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AEW COLLISION REPORT
MARCH 7, 2026
TUCSON, ARIZ. AT TUCSON ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TNT & HBO MAX
REPORT BY JOSHUA WHITE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Tony Schiavone & Excalibur & Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcer: Arkady Aura
Attendance: WrestleTix reported 3,101 tickets distributed and was set up for 3,520. The arena has a capacity of 8,962 spectators when configured for concerts.
[HOUR ONE]
-The AEW Collision theme played in the arena as Schiavone welcomed everyone to the show and tossed it to Justin Roberts.
(1) FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler w/Stokely) vs. THE RASCALZ (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz w/Myrone Reed) – AEW World Tag Team Championship match
Justin Roberts announced that the opening match would be for the tag titles. The Rascalz made their entrance as they showed a replay of the chaotic eight-man tag match from Dynamite last week. FTR’s music played and they made their way to the ring, with Stokely still in a wheelchair. The bell rang to start the match four minutes into the show with Cash and Wentz.
Wentz took Cash down with an armdrag. Cash forced Wentz into the orner and made the tag to Dax. The crowd chanted “bald” as Dax took Wentz down with a headlock takedown. Dax hit a shoulder block and a hiptoss. Dax forced Wentz into the corner and took a cheap shot when the ref back him up. Wentz came back with a hard slap causing Dax to roll out of the ring so Cash could check on his teeth.
Xavier tagged in and Dax forced him into the corner with a shot to the gut, a chop, and a European uppercut. Xavier fought his way out with right hands but charged into a back elbow from Dax. Dax shoved Xavier through the ropes. Dax drew Wentz into the ring, distracting the ref so Stokely could choke Xavier with a cable on the outside. Dax and Cash joined in, but Xavier fought back and Wentz sprinted across the ring, jumped over the top rope and took out Dax and Cash with a spinning crossbody to the outside.
They brawled on the outside before sliding Dax into the ring and going for the pin, getting a two count. Wentz tagged in and hit Dax with a double stomp to Dax’s arm while Xavier held him. Wentz made the cover, but Dax kicked out at two. Wentz fought Dax into the corner and delivered an atomic drop, but Cash made a blind tag. Dax rolled out of the ring and Wentz chased him around until Cash caught him with a clothesline on the outside as they went to break. [c]
Back from break, Wentz countered a suplex for a rollup that got a two count. Cash entered and Wentz hit him with an enziguri. Wentz dodged Casha dn rolled between Dax’s leg to get the tat to Xavier. Xavier entered and delivered a flurry of strikes to Dax and Cash before hitting Dax with a cutter. Xavier took Cash down with a snapmare and low dropkick to the back of the neck.
Dax fired back with a punch-chop-punch combo that dropped Xavier. Xavier went for a sunset flip on Dax, but Cash held his partner up. However, Wentz took Cash down with a sunset flip, allowing Xavier to complete his sunset flip for a nearfall. Dax and Cash both rolled to ringside and Wentz and Xavier hit them with stereo suicide dives knocking Dax and Cash into the announce desk.
The crowd chanted, “Let’s go, Rascalz” as they rolled Dax into the ring and Xavier connected with a frog splash from the top rope. Wentz followed up with a swanton bomb and hooked the leg, but Dax kicked out at two. Wentz set Dax up on the top turnbuckle, but Dax slipped between his legs and dropped him across the top rope. Cash hit a suicide dive on Xavier on the outside as Dax hit Wentz with a back superplex. Dax made the cover, but Wentz kicked out at two.
Wentz and Dax traded blows in the center of the ring with the “boo” and “yeah” reactions with Wentz getting a flurry of open hand chops until Dax went for a backslide. Wentz reversed it into a pin of his own for a close two-count. Cash charged in and Wentz caught him with a back body drop.
Xavier tagged in and he and Wentz nailed Dax with a combination German suplex and superkick. Xavier made the cover, but Dax kicked out yet again. They went for the Hot Fire Flame, but Dax got his knees up and Wentz crashed hard. FTR set Wentz up for a BTE trigger and delivered a weak version of the Bucks’ finish. Dax set Wentz up for a tombstone as Cash went to the apron, setting up for a TK Driver, but Wentz grabbed Cash’s foot allowing Wentz to rolled Dax up for another two-count.
Wentz hit a flurry of strikes on Dax and then did a handspring into the ropes. We’ll never know what he was going for, because Dax caught him and popped him up as Cash slid in and they nailed Wentz with the Shatter Machine. Dax made the cover and got the win.
WINNERS: FTR in 15:00
(White’s Take: The clash of styles between FTR and The Rascalz has already yielded two very enjoyable match-ups in the Rascalz short time on the roster. Despite their eye-rolling schtick, they continue to excel in the ring. I’d very much like to see The Rascalz and FTR in a tag title match in the future where the outcome isn’t so obvious, preferably on PPV).
As FTR left the ring, Mark Briscoe’s music played. Mark, on his way to join the commentary team gave the FTR a high five as they went to commercial. [c]
-Back from break, Shibata was filming Hook in the backstage area. Bowens showed up to tell Hook that he can be a killer. Hook told Bowens to take the camera from Shibata. Bowens held the camera as Hook and Shibata approached a random guy backstage. They asked if wrestled, to which he responded “yes.” They asked if he wanted to join the Opps, to which he also said “yes” before Hook unceremoniously choked the guy out. Hook told Bowens to follow them as they cut back to the arena.
(2) DANIEL GARCIA vs. TOMMASO CIAMPA
The unfamiliar variant of The Death Riders’ theme played, and the camera found Daniel Garcia in the back. He made his way through the crowd and to the ring. The lights went down heralding the still-impressive entrance of Tommaso Ciampa to a strong crowd reaction. The bell rang to start the match 27 minutes into the hour with the crowd chanting “psycho killer.”
Ciampa took Garcia to the mat as Briscoe said he gives the edge to Ciampa in the match. Garcia escaped a wristlock with a series of rolls and then gave Ciampa a shove. Ciampa came back with a boot to the face and a running chop in the corner. Ciampa whipped Garcia across the ring and followed in with another chop before delivering the ten-count punches to the head, mocking Garcia’s dance in the process.
Garcia charged Ciampa rocked him with a forearm followed by a neckbreaker. Garcia rolled to the apron and caught Ciampa with a dragon screw in the ropes. Garcia dragged Ciampa by the leg into the ringpost before slamming his knee against the post. Garcia flexed on the floor as they went to commercial. [c]
They returned from commercial as Garcia lifted Ciampa into a headlock hanging from the top rope. Garcia let go before the five count. Garcia leapt off, but Ciampa caught him with a jumping knee in midair that left both men down. Back to their feet, Ciampa landed a few chops and took Garcia down with a big clothesline.
Ciampa tossed Garcia to the apron and hit a running knee. Garcia fell to the floor and leaned on the commentary desk. Ciampa followed him out and rammed Garcia face-first into the desk repeatedly. Ciampa rolled Garcia into the ring where Garcia landed a boot to the knee before charging into a back elbow. Garcia grabbed Ciampa by the leg and they traded chops before Garcia took Ciampa down with dragon screw.
Garcia locked in a deep single leg crab. Ciampa foot back with some kicks, but Garcia transitioned into an STF. Ciampa struggled and eventually bit Garcia’s hand to break the hold. Garcia hit Ciampa with a shotgun dropkick that knocked Ciampa into the corner. Garcia delivered the ten-count punches, but he paused to tease his dance, allowing Ciampa to lift Garcia up into a powerbomb into a backstabber (aka Projetc Ciampa). Ciampa made the cover, but Garcia kicked out at two.
Garcia rolled to the outside where he had an exchange with Mark Brriscoe. Briscoe hopped up on the apron and Garcia shoved Ciampa into him. Ciampa and Briscoe’s heads collided and Garcia caught Ciampa with a jackknife cover and got the surprise three-count.
WINNER: Daniel Garcia in 11:00
After the match, Briscoe offered a handshake, but Ciampa slapped it away. As Briscoe walked up the ramp. FTR came down along with Stokely. Dax and Cash stepped up to Ciampa, but Briscoe slid into the ring to even up the odds. They exchanged words and Ciampa and Briscoe headed up the ramp. As they got to the top of the ramp, Ciampa suddenly rammed Briscoe into the screen on the stage. Ciampa punched away at Briscoe before lowering his knee pad and drilling Briscoe with the running knee. Ciampa used Briscoe’s signature bandana to wipe his backside as Dax clapped for him.
(White’s Take: On paper, the idea of Daniel Garcia pinning Tommaso Ciampa is ridiculous. In practice, it’s still ridiculous, even though they somewhat protected him with Briscoe getting involved. The match was, as expected, quite good. Ciampa wrestles a combination of smooth and crisp while Garcia is no slouch between the ropes. Ciampa turning on Briscoe afterwards was unexpected, but fitting. They seemed to imply that Ciampa is now aligned with FTR, but I didn’t get that from this segment.)
-They threw to a video highlighting the meeting of Takeshita and Claudio fighting to a draw in the Continental Classic.
(3) SWERVE STRICKLAND (w/Prince Nana) vs. GRAVITY
Swerve’s music played and he and Nana made their way to the ring as Gravity waited in the ring. They showed a replay of Swerve attacking Brody on Dynamite. The bell rang to start the match 44 minutes into the hour.
Swerve took Gravity down with a fireman’s carry and a kick to the back. Gravity dodged a few back elbows but Swerve caught him with a hotshot to the top rope and then dropped him with a running boot. Swerve stalked Gravity but charged into a back eblow in the corner.
Gravity caught Swerve with an armdrag from the top rope, but Swerve pulled Gravity into a chop that dropped him. Gravity took swerve down and delivered a kick to the back that seemed to irritate Swerve more than anything. Gravity did his moonwalk pose and rolled Swerve up for a two count.
Gravity tossed Swerve to the outside and set up for a dive, but Swerve met him on the apron. Gravity slid under and went for a powerbomb, but Swerve blocked it and double stomped Gravity into the apron. Swerve continued the attack outside of the ring and pulled Gravity up the stairs by his mask before ramming his head repeatedly into the turnbuckle.
Swerve tossed Gravity into the ring and slowly climbed up to the top rope. He looked around before hit Gravity with the Swerve Stomp. Swerve didn’t pin him, instead walking around until Gravity got to his knees. Swerve blasted him with the House Call and then made the cover for the win.
WINNMER: Swerve Strickland in 4:00
(White’s Take: Basically a squash with Swerve stalking around the ring with menace and handily beating his future opponent’s tag team partner’s brother. Despite a brief “whose house” chant, Swerve gave the crowd no reason to cheer, aside from being a bad ass killer in the ring.)
-After Dynamite, Statlander was sitting in a stairwell, saying she’ll only speak when she needs to. She said she needs to now, and addressed Thekla. She said they’ve both beaten the other once, but its’ not enough. She challenged Thekla to a two out of three falls match, telling her that her killing is coming, twice. [c]
(White’s Take: This was a rollercoaster. When she said she’s only speaking when needs to going forward, I rejoiced at the possibility of not having to endure another lifeless, awkward Statlander promo. But she pulled the rug out from under me when she said she needs to speak now. As much as mocking Kris Statlander’s promos is a favorite pastime of mine, what followed was a short, to the point, perfectly fine promo delivered surprisingly well. Sure, she did say she was going to kill Thekla twice, but otherwise it wasn’t bad.)
They returned from the commercial as Thekla’s music played. She came out on the stage with a microphone yelling “no, absolutely not.” She said the challenger doesn’t decide what the match is. Thekla said she’s not doing a two out of three falls match, and if Stat doesn’t like it, she can kiss her toxic ass. The crowd tried to get a “toxic ass” chant going before resorting to “what” chants. Thekla said Statlander is wearing sunglasses now because she can’t look at her. Thekla said Thunder Rosa should’ve listened to Statlander, ‘cause she sent her back to the graveyards of Tiajuana. She told Statlander to quit while she’s alive because “everything you’re afraid of, is everything I am.”
(White’s Take: Another rollercoaster of a promo. Thekla at least speaks with confidence, although the content here was, at best, scattered. She managed to force “toxic” into a sentence before the crowd started with the “what” chants. While that’s always annoying, at least it was aimed at a heel in this instance and felt somewhat valid as the middle part of the promo was rocky. The final line, I thought, was quite good and she delivered it well to end things on a high note.)
-Renee was on the street talking with Moxley. Moxley said you need guys like Takeshita. He’s aware Takeshita could beat him, but he’s not going to. Schiavone said the rest of the interview is on YouTube.
(4) LFI (Dralistico & Rush) vs. THE SWIRL (Blake Christian & Lee Johnson) vs. PRIVATE PARTY (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) vs. THE OUTRUNNERS (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum w/Dalton Castle) – $200,000 match
Dralistico and Rush made their entrance for the money match. The Swirl entered as Schiavone mentioned that they’ve been won seven straight matches on ROH. Private Party were out next calling for “shots” on their way to the ring. The Outrunners made their eighties entrance with Dalton Castle. The bell ang to start at the top of the second hour with Truth and Blake.
