AEW Collision, Battle of the Belts XI Results: Winners, Live Grades, Highlights, More
Doc-Chris Mueller@@BR_DoctorFeatured Columnist IVJuly 27, 2024AEW Collision, Battle of the Belts XI Results: Winners, Live Grades, Highlights, More0 of 11
Battle of the Belts.AEW
Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage of AEW Collision and Battle of the Belts on July 27.
Here is a look at what AEW advertised for this week’s show:
Toni Storm vs. Taya ValkyrieWillow Nightingale vs. Deonna PurrazzoUndisputed Kingdom vs. Dustin Rhodes and The Von ErichsThe Beast Mortos vs. HologramFTR vs. MxM CollectionLio Rush vs. PacPremier Athletes vs. The ConglomerationOrange Cassidy vs. Johnny TVThunder Rosa vs. Maya WorldLet’s take a look at everything that happened on Collision and BOTB.
Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV1 of 11
Collision.AEW
Cassidy’s music kicked off the show as he made his way to the ring to take on Johnathan Television.
They spent a long time taunting each other. Cassidy did his usual hands-in-pocket routine to get under Johnny’s skin.
They used a surprisingly slow pace during the first 10 minutes. It never felt as if there was a sense of urgency to anything they did, so it was hard to get invested in the outcome.
The final couple of minutes picked up and OC scored the win with Beach Break. Willow Nightingale made the save when Johnny and Taya Valkyrie attacked OC.
Result: Cassidy defeated Johnny TV
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Taya got some compliments from the announcers on her look. The way Johnny hung from the top rope with his legs to taunt OC was funny. Johnny’s failed standing moonsault almost ended with him landing on his head but he saved it and made it look good. BCC vs. Brian Cage and Lee Moriarty vs. Top Flight2 of 11
Death Before Dishonor.AEW
Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta took on Top Flight, Lee Moriarty and Brian Cage in a triple threat tag match.
This took place just 24 hours after Moriarty defeated Yuta for the ROH pure title at Death Before Dishonor, so they wanted to start the match for their teams.
Shane Taylor Promotions has also had some issues with Top Flight, so all three teams were entangled in feuds in one way or another.
This match had two powerhouses, two technicians and two high-flyers, so we were treated to a little bit of everything. Yuta got the pin on Darius with a nice pinning combination to end a solid match.
Result: Yuta and Castagnoli won
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Cage being with AEW for so long without holding a singles title feels like an oversight. Moriarty hit Dante with a brutal running kick. Cage and Castagnoli work so well together. All of their exchanges were great. Darius slipped on the apron and it turned a backflip into an unintentional Pele kick. Hologram vs. Beast Mortos3 of 11
Collision.AEW
The Beast Mortos defeated Komander at DBD on Friday, so he was hoping to keep building momentum as he took on Hologram.
AEW’s newest star was giving up a lot of size, so he quickly found himself working as the underdog. The crowd was behind him and chanted “Lucha lucha” as he hit a few quick moves.
This was a fun, high-energy match that showed off the skills of two talented luchadors, but it wasn’t without a few close botches.
Even with a few minor mistakes, the crowd was fully invested and cheering for every spot. Both men contributed to a good performance, but only one could have his hand raised as the winner.
Hologram was finally able to keep Mortos down for a three-count to emerge as the victor.
Result: Hologram defeated Mortos
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Hologram telegraphed the pounce from Mortos but he sold it well. Hologram has a cool entrance, but it’s hard not to notice how similar it is to Ricochet’s old entrance, which is funny because a lot of people thought he would be playing the Hologram character.The headscissor takedown with three rotations got a standing ovation. Mortos took a nasty bump on the apron from a destroyer. Thunder Rosa vs. Maya World4 of 11
Collision.AEW
One of Athena’s students, Maya World, made her debut this week when she took on Thunder Rosa. Unfortunately, she didn’t get a televised entrance.
World had a slight power advantage but Rosa’s experience rendered it null. She took control early and kept the rookie on her toes with some takedowns.
This wasn’t a squash, but Rosa still picked up a quick win with a camel clutch. This was short but accomplished its goal.
Result: Rosa defeated World
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Thunder Rosa and The Infantry both channeled X-Men with their gear this weekend. For someone so new, World has great gear already. It’s one of those things a lot of people don’t put much effort into when they are first starting, but it can make a big difference in how someone is presented. The Conglomeration vs. Premier Athletes5 of 11
Collision.AEW
Tony Nese, Josh Woods and Ari Daivari took on Mark Briscoe, Tomohiro Ishii and Kyle O’Reilly in a trios match this week.
Mark Sterling and his clients gave a pre-match promo mocking Ishii’s physique, which only served to make The Stone Pitbull angrier.
Both teams were tagging in and out regularly, so we got to see just about every combination of opponents. This was a serviceable but predictable bout because nobody expected The Premier Athletes to win due to how they are booked.
KOR, Ishii and The Chicken picked up a slightly competitive but ultimately easy victory.
Result: The Conglomeration defeated Premier Athletes
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Ishii is one of the few people who believably no-sells chops because he barely moves at all when he gets hit. A lot of these men fought at the ROH PPV on Friday but looked as fresh as daisies. Briscoe was in Blood and Guts and a brutal world title match with Roderick Strong this week. It would be nice to see people sell kayfabe injuries a bit more in situations like this. Sterling is so good at playing a stooge manager. Even the way he bumps is hilarious. Lance Archer Squash, FTR vs MxM Collection6 of 11
Collision.AEW
Lance Archer absolutely destroyed a local competitor to win a squash match.
Result: Archer won
Grade: Incomplete
After a successful ROH debut, Mansoor and Mason Madden were looking for a repeat performance this week on Collision. Unfortunately for them, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were their opponents.
Mansoor and Harwood started for their teams. They had a nice little exchange, but Mansoor’s posing and premature celebration after one successful move allowed Harwood to take control.
They had a good amount of time to work and put on a much better match than we saw MxM have on Friday. The crowd was cheering for both teams, but MxM definitely worked the heel role in this bout.
FTR ended up winning, but Mansoor and Madden earned their respect. Even in a loss, MxM made a good first impression on the AEW audience.
Result: FTR defeated MxM
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
The way Mansoor jumped into Madden’s arms was hilarious.It’s really easy to forget how big Madden is until you see him standing next to someone else. Pac vs. Lio Rush7 of 11
Collision.AEW
This week’s main event saw two of the quickest competitors in the world go at it when Rush took on Pac.
Neither of these men is used to fighting guys around their same height, so it was an interesting combination. Pac still had a significant power advantage, so he took care of Rush during his high-flying moments.
These guys were clearly having a lot of fun working against someone who could match their speed and agility, so we got to see some great spots.
Pac won with the Brutalizer and kept it on for a few seconds longer just to prove a point.
Result: Pac defeated Rush
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Rush took a stiff hit to the jaw and the ref had to check on him for a second. The powerbomb Rush took was nasty. A minute later, he took another hard bump into the turnbuckle and looked a bit dazed but continued to fight. Toni Storm vs. Taya Valkyrie8 of 11
Battle of the Belts.AEW
Taya got a chance to earn a future title shot when she took on Storm in an Eliminator match.
The women’s champion was aggressive and sent her opponent out of the ring, but Valkyrie sent her into the steel steps and hit a violent running knee to the head.
They battled through a break and put on a decent performance. Neither of these competitors is afraid of some bruises, so they weren’t holding back. Valkyrie unleashed some especially hard hits, but one Storm Zero put her down for the pin.
The champion grabbed a mic and delivered an angry promo. She said Mariah May was perfect and was almost a better Toni than she was, but she made the mistake of not finishing Storm when she had the chance.
Result: Storm defeated Valkyrie
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Valkyrie didn’t have Johnny at ringside even though she was there for his match. There was a strange red mark on Toni’s top.Taya looked unhinged with lipstick all over her teeth, especially during close-ups. She clearly knew about it and played into it. Willow Nightingale vs. Deonna Purrazzo (CMLL Women’s Title)9 of 11
BOTBAEW
Willow put her recently won CMLL women’s world title on the line this week against Purrazzo. These two have fought many times on the Indies, but never on TV like this.
Both of these competitors are powerful and hard-hitting, so they delivered a physical contest that felt hard-fought. There were no soft-contact hits in this one.
It was always doubtful that CMLL would allow a title change on a random Battle of the Belts episode, but they did a great job making it feel competitive.
Valkyrie showed up with a loose turnbuckle in her hand and tried to hand it to Deonna right in view of the ref like an amateur. Rosa ran down to attack her, giving Willow the chance to hit a Pounce and The Babe with the Powerbomb for the win.
Result: Nightingale defeated Purrazzo
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Purrazzo had the ’90s Taco Bell color scheme on her gear. Purrazzo took a dangerous-looking bump on her neck but seemed to be alright. It was scary enough to make all of the announcers gasp at once. Valkyre trying to tell the crowd to pipe down was funny. The Undisputed Kingdom vs. Dustin Rhodes and Von Erichs (ROH Six-Man Titles)10 of 11
Dustin Rhodes and the Von ErichsAEW
After Jay White’s injury forced the Bang Bang Gang to vacate all of its titles, the ROH six-man belts were separated from the AEW trios titles.
Rhodes, Marshall and Ross Von Erich won the right to face Matt Taven, Mike Bennett and Roderick Strong for the titles.
The Von Erichs are still new to AEW but having grown up around the business has allowed them to progress at a quicker rate than most rookies.
With a lauded veteran like Rhodes as their partner and three talented opponents, this was almost guaranteed to be entertaining.
Katsuyori Shibata came out and helped Kevin Von Erich prevent The Undisputed Kingdom from cheating and cleared the way for Rhodes to score the pin and win the titles for his team.
The crowd tossed streamers into the ring to help the new ROH six-man champs celebrate.
Result: Rhodes and the Von Erichs defeated The Undisputed Kingdom
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
It’s always a little weird to see a wrestler without boots or shoes. It just feels like a broken toe waiting to happen. Taven is an underrated seller. He does a lot of little things that add to his performance. The Final Word11 of 11
BOTBAEW
AEW fans got a lot more action than usual this weekend thanks to the ROH PPV on Friday and Battle of the Belts on Saturday.
The three-hour BOTB/Collision combo flew by quickly, but only a couple of matches from the 11 we saw.
Rush and Pac put on a fun sprint, Nightingale and Purrazo worked well together, and the triple threat tag team match was a great showing for all three teams.
However, the match that got the loudest reaction from the live crowd was Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos. They put on a terrific lucha-style performance that made the newcomer look like a million bucks. If you only see one thing from Saturday, make it that.
Grade: B-
