AEW Collision live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle Fletcher Continental Classic match
Reigning AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada will face Kyle Fletcher as part of the Continental Classic on tonight’s AEW Collision from the GalaxyCon convention in Columbus, Ohio.
Okada comes into the Blue league match with four points while Fletcher is leading the pack with six. This will be their first match since Okada bested Fletcher in September.
In another Blue league match, reigning TNT Champion Daniel Garcia will take on Mark Briscoe for the first time ever. Garcia has four points while Briscoe has yet to score a single point.
The show will also feature Gold league action as Darby Allin and Komander meet for the first time ever with both in search of their first point.
In a semifinal of the AEW qualifier portion of the Wrestle Dynasty International Women’s Cup, Willow Nightingale will face Serena Deeb.
Mina Shirakawa will prepare for her challenge of AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May this Wednesday as she takes on Emi Sakura.
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This week’s Collision comes from Columbus, Ohio as part of the GalaxyCon convention. The show started with announcers Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness running down the card before throwing to a video package of the past week’s Continental Classic action.
Continental Classic Gold League Match – Darby Allin [3 points, 1-1 record] defeated Komander [0, 0-3]
This match intrigued me on paper and was a stellar match in execution. Allin using mat work to both allow Komander to shine in the air and catch him with a flash pin to win was a smart format for the match. More matches should end with flash pins to keep the fans on their toes, so I have no issue with the finish. Komander is essentially done as far as advancement, but I hope he gets a win to prove his worth to the fans.
This is essentially an elimination match for Komander, as it will be hard to finish in the top two of the Gold League with a maximum of six or seven points. The two started out fast, with Allin working to keep the match on the mat. Allin hooked on a Scorpion Death Lock to force Komander into the ropes. Komander had a ropewalk armdrag countered into a flash pin but came back with a springboard moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, Komander hit a step-up Phoenix Splash for a nearfall.
Komander took Allin to the floor and hit a step-up forearm off of the turnbuckle. Allin dumped Komander into the ring steps and sat him on a chair, but Komander ducked the ensuing suicide dive and sent Allin into the chair with a disgusting crunch. After the commercial, Komander evaded a Coffin Splash into the barricade and hit Allin with a side kick for a nearfall. After a meeting of the minds, Allin came back with strikes and a Code Red for a nearfall.
Allin went to the top rope, but Komander followed him up and caught him with a little Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Allin cut off a Komander springboard and hung him over the ropes for a Coffin Drop. Allin hit a suicide dive, but Komander came back in the ring with a poisonrana. Komander hit a monkey flip on the apron before following with a dive of his own. Komander dumped Allin back in the ring and went for the ropewalk Shooting Star Press, but Allin moved and caught Komander with a version of the Last Supper flash pin to score the win.
International Champion Konosuke Takeshita & Don Callis were backstage with Renee Paquette. He began to brag about the Callis Family’s recent success when Powerhouse Hobbs entered the scene. Hobbs was angry that Callis never talked to him after he got hurt in the summer and challenged Takeshita for the International Championship. Callis noted that Hobbs did deserve better, but that Takeshita had multiple international bookings as champion and hurried him away.
International Women’s Cup Qualifier Tournament Semi Final Match – Willow Nightingale defeated Serena Deeb
This was a solid match. Hayter vs. Willow is a pretty big match in the women’s division, and it’s got some stakes with the spot at the Tokyo Dome on the line.
That prefix is a mouthful, so to put it simply: the winner of this match wrestles Jamie Hayter next week on Collision. The winner of that match will be AEW’s representative in the International Women’s Cup on January 5th at New Japan’s Wrestle Dynasty event.
Deeb came out with a shirt that said “Nobody Cares,” playing off of Britt Baker’s recent comments about her. I’m not sure how many of those will sell. The two went back and forth to start, countering each other’s finishers before Nightingale hit a Perfect Plex for a nearfall. Deeb came back with a neckbreaker in the ropes before dumping Nightingale to the floor.
