Countdown:
It was nice that even during the Countdown AEW had content for those that already filed in to view. The Miro/Hobbs contract signing was very much best placed during this time and was a bit of fun to get the crowd started.
Zero Hour:
MJF/Adam Cole vs. Aussie Open for ROH Tag Championship –
The match was short, but it was fun and it really popped the crowd. I’m not shocked that MJF and Adam Cole won the belts. I really think that it will play into the Min Event later tonight. I did like the way MJF pumped up like the Ultimate Warrior. MJF is really playing it up to the crowd, which I love cause if he ends up turning later in the night, for some it will really be a stab to their hearts. That being said, I think it’s gonna be Cole (with the help of Strong and Kingdom) who turns on MJF tonight. It would be a nice twist, for me, if things turned out that way.
2.75/5
I almost cried when I saw Mercedes Mone aka Sasha Banks in the audience…tears of joy. As she is one of my all-time fave wrestlers, any time I can watch her work is a good time.
5/5
Hook vs. Jack Perry for the FTW Championship –
This match started off with a brutal fight on top of a limo, and the effects were seen on especially Perry after he was dropped through the front windshield. This match was actually pretty good with the crowd definitely into it. I love how they are playing into Hook’s character. That being said, though he is improving, I am still not on board with Jack Perry as a heel. Just cause you do a bunch of cursing, doesn’t make you a heel. Cheating helps, but still, he has a way to go with me.
2.5/5
All In (Main Show):
CM Punk vs Samoa Joe –
The crowd is most definitely into both wrestlers. It’s obvious as the match goes on that both wrestlers know each other well. I love that when Joe walks off when Punk tries to attack from the ropes. It just adds a level of realism to the match. I also like how the match was a bit stiff. I love that the match was a bit slower and more methodical, really playing to the fact that these two wrestlers know each other so well. I’m not shocked CM Punk won, but honestly either AEW needs to give Punk a belt specifically for Collision or unify the belt.
3.5/5
Bullet Club/Takeshita vs Golden Lovers/Page –
I absolutely love all the men wrestling in this match. Though I’m still pissed that they had Takeshita go heel, I absolutely love watching him wrestle. He came in the doors of AEW ready for primetime and main events. Omega and Ibushi are top-shelf wrestlers. Page has really been establishing himself as a top wrestler. I have always had respect for Robinson as a wrestler and felt that the WWE was stupid to let him go. When Jay White first showed up in NJPW, I didn’t like him at all. He has slowly convinced me that he is definitely worth all the platitudes that he’s garnered. So, this was definitely one of the matches that I was looking forward to today.
From the beginning, I loved how each team was feeling the other one out. Omega is top-notch at selling moves. This match was damn near nonstop actions with everything bringing their best. I figured something (probably having something to do with the Gunns) would cause Bullet Gold and Takeshita to win, and I wasn’t far behind. There was no way a clean win was happening in this match, but the entire match was top-notch from start to finish. I don’t like cheating, but it’s what they chose to keep people strong, so it is what it is.
4/5
Rubber Match: FTR vs. Youngbucks for the AEW Tag Championship –
I really appreciate the wrestlers and the members of the crew who are wearing Bray, Brodie, and Funk bands. It really shows how no matter what, the pro wrestling world is one. Both of these teams were among the best to ever tag team wrestle, so I expected this to be a good match. The back and forth of this match is crazy. Trading each other moves and finishers, the full-on sprint tackle by Wheeler on Nick Jackson, this match was crazy. I knew this match had the potential to be a match of the night contender, and it is most definitely up there, if not the MOTN. Though I think the right team won, there were quite a few times when I thought the Bucks were going to win it. The way they left the end of the match, there’s no way that this rivalry is over.
4.5/5
Stadium Stampede: BCC/Santana and Ortiz vs. Best Friends/Kingston/Penta –
I knew this match was gonna be crazy and violent, and this match most definitely lived up to what I expected. The moonsault into the trashcan with a headshot for good measure was particularly brutal. I find it darkly humorous that Moxley was bleeding even before five minutes had passed in the match. Usually, he is very much the “sick fuck” heavy in these types of matches, so I wasn’t shocked when he was stabbing Beretta with…I don’t know what it was. So, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone hammer skewers into someone’s head in a match before, but I saw it in this match. I thought Penta got legit hurt, but they fooled me because Penta came back out as Penta Obscura. So, Moxley took this match to get his stabby on, because I promise he was stabbing people left, right, and sideways. SUE!!! I was actually glad that Beretta’s mom showed up in the match to give the Best Friends a second (third…fourth) burst of energy. Man, this match most definitely lived up to the previous year’s incarnations of this match. These men are going to feel this match for some time to come. I’m actually glad BCC lost, but it most definitely didn’t leave them weakened. All the men in this match were left stronger and I very much have respect for them.
4/5
AEW 4-way Women’s Champ.: Hikaru Shida vs Toni Storm, vs Saraya vs Brit Baker
I absolutely love three of the four wrestlers in this match. I still feel as a longtime wrestling fan, that I hope Baker can show up, like she’s shown up and showed out in the past. I loved seeing Saraya come out with her family to Queen’s “We Will Rock You”. They had to have deadened the mics when Toni Storm came out because it felt like almost no one was cheering for her. That’s crazy. Brit Baker came out and was ready to go. She didn’t look to have a “win face”, but you never know. SHIDA!!!
The match started with Stom/Baker and Shida/Saraya pairing off. Baker was dealt with quickly so that Saraya and Storm could gang up on Shida. I already love the story between Storm and Saraya from the beginning of the match. OOH!!! When Shida fell like she did, it looked like it hurt so bad. I don’t know how she was moving for the rest of the match. From the jump, I knew that the alliance between Storm and Saraya would eventually devolve and it was quite interesting why it devolved. Why is Ruby running to the ring? Well, that was short. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the Outcasts? I have to say Brit Baker showed up for this match. Rock on! Saraya won?! I loved the end of the match—Baker trying to get Shida in the lockjaw, but it was Saraya with a DDT to Storm that got the 1-2-3. The match on the whole was really good. It really shows that if given GOOD storylines, the AEW Women’s Division can kill it.
3.75/5
Coffin Match: Swerve/Christian vs. Sting/Darby Allin –
I love all the wrestlers in this match. Especially Sting…I’ve been watching him pretty much since he debuted, as well as Christian, but I didn’t really care about the outcome of this match. Sting is the table!!! Ah well, Sting made sure the table broke after a second time. Yeah, I knew Luchasaurus would have something to do with this match, as well as Nick Wayne. A Darby Allin Coffin Drop onto the top of a coffin…OUCH…and the coffin top actually bent inward. I firmly believe that Darby Allin has a pain fetish. Not one, but two coffin drops onto a coffin…one coffin that was partially open. though I didn’t care about the outcome of this match, this match was really good. When they talk about G.O.A.T. in the Pro Wrestling business, Sting is most definitely one of them.
3.75/5
Jericho vs Osprey –
I knew this match was going to be good. It’s Osprey, a wrestler well on his way to being one of the greatest to wrestle, and a well-established G.O.A.T. with an illustrious career in Jericho. Man, Osprey most definitely lived up to his “Aerial Assassin” moniker in this match. Jericho really brought his A-Game in this match. To be frank, the only option for the ending of this match was for Osprey to win. I knew Callas or Guverra would have something to do with the match, but I really appreciate Osprey winning clean. On the whole, the match was good.
3/5
World Trios Champ Match: House of Black vs. the Acclaimed –
The House of Black coming out to Fireflies with a Lantern. You can’t tell me that Bray Wyatt didn’t mean anything to pro wrestling. I love that the crowd immediately starts cheering when they see Mercedes Mone. I’m actually shocked that the Acclaimed won, but it was a good match with some interference from Julia Hart. Looks like Malacai may be hurt…not sure, but if he is, I hope he heals quickly.
3/5
AEW World Champ. Match: Adam Cole vs. MJF –
What was up with Taz and Nigel at the beginning of the match? LOL! I’m with Nigel. I don’t buy for a second that one of them won’t try to take a cheap shot if given the chance. In fact, I fully expect one of them to totally go heel on the other by the time this match is over, and I think it will be Adam Cole. Yep, that didn’t last long. LOL This match was most definitely top-notch and had a good bit of suspense throughout. I liked that they restarted the match after the double count-out, calling back to the first time they wrestled for the belt, showing how each of them has grown. I was pleasantly surprised that there were no heel turns in this match, and that they will remain together. I do think that they will start setting up MJF vs. Punk soon though.
4.5/5
