Posted on 7/03/126 by Bob Magee
AEW was back in San Diego for a special Thursday Collision
that was so jam-packed, it had to be a 2.5-HOUR SPECIAL
EVENT on TNT and HBO Max! Jay White made his return to
action for the first time in 15 months alongside AEW World
Tag Team Champion Adam Copeland and The Gunns. Plus, we
found out who will enter #1 and #2 in the Dynamite Beach
Break Casino Gauntlet!
You could tell just how much Jay White was itching to get
back in the ring, and the unexpected bonus of tagging with
Copeland just added to the moment. Shane Taylor Promotions
remained as ruthless as ever, but in the end, White got his
team the win with a Blade Runner to cap off a successful
return! However, they didn’t have much time to celebrate, as
The Dogs and Death Riders hit the ring to take out everyone,
with David Finlay making sure to lay out White with his
shillelagh!
The coveted first two entries in next Wednesday’s Casino
Gauntlet were up for grabs in a pair of matches tonight in
San Diego. First, ROH Women’s World Champion Athena beat
STARDOM’s Rina to earn the #1 spot. Then, Maya World
defeated Julia Hart to get the #2 spot. That means the
beginning of the Casino Gauntlet at Beach Break will see a
rematch of sorts from the Owen Cup Semifinals when World
upset her mentor, Athena!
Andrade El Ídolo earned a measure of revenge with a victory
over the Don Callis Family’s Brian Cage, as he continues his
solo journey to the AEW World Championship. The Callis
Family did get a win when “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher
defeated ELP ahead of Fletcher’s AEW International
Championship shot against Konosuke Takeshita at Beach Break,
but it was Callis’ loud mouth that nearly got him in a heap
of trouble with Takeshita!
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s action-
packed special Thursday edition of Collision!
PAC & Claudio Castagnoli of the Death Riders def. Unbound
Co.'s Drilla Moloney & Shingo Takagi
Collision came back to San Diego, and our opening contest
stemmed from what went down at Forbidden Door. The Death
Riders threw out the challenge, which was answered by Drilla
Moloney of Unbound Co., who then went on to beat Daniel
Garcia. So tonight, it's PAC and Claudio Castagnoli facing
Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney. Takagi and Titan were part
of the three-way international tag team match at Forbidden
Door, but lost to the Young Bucks.
We started with Takagi and PAC, who have so much history
dating back to their time together in Japan. PAC and Takagi
wrestled on the mat but came to a stalemate before backing
up to the respective corners. PAC tried to work Takagi down
to the mat, but Takagi came back with a shoulder block to
take PAC down. PAC reversed things with a flying
headscissors to take Takagi down to the mat, but Takagi
immediately put PAC back down with a shoulder block. PAC had
enough and tagged in Castagnoli, and Moloney tagged in on
the other side.
Claudio and Moloney traded shoulder tackles, but it was
Castagnoli getting the better of Moloney until Moloney
finally put Castagnoli down. He chopped Castagnoli into the
corner, but Castagnoli cut him off with a knee lift and beat
him into the Death Riders’ corner. PAC tagged back in, and
Moloney jumped over PAC only to eat a backbreaker from
Castagnoli. PAC brought Moloney back to the corner and
tagged Castagnoli back in. But Moloney chopped his way out
of the corner and tagged in Takagi. Takagi lit up Castagnoli
with chops and right hands, but Castagnoli came firing back
with an uppercut. The two traded strikes in the middle of
the ring and neither would budge. Takagi stopped it all with
a snapping neckbreaker and tagged Moloney in once again.
They double-teamed Castagnoli with a shoulder block and
knocked PAC off the apron. PAC was able to get control back
on Moloney and bring Castagnoli in as they isolated him from
Takagi in the Death Riders’ corner. Moloney started firing
up with chops on Castagnoli, but Castagnoli cut him off and
dropped him with a big uppercut to get a near-fall. Moloney
tried to get to his corner, but Castagnoli trapped him with
a straitjacket neckbreaker and went for the cover, but
Takagi came in to break it up. Castagnoli tagged in PAC, who
hit a second rope dropkick to put Moloney back down. PAC put
his knee on Moloney's chest for a cocky cover that only got
a two-count.
Moloney finally hit a big dropkick on PAC, and the door was
open to make the tag to Takagi. PAC was trying to do the
same thing on the other side with Castagnoli, and Takagi got
in first. He slammed PAC and then missed the senton. So
Castagnoli came in, but Takagi nearly ran Castagnoli into
PAC, booted them both, and hit a double dropkick.
Takagi got a two-for-one with a flatliner on Castagnoli and
a DDT on PAC. He sent Castagnoli to the outside and put PAC
on the mat with a suplex that got him a two-count. Takagi
fired up but got booted from behind by Castagnoli. Moloney
came in to throw Castagnoli to the outside and beat him
against the guardrail. Meanwhile, back in the ring, Takagi
tried to strike PAC down to the mat, but PAC came back with
an enzuigiri. Takagi made the tag to Moloney, and Castagnoli
tagged on the other side. Castagnoli asked for more from
Moloney as he tried for uppercuts, and the two exchanged
until Castagnoli wound up with a big uppercut, and Moloney
turned it into a backslide for a two-count. After the
backslide, Moloney got a spinebuster, and Castagnoli
stumbled into the corner. Moloney tried to follow him, but
Castagnoli moved. When Castagnoli charged in, he ate a back
elbow and then a boot. Moloney threw Castagnoli to the mat,
and Takagi put PAC down on the other side. In one corner,
Moloney hit an elbow drop on Castagnoli, while Takagi hit
one on PAC, and it was another two-count on Castagnoli.
Moloney and Takagi both charged and squashed Castagnoli in
the corner, but he broke free and tried to trade with
Takagi, who took him down with a Dragon Screw.
PAC came in with a quick succession of kicks on Moloney and
then bounced him off the ropes for a rebound German suplex.
But Moloney came back to powerbomb PAC, and then Castagnoli
nearly took Moloney's head off with a clothesline. The crowd
loved what they were seeing and broke out into an "AEW"
chant. Castagnoli and Takagi battled up from their knees
with strikes, and neither man would go down. Takagi started
to get the advantage and looked for the Pumping Bomber, but
Castagnoli tripped him up and swung him until PAC kicked
Takagi to end the swing. Castagnoli went for the cover, but
Moloney broke it up in time to keep the match alive.
PAC choked Moloney near the timekeeper's area on the
outside, and Daniel Garcia came in from the crowd to
continue the choke! The referee never saw it, as Takagi was
double-teamed back into the ring by Castagnoli and PAC.
Castagnoli set up Takagi for PAC’s momentum clothesline,
which connected, but Takagi kicked out. Meanwhile, back on
the outside, Moloney and Garcia continued to do battle
unbeknownst to the referee. PAC grabbed Takagi for a double
team, but Takagi fought his way out and took PAC down with a
big lariat. Takagi was fired up and was using the San Diego
crowd to find more energy. He put Castagnoli on his
shoulders, but while the referee was checking on PAC,
Castagnoli got pulled down by Daniel Garcia. Takagi knocked
Garcia from the ring. But when he turned around, Castagnoli
trapped him for a pin for the three count.
The Death Riders, with some help from Daniel Garcia, stole
one from Unbound Co.!
Konosuke Takeshita and The Conglomeration Are a Bunch of
Champions
Lexy Nair was backstage with AEW World Trios Champions
Orange Cassidy, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong of The
Conglomeration. Cassidy said the steel cage and everything
the last couple of days was crazy. And while they won the
opportunity for Briscoe, things didn't totally work out.
Kyle O'Reilly said because of the injuries Briscoe suffered,
they don't know when they're gonna see him again. But Willow
Nightingale will be back soon. Nair asked about what was
going on with Lio Rush. Strong said it's fine, but only
after they all looked around for Rush first.
Strong said they don't stand in the past. They look towards
the present. And as the AEW World Trios Champions, they're
willing to defend them at any time. Strong waved in AEW
International Champion Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita said he
likes Phantasmo, he wants Kyle Fletcher, and he hates Okada.
O’Reilly said, “Look at us. A bunch of champions. Let's keep
it that way, boys.” Everyone else left, and Cassidy told
Nair that he thinks Lio likes them.
Andrade El Ídolo def. "The Machine" Brian Cage of the Don
Callis Family
This was Andrade's first match since officially leaving the
Don Callis Family, as he was looking for retribution after
the Callis Family, specifically Brian Cage, attacked him
last night on Dynamite. While Cage was making his way down
the ramp, Andrade flew over the top rope and took him and
Lance Archer out, and this match was underway! While Callis
joined commentary, Andrade absolutely opened up on Cage in
the corner. He whipped Andrade into the other side, but Cage
came flying back with a clothesline. He sent Andrade into
the turnbuckle and sent him into the corner with a few gut
shots with his shoulder. Andrade came back with a chop, and
Cage had one of his own. Cage tried to slow things down by
keeping Andrade choked against the ropes, followed by
putting his boot up against the chin of Andrade while he was
lying down against the bottom turnbuckle. Cage hit a body
slam followed by a quick leg drop, but only got a one count.
Cage plummeted into the corner and sent Andrade to the
opposite side, and Andrade came back with a boot and a
flying headscissors that took Cage to the apron. And Andrade
did a step-up kick that knocked Cage to the floor. As
Andrade gathered himself, you could see he had something big
in mind. Andrade ran to the ropes and springboarded to the
outside with a tornillo that took down Cage. Then, of
course, Andrade found one of his adoring fans for a selfie
before continuing the attack on Cage. He threw Cage back in,
and Archer came around the other side. So Andrade backed
off. But that distraction gave Cage enough time to recover
and boot Andrade in the head. Then, he brought Andrade back
in with an unreal show of strength with a superplex from the
apron all the way back into the ring. And, of course, Cage
posed to show the strength that got that amazing feat done.
Andrade tried to fight back with strikes, but Cage knocked
him back into the corner. Andrade nailed Cage with a boot,
and so Cage clotheslined Andrade into the corner. He put
Andrade on the top turnbuckle and followed him up from
behind. Cage tried to lift Andrade for a side suplex, but
Andrade elbowed his way free, knocking Cage to the mat.
Andrade gestured over to Callis and came over the top with a
moonsault, landed on his feet, but on the second attempt, he
landed on Cage for a near-fall! That brought Callis off
commentary, and he began to bang the apron. Andrade and Cage
exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring. Andrade avoided
a suplex and came off the ropes with a flying forearm. He
got back to his feet and went into Three Amigos on Cage.
After the third, Andrade covered, but got another two-count.
Cage tried to pick Andrade up, but Andrade elbowed his way
free. Cage sent Andrade into the ropes. When he ducked, Cage
lit him up with a series of kicks with Andrade against the
second rope. Cage came around the ropes with a pendulum
kick. He followed with a sit-out powerbomb on Andrade, but
Andrade kicked out in the nick of time. Cage put Andrade on
the top turnbuckle once again and followed him up. Andrade
headbutted Cage back down to the mat and shimmied as he
looked to the side with a frog splash on Cage, but Cage
kicked out again. Callis was so worried about the whole
situation that he fanned himself at the commentary desk.
Andrade stomped the mat to fire the crowd up and delivered a
vicious meteora to Cage in the corner. But once again, Cage
kicked out. Andrade tried for The DM, but Cage got out of
it. He nailed Andrade with an elbow strike and then a
fireman's carry slam to get another near-fall. Callis
complained to the referee about the count while Cage called
for the end. He hit a release German suplex on Andrade and
measured him as Andrade stumbled to his feet. Cage tried for
the discus clothesline, but Andrade countered it with a Dia
de los Muertos and hit The DM on Cage to get the three
count! Andrade got the mic after the match. Andrade pointed
at Callis and said, "Do you think this is over?" He added
one more thing. And much like last night, the crowd already
knew what it was. “HOW YOU KNOW?” Andrade threw the mic at
Callis, signaled that he wanted the AEW World Championship,
and headed up the ramp victorious.
Gabe Kidd is with The Dogs and Death Riders
Gabe Kidd said he’s heard the questions. Is he with The Dogs
or Death Riders? Kidd said he’s part of both and now they
have Jay White and Bang Bang Gang to deal with, although
Kidd was quick to remind White that it was David Finlay who
sent him packing from NJPW before they created The Dogs.
Now, The Dogs and the Death Riders will have to handle White
in AEW.
Thunder Rosa & Mina Shirakawa def. Zara Zakher & B3CCA
These two fan favorites really got the crowd going, as
Thunder Rosa, who grew up so close by in Tijuana, clearly
had a lot of love from the San Diego faithful. Rosa began
things with Zakher and easily took her down to the mat. She
hit a couple of chops, but then Zakher got away from Rosa to
tag B3CCA. Shirakawa tagged in on the other side and quickly
booted B3CCA in the gut. Shirakawa hit a clothesline and
danced like she typically would. B3CCA tried to take
advantage and kick her, so Shirakawa rolled through it and
then delivered a spin kick to the midsection of B3CCA. B3CCA
reversed things and sent Shirakawa into the corner. When she
charged in, she missed as Shirakawa went to the apron.
Shirakawa dropped back over the top rope with a stunner and
then springboarded back into the ring with a tornillo. She
covered B3CCA but only got a two-count as Zakher came in to
break up the pin.
Rosa grabbed Zakher, and all four women started firing
strikes in the middle of the ring. Rosa and Shirakawa
slammed B3CCA and Zara into each other and threw them both
into the corner. Shirakawa sent Rosa to the corner for a
clothesline, and Shirakawa followed in with a back elbow.
Rosa took off her jersey and finished off Zara and B3CCA
with a hesitation dropkick in the corner. She rolled B3CCA
out to Shirakawa, who sent B3CCA to the mat with a kick.
Shirakawa tagged Rosa back in, who called for the end. Rosa
headed B3CCA with a Tijuana Bomb to get the three count, an
easy victory for herself and Mina Shirakawa.
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla Invites Everyone to Take
Their Shot
AEW Women's World Champion Thekla made her way out to the
top of the ramp, still wearing Starlight Kid's mask, which
she took after defeating Kid to retain her AEW Women's World
Championship at Forbidden Door. Thekla said, "Listen up,
bitches. Last Sunday, I did exactly what I said I was gonna
do. I walked in the ring, I burned down the Forbidden Door,
I beat Starlight Kid, I took her mask, I spit in that mask,
and then I had three spicy margaritas, went to the strip
club and had Starlight Kid dancing for me all over again!"
She continued to run down Starlight Kid and admitted Kid
almost got her, but she didn't. "So now you can only blame
yourself, because STARDOM is dead!” Thekla removed her
Starlight Kid mask and said, long live the Toxic Spider!
Thekla knows that with All In on the horizon, she has a big,
shiny gold target around her waist that everybody wants to
take a shot at. Thekla said, “Load your guns, bitches,
because I'm going to catch that bullet with my teeth and I’m
gonna spit it right back in your face.”
Matt Sydal Joins SkyFlight
In the back, Christopher Daniels was with Scorpio Sky,
Darius Martin, and Dante Martin. As they spoke to Sydal,
Dante told Sydal they'd always have his back, and after
discussing it, they decided that one of the most influential
high flyers of this generation should join SkyFlight.
Scorpio Sky said, what do you think? Sydal said it was an
honor to join SkyFlight. Now he has all four of their backs,
and he's looking for a fight.
AEW World Tag Team Champion Adam Copeland & Bang Bang Gang
(Jay White, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) def. Shane Taylor
Promotions (Shane Taylor, ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty,
Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) w/ Trish Adora and Christyan XO
STP came out in full force, accompanied by Trish Adora and
Christyan XO, as they got ready for this massive eight-man
tag team match. This was Jay White's first action in over 15
months, and it was great to see the entire Bang Bang Gang
together. But they had a little help because one half of the
AEW World Tag Team Champions, Adam Copeland, joined them
after White took care of the favor that he owed Cope at
Forbidden Door. The Gunns, who grew up watching Copeland,
were clearly enjoying his entrance and tagging with him
tonight. San Diego finished singing Copeland's theme while
the entire Bang Bang Gang conducted them; Colton Gunn began
this one against Lee Moriarty, the ROH Pure Champion.
