AEW Saturday Collision

[Matthew]

Looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning, with people having seen Punk’s promo, and moaning that he “hasn’t changed”, and complaining about the subtle/not subtle mentions The Elite. Meanwhile if he hadn’t, chances are those same people would be calling him out for towing the line and not being the “voice of the voiceless” he’s always claimed to be.

[Nick James]

37 minutes ago, Matthew said:

Looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning, with people having seen Punk’s promo, and moaning that he “hasn’t changed”, and complaining about the subtle/not subtle mentions The Elite. Meanwhile if he hadn’t, chances are those same people would be calling him out for towing the line and not being the “voice of the voiceless” he’s always claimed to be.

At least wait for it to happen before complaining about it. 

[Jonny Vegas]

CM Punk's act is so stale and repetitive I genuinely find it hard to believe anyone wants to watch him anymore.

He is almost a total parody of himself where for someone who down to his own moniker is supposedly "punk" is nothing but a grumpy old moany bastard who throws out the threats of law suits or tries to cost the jobs of anyone who he doesn't like.

His line about people being softer than the wrestlers they like was baffling as in my opinion he has to be one of the most insecure and pathetic wrestlers I've ever witnessed.

I met him around 2004 ish when him and Cabana were over for FWA. He was an absolute helmet then and its good to see that money, fame and nearly two decades of people constantly pandering to his over inflated ego and rabid insecurity hasn't changed him.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

34 minutes ago, Jonny Vegas said:

He is almost a total parody of himself where for someone who down to his own moniker is supposedly "punk" is nothing but a grumpy old moany bastard who throws out the threats of law suits or tries to cost the jobs of anyone who he doesn't like.

 

Seems like an odd complaint. How do you feel about Orange Cassidy not been orange, or Samoa Joe been from California, or The Young Bucks that are in their mid to late 30s? Is the only person you like Big Bill, although I think you might be ok to like Brandon Cutler because I think I once purchased a fork from him in Asda. 

All wrestlers are insecure, it's part of the business as there is always the next big thing around the corner coming to take their spot. Punk has made it his gimmick and there seemed to be plenty of Punk t-shirts so it's obviously working. I did enjoy the bit where they panned to the crowd and the first thing you see is a guy in a Cornette t shirt though. 

Anyway I'll leave you to your rugby league and your pottery Jonny, I'm off to try and hunt a zebra for my lunch, which in the wilds of Lincolnshire is fairly tricky. 

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

Just read the spoilers and it seems we're getting ANOTHER tournament on Dynamite now (blind tag team eliminator tournament). 

[Merzbow]

The worst thing about that promo was it being fucking boring, and Joe Strummer is shite.

[unfitfinlay]

1 hour ago, Jonny Vegas said:

CM Punk's act is so stale and repetitive I genuinely find it hard to believe anyone wants to watch him anymore.

He is almost a total parody of himself where for someone who down to his own moniker is supposedly "punk" is nothing but a grumpy old moany bastard who throws out the threats of law suits or tries to cost the jobs of anyone who he doesn't like.

His line about people being softer than the wrestlers they like was baffling as in my opinion he has to be one of the most insecure and pathetic wrestlers I've ever witnessed.

I can’t argue with any of this. I’ve been a fan but, fucking hell, that was such an awkward hypocritical promo. Didn’t make me want to see Punk vs The Elite or Punk vs MJF. Just made me not want to see Punk at all. He can toss himself off at home.

[RedRooster]

That was a lot of fun, but time will tell whether or not Collision can maintain that feeling. After all, Rampage felt like a breath of fresh air when that started.

Punk’s promo was - in my opinion - superb, and his shot at The Bucks was clever. Ultimately, he’d have looked odd if he’d ignored that whole situation. The main event was fun too, but I’m baffled by the decision not to run a big angle or give you a major hook to watch next week.

I kind of expected a TNT title change because they happen every match now, but they’ve got themselves in the bizarre situation where they’ve somehow managed to make winning the International belt feel more important. 

It was great to see Miro return, and El Idolo looked great as he usually does. I think the criticism of Andrade as of late has been a little unfair - his actual AEW debut was strong; until they made the decision to pair him with Vickie Guerrero, a partnership that was so obviously going to fail that I’m amazed it made it to screen.  From there, he was plagued with bad creative decisions. There’s more to him than he’s been allowed to show.

I still think they’d be better off installing a hard brand split in order for this to work, but perhaps with AEW’s TV deal seemingly being unresolved, Khan doesn’t want to take any risks like that just yet, which is fair enough. You don’t really want to host the shortest-lived brand split in wrestling history.

Edited June 18, 2023 by RedRooster

[Guest]

By far the worst episode of Collision I have watched. It’s not even close 

[69MeDon]

I did not enjoy Kevin Kelly. As for the rest, it was alright, but it was weird not to do something post-main event to set up the main event story going forward.

[Infinity Land]

Just finished watching it. Overall quite enjoyed it. Felt like a PPV crowd which really helped. They got into everything that was seemingly lacklustre on paper. Was perhaps missing a surprise or major angle to help make it stand out.

Punk's promo was about what everyone would expect. Bringing out the bag with the title, positioning himself as the Real World Champion should at least go somewhere. Doubt anyone would mind if they went to the MJF well once again.

Wardlow - He just can't seem to catch a break with how these TNT title reigns have gone. When people talk about moves to WWE it's not MJF, White or Starks. It'd be Wardlow as he's the perfect fit for them. Don't think anyone had Luchasaurus winning an AEW singles title before Jungle Boy Happy for him and Christian's celebrations were excellent.

Andrade and Miro. Seemingly positioned as faces. Don't know how much of that was due to their returns. Miro can certainly pull it off. Not so sure about Andrade. The injury angles while leading into the finish of Andrade & Matthews, just had me really paranoid something had gone wrong that I couldn't get into it in the moment. Tony Nese doing the Simon Dean/personal trainer bit couldn't be destroyed fast enough.

Women's tag was great. Skye & Willow had a nice dynamic and Storm & Soho have found a groove. As Skye's just had her title match it does leave the division a little directionless. PPV in a week. Two champions that fit the Forbidden Door idea were in this match. Neither has anything lined up for the show.

Main event felt like a send them home happy house show than debuting a new TV show.

Really enjoyed the commentary team of Kevin Kelly & McGuinness. I see JR's taking some time off to heal. He did get into it, but that was a rough listen. 

 

 

[Fatty Facesitter]

Overall - A very strong debut episode for Collision and a nice Sunday morning watch accompanied by a fry up. 

👍 Punk opening promo - An enjoyable listen, delivered with poise, bass, piss and vinegar in his voice. There were just enough teases about the Elite to reference the falling out, and just enough teases about future plans as he carried around his boots and the world title in the bag. Aggressive Punk full of venom could make for really good viewing. 

👍 CMFTR vs Bullet Club Gold & Somoa Joe - Very good standard in the main event. The Punk/Joe standoffs were a particular highlight. Punk didn’t look out of place and perhaps the tag format is a good way for him to gradually fall back into the fold - it gives him an opportunity to shake off the ring rust with short bursts and crowds will keep going wild with the hot tags. It was a different style to the BCC/Elite six man on Dynamite - worked at a much more hard-hitting and a slower, more methodical pace. That’s not to its detriment though at all. The result was perhaps too easy to telegraph, but it certainly delivered as advertised. 

👍 Wardlow vs Luchasaurus - Good, although perhaps not the match I’d have started with (even with it being for the TNT title). I think Andrade/Buddy would have been a more suitable choice for Collision’s first bout. However, what we did get was a good big man encounter that built nicely. Christian’s patter on the outside throughout was great - and celebrating with the title afterwards was even more dickish. Title change makes sense - it’s the first Collision and you need some talking points for it, and Wardlow at least didn’t lose clean. 

👍 Andrade el Idolo vs Buddy Matthews - Absolute ripper and would have been my choice for the opener. Had all the flashy moves you’d expect, but some excellent physicality too along with the psychology of their respective injury concerns. Lovely stuff. Some good relationship admin from Andrade by busting out the Figure 8.

👍 Miro vs Tony Nese - Miro looks absolutely shredded. Great showcase for his return. 

👍 Ruby Soho/Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue - Good standard here. Sky Blue with another improved performance. Storm is excellent - she looks so composed in the ring and her execution is really top notch. 

👎 Announce team - Excalibur deserves to put his feet up, but this show really missed his presence. The announce team of Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness didn’t cut the mustard for me. We’ll give the knackered old pervert JR a pass for being under the weather, but it was still a tough listen. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with Kelly’s calls, but he’s just so bland and unexciting. The action the ring certainly delivered, but it was juxtaposed by his blandness. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Fatty Facesitter

[SuperBacon]

By far the best episode of Collision I have watched. It’s not even close 

[FLips]

Thought overall it was a decent show but it certainly didn't feel different enough from Dynamite to fill me with confidence it won't be another Rampage a few months from now. I know TV ratings are a boring subject but for a new show like this on a night most people in the know said was a dead spot, it will be crucial the numbers are good after the initial few weeks.

I thought I loved the new set when I first saw it, but then moments later when the nice new shiny effects weren't on anymore it was clearly just a load of screens but placed slightly different to Dynamite and looked basic. Even Smackdown and Raw in their infancy had two different sets even if it was just Raw is a rectangle and Smackdown is a circle; it made the world of difference. I like the red and yellow Nitro theme but apart from red ring ropes they're doing nothing with it.

The Punk promo was a mixed bag. On one hand I'm glad he addressed the Elite stuff but on the other it made him look like the biggest hypocritical fanny in the company. Also Bobby Fish has completely ruined his "tell me when I'm telling lies" gimmick because now every time I hear it I think of Bobby Fish getting no reaction with it on Impact.

Wardlow vs Lucha was ok for what it was. I feel bad for Wardlow who felt like he was truly on the cusp of breaking through and now all he does is win and lose the TNT title every few weeks. Infinity Land is right that he'd be better off in WWE right now.

Willow and Blue vs Soho and Storm is a match I'd usually skip but I like Willow and the crowd was up for it with Blue being in her hometown. Willow was decent and Blue is getting better, but Storm and especially Soho are just terrible. I don't know if it was deliberate because Willow launched her into the barricade but the splashes and clotheslines Soho was taking after she had no intention of selling properly, just went straight as a board and looked like she couldn't be arsed. Willow really shouldn't be wasting her time with this lot, nobody should.

Skipped Andrade vs Buddy because I couldn't care less about either of them.

Miro looks fantastic and his squash was what it was. Hopefully he moves onto something meatier and gets a proper push. His current reputation of turning down creative all the time isn't a good one so hopefully squashing Nese gave his ego enough of a boost to move on and do his job.

Main event was alright. Punk must not have had time to be working out because he had next to no muscle mass at all but he was Punk in his hometown so it wasn't important really. He can't really expect a world title run looking as he does now though.

When it comes to matches there isn't a whole lot I enjoyed on the show, it was like watching Dynamite but nowhere near as good. What I did enjoy was all the bits around them. A lot of promos for wrestlers between matches really helped push a few names like Hobbs and Starks and broke the monotony you get with Dynamite of just having match after match after match for two hours. Throw a few more live interviews in and they'll really be cooking.
The announce team I enjoyed, though Jim Ross should have stayed home. Excalibur, Tony and Tazz are better but it's just refreshing to not hear the same booth on every single show.

Overall not too bad at all. Like a weak-average episode of Dynamite. Throw a few more promos and segments in, get some fire under the likes of Miro and it could be a viable secondary show. Apparently there won't be a roster split so hopefully they do what they can to make it seem like a proper second show with stars you rarely see on the Dynamite.

 

 

[Infinity Land]

Since they announced a Concession Stand Brawl for Dynamite. I reckon dipping into the old school stips will solve the problem of the Hamilton show. An Empty Arena match