AEW Collision Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From March 30

AEW Collision Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From March 300 of 6

Collision.AEW

Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage of AEW Collision on March 30.

Here is a look at the advertised card from this week’s show:

FTR vs. The InfantryThunder Rosa vs. Lady FrostTop Flight vs. Ricky Starks and Big BillCope Open ChallengeThe Righteous and Lance Archer vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Bryan Danielson and Claudio CastagnoliLet’s take a look at what happened on Saturday’s episode of AEW Collision.

Cope Open Challenge1 of 6

Adam Copeland.AEW

Adam Copeland was shocked when his Cope Open Challenge was answered by his former protege, Matt Cardona.

Cardona came close to hitting his finisher about a minute into the match, so Copeland regrouped a bit. It didn’t do much to help though. Cardona was right back on top of him.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but this is one of those bouts that felt more like a WWE match than anything else AEW produces, and it has nothing to do with the fact that both of these guys are former WWE stars.

The way they told their story, structured the offense and paced their exchanges all felt like the familiar WWE style. This is in no way a bad thing. Copeland spent 30 years as a sports entertainer. It’s what he does best, and Cardona is just as good at it.

Brian Myers @Myers_WrestlingI. Love. This.

Get after it boys!!!

🤘🏻🤘🏻 https://t.co/5TK5IK58fp

Both men did a great job making it feel like Cardona may have surpassed his former stable leader while making Copeland look like a veteran who still had some tricks up his sleeve.

The Rated-R Superstar won clean with a Spear to end a solid 20-minute encounter to kick off the show. Malakai Black showed up and kept Copeland distracted until Buddy Matthews could attack. Mark Briscoe tried to help but was quickly taken down.

Eddie Kingston arrived and caused Black and Matthews to retreat.

Result: Copeland defeated Cardona

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

Seeing the former Edge and former Zack Ryder battle in AEW for a title is kind of awesome. The crowd was chanting “Holy s–t” before they even locked up. Cardona did well taking on the heel role so Copeland could get the babyface pops. Cardona trying and failing to rip a sign in half during the commercial break was hilarious. FTR vs. Infantry2 of 6

Collision.AEW

The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass came out to give an interview with Tony Schiavone. Billy Gunn talked about Jay White coming into his home uninvited.

After another break, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler came out to take on Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo to see which team would advance to the semifinals of the ongoing tag title tournament.

This match started off with a steady pace. Neither team was trying to rush anything. The Infantry was looking to prove itself as a threat while FTR was trying to keep its spot as one of the top teams in AEW.

This bout did an excellent job showcasing Dean and Bravo as a tag team people should take seriously. We saw a lot of technical skill on display from all four men, and a few creative spots along the way.

The crowd chanted “This is awesome” as they began working toward the finish. FTR was able to win with the Shatter Machine to advance to the semifinals.

Result: FTR defeated The Infantry

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

It’s nice to get uninterrupted interviews and promos sometimes. It feels like too many are used to initiate a fight sometimes. Bravo and Dean do a great job integrating their actual military service into their characters without making it the main focus. Bravo almost overrotated during a superplex but ended up sticking the landing well. There was an awkward moment when Dean messed up a leapfrog, but they recovered and got the crowd back. Kyle O’Reilly vs. JD Drake, Ricky Starks and Big Bill vs. Top Flight3 of 6

Kyle O’Reilly.AEW

Kyle O’Reilly gave up a lot of size in his match this week against JD Drake. This was a short but competitive bout. O’Reilly picked up the win and The Undisputed Kingdom came out to celebrate with him.

The crowd was pretty quiet for a lot of this match because it was very predictable.

Result: O’Reilly defeated Drake

Grade: C

Dante and Darius Martin took on Ricky Starks and Big Bill in the second quarterfinal match of the night in the tag title tournament.

Starks was isolated for a bit by Top Flight using quick tags and double-team moves, but once Bill tagged in, the whole vibe changed in the ring.

The high-flyers did their best to use their quickness to stay out of his grasp and succeeded more often than failed during the first half. Throughout the picture-in-picture segment, Bill and Starks dominated the action.

This was a good effort from all four men, but it felt like this bout should have come before FTR vs. The Infantry in the lineup.

There was a bad moment toward the end when Starks failed to kick out of a pin but the ref still stopped counting. A moment later, Starks was pinned anyway and you could see the ringside doctor checking on him.

The ending felt rushed due to a possible injury. Let’s hope Starks is alright. Since there may be an injury involved that affected the match, it doesn’t feel fair to grade it as we would normally, but the majority of this was enjoyable.

Result: Top Flight

Grade: Incomplete

Notable Moments and Observations

Copeland gave a promo with Kingston and Briscoe challenging House of Black to a trios match at Dynasty. O’Reilly never wants to commit to being in the Undisputed Kingdom but never seems upset to see them either. Dante telegraphed Starks tripping him way too much. He slowed down significantly as he approached the ring ropes. Thunder Rosa vs. Lady Frost4 of 6

Collision.AEW

Lady Frost was looking to hand Thunder Rosa her first singles loss since returning to AEW, but Rosa was looking to keep her No. 1 spot in the rankings.

The crowd seemed a bit quiet, but Rosa and Frost didn’t seem to let it get to them. They were given enough time to work through a commercial break and make this a competitive back-and-forth encounter.

Frost is one of those people who is used as an enhancement talent on AEW television but wins in Ring of Honor occasionally, so if she can continue to put on good performances, she may start to see more wins much like Queen Aminata and The Infantry have in recent months.

While this was a decent match, it felt like they were stuck in second gear at times. Something was missing and it’s hard to say what it was, but the second half saw the crowd wake up a bit as Rosa began building up a head of steam.

La Mera Mera got the win with a Tajuana Bomb to continue her winning streak.

Result: Thunder Rosa defeated Lady Frost

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

Nigel McGuinness making ice puns and Ian Ricabonni calling him Mr. Freeze was funny. Rosa’s hurricanrana looked good. Frost is so talented. Some of the things she does with her acrobatic ability are so creative. The Righteous and Archer vs. Danielson, Castagnoli and Shibata5 of 6

Collision.AEW

This week’s main event was a trios match with Archer, Dutch and Vincent taking on Danielson, Castagnoli and Shibata.

Archer and Shibata started off trading forearm strikes. The Murderhawk Monster held his own, but Shibata scored the first couple of takedowns.

Dutch and Castagnoli tagged in and had a tense lockup to see who could overpower the other. Eventually, Vincent and Danielson took their turns in the ring.

The American Dragon took a lot of damage during the break and for a couple of minutes after the show returned. The Swiss Superman turned the match around after a hot tag.

The outcome of this match was never really in question. Shibata, Danielson and Castagnoli were always going to win, but the journey to get there was entertaining.

The Wrestlers got the pin on Vincent with a running kick to end the show on a high note.

Result: Shibata and BCC defeated Archer and Righteous

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

AEW played a great video package giving people some background information on Will Ospreay. BCC having unaffiliated allies on occasion is cool. It makes the group feel more flexible. Shibata is a perfect fit.It feels wrong seeing Archer without Jake Roberts by his side. Dutch moves around better than most guys his size. Archer and Dutch slamming each other onto Danielson was a fun sequence. The Final Word6 of 6

Collision.AEW

Saturday’s Collision was a solid episode from top to bottom, but it had a couple of moments that stood out for the wrong reasons.

The crowd seemed to fall asleep for a couple of matches in the middle of the show, and the way Top Flight vs. Starks and Bill ended left a lot of people wondering what happened.

FTR vs. The Infantry was a great encounter, but most people will probably be talking about Copeland vs. Cardona due to the surprise appearance from Cardona and the history between the two men.

Toni Storm kissing Mariah May is going to be a talking point, but what matters is May’s upcoming No. 1 Contender’s match against Rosa.

AEW has been on a bit of a roll lately, so some episodes are bound to feel a bit less memorable along the way.

Grade: B-