Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Collision on November 9.
Here's a look at what AEW advertised for this week's show:
- Kris Statlander in action
- Action Andretti vs. Jack Perry
- Iron Savages vs. House of Black
- BCC vs. Conglomeration
- Roderick Strong vs. Beast Mortos
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's show.
House of Black vs. Iron Savages
Collision opened with Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews making their way to the ring to battle Jacked Jameson, Bulk Bronson and Beefcake Boulder.
HOB had the upper hand right away and other than one quick moment, Black King and Matthews dominated the powerlifters.
After about a minute, the ref just stopped caring if tags were made or anyone got out of the ring. Jameson was the unfortunate recipient of their triple-team finisher to end the match.
This was a glorified squash that had a few fun moments but was ultimately just designed to give HOB an easy victory. What we saw was fine, but we didn't get nearly enough action for this to be anything special.
As Black was preparing to speak, FTR's music hit. They asked which two members of HOB would face them in an upcoming match. Black and King stepped forward.
Result: HOB defeated Iron Savages
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- HOB still has one of the best entrances in AEW.
- There was no point in changing the Savages' names.
- The look on Malakai's face when Jameson gave his promo was so funny. He looked almost offended at how bored he was.
The Outrunners vs. Top Flight
Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen came out to watch this match because whoever wins will be in the Fatal 4-Way match at Full Gear to determine the next No. 1 contenders to the titles.
Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd battled Dante and Darius Martin in a showdown of two popular babyface tag teams, but the crowd seemed to be a bit more vocal for the Outrunners.
The first couple of minutes were pretty basic. They traded control, made some tags, and taunted each other, but once the pace picked up, you could really see what these teams can do.
Private Party watched from the stage as these teams put on a competitive performance, but Dante and Darius got into an argument when Darius almost took out Leila Grey with a suicide dive.
The Outrunners started to build some momentum and hit a series of double-team moves. Turbo Hulked up and they hit their finisher for the pin and the win. This was a solid match from two talented duos.
Result: The Outrunners defeated Top Flight.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Top Flight was smart to ditch the pilot uniforms.
- The atomic drop is one of those moves that used to be in almost every match and now we almost never see it. The Outrunners are bringing it back.
- Darius has adjusted his style a little. He used to do a lot more flying but he has started using a lot more grounded offense in recent months.
Roderick Strong vs. Beast Mortos
Strong was out first for his match against Mortos. Roddy was looking to gain his second win on the road to the three he needs to challenge MJF.
Roddy asked Mortos where he was when he needed him, and the Beast unloaded on him. Roddy clearly still wanted him to leave LFI and join The Undisputed Kingdom, but the masked man seemed to have no interest.
The announcers noted that Mortos looked conflicted at times, but it never stopped him from trying to win the match.
The match lasted through a commercial into the next segment and saw both men get in plenty of offense. Mortos seemed to have control most of the time, but Strong kept finding ways to make a comeback.
After a solid back-and-forth contest that was more physical than expected, Strong scored the win but was immediately attacked by Lance Archer as soon as it was over.
Result: Strong defeated Mortos
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Strong shaving his mustache once he turned babyface is kind of hilarious.
- Mortos hit a really nice powerslam from the corner.
- Archer's music isn't heavy enough for him. He needs something really dark.
Kris Statlander in Action, Jack Perry vs. Action Andretti
Statlander faced a local talent this week, which means this was little more than a squash match. She hit her Staturday Night Fever finisher for a sub-minute victory.
Mercedes Mone showed up and attacked Stat until officials filled the ring.
Result: Statlander won
Grade: Incomplete
The TNT title was on the line this week when Perry defended the belt against Andretti. They locked up and Perry made a surprisingly clean break in the corner.
Perry began to use more heel tactics during the break like raking Andretti's eyes. Once he had the upper hand, he became much more aggressive.
The high-flyer began to build up a head of steam once we returned and he almost won with a beautiful 450, but Perry had too much life left on his health bar.
After a fun and frenetic performance, Perry picked up the win to retain his title. Before he could say two words into the mic he grabbed, Daniel Garcia came to the ring.
Result: Perry defeated Andretti
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Tony Schiavone hates Mariah May more than he hates most heels, which is kind of weird.
- The refs weren't even trying to get Mercedes to let go.
- Perry got the camera near the corner wet during his entrance.
- Andretti got some serious height with his leap frog.
AR Fox vs. Nick Wayne
Nick Wayne gave a promo saying it's good AR Fox's dad is dead already so he doesn't have to see what is about to happen to him. Fox responded by attacking him during his entrance.
Wayne had to trip him into the ring steps to take control after Fox hit a few high-flying moves in a row. Kip Sabian and Shayna Wayne cheered Nick on as Fox proceeded to regain control.
This was a solid match with a lot of energy, but it also had a couple of sloppy moments as a result of trying to go so quickly.
Wayne hit his new finisher, a double underhook destroyer, for the win. After the match, Sabian held Fox so Nick could staple a picture to his head.
Result: Nick defeated Fox
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Fox is one of those guys who wrestles better than 99% of the roster without even trying, but the company has done so little to build him up that it didn't feel like he had a chance to win.
- Let's hope Fox wore his cup this week. Being crotched on the barricade does not sound fun.
- Wayne might have had a tooth knocked out or knocked loose. He was checking his mouth a lot.
The Death Riders vs. Conglomeration
Pac, Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli put the Trios Championships on the line in this week's main event against Mark Briscoe, Kyle O'Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii.
KOR and Yuta started for their teams with a fast-paced exchange. The babyfaces had Yuta cornered for a little while, but his teammates eventually helped even the odds.
This was the most action-packed bout on the card. All six men put in a lot of effort to make this an entertaining main event, but a title change never seemed like a real possibility.
This was a perfect example of what the trios division is in AEW. The rules were ignored a bit at times, but that isn't unusual in AEW.
Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir came to the ring with a few minutes left in the show, but so did Orange Cassidy. The champions retained in the end, but OC initiated a huge brawl with Mox and his crew. The show ended with The Death Riders retreating into the crowd.
Result: The Death Riders defeated The Conglomeration
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Claudio had pieces of paper attached to his jacket but it was hard to tell what was written on them.
- Briscoe's chair-assisted dive out of the ring looked great. He took everyone out and landed perfectly on his feet.
- Cassidy nailed Yuta with the Orange Punch really well.
The Final Word
This week's episode of Collision packed a lot into the two-hour runtime, but that doesn't mean every segment was a hit.
The two squash matches were forgettable, but most of what we saw in the ring was highly entertaining. The main event was certainly the most memorable, but depending on what kind of wrestling you enjoy, it may not be your personal Match of the Night.
Perry and Andretti put on a great performance, and so did Top Flight and The Outrunners. However, the most interesting thing didn't even take place in the arena.
A video aired for the long-awaited return of Julia Hart. The former TBS champion was channeling both her dark persona and her cheerleader side for this video, and it worked perfectly.
The two title bouts are definitely worth watching, but make sure you go check out the video hyping Hart's return.
Grade: B
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