AEW Collision Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before Dynasty
Doc-Chris Mueller@@BR_DoctorFeatured Columnist IVApril 20, 2024AEW Collision Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before Dynasty0 of 9
Collision.AEW
Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage of AEW Collision and Rampage on April 20.
Sunday is the first-ever Dynasty pay-per-view, but before we get to that, a pre-empted episode of Rampage aired after Collision to give us three hours of Saturday night graps.
Here is the card AEW advertised before the show:
BCC vs. Callis FamilyFTR and Pac vs. The EliteTop Flight and Action Andretti vs. Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe and Eddie KingstonThe Acclaimed vs. The GunnsSkye Blue vs. Leyla HirschYuka Sakazaki vs. Emi SakuraKyle O’Reilly, Daddy Magic and Rocky Romero vs. Undisputed KingdtomLet’s take a look at everything that happened on Saturday’s show.
Copeland, Briscoe and Kingston vs. Top Flight and Action Andretti, Will Hobbs Squash1 of 9
Collision.AEW
Copeland’s entrance opened this week’s show as he, Briscoe and Kingston took on Andretti, Dante and Darius Martin.
Andretti did the Karate Kid pose to start against Briscoe, but the chicken farmer saw it coming and took control.
The Rated-R Superstar did some selling for his young opponents once he got into the ring. The usually popular Top Flight was being booed after hitting a double-team sequence.
The first half was pretty straightforward, but everything broke down toward the end and it became a free-for-all that ended with Briscoe getting the pin for his team.
This was a fun little warmup match for the trio that will take on House of Black on Sunday. Everyone posing after the match was a nice moment.
Result: Copeland, Kingston and Briscoe won
Grade: B-
The next matchup saw a local talent named CJ Espara being squashed by Powerhouse Hobbs. The big man took his time before applying a Torture Rack for the win.
Result: Hobbs won
Grade: Incomplete
Notable Moments and Observations
Kingston being the person the crowd chanted for after everyone was in the ring is awesome. He is one of the most organically over stars in AEW. All of the little noises Briscoe makes during matches are hilarious. Kingson is quicker than people realize. The way he was selling for the high-flyers looked great. The six-way clothesline spot may have been fun it made no sense. It never does when stuff like that happens, but this one stuck out as being a bit contrived. The Acclaimed and Gunns2 of 9
Collision.AEW
Two sets of former AEW tag champs faced off before their trios unification match on Sunday. Anthony Bowens and Max Castte faced Austin and Colten Gunn, but Jay White and Daddy Ass weren’t far away.
The Acclaimed took control by bringing The Gunns into the ring the hard way, but the heels were able to gain the upper hand.
This is a bout we have seen many times in AEW, so nothing about this felt fresh. It was a decent match, but it felt unnecessary. This time could have been used for someone who doesn’t have a PPV match on Sunday while the Acclaimed vs. BCG feud could have been addressed in a quick video or promo.
Nothing looked bad, but it was difficult to care about this because all of the stakes are in tomorrow’s bout. The Gunns stole the win.
Result: The Gunns defeated The Acclaimed
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Chris Jericho gave a taped apology to Taz and Hook but also said he would challenge Hook for the FTW title at Dynasty. Caster made jokes about OJ Simpson and Donald Trump during his rap. There was a weird exchange before the match with Tony Schiavone that Austin didn’t seem to understand. Bunkhouse Brawl3 of 9
Collision.AEW
As Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli were making their entrance, Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita attacked them to start the Bunkhouse Brawl in the crowd.
This bout was all over the place and saw the use of several weapons. Danielson even used an electrical cord to choke and drag Fletcher around ringside like he did to Justin Roberts with a necktie all those years ago in WWE.
The American Dragon was busted up when Fletcher threw a chair at his head, so the Callis Family began focusing on The Swiss Superman.
This was an unconventional match, but the action was surprisingly easy to follow and everyone looked great on offense and defense. They lived up to the stipulation and gave the crowd an entertaining performance.
Hobbs came out and attacked Danielson and Castagnoli, but Mox ran through the crowd and started brawling with him. “Wild Thing” played until they were out of sight. The American Dragon got the win for his team.
Result: BCC defeated The Callis Family
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Danielson and Ospreay had a brief exchange backstage. Ospreay tried to say he had nothing to do with the Callis Family attacking BCC, but Danielson didn’t seem to believe him. Toni Storm appeared in full color to address Thunder Rosa. Castagnoli helping to clean up some garbage mid-match was hilarious. The way Takeshita rolled over the chair at the end looked perfect. Skye Blue vs. Leyla Hirsch4 of 9
Collision.AEW
After a promo from Willow Nightingale, we saw Julia Hart accompany Blue to the stage, but not all the way to the ring.
Blue rushed at Hirsch and hit a running kick, but Legit Leyla grounded her for some strikes right away. Hirsch countered the Code Blue and hit a nice running knee.
After a scary bump when Blue hit her head on the mat, she scored the victory with a submission. This was quick but decent.
Result: Blue defeated Hirsch
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Hirsch has great entrance music. You could kind of tell Hirsch knew she wouldn’t land the suicide dive. She slowed down before getting to the ropes. Hirsch’s German suplex from the top rope didn’t quite go as planned but Blue seemed like she was okay. The Elite vs. FTR and Pac5 of 9
Collision.AEW
The main event of the Collision portion of the show saw Kazuchika Okada, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson take on Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler and Pac.
Both teams got in a fair amount of offense before the commercial break, so neither team felt like it had a clear advantage.
We saw some fun double and triple-team spots that came at regular intervals, and we got a few funny moments along the way, too.
There was a lot to like about this match, but like a couple of the other bouts, the outcome felt meaningless because Dynasty is where all the titles will be on the line.
After a fun and physical bout, Pac hit a Black Arrow for the win. Daniel Garcia came out to help when The Elite kept attacking and helped FTR and Pac get the advantage.
Result: FTR and Pac defeated The Elite
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
The Elite using Cody Rhodes’ old elevator is kind of funny. Somebody may as well get some use out of it if AEW owns it. Wheeler picked up some of the Okada bucks and used them to wipe his butt and nose. Not the same pieces of paper of course. That would be gross. Pac and FTR’s triple sliding dropkick was a good spot. The spot FTR did to the Bucks in the corner was hilarious and effective. Okada’s chest was very red after taking several chops. High Flying 420 Elimination Fatal 4-way 6 of 9
Rampage.AEW
Rampage opened with a 4/20 match with RVD, Lee Johnson, Isiah Kassidy and Komander. There didn’t seem to be any special rules for this other than it being an elimination bout, so AEW clearly just wanted an excuse to make some marijuana jokes with RVD.
This was as quick and high-flying as advertised. RVD may not be as spry as he was 20 years ago, but he did an admirable job keeping up with three guys who are significantly younger.
Kassidy and Johnson were eliminated to bring it down to RVD and Komander. The luchador put up a good effort, but RVD beat him with a 5-Star Frog Splash. This was alright but having some kind of prize would have made it make more sense.
Result: RVD won
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Marq Quen has put on some muscle. If you look at him during his AEW debut and now, you will see a big difference. Johnson being married to Julia Hart in real life is kind of a funny juxtaposition of characters. Komander missed a pinning combination early on but recovered quickly. He had one or two sloppy moments, but RVD can still go. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Emi Sakura7 of 9
Rampage.AEW
Sakazaki and Sakura met for a singles bout this week. This is Sakura’s first appearance on TV for AEW in 2024.
Sakura went right after her young opponent, but Sakazaki recovered quickly and applied an STF submission.
Unfortunately, Sakazaki took a nasty spill outside the ring and the ref made Sakura back off so she could recover. She walked around the ring trying to get her bearings back and Sakura started chasing her.
It was an awkward couple of minutes but they eventually continued the match and worked through the break. All of this made Sakazaki look like a valiant fighter, but it was hard to tell what was real and what was selling, which can sometimes add to the drama.
The pacing was affected and the finish was a bit strange, but Sakazaki got the pin and the crowd looked happy.
Result: Sakazaki defeated Sakura
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Sakura should bring back the Freddie Mercury look. Sakazaki’s sliding forearm looked stiff. Sakura is such a great heel. She never stops taunting. Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho were shown announcing their pregnancy last week. O’Reilly, Romero and Daddy Magic vs. Taven, Bennett and Strong8 of 9
Rampage.AEW
The main event of the Rampage portion of the show saw O’Reilly team with Romero and Daddy Magic to take on The Undisputed Kingdom.
KOR was angry and started for his team, but Strong didn’t give him the satisfaction of doing the same thing. He only tagged in once Romero was in the ring instead.
This bout played out exactly how you would expect. Each babyface got a chance to dish out some retribution, and the heels controlled the pace between those sequences.
All of the action was solid and we saw some really great chemistry on display with certain combinations of opponents. Strong and O’Reilly had the best exchange by far.
KOR scored the win for his team with an armbar on Bennett.
Result: O’Reilly, Romero and Daddy Magic defeated Undisputed Kingdom
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Bennett was being very vocal during this match. Taven and Bennett’s double-team powerbomb was great. The double hurricanrana needs to be retired. It never looks convincing. The Final Word9 of 9
Rampage.AEW
This week’s Collision and Rampage double-feature did a good job selling most of the feuds for Sunday’s Dynasty PPV, but only one match really stood out.
The Bunkhouse Brawl was a chaotic mess in the best way. All four competitors held nothing back, which was admirable considering some of them have matches in less than 24 hours.
Even with some entertaining action, the best moment of the night was AEW replaying Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho announcing their pregnancy.
Pro wrestling is a hyper-fictionalized world, but moments like that remind us these are real people, not the superheroic figures we sometimes see them as in the ring.
Grade: B-
