Posted on 5/09/125 by Bob Magee
AEW Collision was live from Detroit, Michigan’s Masonic
Temple Theatre on Thursday, May 8, for a very special
edition of Thursday wrestling!
Here’s everything that went down on an exhilarating episode
of Collision, including your full AEW Collision results and
recap.
Toni Storm’s Night at the Theatre
Only the AEW Women’s World Champion could have opened
tonight’s show the way that she did. From the boxed seats
inside the Masonic Temple Theatre, remembering her first
time — as AEW Women’s World Champion, that is. Storm has
been having the time of her life in the AEW Women’s Title
Eliminators, as she’s used to pushing her body past her
limits. And she’s ready for even more sloptarts, so she’ll
see even more women in yet another Eliminator match next
week!
Paragon Know What They’re Up Against
Backstage, Paragon acknowledged that they were disappointed
with the result of their 2-out-of-3 Falls match against FTR
last week. But they also know that they’re one of the best
tag teams to ever do it, and they’re ready to do the work to
climb back to the top.
Enter Grizzled Young Veterans, who said it’s true that
Paragon used to be the best, but they’ve gotten soft. And
any time they want to be reminded of what it’s like to
really fight for their place, GYV are more than happy to
dance.
Ricochet vs. Angelico
There was a familiar face for wrestling fans in the crowd as
Ricochet made his entrance – the one and only Zach Gowen.
Angelico started this one off hot, keeping Ricochet grounded
and even getting a little rub in on his bald head for good
luck. In a less loving move, Angelico then slapped
Ricochet’s dome a few times while he was stretching him out
in a submission. But Ricochet turned the tables and scored
the victory with the Spirit Gun.
With another win in the ledger, Ricochet grabbed the
microphone and ran down the Detroit crowd, noting how
rooting for the Lions was the truest sign of the lack of
intelligence of the locals. Ricochet then listed all the AEW
legends he’s beaten since he’s joined the company. And
speaking of legends, there’s one in the house – Zach Gowen.
Ricochet was a huge fan of Gowen when he was growing up. In
fact, he loved watching Gowen getting beaten up. But the
difference is that back then, Ricochet said to Gowen’s
children, their dad was on this side of the barricade. Now,
he’s on that side. That didn’t stop Ricochet from putting
his hands on Gowen, though. And when security tried to
intervene, Ricochet beat them down, mocked them, and cut the
hair of one.
Gowen had seen enough. He jumped the barricade, entered the
ring, and took the scissors. But when he turned his
attention away from Ricochet for just a moment, Ricochet
took out Gowen’s leg, then hit a Spirit Gun.
That would have been too much on its own. But things really
got out of hand when Ricochet took Gowen’s prosthetic leg
and left with it in hand.
All Star 8-Man Tag: The Outrunners, AR Fox and Bandido vs.
The Don Callis Family
The good news: We all knew this one was going to be a blast
from the opening bell.
The bad news: Don Callis has a headset on.
Anyway! ROH World Champion Bandido started things off
against Kyle Fletcher, who was flanked by Family members
Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero and Lance Archer. The two went
back-and-forth for a couple of minutes, and then it was time
for chaos.
A procession of bodies hit the ring, leading to the
Outrunners getting the best of Roppongi Vice. The edge was
short-lived, as Archer hit Turbo and Truth with a double
chokeslam and cleared the ring.
Archer controlled the action from there, then gave way to
Trent, who continued the abuse on Truth Magnum, including
all four members of the Don Callis Family crushing Truth in
the corner.
But if you never quit, you can’t stop, and Truth Magnum has
no quit in him. He reversed a suplex into a cradle on
Fletcher and made his way to the corner for the tag.
With his teammates all fresh and ready to go, Turbo, Fox and
Bandido get the crowd to their feet with a series of
absolutely absurd combination offense, largely featuring
Bandido and Fox using their teammates to launch themselves
to the outside and take out the whole Family.
Back in the ring, Trent was the legal man for the Don Callis
Family, as Fox tagged in on the other side. He took out
Beretta with a modified fisherman’s buster, planted Archer
with a hanging DDT, drilled Rocky in the corner, and kept an
eye on Fletcher long enough to hit a back elbow when the
Protostar tried to come to Romero’s rescue.
Fox lost sight of Trent, though, who held the high-flyer
long enough for Fletcher to take him out – for a moment,
anyway. Fox rebounded with a double-cutter on Roppongi Vice,
but Archer neutralized Fox, and Beretta and Romero hit their
new combination maneuver, the Jackal Driver, for the win.
Jon Moxley Knows What’s Coming
Jon Moxley knows Samoa Joe is going to kick his ass. The
question isn’t whether he will. It’s how long he’s going to
do it. Joe is one of the few guys that Mox has genuine
respect for. He’s the embodiment of a champion.
But he’s not the AEW World Champion. Moxley is. And he knows
that no matter what happens in that steel cage in Chicago,
Moxley knows he has been through worse. He has been through
the kind of hell and weathered the kind of storms and faced
the kind of demons that would keep these kids up at night.
He doesn’t need to be feared or respected by Joe or anyone
else. He just needs Joe to show up. Mox doesn’t get along
with the rest of the world, because he’s not like the rest
of the world.
And believe it or not, there’s nowhere else he would rather
be next week than in a cage with the baddest man on the
planet, Samoa Joe, with the AEW World Title hanging in the
balance.
When it’s all said and done, the only thing that matters is
who is the last man standing.
Gowen Looks for Revenge at Beach Break
Vengeance might be a dish best served cold, but Zach Gowen
isn’t waiting. Tony Schiavone announced that Gowen made it
clear he wants Ricochet in the ring, and Tony Khan has made
it official. The two will fight next week at Beach Break
Dynamite in Chicago.
Anthony Bowens vs. Lee Johnson
Lee Johnson and Blake Christian stepped to Bowens last week,
and the Pride of Professional Wrestling wasn’t about to let
the disrespect slide. Johnson gave a game effort, but a
Mollywhop was all she wrote, giving Bowens the 1-2-3
victory.
That had the 5-Tool Player in a great mood, and that meant
it was Scissor Time! (Not like Ricochet’s devious scissor
time, that’s different.) Bowens got the Detroit crowd hyped,
then threw ‘em up for a mid-ring scissor with Daddy Ass.
Gates of Agony and The Learning Tree Brawl
Sometimes, professional wrestling is an absolute artform.
And sometimes, it is an absolute BRAWL.
This one was the latter. All four members of these two tag
teams simply wanted to beat the living hell out of each
other, and consider that mission accomplished. A crucifix
bomb through two tables and a massive spear through two
others left all four men wiped out, with help needed from
backstage.
Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander
A little in-ring therapy, anyone? The history between these
two is complicated, to say the least. So maybe communicating
via wrestling match was what they both needed.
Both women showed off their strength and striking in the
opening moments, until Statlander mocked Willow with one of
her poses on a nonchalant pin. Nightingale responded by
laying in massive chops and elbows, then slamming
Statlander’s head from post to post.
Willow kept the pressure on, culminating in a cannonball to
Statlander on the outside. But when Nightingale went for a
suplex, Stat was able to reverse, taking all the momentum
away from Nightingale.
With both having taken their fair share of punishment, this
one went back to the middle for more fisticuffs. Stat landed
a devastating kick to the skull, but Nightingale countered
with a rib-rocking spinebuster. An exchange of near-falls
left Statlander on top, drilling Willow with a thrust kick
followed by an axe kick to the back of the head.
Speaking of “on top,” Stat and Nightingale went up to the
top rope, and Statlander landed a massive superplex that had
the fans on their feet.
It seemed we were on track for an all-time classic … until
the Death Riders arrived. Yuta Wheeler provided the
distraction, and Marina Shafir choked out Nightingale with a
chain as revenge for Willow getting involved in the Death
Riders’ business. Both Statlander and the official were
unaware, and Stat took home the win over an incapacitated
Nightingale.
Josh Alexander and Konosuke Takeshita vs. Evil Uno and Alex
Reynolds
The Don Callis Family didn’t even wait for the bell to ring
to go to town on the Dark Order. Takeshita beat up Uno on
the outside, while Alexander got his licks in on Reynolds in
the ring.
It was clinical. It was brutal. And it was clearly a message
being sent to Hangman Adam Page and Will Ospreay ahead of
next week, when the two Owen Hart Cup finalists will team up
to take on Alexander and Takeshita.
Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Dralistico – Round 2!
This one spilled to the outside early, as Dralistico and
Speedball showcased their athleticism. But it was a poke to
the eye by Dralistico that defined this one early, allowing
the LFI member to dominate Bailey – right up until
Speedball scored a few kicks to the thigh, driving
Dralistico back to the corner, where the two men exchanged
chops.
Bailey went for his 450 kneedrop off the top, but Dralistico
dodged, setting up a chain of incredibly athletic maneuvers,
including a crucifix bomb onto Bailey that Speedball
responded to with a fortuitous Canadian Destroyer. A
spinning heel kick from Bailey square to the head got
Speedball the victory.
Rush’s music hit, and he came halfway down the ramp, but no
further, as the crowd chanted his name.
Daniel Garcia vs. Dax Harwood Ends in Unexpected Fashion
Mystery solved: Dax was the member of FTR who stepped in the
ring to “answer” Garcia’s questions.
And his answers were mostly violent, especially in the
beginning, as Harwood slapped Garcia all around the ring.
When Dax tried to piledrive Garcia on the outside, though,
the former TNT Champion reversed it and catapulted Harwood
into the ring post.
Garcia maintained the advantage on the outside, repeatedly
crushing Harwood, seated on a steel chair, against the
barricade – right up until Cash Wheeler stepped in between
the two and gave Harwood the opportunity to level Garcia.
Wheeler kept getting involved, as did Stokely, until Daddy
Magic came out to play some semblance of the equalizer.
Yet the damage had been done. Despite being bloodied,
Harwood pounded Garcia back in the ring. He also made a big
mistake, though, in continuing to taunt and mock Garcia.
Eventually, the younger star had enough, firing up with
repeated palm strikes to Harwood’s chest, a massive lariat,
and 10 punches to Harwood’s head in the corner.
In a moment of desperation, treachery, or both, Harwood
ripped the turnbuckle cover off of one of the top ropes in
the corner, which loomed large when he fended off a
submission attempt by Garcia and sent his former protege
head-first into the exposed metal, leading to a pop-up
powerbomb with an assist from the rope by Harwood.
Rage is an incredible thing, though, as Garcia dug down deep
to seize Harwood and superplex him THREE times in a row. The
two men took the fight to the crowd, right by the
commentator’s table, where Harwood saw fit to slap Nigel
McGuinness’ headset off his head. That was too much for
Nigel, who followed Harwood to the ring and laid in a
headbutt and European uppercut. Cash Wheeler tried to
counter McGuinness, but Daddy Magic was right there to help
chase off FTR.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE BEACH BREAK live Wednesday at 8/7c on TBS
and streaming on MAX from the NOW Arena in Chicago,
Illinois!
Tickets On Sale Now! – www.AEWTix.com
And remember… We are AEW—Where The Best Wrestle!