AEW Collision Review - July 22, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricky Starks, CM Punk, Darby Allin and Christian Cage Exchanged Words

This felt like a segment straight off of WWE TV with it being a revolving door of promos (similar to the ending to Thursday's edition of IMPACT! Wrestling), but that isn't necessarily a bad thing in this case. I liked the exchange between Starks and Punk, though it was odd that Punk came off more heelish than Starks did. Cage, Luchasaurus and Allin coming out was a bit random, but it obviously served to set up the night's tag team main event.

Bullet Club Gold (Jay White and Juice Robinson) def. Darius Martin and Action Andretti

Martin and Andretti are coming off a win over The Workhorsemen at Friday's ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view, while Bullet Club needed a rebound win following their loss to FTR last week on Collision. I don't know if this needed to be as long as it was, but it was enjoyable while it lasted. I'm curious where Bullet Club Gold goes from here. Maybe feud with The Hardyz since The Gunns took them out of action (in storyline) last month?

Miro def. Nick Comoroto

Miro has been in total destruction mode since returning to AEW TV and that continued here. Comoroto was bigger than Miro's average enhancement opponent, but he still put him away rather quickly and decisively. His pre-taped promos are always well done and I'm glad he's being kept strong, but I'm ready for him to move into an actual program soon. Who that'd be with, I'm not sure, but hopefully they can get something going with him soon.

AEW World Trios Champions House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews) def. Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed

This was a rematch from Double or Nothing. I didn't care too much to see it the first time, let alone a second time, but it was perfectly passable and was significantly shorter than I thought it would be. Hey, I'm not complaining. Post-match, Gunn took off his boots and left them in the ring. I really hope this marks the end of Gunn being in the ring because he has no business wrestling regularly at this point, not to mention that The Acclaimed don't need him.

AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR Addressed AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole

You'd never see this sort of hype for a match on Dynamite. Typically a promo like this would be relegated to the back, but it's cool that it took place in the ring here. FTR did a solid job of hyping up their title defense against MJF and Cole next week and ensuring they don't come across as afterthoughts with MJF and Cole being so popular right now, and also explaining their history with MJF in The Pinnacle and warning Cole to watch his back. This was simple and effective stuff.

Taya Valkyrie def. Skye Blue

This match was announced during Death Before Dishonor, but I honestly don't know why it existed beyond giving Valkyrie a much-needed win on television. She's lost a lot lately and has failed in four different title shots since April (not counting her two title losses in MLW), so this helped get her one step closer toward getting back on track. Unfortunately, based on her post-match promo, it looks like she's being built up just to lose to Britt Baker on next Wednesday on Dynamite.

Ricky Starks and Christian Cage def. Darby Allin and CM Punk

Cage came out wearing the AEW TNT Championship belt, which was hilarious. He doesn't wrestle much nowadays, so this was a treat. They got a ton of time and all four guys had a chance to shine. This was a very entertaining main event with Starks once again holding the rope to win, this time pinning Allin. That was the right outcome to keep his momentum rolling and I'm looking forward to more from him and Punk.

Overall Show

Of the several editions of Collision we've gotten since its premiere, this was on the lower end in my opinion. Still, this was a thumbs-up show and I love the pacing of Collision. There wasn't a ton of note going on in the middle of this show, but it moved along nicely and set stuff up for next week's Dynamite and Collision episodes. I'm definitely down for the Starks vs. Punk program and I'm stoked to be at Collision in Hartford next week for the AEW World Tag Team Championship match.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews