AEW Collision live results: Two title matches, Danielson & Castagnoli team up
Two titles will be on the line as part of Saturday’s AEW Collision from State College, Pennsylvania.
FTR will look for the sixth defense of their AEW Tag Team titles as they face the Iron Savages, formerly Bear Country, who answered their open challenge last week.
After defeating former champion Jade Cargill on Friday’s Rampage, TBS Champion Kris Statlander will face another tough test in former AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker who is looking for her first TBS title run.
For the first time since 2009, Bryan Danielson will team with Claudio Castagnoli as they face current BCC antagonists Ricky Starks & Big Bill.
Andrade El Idolo will return to AEW action for the first time since his ladder match win over Buddy Matthews in a bout with former TNT & AEW Tag Team Champion Scorpio Sky.
Other matches include Anthony Bowens vs. Evil Uno and The Hardyz vs. The Righteous. Additionally, Jay White and Aussie Open will make appearances.
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Our cold open videos saw comments from Danielson & Castagnoli, Big Bill & Ricky Starks, the competitors in the TBS Title match, John Silver, & Anthony Bowens. Elton John played us in before Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness introduced the opening match.
Big Bill & Ricky Starks defeated Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli
This was a hot opener. Big Bill fits right in with these top names as a formidable big man. Starks and Danielson have incredible chemistry in the ring together, and the finish of this match signals more from these two down the line.
The camera focused on Big Bill’s boots, which were still stained with Jon Moxley’s blood from Dynamite. Bill started the match with Danielson, overpowering him to start. Danielson hammered Bill’s leg with kicks before Bill shoved Danielson into the corner, where Castagnoli tagged in. Castagnoli matched Bill in power, hammering him with uppercuts. Bill took both Danielson & Castagnoli down with a double clothesline – no crowd call – before tagging in Starks.
Starks clubbered on Danielson in the corner before getting cocky. That allowed Danielson to fire up with heavy strikes in the corner before taking Starks down with a hurricanrana. Starks took Danielson down with a shoulder block before tagging Bill, who crushed Danielson with a splash in the corner. Danielson blocked a second splash, but after a Starks distraction, Bill booted Danielson to the floor as we went to a commercial.
Danielson dropped Starks with a running lariat as we came back from break. Dual tags led to Castagnoli clubbering Bill with eighteen lariats in the corner. After two earlier attempts, Castagnoli finally got Bill off of his feet and hit a TKO. Castagnoli teased the Giant Swing, but Bill fought out and hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. Starks tagged in, but Castagnoli caught him in the Giant Swing.
Castagnoli transitioned into a Sharpshooter, but Bill booted him off. Danielson sent Bill to the floor, leading Castagnoli to get a nearfall on Starks with an uppercut. Danielson tagged in and hit the body kicks, but Starks avoided the LeBell Lock. Bill got a cheap shot in, leading to Starks hitting a spear for a nearfall.
Castagnoli and Bill brawled over the barricade, leaving Danielson and Starks in the ring. Starks countered a back superplex for a nearfall. Starks pushed the referee and hit a low blow on Danielson before hitting the Rochambeau for the tainted win.
We got a recap of the recent history between The Elite & the Mogul Embassy before we cut to The Young Bucks & Hangman Page backstage. They accepted the challenge of the Mogul Embassy for a match at Grand Slam but raised the stakes by challenging for the ROH World Six-Man Titles. The title match was confirmed for the two-hour Rampage: Grand Slam next Friday.
Powerhouse Hobbs said the next chapter of the Book of Hobbs was titled Destruction. He wasn’t talking about armbars, he was talking about ripping arms off. No one was safe. I still don’t like the Book of Hobbs being a physical book, but this was a good promo.
Meanwhile, Miro said that he didn’t humble Powerhouse Hobbs, so their paths must cross again. He yelled at God for trying to tempt him with his hot and flexible wife – the yet-to-be-named CJ Perry – and said that anyone who got in his way would be destroyed.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match – FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) defeated Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/ Jacked Jameson)
Jacked Jameson talked trash to Harwood, leading to him getting hit with the Shatter Machine. The Savages quickly isolated Wheeler, hitting two splashes for a nearfall. They hit another combination that ended with a Bronson tree slam for a nearfall. Wheeler dodged a corner attack and tagged in Harwood, but Harwood got knocked down by Boulder.
Harwood got overwhelmed by Boulder’s strength. Boulder went for a step-up moonsault, but Harwood moved out of the way. FTR hit the Shatter Machine on Bronson before hitting the Powerplex on Boulder to score the win.
After the match, The Work Horsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) made their way to the ring. They shook hands with FTR, signaling a future title challenge. Aussie Open was seen backstage watching on.
In a pre-tape that wasn’t cut at the beginning, Lexy Nair was backstage with Keith Lee. He was immediately interrupted by Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty. Taylor introduced Moriarty as the newest member of Shane Taylor Promotions before making it clear that he wasn’t scared of Lee.
John Silver defeated Anthony Bowens
Silver grabbed the microphone before the match started. He noted that The Acclaimed were scissoring wrong according to his research. He also noted according to the match contract, Caster and Gunn were banned from ringside. Bowens handled the match just fine on his own, forcing Silver to bail early on. Silver sent Bowens to the floor with a high kick before we went to the commercial.
Bowens took Silver down with a strike combination as we came back from the break. Bowens hit the jumping fameasser for a nearfall. The two men traded strikes before Bowens leveled Silver with a lariat. Silver avoided a corner charge and hit a strike combination that ended with a delayed fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall.
Bowens hit an Ushigoroshi and a rolling forearm that sent Silver to the floor. Bowens sent Silver back into the ring, but Evil Uno came out from under the ring to send Bowens into the post. Silver then hit a punt kick to score the win.
Eddie Kingston was backstage, talking about the history between himself and Claudio Castagnoli. Kingston said that Castagnoli left potholes in the road to the top, which is why he holds a grudge against him. He also said that he’s tried fixing the issues between him and Jon Moxley, but no matter those issues, he’ll finish the issues with Castagnoli in New York. New York has always had Eddie’s back, and they will have his back at Grand Slam. This was a great promo for Wednesday’s double-title match.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Hook & Orange Cassidy. They agreed to have a tag team match at Grand Slam while sharing a bag of chips.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated PB Smooth & Wes Barkley
If you’ve never seen the Aussie Open/FTR match from last October, I cannot recommend it enough as it was one of the best tag team matches of 2022. It’s currently free on New Japan’s YouTube channel. AEW running the rematch in Seattle for WrestleDream should be fantastic. They got lucky with it landing on the exact one-year anniversary.
The two men weren’t named, but I’ve seen their work on the independent scene. Aussie Open scored a quick win, hitting Barkley with a pendulum spinebuster.
After the match, they called out FTR. They noted their quick wins as of late, winning on Rampage and tonight in less than a minute. Fletcher noted that they have won the same titles that FTR has won, both the ROH and IWGP Tag Team Titles. Fletcher made the challenge to FTR – titles or not – for WrestleDream on October 1st, one year to the day after their acclaimed match at NJPW Royal Quest II.
RJ City sat with Toni Storm in a sit-down interview. Storm complained about the lighting before noting that the business had changed. She thought wrestling was about being stars and making money, not signing every little girl with a sob story. Storm has been very funny in this role. The interview will be continued.
We got a short video from Scorpio Sky, who noted that returning from back-to-back injuries would be tough. Having been a three-time champion in AEW though, Sky wasn’t afraid to do the tough work.
Andrade El Idolo defeated Scorpio Sky
The crowd was audibly ignoring this match at the start, doing a Penn State chant as these two locked up. But these two got the crowd into things after the break. Andrade vs. Jay White is an intriguing matchup, and depending on Andrade’s affiliation with La Faccion Ingobernable, could lead to a big-time unit rivalry.
Sky got very little reaction on his entrance. The two went back and forth before Andrade tied Sky up in the ropes and hit a dragon screw leg whip. Andrade went to the top rope, but Sky shoved him down back-first on the apron as we went to the commercial.
Andrade fought out of a hold as we came back from the break. Sky booted Andrade down, but Andrade fired up and went after the knee with more dragon screws. Andrade went for the double knees, but Sky cut him off and hit a sunset flip for a nearfall. Sky hit a dive to the floor, but back in the ring, Andrade drilled Sky with a back elbow. Sky countered a hammerlock DDT with a small package for a nearfall, but Andrade went back to the knee. Andrade locked on the Figure Eight and scored the submission win.
