Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Collision on July 13.
Here is a look at the lineup from this week's show:
- Orange Cassidy and Kyle O'Reilly vs. The Kingdom
- Roderick Strong vs. Dalton Castle
- Top Flight vs. Shane Taylor Promotions
- Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tommy Billington
- Harley Cameron vs. Skye Blue
- Bang Bang Gang in action
- Nyla Rose in action
Let's take a look at what happened during this week's episode of Collision.
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tommy Billington
Billington impressed in his last AEW outing, so a lot of fans were excited to hear he would be appearing on Collision against Takeshita.
Takeshita had a big size and power advantage and made sure Billington knew it when he shoved him to the ground during their initial lockup.
Billington didn't stay down long and got in some offense here and there, but this bout was mostly dominated by Big Take.
While this bout was solid on a technical level, it didn't really feel like an AEW match. The pacing was much more similar to something we would get in WWE. That is neither a good nor bad thing. It's simply an observation.
WWE has a pattern to its matches and how offense is distributed. It ebbs and flows in a specific way, and this bout came close to feeling that way. Billington rallied after a break and hit a series of high-impact moves, but he took too long climbing to the top rope and paid for it.
Takeshita survived a piledriver and avoided a diving headbutt before he recovered and finished off The Dynamite Kid with a running knee strike. Afterward, Billington turned down a spot in the Callis Family and took another beating from Takeshita until FTR made the save.
Result: Takeshita defeated Billington
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- It still feels weird to call anyone else The Dynamite Kid.
- Callis said his mentor, Bad News Allen, was also the original Dynamite Kid's mentor.
- Takeshita didn't even come close to going over the top rope when Billington hit a running crossbody, but he rolled out of the ring anyway.
- Not covering Takeshita for a two-count after the piledriver was such a weird decision.
The Bang Bang Gang in Action
Juice Robinson, Austin and Colten Gunn were in action this week in a non-title bout against three local competitors. This was a basic squash to give The Bang Bang Gang an easy victory, but what came after is what people will be talking about this weekend.
With Jay White out with an injury, BBG tried to invoke the Freebird rule so Robinson could be one of the champions. Christopher Daniels said that wasn't the case and stripped them of the titles.
Result: The Bang Bang Gang won
Grade: Incomplete
Notable Moments and Observations
- Robinson allowing his opponent to apply a headlock was such an old-school heel move.
- The Patriarchy vs. Bang Bang Gang for the trios titles was booked.
- It almost felt like AEW was trying to portray BBG as the good guys. A face turn for the group would be easy to pull off with the popularity is has.
Roderick Strong vs. Dalton Castle
Castle and Strong fought for a shot at the ROH world title in the next match. Since Strong had some backup, Castle brought The Outrunners with him.
Castle used his size advantage to wrestle Strong to the mat, but The Messiah of the Backbreaker gained the upper hand before the break.
The first half of this was relatively basic, but they picked up the pace and turned this into a competitive performance.
Even with four guys at ringside, it felt like all of the attention was on the competitors where it belonged. Strong nailed a knee to the face to pick up the win and earn a title shot against Mark Briscoe.
Result: Strong defeated Castle
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Castle and The Outrunners sounds like a weird combo on paper, but it kind of worked.
- Strong is one of those performers who never turns his character off. Every little thing he does feels intentional.
Nyla Rose in Action, Top Flight vs. Shane Taylor Promotions
Nyla Rose had a quick match with a local talent named Ava Lawless. It was a one-sided fight that saw The Native Beast score an easy victory.
Result: Nyla Rose won
Grade: Incomplete
Action Andretti accompanied Dante and Darius Martin to the ring for their match against Anthony Ogogo and Lee Moriarty, who had Taylor in their corner.
Dante and Moriarty started by trying to one-up each other. When they both made the tag, Ogogo took control of Darius with some stiff strikes.
This was a fun encounter with some standout sequences, but there were times when it felt like all four men were holding back during the first half, likely in an effort to pace themselves.
Even with interference from Taylor, Top Flight was able to get the win when Darius pinned Moriarty.
Result: Top Flight defeated Shane Taylor Promotions
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- AEW needs to do more to push Rose as a babyface. She could be as over as anyone on the roster with some effort from management.
- Taylor's entrance music works well for him.
- When Dante gets going, there is nobody else like him. The way he moves looks almost unrealistic because he's so agile.
Harley Cameron vs. Skye Blue
In a bit of a strange situation, AEW pitted two heels against each other when Blue took on Cameron, who had Saraya in her corner.
Cameron got in a surprising amount of offense, especially early in the match. Her role in AEW has mostly been to support others and put them over, so it was nice to see her get a chance to display her growth.
While this bout had some good moments and showed two young stars who have come a long way since their respective AEW debuts, you could also see a lack of chemistry and moves being telegraphed in some spots.
Blue was able to get the win with a new finisher. The crowd didn't seem to know how to react since neither woman was a face.
Result: Blue defeated Cameron
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Nyla gave a fun interview before this match.
- Blue was wearing white gear and a cowboy hat, which is a big departure from her spooky look.
- Blue's corner superkick looked great.
The Kingdon vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Orange Cassidy
The ROH tag team champions were in action this week when Matt Taven and Mike Bennett took on Cassidy and O'Reilly. Strong watched from the commentary table.
Taven refused to fight KOR and said they should be on the same side. OC tagged in when Bennett did the same thing and took out both men with a suicide dive.
O'Reilly finally got in the ring again and didn't hold back against either opponent. This was easily the best match of the night both for the in-ring action and the way it furthered two different stories.
Trent Beretta interfered and helped Bennett and Taven secure the win. Beretta went after KOR but Bennett and Taven stopped him. OC nailed Beretta with a wrench. As The Kingdom tried to leave, Tomohiro Ishii took them out. The show ended with him, Cassidy and O'Reilly in the ring.
Result: The Kingdom defeated KOR and OC
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The Conglomeration is not the best name for a stable, but it's not the worst either.
- Taven is great at making all of his facial expressions clear during vocal exchanges in the ring.
- O'Reilly should give seminars on how to make kicks look good.
The Final Word
This was an up-and-down episode of Collision. It had some good stuff, but very little of what we saw felt like necessary viewing.
The main event tag match was easily the best thing on the show. Strong vs. Castle and Takeshita vs. Billington were good, but you can see everything you need to see on social media.
Blue maintaining her heel personality while changing up her gear and attitude could be a good move for her character since Julia Hart is out with an injury, but time will tell.
Grade: C+
Read 124 Comments
Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation