It’s not fun to think about, but since Bryan Danielson has said it himself, it’s time to face facts: We won’t have the pleasure of watching the American Dragon in the ring forever. That’s why it behooves AEW to get him in the ring with as many amazing opponents as possible while he’s still around, which is exactly what’s happening on tonight’s episode of AEW Collision in Memphis.
Tony Khan announced a few days ago that he had a dream match lined up for tonight, and while that inevitably led to fans’ imaginations running wild with potential opponents from just about everywhere, it turns out there was one within the company who has been appearing on Collision quite often. That’d be Andrade El Idolo, who has, pretty incredibly, never faced Bryan in a televised match of any kind.
(Seriously, we had our research intern look it up. Just kidding, we don’t have one of those.)
While that bout may just be for the pure in-ring excitement, the rest of Collision looks like it stems from things going on over AEW programming in recent weeks. Eddie Kingston will battle Jeff Jarrett in a Memphis Street Fight, attempting to keep Jay Lethal from earning a shot at his ROH World Championship.
New-ish AEW World Tag Team Champions Big Bill and Ricky Starks will try to remain in that position when they face Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta, while the previous titleholders, FTR, return to action for the first time since losing them. And Action Andretti will try to keep his head attached to his shoulders while staying out of any marital drama as he takes on Miro.
If that weren’t enough for you, be sure to stay tuned afterward as Battle of the Belts VIII presents three championship matches. We’ll get to that in due time, but for now, let’s see what Collision has in store.
AEW Collision results from Memphis:
(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)
- Bryan Danielson def. Andrade El Idolo by pinfall, but Malakai Black appears after the bell and lays out Danielson with a spin kick
- Skye Blue def. Hollyhood Haley by pinfall
- The Gunns def. Outrunners by pinfall; after the match, the lights go out and the man in the devil mask appears on screen, but doesn’t go after Bullet Club Gold
- While Orange Cassidy is being interviewed, Kris Statlander says she needs a pump before her match and squats the interviewer
- Jeff Jarrett def. Eddie Kingston by pinfall in a Memphis Street Fight thanks to help from Jay Lethal, Karen Jarrett, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt (yes, all of them); Lethal will receive a ROH World Championship shot as a result
- The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass have to apologize for Max Caster’s behavior but are ready to take down Daniel Garcia, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang on Battle of the Belts
- Miro def. Action Andretti by submission in a match that was probably harder than Miro would have figured; C.J. Perry applauds from ringside and Miro decides against beating up Andretti after the bell in what passes as a show of respect from him
- Anna Jay seems like she’s still trying to keep the peace between Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard; Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho have an amusing exchange about family problems before Soho says she deserves to be a champion and is willing to challenge any of them
- Rush says he’s sick and tired of all the opportunities going to other wrestlers and mad about the company saying he’s too dangerous … to be continued …
- Kingston is getting checked out by the trainer but still delivers an angry promo to Lethal, calling him “Jeff Jarrett’s little bitch” and promising to beat Lethal down in front of his mother
- FTR vs. Bad Thad Brown and Darian Bengston is interrupted by an attack from the House of Black, who lays out FTR
- Big Bill and Ricky Starks def. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta by pinfall to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship thanks to interference by the House of Black, but …
- … when the House of Black tries to press its advantage after the match, the faces get reinforcements: from Bryan Danielson, FTR, and eventually, Jon Moxley, leaving the faces standing over a prone Starks to end the show