After the match, Bullet Club Gold made their way to the stage. Jay White noted how Andrade had his eyes on Bullet Club Gold last week. White believed that Andrade wanted the Switchblade spotlight, so he challenged Andrade to a match to show that this was still the Switchblade Era. White feigned wanting a fight right now, but security quickly broke things up.
We got a video package on the history between Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega, and Konosuke Takeshita’s goal of taking out Ibushi to stick it to Omega.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata. Imagine telling someone that five years ago. Schiavone noted that Shibata would be defending the Pure Title this Thursday on Honor Club against Nick Wayne. Shibata noted – through a translation app – that he would be competing at WrestleDream.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy)
The Righteous got some impressive heat in what was essentially their AEW television debut.
Vincent started with Matt. Matt drove Vincent into the turnbuckles before tagging Jeff. The Hardys low-bridged Dutch to the floor before hitting a tag team combination for a nearfall. They hit Poetry In Motion, but Vincent cut off a Twist of Fate attempt. Dutch made a blind tag before surprising Matt with a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall.
After the commercial, Jeff tagged in and ran wild on both men. Vincent cut off a Whisper in the Wind attempt, but Jeff hit a Twist of Fate. The Hardys sent Dutch to the floor before Matt hit another Twist of Fate. Dutch cut off a Swanton Bomb and sent Matt into the stairs. Vincent hit Autumn Sunshine on Jeff to score the win.
After the match, Dutch grabbed the microphone and introduced themselves to the booing crowd. Vincent said that the world was fooled by false idols and conmen. He said that they don’t believe in the Devil, and they don’t believe in the friendship between MJF & Adam Cole.
We got a rundown of the Dynamite: Grand Slam card, with Claudio Castagnoli talking about his issues with Eddie Kingston. He said that he was tired of being slandered by Kingston, and that Grand Slam will be their final chapter.
We then got a rundown of the Rampage: Grand Slam, with The Acclaimed vs. The Dark Order for the AEW Trios Titles added to the card.
Next week on Collision, Jay White vs. Andrade El Idolo was made official, as well as the AEW Tag Team Title match, FTR vs. The Work Horsemen. Rob Van Dam was also announced to return to the ring in his home state of Michigan.
For the WrestleDream PPV on October 1st, FTR vs. Aussie Open was made official before we got a video package for Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with Ricky Starks & Big Bill. He was upset at the video package between Danielson & Sabre and his lack of a match at WrestleDream. He challenged Bryan Danielson to a Texas Death Match for next week’s Collision.
AEW TBS Title Match – Kris Statlander (c) defeated Dr. Britt Baker DMD
This was a great main event, as the Penn State crowd was loudly behind Baker. The match itself was very good, with Baker scoring some close nearfalls before Statlander found a way to survive and retain. A quality episode of Collision.
Baker came out to a big reaction, as this show was on the campus of Penn State, her alma mater. Statlander overpowered Baker, forcing her to the floor. Baker came back and traded forearms before Statlander looked to jam her knee on an up-and-over out of the corner. Statlander was able to push off a Slingblade and hit a powerslam of her own for a nearfall as we went to a commercial.
Statlander fought Baker off of the top rope as we came back from the commercial. Baker moved out of the way of a moonsault and rung up Statlander’s neck on the top rope. Baker slammed both of Statlander’s knees against the ring post before hitting a pair of Slingblades. Statlander countered a neckbreaker with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Statlander hit a twisting fisherman’s buster for a nearfall.
Baker avoided a scissor kick and hit a curb stomp for a nearfall. Baker pulled out the glove, but received no love as Statlander rolled her up for a nearfall. Baker hit La Mistica and went for the Lockjaw, but Statlander grabbed the hand and fought to her feet. They traded forearms and kicks before Statlander took Baker down with a lariat.
Statlander forced Baker into the corner, but Baker avoided the running knee. Statlander countered a Panama Sunrise, but Baker hit a traditional Canadian Destroyer. She followed with the Angel’s Wings and another curb stomp for a nearfall. Baker went for another Panama Sunrise, but Statlander caught her in position for Saturday Night Fever. Baker transitioned into the Rings of Saturn before locking in the Lockjaw. Statlander rocked Baker back onto her shoulders to score the flash pin and retain the title. As Statlander was celebrating, Julia Hart was seen watching from the crowd. Statlander and Baker shook hands as we went off the air.