AEW Collision, Battle of the Belts IX Results: Winners, Live Grades, Highlights, More
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of AEW Collision and Battle of the Belts 9 on January 13.
The three-hour block of AEW programming featured lots of action, a few storyline developments, and a couple of fun title matches.
In addition to seeing a few champions put their belts on the line, we also saw Adam Copeland issue an open challenge to anyone in the back who wanted to step in the ring with the living legend.
With three hours at its disposal, AEW had a rare chance to give each segment more room to breathe. Let's take a look at everything that happened during both shows on Saturday.
Adam Copeland vs. Lee Moriarty
1 of 10
Adam Copeland came out to kick off Collision with an open challenge that was answered by Lee Moriarty, who was accompanied and introduced by Shane Taylor along with a brief video showing some of his highlights in past AEW and ROH matches.
Copeland and Moriarty traded a few harsh words before the bell rang and they locked up. Their initial exchange was a relatively basic sequence of holds and counters, but it was done with a level of smoothness you only see from people as talented as Taigastyle and as experienced as Copeland.
The match picked up as they continued to bring out bigger and bigger moves from their respective arsenals. Moriarty was favoring the shoulder that had tape all over it, but it never stopped him from doing moves like missile dropkicks and arm drags from the middle rope.
This was a good showcase for a young talent like Moriarty. Copeland is a respected veteran, so having a good performance against him is going to put a lot of new eyes on Taigastyle.
Taylor ended up taking a Spear after he distracted Copeland for a moment. The Rated-R Superstar ended up scoring a submission victory, but Moriarty came away from this looking like a valiant competitor who can hang with the best.
Result: Adam Copeland defeated Lee Moriarty
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The quick video for Moriarty was great.
- The way Nigel McGuinness pronounces Christian's name is unintentionally funny.
- Copeland's fallaway slam from the middle turnbuckle was a great spot.
The Gates of Agony and Brian Cage vs. The Righteous and Lance Archer (Six-Man Titles)
2 of 10
The ROH Six-Man Championships were on the line this week when the defending champions, Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Kaun defended the belts against Lance Archer, Vincent and Dutch.
Cage and Archer had a big of a shoving match to get things going. The Machine had the upper hand early on, but The Murderhawk Monster knocked his block off with a running clothesline.
Other than Dutch, everyone in this match can be considered a powerhouse, so this might not have had the same pace as some of AEW's other six-man matches, but that's not a bad thing. This bout felt less chaotic than other similar matches but they still made enough time to give everyone a little time in the ring.
However, there was still the obligatory moment when everyone got in the ring and started brawling. It seems to be a requirement in every contest of this nature.
There was a bit of awkwardness as they set up the finish, but they eventually pulled things together and finished up with Kaun hitting Vincent with his version of a Pedigree for the win.
Result: The Mogul Embassy defeated The Righteous and Lance Archer
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- AEW has been showing more quick recap videos before matches recently. It's a good way to help people follow stories they don't watch every week. As long as they don't overdo it, it needs to continue.
- Cage is legitimately superhuman. Nobody who looks like that should be able to move the way he moves.
- AEW needs to do more with Kaun. He could be a great singles star. He's talented and has a very marketable look.
- Watching a guy the size of Dutch throw himself over the top rope onto a pile of humans will always be entertaining.
- Prince Nana put out a challenge for The Gunns and Jay White to face the champs.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Willie Mack
3 of 10
Dustin Rhodes and Willie Mack met for a match this week that was a bit of a late addition to the card.
Mack had a great performance against Wardlow recently, so a lot of people were excited to see him back on TV.
Both of these men are babyfaces, so they came into this with more respect than animosity for each other. They kept a steady pace but made sure to make the final sequence a bit quicker.
Rhodes picked up a victory in a quick but competitive match. Mack continues to impress, but having him start to win on television is would be nice.
Result: Dustin Rhodes defeated Willie Mack
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Rhodes always has really cool face paint. He's done a good job keeping the designs fresh, too.
- Mack hit an impressive standing moonsault.
- It's wild that Rhodes can do a destroyer at his age, especially against someone the size of Mack.
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Adam Page vs. JD Drake
4 of 10
Another late addition to this week's show saw Adam Page take on The Workhorsemen's JD Drake. Anthony Henry was by his tag team partner's side for support.
These two men worked in a lot of the same indie promotions but had never met for a singles match, so this was something a lot of fans in Virginia were excited to see.
Drake had a significant size advantage while Hangman had his beat in speed and agility, so both men were able to combat each other in different ways.
This was a physical and entertaining bout that showed off both men's strengths as performers. Few likely came into this expecting Drake to win, but much like Moriarty, he can still benefit from having a great performance against a bigger star. The Hangman got the win with the Buckshot Lariat.
Result: Adam Page defeated JD Drake
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Drake is deceptively quick on his feet.
- The sequence when Page hit a moonsault from the top followed by a standing shooting star press was great.
Red Velvet vs. Deonna Purrazzo
5 of 10
Deonna Purrazzo made her in-ring AEW debut this week in a match against Red Velvet. This was another match with both competitors currently working as babyfaces, but the crowd seemed to be more on Purrazzo's side.
Purrazzo is a great technical wrestler, but she and Velvet having no experience working together led to this match having some pacing issues.
Purrazzo picked up a victory in a match that only lasted a few minutes. This was a decent showing for Purrazzo, but it definitely could have benefitted from a few more minutes.
Result: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Red Velvet
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- The commentators were having a lot of fun making fun of Tony Schiavone's inability to say Purrazzo correctly.
- Purrazzo hit a chop that sounded stiff. The crowd had an audible reaction that did not include the usual "Woo." It's good we are moving past everyone wooing every time someone does a chop.
Hook vs. Local Talent, FTR and Daniel Garcia vs. House of Black
6 of 10
Hook extended his record to 29-1 with a quick and easy win over a local talent.
Result: Hook, obviously
Grade: Incomplete
The main event for the Collision portion of the three-hour block of wrestling saw Daniel Garcia team up with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler to take on The House of Black.
Buddy Matthews and Harwood started with a stiff exchange of strikes that echoed with each impact. Harwood has some of the best chops in the game and they were on full display.
If you are a regular AEW viewer, then you don't need us to tell you how good all six of these men are. They were never going to have anything less than a solid match, especially when they had more than the last 20 minutes of the show to work.
This was the right choice to book for the main event. It was the most exciting match from the Collision portion of the show by a mile. Everyone looked good, but Garcia really shined in this one.
FTR and Garcia put up a tough fight, but Matthews was able to get the victory for House of Black. Once the match was over, King attacked Daddy Magic and brought him in the ring, but Garcia and FTR made the save.
Result: House of Black defeated FTR and Garcia
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
- The match with Hook was so unnecessary, but the crowd popped, so it served its purpose.
- Garcia using Black's own taunt against him was great, but Black teasing Garcia's dance was even better.
- Daddy Magic is always so good on commentary.
- King just absorbing every shot Harwood dished out was such a cool sequence.
- The triple-team piledriver was a fun spot but it looked like it could have easily gone wrong for King if they had fallen the wrong way.
- The way Matthews sold Harwood's piledriver ruled.
Ricky Starks and Big Bill vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara (AEW Tag Titles)
7 of 10
As Battle of the Belts was getting going, the cameras took us out to the street where Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara were already brawling with the tag team champions, Ricky Starks and Big Bill.
This was already booked to be a Street Fight, so the match was technically underway at this point since officials were standing by.
Guevara added another golf cart moment to his highlight reel, but this time it was him driving it instead of the one being hit by it. It turned out to be Rhett Titus' car. Jericho gave him a Judas Effect when he showed up to complain.
It took about 15 minutes for them to make their way through the backstage area and into the arena, so the live crowd was mostly watching on the big screen until they arrived. The fans seemed to be having a great time with this one.
This was a decent Street Fight with plenty of chaos. Konosuke Takeshita showed up and hit Jericho with a kendo stick, allowing Bill to put him through a table. Meanwhile, Guevara was climbing part of the stage to leap onto a prone Starks.
He climbed to the top of the set and went for a senton, but Hobbs pulled Starks out of the way so Guevara went crashing through that part of the stage. Starks covered him for the pin and the win.
Result: Ricky Starks and Big Bill defeated Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Starks and Bill made no effort to get out of the way of the golf cart. It ended up being kind of funny but still made them look kind of dumb.
- Big Bill threw a brick through the window of a car before he ended up being suplexed on top of it.
- Starks using a plunger as a weapon against Jericho was hilarious. Jericho using a Swiffer Wet Jet wasn't as funny.
- Guevara doing a backflip off the wall followed by a superkick to Bill was an awesome spot.
Julia Hart vs. Anna Jay (TBS Title)
8 of 10
The House of Black was represented a second time Saturday night when Julia Hart defended the TBS Championship against Anna Jay.
These two used to be close friends but went their separate ways a long time ago. Jay fell in with The Dark Order while Hart went from cheerleader to the standout member of House of Black.
Neither woman had a clear physical advantage and both are still only a few years into their careers, so they came into this on an almost even playing field.
Even though this match had some decent moments, as a whole, it fell a bit short. Both of them have improved so much over the past few years, so it was surprising to see them look uncomfortable during certain sequences. It almost felt like they were hesitating when they should have been following through with their moves.
Hart almost defeated Jay with her own Queenslayer submission, but the challenger managed to break free. Still, Hart was able to put her away to retain the TBS title.
Result: Julia Hart defeated Anna Jay
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Jay still has little callbacks to her magician gimmick in her entrance gear. It might be fun for her to go back to that at some point. She never really got a chance to make that gimmick work.
- Right before this match took place, Jack Perry showed up at NJPW Battle in the Valley and attacked Shota Umino.
- Jay did a good job selling her injured arm throughout the match. Little details like holding it in a specific way between moves make it look a lot more convincing that she is injured.
Orange Cassidy vs. Preston Vance
9 of 10
The main event in the Collision/Battle of the Belts supershow was an International Championship match between Orange Cassidy and Preston Vance.
Before the match started, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett showed up with steel chairs and set themselves up at ringside to watch the fight.
Vance took control right out of the gate, but as soon as OC had an opening, he nailed an Orange Punch to stop him in his tracks.
It felt like both men were trying to end it early, so they went back and forth with several counters. They kept up the pace throughout the match to deliver an entertaining conclusion to the show.
OC found his second wind and hit a nice Stundog Millionaire followed by a tornado DDT. Vance caught him coming off the top rope and took out The Kingdom by throwing Cassidy into them with a fallaway slam.
Cassidy was able to pick up the win, but he was immediately cornered by The Kingdom and Roddy. Jose tried to get involved but was immediately taken out. Surprisingly, they never attacked OC. The show ended in a staredown.
Result: Orange Cassidy defeated Preston Vance
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Why is Jose even there in backstage segments if he's not going to do anything?
- Vance has a good entrance but it feels like it's missing one thing to make it great. It's hard to pinpoint what it is.
- You could tell Vance was having a lot of fun throwing around a smaller competitor.
The Final Word
10 of 10
Having the extra hour with Battle of the Belts is usually designed to make this feel like a special event, but with titles changing hands so rarely at these shows, fans might not feel like it's must-see TV.
This show produced a few good matches, but FTR and Garcia vs. House of Black definitely stole the show.
Garcia became a breakout star in 2023 and it's great to see AEW committing to his push by keeping him on TV and putting him in big-match situations.
Copeland and Moriarty also delivered a fun contest, as did Page and Drake. All in all, this was a solid three hours of pro wrestling.
Grade: B-
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