AEW Collision live results: Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O’Reilly
Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly are set to face off on tonight’s live AEW Collision from Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Both participated this week in a four-way to determine the next challenger for Will Ospreay’s AEW International Championship. Rey Fenix pinned Jay Lethal in the match, earning the shot against Ospreay this Wednesday. Cassidy and O’Reilly will battle to determine the winner between themselves.
FTR will look to get back to their winning ways as they face Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta. Making his return on this past Wednesday’s Dynamite after being out with an injury most of the year, Yuta (the ROH Pure Champion) scored the winning fall in an eight-man tag match, giving him some momentum.
Other bouts will see AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm take on Lady Frost in a non-title match, Dustin Rhodes against Johnny TV, Kris Statlander vs. Robyn Renegade, and Daniel Garcia against Tate Mayfairs.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 PM Eastern.
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Sir Elton John welcomed us to Collision from Council Bluffs, Iowa, just outside of Omaha, Nebraska. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call as the entrances began for the opener.
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) ended in a time-limit draw
(A rare time-limit draw to start the show, an interesting call with these teams. You figure that Yuta would take the fall as FTR was just in the PPV main event, but that wasn’t the case. I expect there to be grumbling about Elite stooge Cutler coming out after the match, but him taking the heat for denying the extension to the match is a smart way to avoid anyone in the match getting the heat for saying no. It also gave the crowd a pop to avoid ending that segment on a dour note. Pretty good opening to the show.)
If you squint, Harwood looks like Tomohiro Ishii in his new gear. After an opening exchange, Castagnoli hammered Harwood with an uppercut. The crowd gave support to both teams as Harwood starched Castagnoli with a chop. Castagnoli got the upper hand and tagged in Yuta, but a Wheeler distraction on a flying headscissors attempt gave FTR the upper hand.
After a short control segment, Yuta fought to his corner to tag in Castagnoli, who ran wild with uppercuts before getting a nearfall on Harwood with a big boot. Wheeler cut off a pair of Giant Swing attempts, but Castagnoli snatched him up in a Sharpshooter. Harwood caught Yuta in a Sharpshooter, and Castagnoli and Harwood traded slaps while holding submissions. They stood up and traded strikes before the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl as we went to commercial.
Castagnoli hit an avalanche gutwrench suplex on Harwood for a nearfall as we came back from the break. The two traded covers before Harwood dropped Castagnoli with a main event spinebuster. Harwood pulled Castagnoli up for the Powerplex, but Castagnoli got his knees up on Wheeler’s splash. Yuta went for a splash on Harwood but caught knees as well. As the match reset, FTR went for a Shatter Machine, but Yuta cut it off. That allowed Castagnoli to take Wheeler on the Giant Swing before Yuta cut him down with a dropkick for a nearfall.
Castagnoli went for a Neutralizer, but Wheeler fought out and caught him with a Shatter Machine for a nearfall broken up by Yuta. Wheeler locked on a Sharpshooter, but Castagnoli reversed it into a Sharpshooter of his own. Wheeler got to the ropes so Castagnoli hit Harwood with a Neutralizer. Wheeler hit Castagnoli with a piledriver for a nearfall before Bobby Cruise announced one minute remaining in the time limit. Castagnoli hit a superplex and a Neutralizer for a nearfall. Castagnoli locked on a crossface before transitioning into the Rings of Saturn, but the time limit expired.
Harwood grabbed the mic and demanded five more minutes, but Brandon Cutler came out on behalf of the Young Bucks. He said that the request was denied, as the contract specifically noted that the match had a 20-minute time limit. As he got in the ring to show them the contract, Castagnoli snatched him up in the Giant Swing, then vaulted him into a Shatter Machine. Castagnoli took the mic and said that while he wouldn’t shake their hands because of how cliché it is, they would finish their fight whenever and wherever FTR wanted.
Kyle O’Reilly was backstage with Lexy Nair. He was quickly interrupted by Roderick Strong & The Kingdom. Strong told O’Reilly that he had been good, but he was missing something. O’Reilly said that they’ve been down this road before and that he didn’t want their help, but Strong told O’Reilly to just remember what he told them when he returned from injury.
Kris Statlander (w/Stokely Hathaway) defeated Robyn Renegade
(An effective segment here for Statlander, with a clearly stated goal of winning the Owen Cup. Will Willow Nightingale take issue with that? Probably, they are feuding after all.)
