AEW Collision: Fyter Fest Review - August 26, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Hook Attacked FTW Champion Jack Perry

This segment was originally scheduled for Wednesday's Dynamite but got bumped to Collision. I assumed it was due to time constraints and it probably was, but there's also the chance they didn't want to do a funeral-esque segment on a show that aired hours after Terry Funk's passing was announced. Hook turned heel for me when he returned and attacked Perry before Perry could retire the FTW Championship as advertised. In all seriousness, this was a simple segment to set up their rematch at All In, which was already announced by Tony Khan for the Zero Hour pre-show a few days ago. Oops.

Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo and AEW International Champion Orang Cassidy def. Kip Sabian, The Butcher and The Blade

Kingston, Miedo and Cassidy were quite the trio, but they teamed because they'll be partners alongside Best Friends in Stadium Stampede at All In. As if it wasn't obvious enough who was winning here, Sabian, Butcher and Blade didn't get a televised entrance. This was a serviceable six-man tag team match and the crowd was into the babyfaces. There was a lot of talking afterward as they attempted to hype Stadium Stampede.

The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) def. Darius Martin and Action Andretti

Dark Order's rivalry with The Elite ended abruptly and I don't think we've seen them on any of the shows since (other than ROH TV, of course). I just can't bring myself to care about the group at this point and don't understand what this was supposed to accomplish. It was well wrestled, but it lasted much longer than it needed to for a match that didn't matter. Hey, remember when Andretti beat Chris Jericho?

Big Bill def. Vary Morales

Bill will be busy destroying dudes until Starks' storyline suspension is up, which is the day before All Out I believe. It still looks like a Strap match with CM Punk appears to be the direction for that show. I'm all for Bill getting a singles push, but I don't have faith the focus will be on him in the long run and that Punk will dispose of him when Punk and Starks rekindle their rivalry. I want the focus on Starks, too, which is why I think this is an unnecessary pairing.

Willow Nightingale def. Robyn Renegade

Nightingale not appearing at All In despite winning the women's Owen Hart Cup last month is a bummer, but that's what happens when Tony Khan isn't interested in booking two meaningful matches for the women on the show. In the meantime, she's maintaining momentum with wins like the one she scored here and I'm not complaining. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this, but it served its purpose.

Keith Lee def. Zicky Dice

Putting three squashes back-to-back-to-back certainly was not ideal, but I'm just glad Lee was showcased. He'll pop up here and there on Dynamite and Rampage before disappearing for weeks at a time. Hopefully he's okay, and if he is, there's no excuse for AEW not doing more with him and leaving him off all these pay-per-views. This was a straightforward squash for him and nothing more. I popped for Dice making an appearance, too.

CM Punk, Darby Allin, Sting and Hook def. AEW TNT Champion Luchasaurus, Jay White and Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Brian Cage)

When this was announced as an "All Stars" tag team main event, they weren't lying. Hook was the big mystery partner, even though he doesn't have bad blood with any of the heels right now. Still, we got a bunch of cool combinations in this match while Samoa Joe sat in on commentary. In typical Collision fashion, this main event got plenty of time and was a ton of fun. The babyfaces won and chaos ensued afterward between all of the rivals ahead of All In.

Overall Show

Collision is usually AEW's strongest show of the week, but that just wasn't the case this week. This was taped on Wednesday along with Dynamite and Rampage due to the roster already being overseas in England for All In, so it was clear they booked a bunch of random matches and tacked on a star-studded main event. That was entertaining, but nothing else is worth seeking out. If you were already excited for All In, I can't imagine this episode will do anything to move the needle.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews