AEW Collision Review – August 26, 2023

This week’s AEW Collision was headlined by an “All In All-Star” 8-man tag team match with CM Punk, Sting, Darby Allin & Hook teaming up.

Episode eleven of AEW Collision was taped Wednesday after Dynamite at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia. It seems like a throwaway type of show. With the All In card complete there isn’t much at stake. The card isn’t strong at all. There is an “All In All-Star” 8-man tag main event. The rest of the card isn’t intriguing. It would be nice if they announced a couple of matches for All Out which AEW seemingly has forgotten is just one week away. Let’s get to the action.

Before we begin, check out the TJRWrestling team (including me) previewing AEW All In London ahead of today’s show.

There were no show opening short video packages that we have become accustomed to seeing on Collision.

Jack Perry Retires the FTW Title, or does he?

Jack Perry is out first with an elaborate set up in the ring to retire the FTW Title. He plays a ridiculous video package showing his memories with the FTW Title that was pretty funny. Jack was about to destroy the belt with a sledgehammer when Hook made the interruption. Hook nailed Jack with a T-Bone Suplex through a table. Hook said “Wembley” before leaving the ring.

Gino’s take – We had already heard the match was announced for Zero Hour at All In since this isn’t a live show. This was a good way to set up the match. I like that it will be held under FTW rules. I’m looking forward to the match more after this segment.

We’re shown a recap of the brilliant rivalry/bromance between MJF and Adam Cole.

Orange Cassidy/Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston def Kip Sabian/Butcher/Blade – Penelope Ford shoved Alex Abrahantes down in a funny spot. Penta and Sabian looked good early. The heels worked over Orange Cassidy. Penta hit a destroyer on Kip. Penta and Orange hit a nice-looking double team Orange Punch into a Michinoku Driver on Sabian allowing Eddie to hit a sliding elbow for the win. Rating ** ¾

Gino’s take – It was not at the level of the usual opening match we get on AEW television. It was really just about putting over the guys wrestling at All In.

Best Friends have joined the winning team in the ring after the commercial. Chuck and Trent complained about how Blackpool Combat Club destroyed Trent’s mom’s van. That got the crowd to chant “Sue”. It was pretty good. BCC showed up on the big screen and taunted their opponents at Stadium Stampede. Eddie Kingston stormed out of the ring to track down Blackpool. He wasn’t able to find them but cut an intense promo about 2 inches away from a camera backstage.

Gino’s take – This was a little bumpy but they got through it. Kingston’s promo at the end was the best part. I’m excited for the Stadium Stampede match.

There is a video package showing how the Young Bucks named FTR as somewhat of a joke on Being the Elite a few years ago. FTR of course stood for “F” the Revival. It was a good way to highlight the backstory since a lot of AEW fans don’t watch Being the Elite.

Dark Order (Alex Reynolds/John Silver) def Action Andretti/Darius Martin – The action was fine. Anytime Andretti and Martin are in a match you know what the outcome will be. Dark Order has been given some promo time on Rampage so it seems like they are getting a bit of a push. They won after an impressive series of double team moves. Rating ** ¼

Gino’s take – It seems like Andretti and Martin lose every week on Collision. Would it kill AEW to book a 5-minute match where they get a win? There are so many wrestlers on the AEW roster it seems some of those losses could be spread around. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Dark Order booked better so I guess this was OK from that standpoint.

In a backstage segment from Dynamite, AR Fox tried to apologize to Darby Allin and Nick Wayne. He offered his hand to Wayne but Nick walked out. Darby said he knew Fox was sorry. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the last we see of Fox for a while.

Let’s take a musical look at The Acclaimed and “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn. Max Caster cut a rap on House of Black. It was pretty good and not comical like his raps usually are. It was a good way to add to their match at All In.

There are a lot of video packages as you might expect on a taped show like this. We get another one, this one hyping up the AEW Women’s Championship match. Pretty standard stuff.

