AEW Collision Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From June 26
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of this week's Thursday edition of AEW Collision.
Here's a look at what All Elite Wrestling advertised for this week's show at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington:
—Kyle Fletcher vs. Kyle O'Reilly
—Adam Cole vs. Josh Alexander
—Templario and Brody King vs. Hechicero and Rocky Romero
—Queen Aminata vs. Skye Blue
—Big Bill and Bryan Keith vs. Christian Cage and Nick Wayne
Let's look at everything that happened on Thursday's episode of Collision.
A Friendship Ended
1 of 8
Collision opened with Tony Schiavone bringing The Outrunners and FTR to the ring for a confrontation.
FTR said they didn't want to throw away their friendship with The Outrunners and played a video of some of their shared moments.
Dax Harwood ripped into The Outrunners for being a joke and failing whenever they had a big opportunity.
FTR tried to get the last word and leave, but Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum fired back by saying the crowd loves them and still believes in them.
This was a decent promo segment, but it was also relatively basic. They did a good job setting up their eventual match.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Cash Wheeler has improved a lot on the mic over the past year.
Christian Cage and Nick Wayne vs. Bryan Keith and Big Bill
2 of 8
Cage and Wayne took on Big Bill and Keith in the first match of the night. It looked like Papa Cage was going to start, but he made his adopted son begin the contest against The Bounty Hunter instead.
They traded some offense for a minute before Bill and Cage both tagged in. The former TNT champion was immediately put on the mat by The Redwood, which caused him to tag Wayne back in to take the beating for him.
This match lasted through the break into the next segment. They had just enough time to make this feel like a competitive fight without overstaying their welcome.
Keith and Bill have grown into a solid team since Chris Jericho took a hiatus, and it was great to see them look so good against Cage and Wayne, who continue to add layers to their long-running storyline.
Mama Wayne caused a distraction that saved Nick from being pinned. Cage hit Keith with a Spear, and Wayne followed up with a kick for the pin and the win.
Result: Cage and Wayne defeated Bill and Keith
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Wayne's in-ring work is very clean, but he needs a way to stand out more. He should thrive once he is on his own.
—Wayne was the only one with any color on his gear. Everyone else was clad in black.
—No matter how many times it happens, watching a powerhouse throw an opponent into another opponent is always going to be fun.
Brody King and Templario vs. Hechicero and Rocky Romero
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CMLL stars were in action when Templario teamed up with King to take on Hechicero and Romero. The two masked men got the match started for their teams with a quick exchange of takedowns.
Romero and King tagged in, and Azucar made the mistake of trying to take King down with a shoulder tackle.
This was the kind of match that got more physical as it went, especially whenever King was involved. He was over with the crowd and got big pops for all of his signature moves.
After a fun back-and-forth contest, King hit his finisher on Romero for the win.
Result: King and Templario defeated Romero and Hechicero
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Cage and Wayne had a tense moment backstage with MVP after their match.
—Templario's tilt-a-whirl arm drag looked awesome.
—The way King and Hechicero's exchange on the apron ended was strange. It was like they gave up on what they were supposed to do and just got back in the ring.
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Megan Bayne vs. VertVixen
4 of 8
Bayne had a match this week against VertVixen, who has made multiple appearances in AEW and ROH over the past couple of years.
The Megasus took control right out of the gate and maintained the upper hand for all three minutes of the match until she hit her finisher for an easy win.
There wasn't much to this, but it was an effective squash.
Result: Bayne defeated VertVixen
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
—The crowd got behind VertVixen with some chants.
—Bayne's diving clothesline is such an old-school move that it almost feels fresh because nobody uses it the way she does.
Adam Cole vs. Josh Alexander (TNT Championship)
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The TNT Championship was up for grabs when Cole defended the title against Alexander, who had Trent Beretta in his corner.
The Walking Weapon went right after Cole's ankle that he had surgically repaired last year. They kept things technical and focused on holds and counters for the first couple of minutes.
When we returned from the break, this had become a much more physical contest. We came back a split second before Cole drilled Alexander with a superkick.
These two put on a very entertaining match before Cole won with a running knee to the back of Alexander's head.
Result: Cole defeated Alexander
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Not having Don Callis on commentary for one of his clients' matches feels like a gift.
—If Tony Schiavone's wife was watching the show, he might be sleeping on the couch after saying their marriage has felt like 100 years.
—Cole had some bruises and cuts forming on his back by the end of the match.
Queen Aminata vs. Skye Blue
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Julia Hart accompanied Blue to the ring for her match against Aminata.
Even though The Queen had a significant height advantage, these two felt evenly matched in every other way.
Blue took control early thanks to a distraction from Hart. She hit a neckbreaker from the apron to the floor as the show went to a break.
The Queen began to make a comeback during the commercial and had the upper hand when we returned. Hart tried to block Blue to give her time to recover, and it led to Blue sending Aminata into the ring steps.
In a somewhat surprising outcome, Aminata scored the win over a game Blue. Hart stared her down until Thekla made her way to the ring.
Blue, Hart and Thekla teamed up to attack Aminata until Anna Jay and Tay Melo made the save.
Result: Aminata defeated Blue
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—The Gates of Agony were shown attacking AR Fox backstage, which Ricochet seemed to enjoy.
—We got a video package for British wrestler Alex Windsor before this match.
Kyle Fletcher vs. Kyle O'Reilly
7 of 8
This week's main event was a battle of the Kyles when O'Reilly faced Fletcher, who was by himself instead of being flanked by other members of his stable.
Fletcher had the size advantage, but O'Reilly brought more experience, so they felt evenly balanced. They locked up and began with a simple wristlock before they kicked off a sequence of counters and holds.
It will surprise nobody to hear these two stole the show. Fletcher has become one of the best in-ring performers in all of AEW over the past couple of years, and KOR's reputation speaks for itself.
They blended their styles to create a fantastic main event that cleared everything else on the show by a mile.
Lance Archer showed up and attacked O'Reilly while the ref was dealing with Fletcher, but KOR kicked out. A moment later, Fletcher finished him off with a brainbuster for the win.
Result: Fletcher defeated O'Reilly
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
—Fletcher has the most obnoxious sunglasses. They're perfect for him.
—The crowd chanted for Kyle several times but never specified which one, which made it much funnier.
—Fletcher should teach classes about how to deliver realistic strikes.
—The crowd was not happy to see interference in this match.
The Final Word
8 of 8
Thursday's Collision was another solid episode in what has become a string of strong performances from the perceived B-show of AEW.
The women's division has been getting some more attention recently, and this week's show continued that trend with two matches and a couple of video packages.
The TNT title bout between Cole and Alexander was fun, but nothing on this show came close to the performance O'Reilly and Fletcher put on.
Both have built reputations for being strong in-ring performers, so putting them in the ring together was practically a guaranteed formula for success.
The crowd's participation in the match made the main event even more entertaining. This is one of those times when there was no better choice for the headliner than what we got.
Grade: B+
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