AEW COLLISION HITS & MISSES (5/22): FTR& Nigel McGuinness Daniel Garcia contract signing, TBS Title Open Challenge, GYV vs. Paragon, Komander & Mike Bailey vs. LFI

Greetings! I and other staff members will try our best to cover for David Bryant while he is on leave. Please note that my list of hits is in descending order if you’re wondering what I consider a show’s best and worst aspects. Along with a great tidbit about wrestling from this day in history, I will also give each review a final grade. Let’s begin.

HITS

FTR VS. NIGEL MCGUINNESS & DANIEL GARCIA CONTRACT SIGNING

Contract signings can be a generic wrestling trope, but this was quite efficient. It was the loudest the crowd got all night. I was surprised by the amount of heat FTR had for this segment. Danny Garcia had a good night on the mic and an even better night selling the match for Nigel McGuinness.

“SPEEDBALL” MIKE BAILEY

I’ll throw my hands up and say I was wrong about Speedball signing in AEW. Not to steal the gimmick from Anthony Bowens, but Speedball is a booker’s five-tool player. He is versatile, so you can stick him anywhere in the mid-card, and he will excel.

DON CALLIS FAMILY

It’s not awful that the Don Callis Family has recently been a prominent heel act on Collision. I like highlighting each member while highlighting feuds throughout each episode.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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KYLE FLETCHER

Although many people may improve and modify their attacking techniques in the ring, Kyle Fletcher’s heel work stands out. His ability to stooge and make his opponent look fantastic and then appear to murder him a few seconds later is great. Fletcher is at the point where keeping him off a PPV card is difficult.

TAG TEAM DIVISION

GYV vs. the Paragon was great tag team wrestling. Hopefully, this will be the start of building more depth in the division and, hopefully, the start of a mid-card tag team feud.

MISSES

GYV PRESENTATION

Though I enjoyed GYV vs. The Paragon, I hate how GYV always loses while on AEW TV. From the business perspective, I understand why AEW wouldn’t put them over if they aren’t signed, but Gibson and Drake add a different variety to the AEW universe.

FINAL SCORE

HITS: 5

MISSES: 1

FINAL THOUGHTS: Dynamite didn’t feature much wrestling for good reasons. This episode was meant to give the fans enough wrestling to ensure that, as paying customers, they got their money’s worth.

Wrestling History: On May 22, 2020, All Elite Wrestling pre-taped the main event of the Double Or Nothing PPV due to air the following day. The Stadium Stampede cinematic match took place at the TIAA Bank Field, home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. The match saw “Hangman'”Page & The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy defeat the Inner Circle team of Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Santana, Ortiz, and Sammy Guevara.

Look out for my live, in-person report of AEW Double or Nothing this Sunday. Also, check out Amin Ajani and me at the Collision Cafe, which is a weekly podcast available for all VIP members.