Collision recap and reactions: Bryan Danielson’s heaven

Saturday night is alright for fighting. AEW Collision (Apr. 20, 2024) emanated from Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, IL. The show featured Bryan Danielson in heaven, PAC standing tall over the Elite, and more on the night before Dynasty.

AEW ran wild with a double-header of Collision and Rampage. Catch up on all the details from both shows with top-notch play-by-play from Geno Mrosko. This recap will cover the Collision episode.

On to Collision…

Bryan Danielson’s heaven

Bryan Danielson competed in a bloody Bunkhouse Brawl one night before he wrestles Will Ospreay at Dynasty. Many would consider that Saturday night assignment to be an unnecessary risk, however, Danielson considers it to be heaven.

Before the match, Danielson discussed how he feels alive with such challenges ahead. Ospreay stepped in to claim he had nothing to do with the Callis Family hijinks as of late. He wants Danielson at 100% to prove who is the best. Danielson didn’t believe him.

Danielson teamed with Claudio Castagnoli against Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher for the Bunkhouse Brawl, and a brawl it was. The Callis Family jumped the Blackpool Combat Clubfrom behind on stage. That led to fisticuffs through the crowd.

Once inside the ring, Claudio took Takeshita on a ride in the big swing. Danielson was bloodied when Fletcher threw a chair at him to block a suicide dive. The Aussie threw white powder in Claudio’s face to break a Sharpshooter on his mate.

The match progressed into a callback from last week. Takeshita planned to execute a brainbuster on the ramp to Danielson, however, the American Dragon countered out for a DDT onto the hard surface. It wasn’t long until the BCC were in unison with hammering elbows and crossface submissions. That’s when Will Hobbs rumbled in for the save with a spinebuster party. Jon Moxley arrived as well to even the odds. Mox and Hobbs brawled through the crowd as, “Wild Thing,” played aloud to hype their upcoming bout on Dynamite.

The BCC rose to victory in the end. Danielson surprised Takeshita with a hurricanrana onto a chair. Claudio ran wild with a chain around his arm blasting European uppercuts. Danielson hit the Busaiku Knee on Fletcher and finished with a chain-assisted LeBell Lock to earn the submission victory.

After the match, Danielson cut a passionate promo about how this wrestling ring is his heaven.

The Bunkhouse Brawl was tons of fun. They leaned into the spirit of the match for a savage fight. The interlude from Moxley and Hobbs increased the energy even higher. They did well mixing that fracas into the contest without disrupting the flow of the match. Danielson’s promo at the end was an effective rallying cry to promote the PPV bout against Ospreay. I had been firmly in belief that Ospreay would win. Now, I’m not so sure. Danielson seems 100% focused for peak performance, whereas Ospreay might be mentally sidetracked with concern over the perception of his relationship with the Callis Family.

Let’s jam through the rest of Collision.

Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, & Eddie Kingston defeated Top Flight & Action Andretti. The A-side stars blitzed cohesive offense in the end. An Impaler DDT and a Jay Driller disposed of Top Flight. Andretti was left to be the ping pong ball for a spinning backfist from Kingston, a spear from Copeland, and a froggy bow from Briscoe. Kingston picked up the pin.

Hot opener to set the mood for an energetic evening. This match was about Copeland’s team building chemistry, and they passed with flying colors. Their movement flowed smoothly and ferociously as a unit.

After the match, the House of Black sent a message from the big screen. Their focus is on forcing Copeland to reach his darkest fears in hell.

Will Hobbs defeated CJ Esparza. Powerhouse mauled his opponent to win via torture rack. Afterward, Don Callis explained that he called in a favor from NJPW. Hobbs versus Jon Moxley next week will be for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

I appreciate how AEW took the time to establish a logical reason for NJPW to sanction the title bout. Callis’ claims provide a richer story than a plain announcement. It makes the wrestling universe feel fuller. Plus, the intense heat on Callis never gets old.

The Gunns defeated the Acclaimed. Jay White and Billy Gunn were ringside to support their respective teams. The Gunns utilized sneaky tricks throughout, especially on the finish. They took out Anthony Bowens fair and square with a 3:10 to Yuma. In a bang bang moment, Max Caster landed a flying elbow drop onto Austin Gunn. The result came down to Caster and Colten Gunn as the legal men. Colten grabbed the ropes to block a sunset flip, then he stacked on top for a roll-up. White reached out his baseball bat through the ropes, and Colten grasped it to use as leverage to seal the win.

That was a nifty match with great teamwork all around. The Gunns were pretty crafty in their methods. They may not be the better wrestlers each time out, but they make up for it with sly tricks. Also, I much prefer this style of cheating than the commonly used tactic of outside run-ins. It shows wits to finagle so many angles to victory. Cheap run-ins are a tactic anyone can do. There’s no skill there.

Skye Blue defeated Leyla Hirsch. Legit scored a powerbomb off the turnbuckles, but she crashed and burned on the next move. Hirsch tried to quickly scale the corner for what I assume would be a moonsault, however, she fell down off the ropes. Blue nailed a superkick and finished with a fireman’s carry cutter into a dragon sleeper.

This match was unexpectedly fierce. Both wrestled with an axe to grind. I like seeing that edge from Blue. Hirsch had trouble with balance on the turnbuckles, but they played it off okay not to lose a step in the flow.

FTR & PAC defeated the Elite. The climax saw the Bucks hit a Shatter Machine and an EVP Trigger on PAC. FTR shot back with a Shatter Machine on Matthew Jackson. PAC went up top to land the Black Arrow for the win as the other four were fighting on the outside.

Afterward, the Elite continued the fight, then Daniel Garcia arrived to swing the numbers in favor of the babyfaces. Okada was victim to a Brutalizer on PAC until the Young Bucks pulled him to safety.

Jamming action for an entertaining main event. Heading into the contest, I was concerned this matchmaking might dull the appeal of the PPV bouts being so close together. That never became an issue. The action had more of a trios vibe that didn’t diminish any anticipation for the PPV. It is easy to think that the singles and tag team bouts will be completely fresh in their own right. Plus, ladders add a totally different element to the mix.

Notes: AEW aired several recap packages and hype videos for the PPV.

Chris Jericho verbalized an apology to Hook and Taz for losing his temper. He doesn’t blame Hook for protecting his father. However, Jericho still wants to get his point across, and he’ll do that at Dynasty with a lesson in humility. Jericho is going to win the FTW Championship. He framed it as tough love for a teaching moment to make Hook a better person. So basically, Jericho was full of poppycock in his promo.

Toni Storm spike poetically in her Timeless style to criticize Thunder Rosa. She accused of Thunder of jealousy over rising the value of the women’s world title, which is something Thunder failed to do.

Kris Statlander was fired up with Willow Nightingale. Willow is going to powerbomb Julia Hart through the mat to take the TBS title. Rowdy energy in this promo.

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Stud of the Show: PAC

The Bastard stood tall to close the show not once but twice. He hit his signature dive to win the match, then he slapped on his signature submission afterward.

Match of the Night: Bunkhouse Brawl

Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Konosuke Takeshita, and Kyle Fletcher engaged in a physical fight living up to the stipulation.

Grade: B+

This episode was sort of the calm before the storm in terms of storylines with the PPV card already set, however, the action was anything but calm. Energy rocked inside and outside of the ring all show long. Collision put me in the mood for Dynasty.

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