Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Collision on September 28.
Here is a look at what AEW advertised for this week's show:
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara
- Pac, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta vs. Private Party and Komander
- Jeff Jarrett vs. Adam Page
- The Conglomeration vs. Learning Tree
- Beast Mortos vs. Dralistico vs. Hologram
- Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter
- Action Andretti vs. Brody King
- Jack Perry open challenge
Let's take a look at what happened on Saturday's show.
Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter
Hayter came into this match with a lot of disadvantages. Since it was Saraya's rules, it basically meant she had no rules.
Harley Cameron said they weren't allowed to start the match until Saraya slapped Hayter, so the former women's champion stood tall and let it happen.
Cameron interfered so much that this was essentially a handicap match hardcore match. Hayter was getting in plenty of offense, but she took the most damage from weapons.
We saw everything from the usual tables and chairs to unconventional weapons like matchbox cars and a baking sheet.
This wasn't pretty, but it was highly entertaining. Saraya did a great job putting Hayter over and making her look good. A Hayterade clothesline sealed the deal in about 12 minutes.
Result: Hayter defeated Saraya
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- It was noted Nigel McGuinness was not on commentary so he could recover after facing Bryan Danielson.
- Saraya used a VCR as a weapon and it was demolished.
- The way Cameron hit the table that did not break looked incredibly painful.
Conglomeration vs. Learning Tree
Orange Cassidy, Kyle O'Reilly and Mark Briscoe took on Chris Jericho, Big Bill and Bryan Keith in trios action this week.
This was a tornado tag match, so no tags actually took place. Anyone could pin anyone at any time. The ref also allowed weapons to be used, but they weren't as common as they were in Hayter's match.
Briscoe made the best use of a chair for a big dive over the top rope and set up a table that Big Bill ended up putting him through with a chokeslam to give The Learning Tree the victory.
This was some fun chaos, but it won't be the thing you remember from this how when looking back on it.
Result: The Learning Tree defeated Conglomeration
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- OC has a brick in his backpack to use as a weapon.
- The announcers referenced Enzo Amore.
- Jericho almost didn't get off the table before Briscoe went through it.
Action Andretti vs. Brody King, Jack Perry Open Challenge
Following events on Rampage, Andretti was booked in a singles match against King, who came out without anyone else from House of Black.
Andretti went right at King and hit a few fast-paced moves before one big right hand from King knocked him out of midair. A cannonball in the corner gave King one of his fastest wins ever.
Result: King defeated Andretti
Grade: C-
Jack Perry arrived in his customized bus for his TNT Championship open challenge. Minoru Suzuki ended up being his surprise opponent.
The champ doled out a few forearms before Suzuki laughed and knocked him down with one big shot. Perry unloaded with chops and it led to the same result.
Perry was able to battle back during a break and make it a more competitive fight, but Suzuki still dominated a lot of the action
Suzuki ended up using a chair but Aubrey Edwards didn't disqualify him. She just took it away. What should have been a clear disqualification was outright ignored, and it really stood out.
Perry ended up winning by countout a few moments later after hitting a DDT on the floor. Katsuyori Shibata ran down to save Suzuki from being attacked after the bell.
The countout ending right after what should have been a DQ really took the wind out of this match's sails.
Result: Perry defeated Suzuki
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- A Jim Croce reference will always be appreciated.
- The Righteous attacked Top Flight after the match.
Claudio Castagnoli, Pac and Wheeler Yuta vs. Private Party and Komander
Yuta reluctantly came out to defend the trios titles with Pac and Castagnoli against Marq Quen, Isiah Kassidy and Komander.
Pac and Quen immediately turned up the pace and got the action going with their initial exchange.
Quen was isolated for a long time, but Yuta refused to tag in, so Castagnoli and Pac did all of the work. Once Yuta was forcibly tagged in, he refused to do a dropkick after the Big Swing like he usually does.
However, Yuta did kick out when Quen rolled him up. He began to lose his cool and went on a rampage as Pac and Castagnoli looked on smiling. Yuta won with a Cattle Mutilation submission.
This was a solid match, but the story being told stood out more than the action in a good way.
Result: Pac, Castagnoli and Yuta defeated Private Party and Komander
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Quen's shirt was an interesting design choice.
- Zay's hand wasn't bandaged enough to sell after being smashed by a hammer recently.
- Komander's big dive looked awesome.
- The video for The Outrunners was amazing.
Hologram vs. Beast Mortos vs. Dralistico
Three luchadors competed in a triple threat this week with Hologram, Dralistico and Mortos doing battle to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Mortos used his size and power to serve as a base for the other two high-flyers, but that doesn't mean he stayed grounded. He was also showing off his impressive agility.
If you know how talented these men are, then you know how good this match was. There was so much going on that trying to summarize everything we saw would be difficult.
In terms of pure lucha libre action, it's hard to think of a single reason to complain about this. Not only was everything exciting but it was all performed with incredible precision.
Mortos and Dralistico tried to work together, but Hologram was able to pull off the win. Rush came out and united them so they could take out Hologram and reform LFI.
Result: Hologram defeated Mortos and Dralistico
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Dralistico's ring jacket looked incredible. Whoever designed it did amazing work.
- Hologram is a special talent in the ring but it would be nice to get some promos.
- Hologram almost did a double stomp on the face of Mortos.
Adam Page vs. Jeff Jarrett
Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed ended up crashing MxM's fashion show and stealing a customer jacket.
The next match saw Page and Jarrett compete in a Lumberjack Strap match, but instead of them being strapped together, it was the lumberjacks who had straps.
Different lumberjacks wanted to get their hands on different competitors, so while Dark Order was waiting to give Hangman a thrashing, Bang Bang Gang was waiting to do the same to Double J.
AEW ended up having several technical difficulties during the match, but the action was decent. Hangman leaned into his new attitude and beat up several lumberjacks, and he even threatened to hit Karen Jarrett.
Several people took turns whipping Page, but he used a low blow to set up for Deadeye to get the win.
Result: Page defeated Jarrett
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- There was a lot of penis puns being made during the MxM segment.
- Dark Order allowed Jarrett to escape a whipping.
- The crowd and commentators were mysteriously silent for a moment.
- Juice Robinson looked hilarious.
- Jarrett hit a dive off the top rope onto several people.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara
This week's main event was the Continental Championship Eliminator bout between Okada and Guevara. Dustin Rhodes accompanied his tag team partner to the stage but didn't go all the way to ringside.
They began with a simple exchange of wristlocks and reversals. They picked up the pace and started incorporating more high-impact offense before we went to a break.
Guevara put up a valiant effort, but The Rainmaker picked up the win, dashing Guevara'ss hopes at a future title opportunity.
This was a good, clean match that allowed both men to shine, but it felt a little too short.
Result: Okada defeated Guevara
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- This bout got started with 10 minutes left.
- Guevara was looking a little extra smooth with some of his flips and high-flying moves. He's been practicing.
- Okada sold a hurricanrana perfectly.
- The back body drop on the steal stairs was a good spot.
The Final Word
This week's Collision packed a lot into its two-hour runtime and managed to address several stories at once, but it also had a few skippable segments and some major technical issues.
Your picks for the Match of the Night will vary depending on what you like. Some people will pick Hayter vs. Saraya for its intensity, others may choose Double J vs. Hangman, and others may enjoy Perry vs. Suzuki
We're singling out the three-way lucha libre match because it was the most exciting bell-to-bell performance of the night.
Okada and Guevara also put on a great main event, but they would have easily stolen the show with five or 10 more minutes. Overall, this was an episode of Collision that was definitely worth watching.
Grade: B+
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