Statlander had a new entrance, with a Hathaway voiceover noting that it was “Stat-urday Night.” Statlander won this match decisively with the Saturday Night Fever, doing a few push-ups after the match for emphasis.
Hathaway took the microphone and put over Statlander’s athleticism and intensity. Hathaway said that she would make history as the first woman to win both the TBS and Women’s World Championships. Hathaway announced that Statlander was the first entrant in the 2024 Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament. Statlander would win the tournament and win the Women’s Title at Wembley Stadium because nobody could stop her.
After a commercial, Lexy Nair was waiting to get words from Willow Nightingale on the Kris Statlander situation. Nightingale announced her entry in the Owen Cup and hoped to see Statlander there. When asked why she was here tonight, Nightingale said she would keep an eye on the action.
Dustin Rhodes defeated Johnny TV (w/Taya Valkyrie)
Johnny had a good night last week against Claudio Castagnoli. He had a bad night tonight. Meanwhile, Dustin Rhodes did a great job of building up the Jack Perry match for Dynamite.
Rhodes spooked Taya on the floor before cannonballing into Johnny off the apron. Taya distracted Rhodes to give Johnny time to hit a corkscrew dive onto Rhodes. After a break, Rhodes fired up and hit the running bulldog and a powerslam for a nearfall. Johnny hit a neckbreaker for a nearfall, but Rhodes reversed an Alabama Slam into a Canadian Destroyer.
Rhodes hit the Shattered Dreams and the Cross Rhodes, but Taya put Johnny’s foot on the ropes. Rhodes confronted Taya and got her ejected from ringside, but that allowed Johnny to crotch Rhodeson the ropes – while kicking the wrong rope. Johnny went for Starship Pain, but Rhodes moved and hit a Shining Wizard. Rhodes hit the Final Cut for the win.
Rhodes took the mic and thanked the fans for sticking by him for over three decades. He thanked the production crew and Tony Khan for giving him the opportunity to speak here tonight. He then spoke on Jack Perry, a subject that pissed him off. They missed him when he left and were excited to see him back before he attacked Tony Khan.
He said that Perry was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had no clue what sacrifice meant. Sacrifice was getting fired from a job and taking two more jobs to make ends meet. Rhodes said that Perry was mediocre because he was a follower, not a leader. Quoting his father, when you are a follower, the view never changes. He announced that it would be Dustin Rhodes vs. Jack Perry on Dynamite, and that he would destroy Perry.
We got a video package highlighting the chiseled jaw and the technical ability of Zack Sabre Jr. In a voiceover, Sabre said he was coming to Forbidden Door to take care of some unfinished business from last year when he challenged for the International Championship. He challenged Orange Cassidy to a match for Forbidden Door.
The Premier Athletes (Tony Nese & Ari Daivari) (w/ Smart Mark Sterling) defeated Trent Jordy & Dante Leon
We got a recap of the Premier Athletes run-in with Hook & Samoa Joe on Dynamite. Dante Leon is a former GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion in Pro Wrestling NOAH, so this is technically a Forbidden Door entry. That didn’t help him here, as Nese pinned Jordy with Greetings From Asbury Park.
Scorpio Sky was backstage. He said that all of our heroes had fallen and that he would stand on the backs of those fallen heroes to become our champion.
Toni Storm (w/Luther & Mariah May) defeated Lady Frost
(The story here was Storm entering May into the Owen Cup, where the winner gets a shot at Storm’s title. If you did your homework and watched All About Eve, you would know that Storm may have just kissed her title goodbye.)
We got a recap of the run-ins Storm has had with her Forbidden Door opponent Mina Shirakawa this week, including the uneasy handshake forced by Mariah May on last night’s Rampage. Storm drilled Frost with a hip attack after a commercial, but Frost kicked out. Frost caught Storm with a cartwheeling Air Raid Crash. Storm cut off the Frostbite and hit a backstabber before scoring a nearfall with a Tree Slam. Storm countered another cartwheel into a Storm Zero for the win.
Storm took to the mic and sat with May on the apron. She noted how awkward the whole situation with Shirakawa must be for her, but Storm wants to give May all the opportunities that she deserves. She demanded that May get a spot in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Storm said that she would be there for her the whole way.
Top Flight & Shane Taylor Promotions were backstage with Lexy Nair. Next week, on the one-year anniversary of Collision, Dante Martin & Lee Moriarty will wrestle in a TNT Title Ladder Match qualifier. Martin noted that he was Moriarty’s first match in AEW, and the result would be the same. Moriarty said that the last time they wrestled, Moriarty won. Taylor called Top Flight glorified stuntmen, noting that Andretti was the only one of them with any heart.
Hook & Samoa Joe were backstage. I believe Katsuyori Shibata was behind the camera as I heard his Google Translator. They discussed lacrosse before jumping the Premier Athletes in their locker room.
Daniel Garcia defeated Tate Mayfairs
(Daniel Garcia has said over the past few weeks that he wants to challenge for the International Championship, specifically calling out Will Ospreay in the process. Fun fact: Dynamite and Collision will be in Garcia’s hometown of Buffalo, New York the week before Forbidden Door.)
Matt Menard was on commentary here, as always with Garcia matches. Mayfairs is a Progress Wrestling regular, with McGuinness noting that he watched him have a half-hour classic with Will Ospreay at Super Strong Style 16 last year. Mayfairs had the upper hand to start, but Garcia got his feet under him and got the win a lifting lungblower he calls the Red Cross.
We got a video package on Mercedes Mone’s opponent for Dynamite, Zeuxis. Excalibur explained that she made history in CMLL by winning the CMLL Women’s Tag Team Titles alongside Stephanie Vaquer, who will face Mone at Forbidden Door. Tony Khan explained on social media that if Mone loses the title to Zeuxis, the match at Forbidden Door between Mone & Vaquer will only be for the NJPW Strong Women’s Title.
We got a rundown of the card for Dynamite, with Jack Perry vs. Dustin Rhodes in a TNT Title Ladder match qualifier made official. We got a rundown of next week’s Collision, which is the show’s one-year anniversary. We will get a Christian Cage Father’s Day Celebration, the return of the House of Black, and Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa in a No-DQ match.
Orange Cassidy was backstage with Lexy Nair. He was frustrated that all his friends were gone and trying to hurt him, and now he’s got Zack Sabre Jr. knocking down his door for Forbidden Door. He left for the main event.
Orange Cassidy defeated Kyle O’Reilly
(This was an awesome match to main event this show. Cassidy proved that he could go toe-to-toe with a high-level technician ahead of his match with Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door. Meanwhile, O’Reilly’s story of being good, but not good enough continues. Cassidy’s lament in his promo about no one helping him out paid off here too, with O’Reilly and Willow making the save for him. A quality main event.)
The Undisputed Kingdom were in the crowd rooting O’Reilly on, as Schiavone noted that the Kingdom have jumped O’Reilly multiple times in the last few months. Cassidy escaped O’Reilly’s initial holds with his sloth-like movements. O’Reilly snatched up a double wristlock before Cassidy got to the ropes. The two got into a pinning predicament before O’Reilly locked on a grounded Octopus Stretch that forced Cassidy to the ropes.
After a commercial, the two traded and transitioned holds before Cassidy caught O’Reilly in a European Clutch for a nearfall. O’Reilly fought to keep Cassidy’s hands out of his pockets, but Cassidy succeeded in his endeavors there. O’Reilly chopped down Cassidy with kicks before working on Cassidy’s arm. O’Reilly ended up on the floor near the Kingdom, where Strong whispered something to him. O’Reilly then sent Cassidy into the barricade with a Dragon Screw. O’Reilly hit another Dragon Screw in the ring as we went to commercial.
After the commercial, Cassidy took repeated strikes before firing up and going after O’Reilly’s arm. The two traded German suplexes until they both collapsed. Both men traded low-impact kicks before turning up the violence. Cassidy went for the Stundog Millionaire, but O’Reilly caught the arm in an armbar attempt. Cassidy stuffed it by stuffing his hand in his pocket, then caught O’Reilly with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall.
O’Reilly ducked a Penalty Kick and hit a big forearm, but Cassidy came back with a Penalty Kick. O’Reilly countered the Orange Punch, putting his hand in Cassidy’s pocket so he couldn’t counter the choke O’Reilly applied. Cassidy fought to his feet and hit the Beach Break for a nearfall. Orange went for the Orange Punch, but the leg gave way. Cassidy was able to hit a short-range Orange Punch, then caught a rebounding O’Reilly with a full-strength Orange Punch for the win.
After the match, Trent Beretta & Kyle Fletcher jumped Cassidy. O’Reilly came back to try to help Cassidy, but he got beat down too. Kris Statlander came out and shook hands with Beretta before going after Cassidy, but Willow Nightingale came out to a huge reaction to run her off.