Both men tried to take each other down to the mat multiple
times. It was Moriarty who sent Colten to the corner and
then made a dropkick. Copeland tagged in for the first time
and worked with Colten to take Moriarty down with a double
arm drag. Bravo tagged in and hit a Cope-a-Matic before
Copeland tagged in Austin Gunn. They hit a double hip toss,
and Dean tagged in. Austin hit a barrage of punches on Dean,
but then Dean got some separation with a jawbreaker. He
distracted the referee and went to the opposite corner while
STP pulled Austin to the floor and assaulted him without the
referee knowing.
With STP posing on the outside, Dean hit a BCC on Austin.
Gunn tried to get away and make the tag, but Bravo and Dean
sent him back to the other corner. Finally, Gunn got away
and made the tag to White. White unloaded on Dean and took
Bravo and Moriarty down with Dragon Screws. He did the same
to Taylor in the ropes, knocking him to the floor.
White reversed a whip to the corner and DDT'd Dean for a
two-count. He tried for a uranage on Dean, but Dean elbowed
his way loose. Moriarty hit White with a Slingblade! He
tried for a suplex on White, but he floated over and pushed
Moriarty right into a 3:10 to Yuma from the Gunns! As the
Gunns celebrated, Bravo came in and knocked Colten to the
floor. Bravo and Dean hit a double stun gun on Austin.
Copeland came in, as did White, and they sent Bravo and Dean
over the top to the floor. Taylor ran through both White and
Copeland. He went up to the second rope looking for a
splash, but White cut him off. He chopped Taylor and met him
on the second rope, tried for a superplex, but couldn't do
it. So Copeland came up on the second rope to help, and they
got Taylor over for the superplex from the top!
Taylor rolled to the floor, but then Bravo threw Cope there.
Dean and Bravo tried to double team White, but Cope came in
to spear Bravo, and White hit the Blade Runner on Dean to
get the victory. White comes away with a win in his first
match in over 15 months! Bang Bang Gang and Cope celebrated,
but they had some company – it was The Dogs on the top of
the ramp! From behind, the Death Riders hit the ring and
attacked everyone, and The Dogs joined them.
The association between The Dogs and the Death Riders was on
full display here while they took out Cope and Bang Bang
Gang. Castagnoli picked up Copeland for a Neutralizer, and
PAC came off the top for added impact on Cope! Connors held
White for Finlay, who blasted White with the shillelagh to
the head! Finlay decided that wasn't enough and picked up
White one more time to drop his face across his knee! As
Finlay and Connors admired their work in the ring, the Death
Riders had a celebratory huddle outside.
Willow Nightingale’s Comeback Story Continues
Willow Nightingale regaled her time as the winner of the
Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament. But at the time,
the opportunity to main-event the AEW Women's World
Championship did not exist. When it did, she got close but
couldn't come away victorious. Nightingale said, with
everything she's done, she's still not the best. But she can
prove it this year, and she will.
The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) def. Chris
Nasty, Jordan Oasis & Sonico
At the bell, Liona ran right through Nasty, then picked him
up and carried him over to The Demand corner, where he
tagged in Kaun. Kaun knocked Sonico and Oasis off the apron
before taking down Nasty. Ricochet came in with a moonsault
while Liona ran through Oasis and Sonico on the outside.
Nasty got sent into the corner by Ricochet, who was sent in
for a kick while Kaun and Ricochet doubled Nasty in the
corner. Liona followed with a big clothesline of his own.
Liona launched Nasty up into a cutter by Kaun, and Ricochet
came off the top with a splash. Oasis was cut open, as was
Liona in the opening minutes of this contest, so Oasis took
a shot at Liona, who shrugged it off and slugged Oasis with
one shot to knock him out of the ring. Sonico didn't want
any part of it, but didn't see Kaun coming around the corner
with a dropkick that sent him into the barricade. Kaun and
Liona sandwiched Nasty in the middle of the ring and lifted
him up on their shoulders so Ricochet could hit an assisted
Spirit Gun to get the pinfall victory. What a dominating
performance from The Demand! Ricochet had the microphone and
told Matt Sydal congratulations because he found some people
who thought he was worth claiming. Ricochet said The
Demand's been in demand for more than a year and reminded
Sydal and his new partners in SkyFlight that when you're in
demand, you can make demands. And if you don't follow
demands, you get put down!
For the #1 Spot in the Casino Gauntlet: ROH Women's World
Champion Athena def. STARDOM’s Rina
This one started with Athena taking the immediate advantage.
Rina tried to fight back and knock her way loose, which she
did when Athena missed a strike from the second rope, and
Rina kicked Athena in the knee on the way down. Athena
started hitting her own knee to try to get some feeling back
into it, but ran into Rina, who took her down with two quick
takeovers, followed by an STO. Rina tried to battle through
a left arm issue and stopped Athena with a couple of hair
pulls before hitting a pair of double knees in the corner on
Athena and then an exploder suplex. Rina started to feel it.
Could we have an upset brewing here?
She picked up Athena and connected on a reverse suplex right
in the middle of the ring. But her left arm was still
bothering her, and she could not take advantage, and both
women were down.
Athena escaped the grasp of Rina and tried to get her in a
Fujiwara armbar, but Rina rolled through it for a near-fall.
Rina hit a boot to Athena, and Athena didn't like it, so she
booted her right back. Rina came back with a boot of her
own, and now they were just exchanging boots in the middle
of the ring. Athena stopped it and tried to grab a double
underhook suplex, but Rina got through it and tried for a
pin that only got a two-count. Athena dropped Rina with a
tombstone piledriver for a near-fall and then locked in an
armbar.
Rina tried to make her way to the ropes and finally did by
getting her right foot on the bottom rope. Athena had to
break the hold. Athena went to argue with the referee, so
when she charged at Rina, Rina sent her to the ropes and hit
a rebound German suplex.
Rina connected with the Pink Devil and went up top. Rina
came off with a diving double knees to the ribs of Athena,
but Athena somehow kicked out in time! Rina hit a big kick
to the side of the head of Athena and hooked her in a unique
pinning combination, but still only got a two-count. The
young Rina slammed the mat to try to wake herself up and get
the crowd back into it. But Athena hit an armbreaker and
then booted Rina from the ring. Athena flew through the
ropes with a missile dive that slammed Rina into the
barricade. Athena threw her back in and went to the top
rope. Rina met her there with some forearms. Rina went up to
the second rope, but Athena fought her way loose and pushed
her down. Athena came off the top rope with the O-Face and
pinned Rina. Athena will enter the Dynamite Beach Break
Casino Gauntlet with the #1 spot!
Kyle Fletcher Has Plenty to Say About Takeshita and ELP
Lexy Nair asked Kyle Fletcher about facing Konosuke
Takeshita for the AEW International Championship next
Wednesday at Dynamite Beach Break. But before that, he has
to face ELP. Fletcher said the first time he faced ELP, he
was a young boy, but now he gets to introduce ELP to the man
he's become. Fletcher said he hopes Takeshita is watching
closely, and he knows he's friends with Phantasmo, but
Fletcher knows what that feels like, and it hurts to be
close to Takeshita. Fletcher said to enjoy last weekend with
the International Title, because at Beach Break Dynamite, it
belongs to him.
"Speedball" Mike Bailey, ROH World Champion Bandido & ROH
World Tag Team Champion Místico def. The Rascalz (Myron
Reed, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz)
This next match was a six-man human highlight reel. Bailey
and Bandido certainly enjoyed being part of Místico's
entrance, with the entire crowd singing along. The Rascalz
were clearly fired up for this match, seeing it as an
exciting and fun challenge.
Místico began things with Desmond Xavier. Místico quickly
took Xavier down and then ran up the ropes with a unique arm
drag. Bandido tagged in and sent Xavier to the outside. Reed
came in and nearly walked right into a gorilla press from
Bandido, but got loose and hit Bandido with a unique kick.
Bandido backed to the corner, so Bailey tagged in. And Wentz
tagged in on the other side. Bailey lit him up with kicks
until Wentz ducked one and hit Bailey with a German suplex.
Bailey found himself in an inescapable lightning-quick
triple team from the Rascalz in the corner, and Wentz
covered him for a near-fall. Wentz missed the charge at
Bailey and went to the outside, so Bailey followed with a
dive. But right behind Bailey was Reed with a dive. Then
Bandido dove on Reed. Then Xavier dove on Bandido and
Místico dove on Xavier, followed by Wentz diving on Místico.
When Bailey tried to dive through, Wentz caught him with a
cutter in the ropes. Bailey turned things around to go for
the flipping knees on Wentz on the apron, but Reed stopped
it with a cutter over the top that sent Bailey into Místico
and Bandido.
This match lived up to the breakneck pace we expected. As
the match continued, Bailey finally seemed to find a window
to get back in the action with a kick. He tagged in Bandido,
and Reed was tagged in on the other side. Reed and Bandido
slugged it out in the middle of the ring until Reed ran into
a gorilla press slam from Bandido. Bandido went up to the
top, but Wentz stopped him with a shot to the jaw. Wentz
brought Bandido down with a cutter from the top, and Reed
followed with a No Cap Splash, followed by a Spiral Tap from
Xavier, but the pin was broken up by Místico. Místico ran
into Reed and took both down with a double springboard
dropkick. He went for a dive but ran into a superkick from
Xavier. Xavier tried to bounce off the ropes but walked
right into an X-Knee from Bandido, which put him against the
second rope. Bandido hit the 21 Plex, as Mistico and Bailey
hit dives to the outside. Bandido pinned Xavier to get the
win for his team!
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion Wonder
Where All The Tag Teams Went
Megan Bayne wondered where all the tag teams had gone. Lena
Kross said that women from other countries joined forces and
suffered the same outcome. Bayne said they shouldn't be
surprised because they're sitting on the mountain so high
that everyone else is afraid to climb it. Kross said, maybe
word got out from those that did try. Because when you face
Divine Dominion, you face your fate. Bayne gave a message to
every woman breathing.
“You might as well wrestle us from your knees because it'll
make it that much easier to bow down.”
RUSH def. Jordan Cruz
RUSH blasted Cruz after the bell and took him to the
outside, beating him into the barricades. He brought Cruz
back in, chopped him in the corner, and stomped him down to
the mat. RUSH fired up the crowd and called for the Bull's
Horns, which he connected with for an easy pinfall victory.
RUSH celebrated with the crowd!
Katsuyori Shibata is Coming for Bandido’s ROH World
Championship
HOOK was with Katsuyori Shibata and Anthony Bowens. HOOK
said Bandido was very impressive out there, but not as
impressive as Katsuyori Shibata, who's on a 19-match winning
streak. He wants Shibata to take the ROH World Title from
Bandido in the 20th match. Bowens said, "That’s right, San
Diego, so do me a favor and stand and applaud, because this
team of killers is about to become a team of champions." As
he began to clap, HOOK stopped him, shook his head, and then
walked away with Shibata, leaving Bowens alone.
For the #2 Spot in the Casino Gauntlet: Maya World def.
Triangle of Madness' Julia Hart
With Athena waiting with the number one spot, it was time to
find out who would begin the Casino Gauntlet against her,
whether it be World or Hart. Whoever wins this match will
claim the #2 spot. Of course, World defeated Hart's Triangle
of Madness sister, Skye Blue, in an upset in the
Quarterfinals of the Owen Cup.
Hart took World down by the hair at the bell, so World
quickly rolled her up for a near-fall. World missed a charge
in a corner, but Hart went to the outside. World tried to
kick Hart, but Hart caught it, so World slipped out of it,
but was pulled down to the floor. Hart chopped her around
the barricades and threw her back in, but World took Hart
down with a flying shoulder block. The pin attempt didn't
get her anything, so she went to the corner, but Hart locked
in a tarantula stretch.
Hart hit a combo to take World down in the corner and then
threw her back to the mat, where she locked in a submission.
World locked in the Heartless Lock, but World rolled it
through for a pin and then delivered a kick to the side of
Hart's face. She brought her out of the corner with another
kick combo and dropkicked her. Hart kicked out after two.
World tried to slam Hart, but Hart escaped, only for World
to hit Hart with a double stomp for another two-count. World
measured Hart, but Hart caught her with a knee lift and then
a pair of knees to the chin on an upkick. World went down,
and Hart covered her for a two-count. Hart dragged World to
the corner and kicked her a few times on the ground, but
when she went up, World pulled her off by her shoulders.
Hart got off her back, so World grabbed Hart for a fallaway
slam, which she bridged into a pin attempt for a near-fall.
World put Hart on the top turnbuckle and followed her up,
but Hart headbutted her way free and missed a moonsault from
the top. World hit a Shining Wizard to get the pin and will
now go into the Casino Gauntlet at #2, where she will face
her mentor Athena to begin the match after Athena won the #1
spot earlier tonight!
A Preview of the Big Matches Coming Up at Dynamite Beach
Break
Before next week’s Dynamite Beach Break in Clearwater,
Florida, we took a special look at the matches already
announced, including Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa, the Casino
Gauntlet, Konosuke Takeshita defending the AEW International
Title against Kyle Fletcher and Kenny Omega’s last chance to
win the AEW World Title against MJF!
Kyle Fletcher def. ELP
Don Callis accompanied Fletcher to the ring for the main
event and joined Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness on
commentary. ELP was back in action in an AEW ring just one
week after taking Will Ospreay to the limit ahead of his
Owen Cup Finals match against Swerve Strickland. Before the
match began, ELP took his glasses off and put them on a
young fan. Fletcher seemed to laugh at this because … he’s
heartless?
Fletcher pushed ELP to the corner and backed off. Fletcher
went for a cheap shot, so ELP took him to the ground and
controlled him with the bow and arrow. The two traded near-
falls until ELP came close to beating Fletcher! ELP chopped
Fletcher, grabbed his arm, and used some nifty footwork on
the ropes to take Fletcher down with a hurricanrana.
Fletcher had no interest in any of these antics and just
booted ELP to the mat. Fletcher followed ELP to the outside
and threw him into the barricade.
ELP escaped Fletcher’s grasp to hit a springboard crossbody
followed by a moonsault off the ropes, but Fletcher kicked
out at two! ELP was able to come back with a DDT from the
ropes and looked for a thrust kick, but Fletcher blocked it.
ELP hit a succession of kicks but ran into a Michinoku
Driver from Fletcher, who got a near-fall. The crowd
chanted, "This is awesome." Fletcher missed a flying kick in
the corner and fell all the way to the top rope. ELP hit a
moonsault onto Fletcher on the floor and posed on the
commentary desk as Callis ran away. But the celebration was
too much, and Fletcher hit a half-and-half suplex on ELP on
the floor and lawn-darted him into the LED board!
Fletcher went back into the ring and told the referee to
count ELP out. ELP stumbled, but finally made it back into
the ring and walked right into a high-angle powerbomb from
Fletcher. But ELP kicked out again, and Fletcher was beside
himself. He shook his head in disgust and immediately
started kicking ELP on the mat. The crowd got behind ELP,
but when he threw a big shot, it had no effect on Fletcher,
who continued to applaud, mocking ELP as if to say, come on,
you could do better. ELP flattened Fletcher with a big
clothesline and hooked him up for a CR2 that nearly won the
match. ELP went up to the top rope and pointed at Fletcher,
but landed on both of Fletcher’s knees. Fletcher tried to
lift him up for the Sheer Drop Brainbuster, but ELP turned
it into a near-fall for a two-count. He rolled Fletcher up
for yet another two-count. On the third attempt, ELP got a
backslide for a two-count, but then Fletcher kicked out and
ran through ELP with a knee! Fletcher hit the running boot
in the corner, and finished ELP off with a Sheer Drop
Brainbuster in the middle of the ring to get the three-
count!
Callis came in the ring and said he had something important
to say. Callis said he wanted to talk about what he learned
about the last few weeks, and that's betrayal. He said
Takeshita is the prime example of that. There's no lower
form of life than a man who betrays his family, and that’s
what Takeshita did. Callis said Takeshita was his firstborn
and the chosen one to replace Kenny Omega. So starting this
Wednesday, they are going to take everything from Takeshita,
starting with the AEW International Championship. He said
Fletcher will take back the family's property and called
Takeshita, “a scumbag piece of garbage.” Takeshita heard
enough and marched to the ring as Callis escaped into the
crowd. That brings Collision to a close, but next Wednesday
night at Dynamite Beach Break, Takeshita will defend that
AEW International Championship against Kyle Fletcher!
Catch AEW Dynamite: Beach Break LIVE next Wednesday at 8
p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on TBS and HBO Max from The BayCare Sound
in Clearwater, Florida!
Tickets on sale now! – AEWTIX.COM
And remember… We are AEW—Where The Best Wrestle!