
The first few minutes were a clinic showing several holds, counters and reversals. They fought through the break and began to incorporate more strikes.
Shibata won the striking battle while no-selling a series of chops that left his chest red. They told a great story of two highly skilled fighters only being separated by their level of experience. After a great contest, Shibata won cleanly with a brutal kick to the face.
Taylor attacked The Wrestler until Hook made the save. Taylor chose to back down and save himself for his FTW title match later during Battle of the Belts.
Result: Shibata defeated Moriarty
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The backstage interview with Toni Storm and Mariah May was fantastic.
- Ogogo joined the commentary team for this match.
- You could see the new ROH figures for Kenny Omega and Castagnoli on the announce table. The box art for those figures is amazing.
Daniel Garcia vs. Angelico
Serpentico accompanied Angelico to the ring for his match against Daniel Garcia. This was a bit of a bonus since it wasn't announced prior to the show.
Much like Shibata and Moriarty, these are two men who pride themselves on technical ability. Angelico won their initial exchange and celebrated a bit before Red Death came back and won the next exchange.
This match only lasted one segment but packed a lot into a few minutes. Garcia scored the win and celebrated with a happy crowd.
Result: Garcia defeated Angelico
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Serpentico's streamers are a fun little gimmick. They add to Angelico's entrance.
- It wouldn't be surprising to see Daddy Magic transition to commentary full-time. He seems comfortable doing it.
- Pac gave a great promo from backstage.
Toni Storm vs. AZM
Anna Jay accompanied AZM to the ring for her eliminator match against Storm. May was by Storm's side along with Luther.
The first couple of minutes saw Storm one-upping her opponent before AZM used her speed to take the champion down.
Jay and May began fighting at ringside and ended up heading toward the back. AZM used the distraction to send Storm into the ring steps and hit a running kick from the apron.
It felt like this match was split into two parts. The first half was all about entertainment and the second half was about displaying their skill as wrestlers.
This went from being what could have been a throwaway eliminator bout to a competitive fight which will likely cause some fans to do more research on AZM to see more of her matches. Timeless Toni picked up a win with Storm Zero.
Result: Storm defeated AZM
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- AZM is only 21 and began training when she was 11, so she is way ahead of the curve.
- Storm keeps finding new looks that work with this gimmick.
- Storm laughing off AZM's attempted takedowns was hilarious.
- Storm and May were getting a little frisky after the match.
Blackpool Combat Club vs. Don Callis Family
The main event of the Collision portion of the show saw Danielson and Castagnoli take on Fletcher and Hobbs.
The Callis Family attacked before the bell in an attempt to get the upper hand, but BCC turned the tables. The American Dragon and ROH TV champion fought while Castagnoli and Hobbs battled on the opposite side of the ring.
Once everyone got settled and the match began progressing, we saw every combination of opponents work together. They ended up fighting into the crowd as things broke down before the final break.
Even though every move we saw looked either good or great, the flow of this match was a little all over the place. It would have benefitted from being contested under tornado tag rules, but since it wasn't, it felt disorganized.
But again, the action was fun and the crowd was being vocal, so it served its purpose and delivered some energetic wrestling. Castagnoli got the pin for his team before Konosuke Takeshita attacked from behind.
Result: BCC defeated Don Callis Family
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Thunder Rosa gave an interesting interview that would have been better as a backstage solo promo.
- Hobbs was so much cooler as a solo act wearing big fur coats. He needs to get away from the Callis family. In fact, the group has kind of run its course. Without Kenny Omega, Callis feels irrelevant.
- Hobbs almost dropped Danielson during a dive catch but managed to save it.
- The padding on the floor falling back into place and preventing Fletcher from using the concrete floor was hilarious.
- Castagnoli hitting a hurricanrana from the announce table was unexpected.
Shane Taylor vs Hook
Hook ducked a punch and started unloading on Taylor. He tried a suplex but couldn't get the big man off his feet.
The fight spilled out of the ring but once they got back in, Taylor started asserting his dominance. He battered his young opponent while talking lots of trash.
Hook tried and failed another suplex and gave Taylor an opening to hit a stiff body shot. This was a slow, methodical fight that showed Taylor as a dominant fighter and Hook as a valiant competitor who refused to quit.
The champion began to make a comeback and finally hit a couple of suplexes, but Taylor recovered and hit a big splash for a near-fall. Hook was able to lock in Red Rum and the ref called for the bell.
This was a great underdog victory for The Coldhearted Handsome Devil and the best Taylor has looked in months.
Result: Hook defeated Taylor
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Shibata offered to be in Hook's corner but Hook said he had this one.
- Taylor is great at taunting his opponents because he's so believable as a badass.
Roderick Strong vs. Rocky Romero
Romero and Strong fought in an Eliminator match, meaning if Romero won, he would earn a shot at the International Championship.
Wardlow, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett were all at ringside, but Azucar was riding solo due to Best Friends having internal issues lately.
These guys are both as versatile as it gets, so it was no surprise to see them use a variety of different moves throughout the match.
Sadly, the crowd seemed a bit tired and was only making noise during the most exciting moments of the match. A quiet crowd can make a big difference, but Romero and Strong are good enough to make you see how good they are.
Romero had some great sequences that woke up the crowd a bit, but a jumping knee from Strong put him away for the pin. Kyle O'Reilly came out to congratulate Strong but also checked on Rocky and helped him up before Wardlow hit a clothesline.
Strong nailed O'Reilly and yelled in his face that he would never be able to do it on his own.
Result: Strong defeated Romero
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- AEW needs to do a better job at defining what an Eliminator match is because this bout being on BOTB probably made a lot of people think it was for the title.
- Daddy Magic cracking up at one of Tony Schiavone's jokes was great.
- Romero makes everything look so easy.
Athena vs. Red Velvet
The main event of the three-hour show saw Athena defend her ROH women's world title against Red Velvet.
Billie Starkz was walking around the ring as the opponents shook hands to observe the Code of Honor. They locked up and battled for control until making a clean break.
They were given a lot of time to work and put on a solid title match to close out the show. Velvet looked like she had something to prove and put on a great performance to make sure AEW fans don't forget about her.
This was another in a long line of good performances from Athena, but it was also a reminder that Velvet is a valuable player in the women's division. The Forever Champ retained her title and celebrated with her minion. Queen Aminata made the save when they continued attacking Velvet.
Result: Athena defeated Red Velvet
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Lexi doing the ring announcements was a nice touch.
- It's so easy to forget how tall Starkz is until you see her next to someone like Athena.
- Velvet has improved a lot since signing with AEW. Every part of her game has gotten better.
- Athena catching Velvet flying off the top rope with one arm is wild.
The Final Word
This week's Collision and Battle of the Belts double feature delivered some fun matches, but two things made these three hours stand out.
The first was how well everything was paced. We had videos and interviews between almost every match to break things up a bit, which meant each result had more time to set in.
The second thing to note was how many women we saw on the show. In addition to Storm vs. AZM and Athena vs. Velvet, we also got interviews and promos from a number of stars in the division.
Jay, May, Aminata, Rosa, Purrazzo, Starkz and Lexi were all given some attention. As far as the best match goes, it's a tough week to pick because a few were great for different reasons.
Shibata and Moriarty probably had the best bell-to-bell performance, but you will get different answers if you ask different people.
Grade: B+
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