AEW Collision Review - August 17, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Britt Baker def. Harley Cameron

It's pretty astounding how much buzz the Baker vs. Mercedes Mone rivalry has lost since it started. I was looking forward to their feud, but Baker's suspension and the subpar promos in recent weeks has killed most of the momentum it had. I'm sure it will be a great match regardless, but more needs to be done next week to heat it up again. Baker beating Cameron in a basic bout here certainly wasn't enough.

Sammy Guevara and ROH World Trios Champion Dustin Rhodes def. The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) to Win the ROH World Tag Team Championship

Undisputed Kingdom held the ROH tag titles for almost eight months, but their reign wasn't overly impressive because they didn't have a ton of title defenses in that time. Plus, I'm not a fan of them dropping the belts after all this time to a makeshift team. Ring of Honor has more than enough tandems in its tag division. On the bright side, it's awesome that Rhodes is a double champion, and perhaps Guevara being relegated to ROH means we'll continue to see less of him in AEW. This was a good match, though I could've done without all of the interference toward the end.

Hologram def. Angelico

Hologram has yet to appear on Dynamite in any capacity, so it appears he'll remain exclusive to Collision for the foreseeable future. I appreciate that he's been featured consistently, if nothing else. He's racked up a string of wins so far and has looked good every time. He needs to put in a feud eventually, but he's at least off to a solid start with the way he's been booked.

AEW TNT Champion Jack Perry def. Danny Orion (Non-Title)

This was a straightforward squash for Perry. Post-match, he put Orion in a body bag and revealed a new "darker" version of the AEW TNT Championship belt. That has to confirm Perry is retaining at All In, right? I already figured that was the case, but this development makes it even more obvious. AEW has had way too many customized title designs over the years for this to feel special, by the way.

Claudio Castagnoli def. Lio Rush

Rush being back in AEW and ROH has been cool because it's given us some fun matchups like this one. Castagnoli will be challenging Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship on next Wednesday's Dynamite in Cardiff, so there was zero uncertainty surrounding the outcome, but it was an enjoyable outing while it lasted. Castagnoli vs. Okada can be a banger if they're given an ample amount of time.

Mariah May def. Londyn Dior

May and Toni Storm have done almost all they can do aside from actually having a match, so they're continuing to kill time until All In. That's not to say this wasn't effective, though. May dominated Dior in short order before Storm's latest cinematic promo, which was well delivered. Storm's shtick is still entertaining, but she's overdue to be dethroned as AEW Women's World Champion, and May is the perfect person to take the title from her.

FTR vs. The Acclaimed in an AEW World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Match Ended in a Time-Limit Draw

One of the positives of Collision is that the main event gets plenty of time. That was among the show's strengths when it premiered last year and they've stayed true to that. They made the most of that time and had a strong back-and-forth match. I was hoping it would have a decisive outcome, but they unfortunately went the lazy route with the time-limit draw finish. I understand why it makes sense, but it's lame considering last week's Collision had a similar ending.

Overall Show

As much as I didn't like how the show went off the air, as a match, the main event was the best thing on the show. Everything else on Collision this week was par for the course, though the ROH World Tag Team Championship changing hands was notable for anyone who cares about the ROH brand. A handful of enhancement matches don't make for the most exciting two hours, but it was a quality episode, nonetheless.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews