Collision recap and reactions: Two hot moments

AEW Collision (Feb. 10, 2024) emanated from The Dollar Loan Center in Las Vegas, NV. The show featured FTR picking a fight with the Blackpool Combat Club, Daniel Garcia stepping to Adam Copeland, Orange Cassidy getting squeezed by Tomohiro Ishii, and more.

Catch up on all the Collision details with top-notch play-by-play from Geno Mrosko.

Saturday night is alright for fighting. This was a serviceable episode in the ring, but the heat came from two moments in particular.

FTR picks a fight with BCC

Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli were fresh off victory over CMLL luchadores Esfinge and Star Jr. Mox grabbed the mic calling out for anyone to step up. FTR did exactly that for a surprise moment, and it was awesome. Tensions simmered face to face, then Moxley pie-faced Dax Harwood. The donnybrook was on from there. Officials eventually restored peace.

Hot damn. That was a quick and effective way to create interest in a super fight. The styles mesh well between FTR and BCC. All four men are meat and potatoes when it comes to kicking ass. They don’t hold back. Bring the lunch pail, because it will be a long fight. FTR versus BCC is one match I am truly excited to see.

Daniel Garcia steps to Adam Copeland

Another match that heated in an instant is Adam Copeland versus Daniel Garcia. This came about unexpectedly, and I’ll all in for it.

Copeland was granted promo time to address his TNT title quest. The Cope Open put him at #3 in the rankings, so he apparently gets to pick his title shot. Copeland still has his eyes on the TNT Championship held by Christian Cage. Hold up.

Enter Daniel Garcia. He also wants that gold. Both are on a winning streak, so Copeland proposed a singles match on Dynamite to determine the PPV challenger. Garcia accepted, but Copeland warned that this makes them adversaries for the time being. Copeland is going to beat Garcia’s ass next week.

Damn, another hot matchmaking segment. Ignore all the rankings talk. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and is easy to pick apart. What I do like is the simplicity of arranging Copeland versus Garcia. Not only is it a fantastic matchup on is own, but it has sizzle for the TNT title chase. I chirped last week about the idea of Garcia leap frogging Copeland in context of rankings, and this arrangement settles that bone to pick. There is no arguing that the winner won’t be worthy. It also gets to the basics of sport to see who is better. I love how Copeland twisted the moment into a chip on his shoulder. That goes to show the deep levels of competitive fire burning within the greats.

Let’s jam through the rest of Collision.

BCC defeated CMLL. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli represented the Blackpool Combat Club against the luchador duo of Esfinge and Star Jr. Lucha libre was a touch too quick for BCC to give them fits. On the other hand, BCC was too rugged for the CMLL team to handle. Claudio cleared out Esfinge on a Ricola Bomb, then Moxley took control on Star Jr. with hammering elbows to transition for the armbar victory.

Esfinge and Star Jr. looked good against the best of the best in AEW. The luchadores thrilled with creative moves. Moxley and Claudio also had their fair share of ass-kicking offense. All in all, this match amounted to a fun clash in styles to showcase the CMLL talent.

Daniel Garcia defeated Shane Taylor. Taylor was too powerful and also the better striker.

Garcia was forced to rely on smart strategy. He wisely worked the knee throughout. In the end, Garcia went over the top on a sunset flip, but he couldn’t bring Taylor down. Garcia was able to create an opportunity by quickly dodging Taylor’s butt drop. Garcia snatched the leg for a submission victory.

Pretty cool mid-card match. Taylor was a bruiser using his hands to tenderize his opponent. Garcia showed sharp skills in finding a way to win. The finish was an intelligent twist on the standard formula. A lot of times in big versus small matches, the leg work is used to hit the winner’s standard finisher. Garcia doesn’t win that often on leglocks, so it was neat seeing him adapt to survive. That finish was executed believably in the sense that it was Garcia’s only way to win.

Brian Cage defeated the Outrunners. Handicap match to show up Hook’s work from last week. The Machine mauled the competition to win via cloverleaf submission. Afterward, Prince Nana danced with the Las Vegas hockey mascot, but it was a trap for Cage to blindside the character.

Enter Hook. Cage met him on stage to brawl to the back.

Las week, I criticized the idea of booking Hook in handicap matches. I still stand by that opinion. However, I do have to praise AEW for turning the handicap match into a mini storyline. Cage handled the Outrunners much easier than Hook, so Cage looks even more badass in comparison. The mascot dance session with Nana was a hoot. That’s the kind of silliness that is good for professional wrestling. I loved Cage stomping up stage to collide with Hook. The camera angle was sweet, like watching the X-Men cartoon as they charge into battle. I suppose the comparison here would be Wolverine versus Sabretooth.

Brody King defeated Mark Briscoe. Dat Boy was in the groove down the stretch, then Julia Hart caused a distraction. King shoved Briscoe off the turnbuckles crashing through a table. King promptly finished with the Gonzo Bomb. Afterward, King held Briscoe down for Hart to stab him with a spike. Briscoe was a bloody mess.

Fun slobberknocker. Briscoe and King took each other to pound town. The finish protects Briscoe in a smart way. He can’t go back to losing clean so soon after his Continental Classic performance. The interference allows the ‘what if’ to remain in arguing that Briscoe can beat King. The spike jab was a curious bit. Hart definitely deserves payback for that, but AEW doesn’t mingle much in intergender action. It makes me wonder how Hart will get her comeuppance in this scenario. The good thing is that I want to tune in to find out.

Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kiera Hogan. The Virtuosa focused on attacking the arm, and she closed the deal with the Venus de Milo double armbar.

Purrazzo put in a night of efficient work. She wanted the arm, she eventually got the arm, then she cranked the arm. Simple, but Hogan didn’t make it easy.

Toni Storm defeated Queen Aminata. The queen almost pulled off the upset on a sneaky Air Raid Crash. Her momentum crashed and burned when Storm dodged a hip attack in the corner. The champion seized the moment for a running hip attack of her own and a piledriver to win. Afterward, Storm announced the debut of her next film on Dynamite.

This match went as expected. Aminata showed well once again as tough in defeat. Storm was obviously going to win, and she did.

I’m not feeling this feud between Storm and Purrazzo at the moment. The PPV match should be fine, however, the road on television has no spice. There’s still plenty of time to crank up the heat before Revolution.

AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy defeated Tomohiro Ishii to retain the title. Earlier in the evening, Roderick Strong reminded Ishii that if he beats Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship, then Ishii will face Strong at Revolution.

Ishii was truly an immovable force. Cassidy shuffled his feet quickly running in place like the Roadrunner, and he still couldn’t budge Ishii on lockups. Ishii chopped Orange into pulp. Ishii also executed a delayed vertical superplex.

Cassidy kept chipping away at Ishii with DDTs, stunners, and superman punches. Over time, the offense took its cumulative toll. In the end, Cassidy escaped a brainbuster to counter for a superman punch. Cassidy was able to secure a roll-up to win.

After the match, Ishii exited up stage. The Undisputed Kingdom ambushed Cassidy for a spike piledriver. Ishii returned to help Cassidy, and Trent arrived swinging a chair. The Kingdom escaped unscathed to close the show.

The main event was amusing in construction. Ishii was portrayed like a wrecking ball, which isn’t a tough sell. He’s called the Stone Pitbull for a reason. Cassidy played into the comedy trying to figure out a way to topple Ishii. As the match progressed, the action became more serious with flashy exchanges. Even though Ishii wrestled like a badass, there was never a point to make me believe in the idea of a new champion.

Notes: Eddie Kingston is disgusted by Bryan Danielson’s efforts to steal the spotlight. He challenged the American Dragon to a match at Revolution. Kingston also added a stipulation. When he beats Danielson again, then Danielson will be forced to shake his hand. That match is now official for the PPV.

Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale sent Stokely Hathaway to book a match for Willow against Skye Blue. Mission accomplished for Dynamite.

Bryan Keith dropped a good, bad, ugly reference to explain collecting bounties to rise up the rankings.

---

Stud of the Show: Tomohiro Ishii

Ishii is the epitome of a hoss. Even though he is on the short side, the Stone Pitbull makes up for it as triple stout.

Match of the Night: Daniel Garcia vs. Shane Taylor

The chess match of strategy elevated this bout above the rest in my book.

Grade: B-

Good effort in the ring all night long with a sprinkling of fun moments throughout.

Share your thoughts about Collision. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show?