AEW Collision Review - February 10, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli) def. Esfinge and Star Jr.

It'd be wonderful if there was more of an introduction for Esfinge, Star Jr. and the rest of these CMLL guys because you have to know there's a decent portion of AEW's audience (myself included) that isn't familiar with most of them. This was another well-wrestled affair, but without anything on the line and knowing nothing about the CMLL team, I personally wasn't invested in the action. FTR confronted Moxley and Castagnoli afterward and I hope that match is saved for Revolution.

Daniel Garcia def. Shane Taylor

This was a bit random, but it felt like an opportunity for Garcia to keep his momentum rolling following his recent string of wins. I'm glad we're getting to see more of Taylor on AEW TV after he's been primarily relegated to Ring of Honor for the last two years, but it's clear he's just a stepping stone for other talent right now. This was a good match despite the outcome not being in any real doubt.

Brian Cage def. The Outrunners in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match

Hook beat The Outrunners in a Handicap match last week, so this followed the same formula with Cage also making quick work the duo as he should have. There was no need for this to be any longer than it was. Hook and Cage brawled afterward to build toward their eventual one-on-one match. I know a win over Cage doesn't mean much in 2024, but this is still a smart use of both guys right now.

Daniel Garcia and Adam Copeland Agreed to an AEW TNT Championship No. 1 Contender's Match on Dynamite

Copeland has been racking up wins his with his weekly open challenge for the last month and has repeatedly called out Christian Cage, but Garcia coming out to also lay claim to a title shot was a cool twist. I should've expected that after he picked up the winning fall in last week's six-man tag team main event against Christian's crew. They'll battle on Wednesday's Dynamite, and honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing Garcia pull out the upset victory.

Brody King def. Mark Briscoe

This stemmed from House of Black interrupting Briscoe's promo last week on Collision. I mentioned that I was in favor of the feud because hopefully it meant we'd get to see Malakai Black have his first singles match on AEW TV since June 2022. Instead, it was King who took on Briscoe. Don't get me wrong, this was a solid match and King is very talented, but this has to be a rib on Black at this point. He didn't even appear here, it was just King and Julia Hart. Maybe we'll still get Black vs. Briscoe, but it feels like the issue is mainly between King and Briscoe after what we saw here.

Deonna Purrazzo def. Kiera Hogan

AEW has done right by Purrazzo so far and it's been encouraging to see. She's a top talent in the women's division and I'm looking forward to her facing Toni Storm, but what AEW does with her after she likely loses is the ultimate question. As for this outing, it was well worked, but the crowd did not care, probably Hogan is also a babyface and has been established as a jobber in AEW. Nonetheless, it was another momentum-building victory for Purrazzo.

AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm def. Queen Aminata (Non-Title)

This would technically be considered an AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator match, but I don't believe it was billed as such. I was surprised to see Storm wrestle twice in one week considering she's wrestled a lot less with this character, and they had a nice match. The commentators mentioned the quality of competition Aminata has had in AEW in 2024 but glossed over the fact she has yet to win in AEW in 2024. That has to change soon if they expect the audience to take her seriously as a threat to anyone.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. Tomohiro Ishii

Any title defense Cassidy has between now and Revolution will be predictable because him defending against Roderick Strong is pretty much a lock, but I didn't mind this match as much as some of the others Cassidy has had lately because this was a fun clash of styles and they delivered a strong main event. I liked that the commentators acknowledged how Ishii was supposed to be involved in the match to crown the inaugural AEW International Champion back at Forbidden Door 2022 before an injury forced him to pull out. Ishii saving Cassidy from The Undisputed Kingston afterward might set up a tag team match for an upcoming episode of Dynamite or Collision.

Overall Show

I'm glad Collision has found a rhythm that works, but it simply isn't must-see television the way it was when it premiered last summer. That isn't to say those early episodes were all excellent, but it felt like we were getting more storylines that were furthered from week to week and not just setup for Dynamite. The main event was the best thing on this edition and the segment with Copeland and Garcia was well done, but everything else was business as usual.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews