AEW Collision Review - December 9, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Champion and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston def. Claudio Castagnoli in a Continental Classic Blue League Match (Non-Title)

I'd have to go back and watch their other two matches from Supercard of Honor and Grand Slam this year, but I may have enjoyed this match more than those. What's funny is that the ROH World Championship was on the line in both of those bouts, but I thought this told a strong story with Kingston fighting for his life to prevent getting eliminated and ultimately winning. He stays alive, for now.

Willow Nightingale def. Mercedes Martinez

I liked how this match was built up ahead of time through video packages to give it more meaning. AEW has completely dropped the ball with Nightingale after all that momentum she had over the summer, but at least she was able to win here in what was a really good match. Diamante attempted to attack Nightingale afterward before Kris Statlander made the save, so it was basically the same angle we got from these four in July or August on Collision.​

Wardlow def. Willie Mack by Referee Stoppage

Mack is a friend of AR Fox, who Wardlow recently squashed, so it was logical for Mack to be the sacrificial lamb for Wardlow this week. It was another straightforward squash with Wardlow completely dominating Mack and winning decisively by referee stoppage. I'm glad they're taking their time building Wardlow back up while also having him constantly call out MJF. I think it's pretty clear he's going to be revealed as a member of this faction with "The Devil".

Kenny Omega def. "All Ego" Ethan Page

Page randomly called out Omega on last week's show, despite Page being a Ring of Honor regular right now and Omega currently teaming with Chris Jericho. Hey, I can't complain about getting a hell of a match between them. Page proved he could hang with Omega, Omega reminded the world what he can do on his own, and the Montreal crowd ate all of it up. Page deserves a renewed push in AEW once his ROH run comes to an end.

Penta El Zero Miedo and AAA Cruiserweight Champion Komander def. "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker

This would've been a throwaway match on Rampage any other week, but this episode emanating from Montreal made this match more special with Menard and Parker being Montreal natives. The crowd being so behind them was cool. They're a talented team that often doesn't get to show what they can do due to the comedy shenanigans they find themselves involved in. They excel at that stuff, but it's also nice when they can do their thing in the ring. This was a good, competitive contest, but I don't see why Penta and Komander had to win considering they're not an actual team.

Andrade El Idolo def. Bryan Danielson in a Continental Classic Blue League Match

This was a rematch from a few weeks ago and was equally entertaining. They got a ton of time and beat the crap out of each other. I genuinely did not think Andrade would win, let alone in clean fashion, so that was a pleasant surprise. I like that Danielson lost to tease that he may not win the Blue League after all, but I do think that's where we're headed. The key is capitalizing with Andrade this time around because this is the best he's been in AEW to date.

Overall Show

The Continental Classic has really injected new life into Collision. The matches are awesome and they're telling some stories along the way, specifically in the Blue League. The Gold League feels a bit more predictable. This show was bookended by two top-notch matches and had another above-average match in the middle with Omega and Page. Throw in a lively Montreal crowd and you have a thumbs-up episode.

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