AEW Collision Review - June 24, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sting and Darby Allin Announced Tetsuya Naito as Their Partner at Forbidden Door

When Allin mentioned on Wednesday's Dynamite that their partner was an old rival from Chris Jericho's past, Naito was the first name that came to mind because of their rivalry in New Japan Pro-Wrestling back in 2018 and because Naito wasn't already booked for Forbidden Door. This was a perfectly solid segment to set up the six-man tag team match. Anyone expecting Goldberg should've known that was never going to happen, though I don't think that was too many people.

Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Swerve Strickland

I assume a majority of the AEW audience knows what Tanahashi can do (especially since he appeared on the product last year during Forbidden Door season), but this served as a nice reminder for anyone unfamiliar or those who may have forgotten. As expected, this was a great match. I hate that Strickland is being used as a stepping stone right now, but oh well. MJF's post-match promo on the big screen was comical with him announcing their match will go on first at Forbidden Door because he wants to get the hell out of Canada as quickly as possible.

Andrade El Idolo def. AEW World Trios Champion Brody King by Disqualification

Andrade beat Buddy Matthews last week and it was only logical for him to beat another member of House of Black this week. This was an entertaining outing as well and I appreciated that they were given an ample amount of time. I wasn't fond of the disqualification finish, but I understand the intent was to protect King in defeat. No one emerged to save Andrade, but I'm sure we'll find out who his partners will be soon enough.

Christian Cage Addressed the Audience

Cage acting as if he's the AEW TNT Champion when Luchasaurus was the one who beat Wardlow for the belt last week was hilarious. Of course, I'd actually want to see him as champ over Luchasaurus, but this is the next best thing. He did a terrific job heeling on the audience, even though he's Canadian and this episode emanated from Canada. He got great heat. I wish we got to see him wrestle more, but at least his promos are consistently a blast.

NJPW Strong Women's Champion Willow Nightingale def. Nyla Rose in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match (Non-Title)

I appreciate the effort AEW has put into pushing both Nightingale and Blue as of late. Nightingale is a more polished performer on the whole and I'm all for her appearing all over the place (Dynamite, Collision, Ring of Honor, New Japan, etc). This was a well-worked match with the correct outcome. The Outcasts emerged afterward to attack Nightingale but were fended off by Blue, who wielded a chair. It was effective last-minute hype for Nightingale vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at Forbidden Door.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Jeremy Prophet

I would say I'm hopeful that Hobbs is branching back out on his own and distancing himself from the QTV crap, but he appeared backstage with QT Marshall just last week, so time will tell. He wasn't accompanied to ringside by anyone here as he made quick work of Prophet. Speaking of whom, I remember that dude from the run he had in New England Championship Wrestling when I was attending their shows in 2013 and 2014. Apparently he's been primarily competing on the Canadian wrestling circuit since then.

Bullet Club Gold and The Gunns def. Ricky Starks, CM Punk and AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR

This was similar to last week's Collision main event except Samoa Joe was replaced by The Gunns and Starks joined Punk and FTR. It was also equally enjoyable with it eating up a ton of time and everyone getting a chance to shine. Punk and FTR got the better of the heels last week, so I liked the heels going over this week. The Gunns do nothing for me personally, but I'm happy with anything that allows White to be showcased. Punk vs. White eventually could be excellent, but I assume Punk will be busy with the men's Owen Hart Cup for the time being.

Overall Show

The strong pacing of this show was a highlight much like it was last week. I hope that will be the norm going forward because Wednesday's Dynamite was an example of how shoving as much as possible into a two-hour show can be detrimental. This wasn't an eventful show by any means (and I didn't expect it to be with Forbidden Door being tomorrow night), but I was left satisfied with what we got. If Collision can continue following this formula and spotlighting these lesser-seen stars, then it will remain a refreshing alternative to Dynamite.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews