AEW Collision Review - June 29, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Chaos (Orange Cassidy and Tomohiro Ishii) def. TMDK (Robbie Eagles and IWGP Tag Team Champion and NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion Shane Haste)

Cassidy is still technically a part of Chaos, right? I assume Haste didn't team with his usual partner Mikey Nicholls because it would have been silly for Cassidy and Ishii to beat the IWGP Tag Team Champions and NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions if it wasn't going to lead to a title match. This was pretty good stuff and it's always a treat to see Ishii in action on AEW TV.

NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer def. Lady Frost (Non-Title)

Vaquer is also the reigning CMLL World Women's Champion (she was acknowledged as such in her nameplate graphic during her entrance), but I'm glad she didn't bring out that belt as well because that would've been confusing with that title not being defended in the Winner Takes All match at Forbidden Door. It was smart to put Vaquer in a matchup on AEW TV before she faces Mercedes Mone. This was standard stuff. Mone left Vaquer's tag team partner Zeuxis (who she beat recently to retain her AEW TBS Championship on Dynamite) afterward.

Serena Deeb def. Kelly Madan

Deeb is coming off a string of losses and hasn't been able to win when it has mattered most, so this was necessary victory for her. It was a straightforward squash as it should have been. She threw out a challenge for bigger competition, which was accepted by Riho. Surely Riho has made more returns than anyone in AEW history, right? She's still a huge fan favorite, though, as she received a very loud reaction from this crowd.

FTW Champion Chris Jericho, Big Bill and NJPW World Television Champion Jeff Cobb Attacked Samoa Joe, Hook and Katsuyori Shibata

This brawl started in the back and transitioned to the ring. Jericho and Bill were down a man for the six-man tag team match at Forbidden Door coming into this show, but Cobb has stepped up and will be their partner. Cobb was saying for weeks that he wanted to defend his title at the event, but it looks like he'll have to settle for this instead. The segment accomplished what it needed to, but I could've done without the Learning Tree crap that we got leading up to it.

Hechicero def. Kevin Blackwood

Hechicero has been racking up wins in AEW as of late ahead of his match with MJF at Forbidden Door. Of course, he's hardly a threat and has zero chance of beating him in his hometown of Long Island, but it's important to at least attempt to build him up before then. Thankfully, this was short and sweet. I've seen Blackwood in action before in MLW, but I don't think the AEW audience has much familiarity with him.

Daniel Garcia def. The Butcher

This show was taped right after Wednesday's Dynamite in Buffalo, so this was a battle of the hometown heroes. As a result, this crowd was much hotter for it than most crowds would be. It was an average outing. Garcia was involved in a notable segment with MJF and Will Ospreay on Dynamite, so this allowed him to keep his momentum rolling. He and Butcher showed respect toward each other afterward.

Hikaru Shida def. Deonna Purrazzo in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match

Purrazzo just beat Thunder Rosa in a No Disqualification match on Collision a week or two ago, so I thought she'd beat Shida with ease to advance to the next round. Well, apparently not. Shida hasn't been around in a while, so I would've preferred to see Purrazzo pick up the victory. Regardless, they had a good match. Rosa made the save for Shida afterward, so apparently the Rosa vs. Purrazzo program isn't over just yet.

Konosuke Takeshita, Jack Perry and El Phantasmo def. Dante Martin, Lio Rush and ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe

This was a preview of the AEW TNT Championship Ladder match at Forbidden Door that will feature these six stars. Christopher Daniels told Perry he'd be pulled from the title matchup if he didn't show up to compete here. The outcome was irrelevant, but Takeshita picking up the win for his team was nice to see. Unfortunately, that likely means he isn't winning Sunday. The post-match chaos was what'd expect.

AEW International Champion Will Ospreay Attacked AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland During Their Weigh-In

I have no idea what the point is of doing a weigh-in with wrestlers because most companies don't have weight classes (not to mention that the weigh-in AEW did with Cody Rhodes and Anthony Ogogo three years ago was an absolute disaster). The actual weigh-in was whatever, but I liked the intensity both men showed and their brief brawl. They've done an excellent job building up their upcoming championship clash.

Overall Show

Despite being taped on Wednesday night, this show was a step up from Collision's usual quality and the Buffalo crowd was livelier than I figured they would be. There was a fair amount of star power and they ended the night on a high note. There was also an awesome video package teasing the imminent return of Adam Page. Of the three Forbidden Door events we've gotten so far, this year's build has been the best yet and this edition of Collision did an effective job hyping up the card.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews