AEW Collision Review - September 6, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe def. Lance Archer in a Continental Contenders Challenge Match (Non-Title)

Archer has been getting more television time lately (in AEW, not just Ring of Honor, for the record), but you had to know that wouldn't amount to anything other than him losing when it mattered most. That meant him losing here, especially with Briscoe being the ROH World Champion. Despite the predictable outcome, Archer and Briscoe had a fun, hardcore-style opener.

Grizzled Young Veterans def. Iron Savages (Bronson and Boulder)

Grizzled Young Veterans have been all over AEW TV since (officially) debuting at All In. As much as I loathe Iron Savages' stupid gimmick and the fact they're overexposed in AEW and ROH, they were fine opponents for Grizzled Young Veterans to beat here. The match was short, sweet and exactly what it needed to be. FTR showed up afterward and later challenged Grizzled Young Veterans to a match on next week's Collision.

Orange Cassidy def. Bryan Keith in a Continental Contenders Challenge Match

Keith has shown signs of potential so far in AEW and is obviously talented, but I simply don't see his involvement in Chris Jericho's latest faction doing him much good in the long run. Hey, at least he wasn't squashed here and they actually had a competitive contest. Speaking of Jericho, he and his posse were shown standing over Tomohiro Ishii during a backstage segment, so that seemed to mark the end of Ishii's AEW excursion.

The Outrunners def. Davey Bang and August Matthews

I know The Outrunners treated their first AEW win here like a big deal, but there was no uncertainty surrounding the outcome. It could've been a bigger deal if they faced contracted talent, but oh well. The Outrunners do nothing for me, personally, but the crowd was into them. I assume this is leading to them losing the next match they have on AEW TV because I don't know why else this would've needed to exist.

Renee Paquette Conduced a Sit-Down Interview with CMLL World Women's Champion Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander

Nightingale and Statlander have quietly been having an excellent feud in the background of AEW's women's division. They gradually told a strong story dating back to last year and all of that was wonderfully recapped in this sit-down interview. Both women came across well and I liked how this didn't end in physicality like most sit-down interviews do. It's weird that the CMLL World Women's Championship won't be on the line in their Chicago Street Fight at All Out as of now considering Statlander won that Eliminator a month or so ago.

Konosuke Takeshita def. The Beast Mortos in a Continental Contenders Challenge Match

Between Takeshita setting his sights on Kazuchika Okada on Wednesday's Dynamite and facing Mortos here, are we supposed to think he's a babyface now? Is it only temporary? Either way, I'm happy he's back on AEW TV. He's done very little since beating Kenny Omega at All Out a year ago and desperately needed direction. It looks like he has it. This was an enjoyable outing from him and Mortos. I don't think he wins the AEW Continental Championship at All Out, but that should be the endgame eventually.

Hikaru Shida def. Deonna Purrazzo

It's a shame this was randomly thrown out as a warm-up for Shida before she faces Mercedes Mone for the AEW TBS Championship at All Out. This really should've been saved for after the event because it can be Shida's next feud. That's still possible, but I wasn't fond of Purrazzo coming across like a total afterthought here. At the very least, this a well-wrestled match in the time they were allotted.

AEW World Trios Champion Pac and Blackpool Combat Club (AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson and AEW World Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta) def. The Elite (AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks, AEW TNT Champion Jack Perry and AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada)

Yes, folks, there were a ton of champions involved in this match, so it was indeed an "all-stars" main event as advertised. They had plenty of time to work with (so much so that it bled into the Rampage episode that aired immediately afterward) and it was quite the entertaining matchup. It furthered the feuds involved and gave the babyfaces an additional momentum boost. 

Overall Show

Collision had to air opposite of WWE SmackDown this week due to All Out happening on Saturday night. It was wise to load the show with matches that had stakes pertaining to the Continental title four-way as well as a star-studded main event that ultimately lived up to the hype. The rest of the show was standard stuff, but the last-minute hype for All Out was well done and left me looking forward to it.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews