AEW Saturday Collision

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

On 9/22/2024 at 1:48 PM, LaGoosh said:

Is Darby Allin one of the best wrestlers ever? He genuinely never has a bad match. Even a nothing match against Evil Uno on a nothing episode of Collision was an absolute fucking banger and I highly recommend seeking it out. He's incredible. 

Speaking of which I dig Evil Uno's new Mankind attire and that he's fatter now suits him. He's underrated and watching him in this made me want to see an Evil Uno vs Dutch fatty face off.

The line from Darby about 'A war is coming' is that a hint towards a War Games match between Team AEW led by Allin v Mox's crew? Or Stadium Stampede when they go to Oz in the new year? 

[HarmonicGenerator]

They love Big Bill in New York! I hate that the Conglomeration are stuck in the vortex, but if the endgame is that Bill defects and joins OC and co, I'll be happy. He'd be great in that group.

Good Collision this week, felt like they packed a lot in, and it tied in a lot better to main-AEW than it has for ages. More often than not it's treated like an extension of ROH but there was stuff happening that felt like it'll be followed up on on Dynamite, which is nice.

I wonder what happened with the Rush-Callis storyline, though. Going back to LFI feels like a step back for him, even if it involves Mortos. Is it because between Takeshita, Fletcher and Ospreay, everyone wants to cheer Don's guys now?

Edit: Since nobody else has posted yet, some more thoughts. Saraya vs Hayter was nuts, but Jamie took more unprotected weapon shots to the head than I was comfortable with (ie none). Good progression of the Yuta and Hangman stories. Lucha three way was fun. Love MxM, but The Acclaimed are completely done, aren’t they? Caster particularly, between the “best wrestler alive” stuff and the skirting-very-close-to-homophobic promos he’s been doing recently.

Edited September 29, 2024 by HarmonicGenerator
Yo! Li-steeeen

[Supremo]

This is brilliant. Cheeky scamps. Kevin Kelly would never do something this fun.

 

[LaGoosh]

Hangman/Jarrett, BCC vs Private Party, Hayter vs Saraya and the lucha 3 way were all excellent matches but in very different ways and styles. Top stuff.

I skipped the rest for the following reasons:

- MXM stuff: The Acclaimed are absolutely awful.

- Conglomeration trios: lemme guess, Jericho? And on it goes.

- I'm sure Okada/Sammy was fine but it's impossible to care about Sammy at all.

Edited September 30, 2024 by LaGoosh

[HarmonicGenerator]

33 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Hangman/Jarrett, BCC vs Private Party, Hayter vs Saraya and the lucha 3 way were all excellent matches but in very different ways and styles. Top stuff.

I skipped the rest for the following reasons:

- MXM stuff: The Acclaimed are absolutely awful.

- Conglomeration trios: lemme guess, Jericho? And on it goes.

- I'm sure Okada/Sammy was fine but it's impossible to care about Sammy at all.

I’d go back and watch the first two of those. The first for Mansoor‘s amazing reaction to the reveal of “Hans”, and the second for Big Bill basking in the adulation of the crowd.

[JLM]

Collision 28/09/24

Opening match was as much fun as I hoped it would be. Comedy and shenanigans from the excellent Harley/Saraya double act and lots of nutty plunder/highspot action. Saraya celebrating her new deal by bumping like a champ, was stunned at some of the stuff she did here. Hayter catching the apron cannonball with a powerslam was a tremendous spot. Excited to see what Hayter does next now she's put this feud to bed. I'm so happy she's back. 

The young lad who got OC's friendship bracelet this week was so bloody chuffed. You love to see it. Fun six man tag, elevated by the amazing heat for Big Bill in New York. Love that he embraced it and went full babyface. Mark Briscoe choosing not to pin Jericho after the Jay Driller has earned him a singles match with Jericho and more time in the vortex. The pro wrestling equivalent of running upstairs instead of outside when there's a killer in the house. 

Andretti vs Brody King has to be my favourite Andretti match since he beat Jericho. Really good stuff, especially the bit when he got cannonballed and lost in two minutes. That bit was great. I hope Andretti continues cobbing his water bottle at vastly more powerful opponents and then paying for it later. Maybe go for Moxley next, might as well aim high. Happy to see Archer and The Righteous out of ROH purgatory again. 

A bonus Suzuki appearance is always welcome. The Riccaboni under the table call from Tony was genius. I really liked the finish here. Perry got to do some good violent stuff to show a bit of ruthlessness, but also took the slightly more scummy way out with the count out. Decent heel heat without looking overly cowardly or weak. I also just like the use of a count out generally. You obviously don't want to see it too often as it's not a satisfying finish, but they do the "the just barely back in at 9" spot so often it's worth reinforcing that it can actually happen.

Brilliant commentary exchange from Daddy Magic and Riccaboni during the BCC/Private Party match:

"The Kansas City Chiefs won the superbowl and I guarantee they don't all get along. You gotta put your differences aside for a common goal."

"Well yeah but their players don't choke each other out with plastic bags either".

"Different sport." 

Superb. 

I love this Yuta story and how it's being told in-ring. The crowd was really invested in it too, highlighted by Claudio doing the swing and the crowd just waiting to see what Yuta would do and chanting his name instead of counting the revolutions. This was his best in-ring "snap" so far, the boy was absolutely raging. He doesn't want to help Pac and Claudio win, but he doesn't have it in him to throw a match and he can't help himself if he's provoked. Pac's face at ringside when Yuta fired up was perfect too. Credit to Private party as well, Quen in particular was all fired up and pissed off at the start of this. Kassidy's character work is always strong but you don't often see it from Quen. I've never been more interested in Private Party than I am right now. 

Outrunners vignette was gold once again. 

Dralistico's first AEW match in 10 months! His entrance gear was tremendous. Lovely pop for Mortos, easily the biggest reaction of the three in the match. Like Takeshita on his excursion, with no promo time or storylines he has managed to get over by virtue of being consistently excellent. Utterly delightful spotfest. The opening sequence with all three of them going at the same time was jaw dropping stuff. Mortos again showed why he's the best base in the world too, allowing Hologram and Dralistico to land some incredibly ambitious stuff with no problems. I like RUSH leading a new LFI over joining the Callis family and I love a bit of direction for Mortos, who deserves it more than anyone. I'd still prefer RUSH to be on his own as I don't think he needs to be in a stable even as its leader. This particular line up of LFI against a Bang Bang Gang or HOB for the trios titles would be fucking amazing though. 

Give Statlander something to do please. I need more than a reminder-she-still-exists promo. 

MXM are wonderful, so much so that it's simply impossible to buy The Acclaimed as the babyfaces in this feud. The segment died when they came out even though that was supposed to be the best bit. They're stale, they're less entertaining, take themselves more seriously, are less likeable AND Caster calls people pansies despite it being 2024 and despite him having an openly gay tag team partner who I would have to assume is also his friend. Still, was fun to see Billy Gunn doing a very late 90s/early 2000s RAW segment again and I just love everything MXM Collection do. 

Lumberjack match was awesome, obviously. Juice Robinson born to play the role of strap-wielding lumberjack. What an amazing performance from him, initially having the time of his life before getting real serious by the end of it. One of the most consistently over guys on the roster no matter where they are and it's not hard to see why. Hangman doing the gauntlet of penance for his crimes was brilliant, Jarrett is one of the best babyfaces in the business. Hangman trying to literally murder Juice for that one unsanctioned strapping was perfect. He is out of his fucking mind. I thought Colten and Austim sold it incredibly too. He got overzealous with the strap after you sucker punched him, and your response is to try and hang him on live TV, you MANIAC. Hopefully Jay White is back soon. It's only been a few months since their singles match but it instantly feels red hot again for me. 

Okada/Sammy was fine but I have no idea why it went on last. Sammy did the Sammy Guevara match, Okada beat him as expected. This is a TV main event for a singles title against a top guy, but you wouldn't know it from Sammy's performance because he does the same things he does in every match. Doesn't convey that he's in the fight of his life or that he desperately wants to win or that this win would mean something to him. He does the poses and he does the high spots. He does the high spots well, but I just don't know if he has or ever will have anything other than the performance he gave here. He's a bit of a Ziggler in that regard, right down to occasionally doing his promos a bit louder and more shouty to try and let you know he's for real this time, before delivering the same performance he always delivers. Compared to his fellow "Pillar of AEW" Darby and his performance on the same night, it seems ludicrous that the two are ever mentioned in the same breath. Even Jack Perry, who is still very much a work in progress, has progressed so much further than Sammy during his time in AEW. 

Strong episode on the whole. Hayter/Saraya, BCC/Private Party, the, lucha 3-way and Hanger/Double J all good to excellent. Suzuki/Perry wasn't an amazing match but did what it set out to do very effectively. King/Andretti my sleeper match of the night because I was filled with glee for its short duration. 

Edited October 1, 2024 by JLM

[The King Of Swing]

Is Statlander a face again? Did I miss something? 

Grizzled Young Vets are boring as fuck. 

[RedTwoster]

On 10/1/2024 at 1:59 AM, JLM said:

MXM are wonderful, so much so that it's simply impossible to buy The Acclaimed as the babyfaces in this feud. The segment died when they came out even though that was supposed to be the best bit. They're stale, they're less entertaining, take themselves more seriously, are less likeable AND Caster calls people pansies despite it being 2024 and despite him having an openly gay tag team partner who I would have to assume is also his friend. Still, was fun to see Billy Gunn doing a very late 90s/early 2000s RAW segment again and I just love everything MXM Collection do. 

This must be something even The Acclaimed are conscious of by now. I really, really hope they split up before 2025 comes around. Both men would benefit from doing something completely different, and in Bowens they have a potential main event star - or at the very least, someone who would hold his own on the upper card. I don’t think even an extended break would freshen up the team as a tag act, there would be an initial ‘happy you’re back’ pop, before they settle back into their current tired routine.

EDIT: Actually, assuming they do it again this year, placing them both in the Continental Classic might be a good way to separate them, and maybe even get a match between them out of the way.

Edited October 6, 2024 by RedTwoster

[LaGoosh]

6 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Actually, assuming they do it again this year, placing them both in the Continental Classic might be a good way to separate them, and maybe even get a match between them out of the way

Yeah I think Bowens in the C2 makes perfect sense. I'd keep Caster out because he doesn't really have much potential as a singles but a chance for Bowens to prove himself in the C2 leading into an Acclaimed split afterwards feels like easy, logical and effective booking. 

[JLM]

58 minutes ago, The King Of Swing said:

Is Statlander a face again? Did I miss something? 

 

It was done in an extremely slapdash way on the show nobody watches. She did a  short promo on Rampage where she said the Streetfight win told her it was a time for a change. She's going back to who she really is and she's ditching Stokeley and being her own person again. She was then confronted by Kamille and Moné.

They have other plans for Stokeley and they wanted Stat to be a babyface again for the Kamille/Moné feud, and got there in the laziest way possible. She deserves better. 

Edited October 6, 2024 by JLM

[LaGoosh]

I love that Lance Archer, within context of the shows, seemingly just walks around backstage aimlessly beating up everyone he sees and management are totally fine with it. Imagine if someone at your work did that every week for 5 years.

 

[RedTwoster]

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Yeah I think Bowens in the C2 makes perfect sense. I'd keep Caster out because he doesn't really have much potential as a singles but a chance for Bowens to prove himself in the C2 leading into an Acclaimed split afterwards feels like easy, logical and effective booking. 

Caster as a singles wrestler is a genuine unknown to me, and that, I think, why I’d like to see him in this tournament - throw him in there and let him sink or swim. I’d quite like to see one unknown quantity in each bracket next time round - a current roster member, but someone who hasn’t had the chance to show what they can do.

[Infinity Land]

10 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

Caster as a singles wrestler is a genuine unknown to me, and that, I think, why I’d like to see him in this tournament - throw him in there and let him sink or swim. I’d quite like to see one unknown quantity in each bracket next time round - a current roster member, but someone who hasn’t had the chance to show what they can do.

He's also the one bragging about being the Best Wrestler Alive. If he underperforms compared to Bowens it gives a reason for some animosity between them. There's also the All-Star tag they could do at World's End that would be the first chance to see them on opposing sides. See what kind of interest there is from fans. 

I'm not rushing to split up the Acclaimed. Just because I have no faith in anyone getting the meaningful push to stick. 

[The King of Old School]

11 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

I love that Lance Archer, within context of the shows, seemingly just walks around backstage aimlessly beating up everyone he sees and management are totally fine with it. Imagine if someone at your work did that every week for 5 years.

 

Yet loses 90% of actual matches he's in.

If you see Lance Archer coming to the ring to face anyone with the slightest bit of name value, you know he isn't winning.

[tiger_rick]

What actually happened to the Acclaimed? I've seen some people dislike Caster's social media, but I dunno why, but is that really the reason that they'v been ice cold with the wider audience for months and months? 

Some of their programs this year have sounded tedious but they had massively cooled off before. I just can't quite work out where it all went so horribly, horribly wrong.