Posted on 5/15/125 by Bob Magee
AEW Collision was live from Chicago, Illinois’ NOW Arena on
Wednesday, May 14, for an absolutely incredible night of
professional wrestling!
Here’s everything that went down on an exhilarating episode
of Dynamite, including your full AEW Dynamite results and
recap.
Will Ospreay & Hangman Adam Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita &
Josh Alexander
We kicked off Wednesday night’s festivities with Will
Ospreay making his entrance to a raucous reception from the
Chicago crowd. Ditto for Hangman Page, who made sure to
acknowledge a young fan at ringside – something that seemed
to catch Ospreay’s attention. Was that another sign of a
softer side of Hanger?
Don Callis joined us on commentary, as we began with Ospreay
and Takeshita in the ring. The larger Takeshita knocked
Ospreay to the ground, only for the Aerial Assassin to pop
right back up (twice). Takeshita made the tag to Alexander,
who isolated Ospreay after the Owen Hart Cup finalist
appeared to ignore a potential tag from Hangman.
Eventually, however, Ospreay was able to tag in the red-hot
Page, who leveled both Takeshita and Alexander, inside and
outside of the ring. A flat-footed moonsault from the apron
took out Alexander, leading to Page landing a Death Valley
Driver on Takeshita. Takeshita avoided a sliding lariat from
Hangman, then the two heavy hitters exchanged massive blows
in the middle of the ring. A pop-up powerbomb from Hangman
scored a two-count.
An insistent Ospreay wanted in on the action, and despite a
moment’s hesitation, Page obliged, setting up a nice flurry
of tandem offense from the two Double or Nothing opponents.
Takeshita and Alexander turned the tables when Alexander
prevented Takeshita from being whipped into the ropes.
A Northern Lights suplex from Alexander saw a near-fall, but
the Don Callis Family member kept the ring cut in half,
preventing Page from tagging in Ospreay with an ankle lock.
But Hangman would not be denied, tagging Ospreay in. Ospreay
and Hanger then each climbed the turnbuckles and took out
Alexander and Takeshita, respectively, on the outside.
Back in the ring, though, Takeshita reclaimed control,
bouncing Ospreay off the mat with a Blue Thunder Bomb
followed by a brainbuster. Alexander and Takeshita lined
Ospreay up for a ripcord stereo elbow. Ospreay bounced back,
landing two Oscutters – but not the pinfall.
We almost got a bit of drama at that point, as Ospreay was
just inches away from taking out Hangman with a Hidden
Blade. But the two Double or Nothing opponents recovered to
score a combo Hidden Blade/Buckshot Lariat and the win.
After the match, Takeshita and Alexander tried to continue
the beatdown of both Ospreay and Page, only for the two to
fend off the Don Callis Family before they got in each
other’s faces after a bit of a misunderstanding at the end.
Ricochet vs. Zach Gowen
Ricochet came to the ring still in possession of Gowen’s
prosthetic leg, parading it around the ring even as Gowen
made his entrance and soaked in the respect from the crowd.
Gowen got the best of the first contact between the two,
springing up from the mat to throw Ricochet to the ground on
a collar-and-elbow tie up. Ricochet tried to stall on the
outside, but Gowen landed a kick through the ropes, dove
onto Ricochet on the outside, then locked in a head lock for
good measure. But Ricochet countered, driving Gowen into the
barricade and stopping his momentum cold.
As the action returned between the ropes, Ricochet hit a
massive Shooting Star Press that he thought was going to end
things, but Gowen wasn’t done. The frustration drove
Ricochet to grab his golden shears. And in the ensuing
confusion of the official taking the scissors away, Gowen
grabbed his prosthetic leg and brained Ricochet with it.
Unfortunately, he missed on his signature moonsault, letting
Ricochet steal the win.
Following the bell, Ricochet looked to try to cause even
more harm to Gowen, but Mark Briscoe – who crossed paths
with Gowen in Ring of Honor – ran out to make the save.
MJF Wants to Win
Backstage, Maxwell Jacob Friedman was asked by Renee
Paquette what it would mean for him to join The Hurt
Syndicate. MJF reminded us all of his championship
credentials, and the fact that when he plays the game, he
plays to win – and wants to know that he’s going to win.
Amid all that bravado, Renee asked MJF if he had thought
about what would happen if The Hurt Syndicate turned him
down. Enter MVP, Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley, who
simply told Max that it was “imperative” that he join them
in the ring after their match.
The Hurt Syndicate vs. Top Flight
And that match was up next! Shelton Benjamin started things
off in the right for The Hurt Syndicate, taking on both
Darius and Dante Martin. The tag champ took an early
advantage, but Top Flight used their speed and agility to
take out both Benjamin and Bobby Lashley.
The only problem: Outside of the ring was a very good place
to hurt people. Lashley sent Darius crashing into the
barricade, then took control back in the ring and presented
Martin to Benjamin on a silver platter. Two big release
German suplexes turned Darius into a ragdoll, but he kicked
out of the pin attempt by Benjamin. A step-up knee by
Benjamin on Dante set up Lashley for a massive spear and the
Hurt Lock for the win.
Lashley wasn’t done. He kept the Hurt Lock on for a full
minute following the bell, which brought Dustin Rhodes and
Sammy Guevera out to the ring. Rhodes made it clear that
they weren’t just there to talk – he and his tag partner had
their eyes on the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Enter
CRU, who also made their claim to being the top contenders
to the tag titles.
Rhodes was having none of it, telling CRU they weren’t going
to cut in line – and they they needed to learn some respect
for their elders. MVP had a resolution: The two teams could
fight it out at Collision, with the winner getting an
opportunity at the AEW World Tag Team Championships at
Double or Nothing.
MJF Gets What He Deserves
With the tag match over, it was time for The Hurt Syndicate
to give MJF an answer. His music hit, and Max came through
the tunnel, escorted by Shelton Benjamin down to the ring.
MVP told MJF that this was his moment of reckoning, and that
he hoped Max was ready for what was coming: Thumbs up from
MVP. Thumbs up from Shelton. And …
THUMBS UP FROM BOBBY LASHLEY!
MJF celebrated like he’d just won the AEW World Title
(again), leading the crowd in a “We hurt people!” chant.
Next week, we will have an official MJF contract signing for
Max entering The Hurt Syndicate!
AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator 4-Way: Toni Storm
vs. AZM vs. Mina Shirakawa vs. Skye Blue
Chaos and sloptarts were on the menu for this one! All four
women collided with a vengeance to start things off, with
Shirakawa planting AZM with a DDT on the outside. In the
ring, the hometown girl, Skye Blue, took down the champion
with a head-scissors takeover and a DDT of her own in her
return from injury. With Storm incapacitated for a moment,
Blue and AZM exchanged big forearms then went crashing to
the outside, as Storm and Shirakawa got reacquainted back in
the ring.
Shirakawa went to whip Storm into the ropes, but AZM met the
women’s champion with a huge kick to the chest on the
rebound. Shirakawa locked in a figure-four on Storm, but the
champ made her way to the ropes. That brought all four women
back together, with Blue taking out the other three on the
outside.
The disorder continued back in the ring, with the four women
exchanging suplexes and strikes smack-dab in the middle of
the ring. Storm lined up all three women for Hip Attacks,
but AZM sneaked her way out of the corner for the counter.
Storm broke up a potential suplex on Blue by Shirakawa with
a nasty dropkick, only for Blue to have two Code Blues
countered by AZM and Shirakawa each.
Storm landed a Storm Zero for a near-fall, broken up by
Shirakawa, who avoided a Storm Zero herself, then reversed a
Big Package from Storm into a pinning predicament of her own
for the 1, 2, 3 and the win! With the victory, Shirakawa
earned an opportunity at the AEW Women’s World Championship
against Timeless Toni Storm at Double or Nothing!
As AZM made her way to the back after the match, she was
ambushed by Mercedes Mone, who was livid that AZM had taken
“her” NJPW Strong Women’s Championship. But one good turn
deserves another, as Jamie Hayter then made her way out to
assault Mone.
Daniel Garcia Asks for Help
Suffice it to say that Garcia has had issues with FTR the
past few weeks. So has Nigel McGuinness, despite Nigel’s
current role as a commentator. According to Garcia,
McGuinness did what he was supposed to do last week. He was
disrespected by FTR, and he stood up for himself. Now,
Garcia is going to fight FTR, by himself if needed. But he
could use McGuinness’ help, if he wants to provide it.
That was enough to bring Stokely out, questioning what
McGuinness was doing last week. According to Big Stoke, FTR
wasn’t in the building tonight, but they sent him to deliver
a message to Nigel. No one puts their hands on FTR – and
when you do something bad, there are consequences. FTR and
Stoke had a little meeting of the minds and decided on a
punishment. That punishment? McGuinness getting in the ring
with the greatest tag team in pro wrestling history, FTR, in
an official match. Because in an official match, FTR can’t
be punished for what they do in the ring.
That’s exactly why McGuinness doesn’t want to fight FTR in a
match. He knows what he’s up against. But Garcia wasn’t
hearing it. He thinks he and Nigel can stand toe-to-toe with
FTR.
And maybe they can, but an attack from behind was another
story. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler popped up and took out
Garcia, setting McGuinness up for a spike piledriver. But
McGuinness and Garcia had backup in the form of an incensed
Daddy Magic with a crowbar. (It’s good backup to have!)
AEW World Championship Steel Cage Match: Jon Moxley vs.
Samoa Joe
For the first time ever, the AEW World Title was being
defended inside of a steel cage at Beach Break in Chicago!
We started with an exchange of holds, leading to elbow
strikes from both champion and challenger. Joe sent Mox
face-first into the steel cage twice, with a headbutt in the
corner in between just for fun.
With Mox slumped in the corner, Joe landed several stiff
kicks, then a running boot to the face. A two-count from Joe
on Mox drew a middle finger from the champion, who went to
work on Joe’s left knee, locking in a figure-four after
pummeling Joe’s lower limb. Joe was able to turn the hold
over and reverse the pressure, sending Mox to the ropes for
a break.
As Mox maintained the advantage inside the cage, Yuta
Wheeler and Claudio Castagnoli of the Death Riders made
their way down to ringside through the crowd. They were
quickly met by a chair-wielding Willow Nightingale alongside
Joe’s fellow AEW World Trios Champion, Powerhouse Hobbs.
The action turned bloody from there, as Joe drew first blood
from the champion’s forehead. Despite that, though, Mox
stood to trade blows with Joe for a minute, before the
challenger got the best of the champion. It appeared as if
Mox went to escape the cage at that point, but Joe caught
him and suplexed him right back into the center of the ring.
That was followed by a massive powerbomb by Joe, then a
transition into an STF and a crossface after a near-fall.
But Mox was able to crawl to the ropes for a break.
In the corner, the struggle between the two gave way to Mox
literally biting at Joe’s face, limiting the challenger’s
visibility. Mox capitalized with a big lariat and a cutter,
but Joe had the wherewithal to fight off a cross armbreaker
by the champion. Mox did apply a bulldog choke, but Joe
refused to surrender. He locked in a Coquina Clutch of his
own, which brought the Death Riders into the fray. Claudio
tried to climb the cage, but Willow negated him. Yuta tried
to get involved, but Powerhouse Hobbs was having none of it.
But in the chaos, Gabe Kidd (!!!) slipped the briefcase into
the cage to Moxley, who clocked Joe and got the win. Kidd
then assisted Castagnoli in taking out Hobbs and went to the
ring to celebrate with Moxley.
Why would Kidd get involved? The Young Bucks looked to have
the answer, as they came down to the ring to shake Moxley’s
hand – but they weren’t the only unexpected guests, because
Kenny Omega was in the building! Omega brawled with Claudio,
only for Kazuchika Okada to attack Omega, delivering a
killer blow to the midsection and tossing Omega to the
wolves in the ring – with the cage coming back down to trap
Joe and Omega inside with Mox, Claudio, Yuta, Marina Shafir,
Kidd and the Bucks.
While they put the hurt on Joe and Omega, the upper hand was
short-lived. Swerve Strickland came out of the tunnel,
climbed the cage, and ran off Mox & Co.
Catch AEW COLLISION BEACH BREAK Saturday at 8/7c on TNT and
streaming on MAX from the NOW Arena in Chicago, Illinois!
And remember… We are AEW—Where The Best Wrestle!