After a commercial break, Nightingale made her comeback, scoring a nearfall with a Main Event Spinebuster. Deeb held onto Nightingale’s leg to counter the powerbomb before hammering Nightingale with multiple lariats. Deeb hit a hammerlock lariat for a nearfall. Nightingale countered the Detox into an Oklahoma Stampede for a nearfall. Deeb evaded a cannonball and hit the Detox for a nearfall. Nightingale came back with a Pounce before hitting the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
Next week on Collision, Nightingale will wrestle Jamie Hayter, with the winner going to Wrestle Dynasty on January 5th as AEW’s representative in the International Women’s Cup.
Thunder Rosa was backstage with Renee Paquette. Rosa noted that she had beaten both Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa the last time she faced both women and made her intentions on challenging the winner of Wednesday’s Women’s Title match clear.
We got a recap of Wednesday’s angle involving the Death Riders, Jay White, Hangman Page, & PAC.
Death Riders Town Hall
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir, PAC, & Wheeler Yuta came to the ring. Moxley said that nobody in the building wanted to be the AEW World Champion, even if they thought otherwise. They weren’t ready to make the sacrifices necessary to be champion, and they weren’t worthy of even looking at the title. Moxley ran down all three of the men that fought him off on Wednesday, calling Jay White a child and calling Hangman Page self-destructive. He said that Cassidy proved that he wasn’t the man his peers believed him to be, which drew “bullsh*t” chants from the crowd. He regretted allowing Cassidy to leave Full Gear with his skull intact, and told Cassidy that he would eliminate him if he kept getting in his business.
Orange Cassidy promptly came out and rolled into the ring unafraid of the Death Riders. Cassidy said that while he could live with never being AEW World Champion, he couldn’t live with Moxley as AEW World Champion. He promised not to stop until Moxley wasn’t the champion anymore, with the only way to stop him being to kill him. Cassidy threw his gear at the Death Riders and dared them to fight him.
Shafir hit Cassidy from behind with the briefcase containing the World Title before the Death Riders laid the boots to him. PAC and Yuta carried Cassidy to the back before the commercial break.
FTR was backstage. Cash Wheeler talked about the devastation to the Carolinas and the upcoming Fight For The Fallen event when they were interrupted by the Death Riders continuing their beatdown on Orange Cassidy. They were about to pour another bottle of chemical cleaner down his throat when FTR stepped up to break things up. They stared down the Death Riders as they backed out of the building.
Continental Classic Blue League Match – Kyle Fletcher [9, 3-0] defeated Kazuchika Okada [4, 1-1-1]
A stunning result here, and a real message that Fletcher is to be taken as seriously as possible as a threat now that he’s bought into the Callis Family. This result all but assures that Fletcher will be one of the two top point-getters in the Blue League. I didn’t like how quickly they went to a commercial for All In after the match, not giving the result a longer chance to set in.
The winner of this match will have the outright lead in the Blue League with two matches to go.
The two men started slowly, backing each other into the ropes before Okada hammered Fletcher with a forearm. Fletcher responded with a big scoop slam before posing to big boos. Okada came back with a low dropkick that sent Fletcher to the floor before dropping him with a DDT on the floor. Okada hammered Fletcher with uppercuts on the floor before Fletcher caught him with a draping DDT in the ring.
After a commercial break, Fletcher cut off an attempted Okada comeback with a leg lariat. Okada came back with a flurry, ending with a DDT for a nearfall. Okada locked on the Money Clip, but Fletcher fought out with a half-and-half suplex. Okada came back with a flapjack before setting up his big moves. Fletcher ducked the Rainmaker but ran right into the dropkick before rolling to the floor.
Okada followed Fletcher to the floor and went for his signature Tombstone on the outside, but Fletcher caught him with a half-and-half suplex on the floor. Okada beat the ten count, then kicked out of the Everest Powerbomb for a nearfall to AEW chants. Okada caught Fletcher with the spinning lariat, but Fletcher ducked the Rainmaker again. The two traded strikes before Okada incidentally sent Fletcher into the referee. Fletcher hit Okada with a low blow, then hit the Brainbuster to score the win. The announcers sold this result as a very big deal, as they should have. The only other person to pin Okada since he’s come into AEW was Bryan Danielson.
We got a video package hyping the big matches on the Winter Is Coming Dynamite this Wednesday.
The Beast Mortos defeated Aaron Solo
Mortos is in the Continental Classic, but he’s wrestling a non-tournament match here. Mortos killed this poor guy with the Bane-style backbreaker and the powerbomb over the knee before putting him away with the spinning lariat.
After the match, it was announced that Mortos would be wrestling Kazuchika Okada on next week’s Collision in Continental Classic action.
Top Flight, Lio Rush, & Action Andretti were backstage with Renee Paquette, who asked what happened between the four men in the Dynamite Dozen Royale with Cheese when Rush and Andretti dumped the Martins. Rush and Andretti were tired of the Martins losing every opportunity they had gotten, and wanted to go for the tag team titles themselves. The four agreed to a match somewhere down the line.
Mina Shirakawa defeated Emi Sakura
I’ve said it several times, but Sakura is a quality enhancement talent that I hope gets used more often. A solid enhancement match to set Shirakawa up for her title match at Winter Is Coming.
Thunder Rosa was in the crowd watching this match. Sakura whipped Shirakawa with her entrance jacket to get a jump start, but Shirakawa came back with kicks. Sakura clawed at Shirakawa’s arm to counter an Irish whip, something I’ve never seen before, then chopped Shirakawa repeatedly. Shirakawa laid in more kicks before Sakura caught her leg and bit it to cut her off.
After a commercial, Shirakawa came back with a pair of rebound kicks, with Sakura pulling Shirakawa’s hair to break the pin. Sakura hit a spinning neckbreaker before hitting a stalling butterfly backbreaker for a nearfall. The two traded strikes before Shirakawa hit a second-rope Slingblade for a nearfall. Sakura tried to pull the referee in the way, but Shirakawa vaulted over the referee to hit a spinning splash. Shirakawa hit another second-rope Slingblade for the win.
We got a Renee Paquette-narrated video package hyping the Mariah May vs. Mina Shirakawa title match at Winter Is Coming.
We got footage from Daniel Garcia & Mark Briscoe with Renee Paquette last night ahead of their Continental Classic match next. Briscoe noted that he had a terrible track record in the Continental Classic but would always pick himself back up. Garcia said that he was the same kind of guy and promised to bring the fight to Briscoe. They shook hands to end the interview.
Continental Classic Blue League Match – Mark Briscoe [3, 1-2] defeated Daniel Garcia [4, 1-1-1]
A good main event with two babyfaces looking to redeem themselves after last year’s Continental Classic. This result leaves Kyle Fletcher five points clear of everyone else in the Blue League, all but assuredly putting him in the playoffs at Worlds End.
A loss here would essentially eliminate Briscoe from contention.
Corbin Bernson of Major League and Psych was in the front row. Garcia went for a few flash pins to start, then got aggressive by piefacing Briscoe in the corner. Briscoe came back with loud chops before sending Garcia to the floor. Briscoe followed Garcia to the floor with a cannonball dive before planting Garcia on the apron with a backbreaker. Briscoe teased the Cactus Jack elbow to the floor, but Garcia slid in the ring and knocked Briscoe to the floor with a running knee. The two traded strikes on the floor, with Garcia hitting Briscoe with a shotgun dropkick on the floor.
After a commercial, Briscoe was in control, setting up a superplex. The two swung on each other before falling to the apron and the floor. They both got back in the ring and traded strikes before Garcia laid out Briscoe with a lariat. Briscoe came back before dragging Garcia to the floor and hitting the Cactus Jack elbow.
Briscoe hit a big lariat in the ring and strung some offense together, scoring a nearfall with a fisherman’s buster. Briscoe hit a Death Valley Driver to set up the Froggy Bow, but Garcia cut him off. Garcia hit a superplex and a piledriver for a nearfall. Garcia set Briscoe up for the top-rope piledriver, but Briscoe knocked him down and hit the Froggy Bow for a nearfall.
Garcia countered the Jay Driller with the jackknife pin for a nearfall. Briscoe fired up after a Saito Suplex. He cut off another suplex and pulled out the old Cut Throat Driver, an early finisher of his, to score the win and his first three points in the tournament.