Big Bill def Vary Morales – Morales looks like Damian Priest but a foot shorter. Ricky Starks was with Bill who obviously destroyed Morales winning with a huge Chokeslam. Rating SQUASH

Starks had a mic but didn’t really say much as he whipped Vary with Ricky Steamboat’s belt.

Gino’s take – This didn’t seem to accomplish anything. I thought Ricky might call out Punk for All Out here. They have made a point to say Stark’s wrestling suspension ends the night before All Out. It didn’t happen and I’m not sure why they even did this.

Ruby Soho in a backstage segment with Lexy Nair. She challenges Kris Statlander for a TBS Championship match at All Out. It finally sounds like we have our third match for what is usually a top 2 show for AEW.

Willow Nightingale def Robyn Renegade – This was the typical women’s match where about half of it took place during a commercial. Robyn actually looks pretty good in the ring but Willow winning was never in doubt. She won with her Powerbomb finisher. Grade ** ¼

Gino’s take – I was impressed by Robyn. The Renegades Twins are definitely women that could be used more. However, this was another random match with nothing at stake on a show full of matches like that.

AEW advertised they would show footage of its stars in England. They showed a short clip of Saraya and someone I didn’t recognize on a TV show and a Fozzy concert. The whole thing lasted about 20 seconds.

Another recap/video package for Miro and Powerhouse Hobbs match at All Out. As I mentioned earlier, there have been a lot of these.

Kris Statlander is now backstage. She accepts Ruby Soho’s challenge so we now have 3 matches official for a PPV in 8 days.

Keith Lee def Zicky Dice – Say What! I really like Zicky! He is a jobber from Impact who did very entertaining work with Johnny Swinger. That doesn’t mean he had a shot here. Lee demolished him quickly with a Sit-down Powerbomb. Rating SQUASH

Gino’s take – I guess AEW remembered Keith Lee was on the roster. It’s really sad that this is all they had for him with 2 big PPV’s coming up. I’d like to see Zicky become a regular character in AEW.

We go to another video package. This one is for the LIJ storyline that started last week. Dralistico and Preston Vance were abducted. They were being held hostage by some thugs but turned the tables on them. Everyone was a bloody mess by the end. Jose the Assistant clapped for Dralistico and Vance to end it. Rush has something to do with this.

Gino’s take – It’s mildly intriguing but we have seen angles like this many times.

Samoa Joe hits the ring saying he is banned from interfering in tonight’s main event. He will lose his title shot against Punk if he does. He will join commentary instead.

One last rundown of the All In card followed by a video package hyping Samoa Joe vs CM Punk. Now it’s main event time.

CM Punk/Darby Allin/Sting/Hook def Jay White/Luchasaurus/Swerve Strickland/Brian Cage – This is billed as an All In All-Star 8-man tag. It’s a solid main event but clearly just a showcase of guys competing at All In. There really hasn’t been anything at stake on this show. Darby and Sting had a good double team on Luchasaurus. The action was slow paced at the start with the heels in control with Jay White using a lot of heel antics. The heels were in control of CM Punk after the commercial break.

Hook had a couple good looking throws on Brain Cage. Punk stared down Joe as he hit the GTS on Cage. He finished Cage off with the Coquina Clutch. A direct shot of Samoa Joe.

As soon as the match ended, Joe hit the ring and the brawl was on. Jack Perry came out and threw down with Hook during the melee. It was the typical wild brawl we often see to end a show before a PPV. Joe ended up leveling Punk with the belt and held the belt over his head to end the show. Rating *** ¼

Gino’s take – It was a solid match but not the caliber we normally see in a main event on Collision. It was really about getting to the brawl to close the show.

Overall Rating 6.5/10

Final Thoughts – This was possibly the weakest episode in Collision’s short history. You could tell there was little thought or effort put into the card when the matches were announced. The show was in a tough spot with All In being held a little over 12 hours later. It’s a lot of wrestling in a short amount of time. It was going to be tough to make this show feel significant. There were a lot of video packages and recaps to build All In. I’m not sure what they could have done differently but this just really wasn’t that good of a show.

Please follow me on Twitter/X @GeenoEvel86. Thanks for reading.