[HOUR TWO]
Johnson and Kassidy both tagged in and then Dralistico tagged in and ran into Kassidy once and then dropped him with a. shoulder block. Dralistico tossed Kassidy to ringside where Rush rammed him into the barricade. Quen tried to intervene, but Rush rammed him into the barricade as well.
But in the ring, Dralistico, Johnson, Blake, and Rush all charged Kassidy in the corner and then hit him with a four-way dropkick. LFI and The Swirl seemed to agree to a truce, but LFI immediately broke it. Johnson charged Rush and pinned him in the corner with shoulders to the gut. Johnson set Rush onto the top as Blake joined in. Rush fought them off and Dralistico took Blake down with a springboard hurricanrana off the ropes. Rush lifted Johnson up and slammed him down face first onto the mat as they went to commercial. [c]
Back from break, Kassidy caught Blake with a backdrop and tagged in one of The Outrunners. Both entered and cleaned house, delivering bodyslams to the other six participants. Floyd set Blake up on the top turnbuckle and superplex him out of the ring onto the rest of the guys at ringside.
Back in the ring, The Outrunners set up for their double elbow drop, but Rush and Dralistico broke it up. Kassidy took Rush down with an enziguri and dropped Dralistico onto the apron where he hit him with a stunner in the ropes. Kassidy fought Dralistico on the apron where they traded chops. Dralistico took Kassidy down with a hurricanrana off of the apron to the floor.
Quen charged in but met a boot from Dralistico followed by a German suplex from Rush. Dralistico followed up with a leaping lungblower from the middle rope on Quen. Dralistico dove to the outside onto Blake and Christian. Floyd hit Rush with a clothesline and they set up their manly handshake again only to be broken up by Johnson and Blake. The Swirl mocked the flex, but Kassidy and Quen got involved.
Blake knocked Kassidy to ringside while Johnson hit Quen with a reverse hurricanrana. Blake hopped onto the top rope and stood on Johnson’s shoulder before jumping off into a Canadian destroyer on Quen. Johnson made the cover, but Kassidy made it in just in time to break up the pin.
Kassidy hit a back elbow on Blake and a boot to Johnson. Kassidy hopped onto the top roep and Blake leapfrogged his partner into a hurricanrana attempt. Kassidy blocked it, tossed Blake to the mat and hit Johnson with a Canadian destroyer from the middle rope. Kassidy and Queen hit a neckbreaker and double stomp combination on Blake. Quen lifted Johnson onto his shoulders as Kassidy climbed onto the top rope. Kassidy came off and caught Johnson with what amounts to a doomsday cutter. Kassidy made the cover and got the win.
WINNERS: Private Party in 12:00
(White’s Take: This was the classic AEW party-style match. A lot going on, maximum athleticism on display with a mix of impressive, unique, and contrived spots. For people who enjoy that type of thing, this totally delivered. For those that are over it, there was still nothing too egregious to warrant hate. As for people like me, I enjoyed it for what it was.)
-They showed a replay of MJF assisting the Don Callis Family in their trios title win on Dynamite.
-Lexy Nair was backstage with JetSpeed. She said they had a rough week. Kevin said Wednesday was the hardest nights of his career, losing the title match and then the trios titles. Bailey said the team lost, and Hangman made it their defense complicated. Bailey was excited to team with Mistico in their rematch. Bailey went on to say he has what it takes to beat Kyle Fletcher, threatening to take his “pretty pink championship.” Swerve appeared and advised Lexy to leave. Swerve asked why Knight couldn’t get the job done before telling him why. Swerve told Knight that if he wanted to compete with killers, he must become a killer. [c]
-They returned from commercial with Renee talking to The Babes of Wrath backstage earlier in the day. She didn’t get in much of an interview before Lena Kross and Megan Bayne charged in, attacking both Harley and Willow. They set Harley up for a double chokeslam, but Willow broke it up. Willow got a superkick from Kross for her trouble and Bayne proceeded to slam Harley into a production case.
(5) MEGAN BAYNE & LENA KROSS vs. THE TIMELESS LOVEBOMBS (Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa w/Luther)
Lena Kross and Megan Bayne entered as a team in matching gear. Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa danced their way to the ring flanked by Luther. The bell rang to start the match with Mina and Bayne 22 minutes into the second hour.
Bayne forded Mina into the ropes and went for a cheapshot on the break up, but Mina dodged it. Bayne dropped Mina with a big running shoulder block and dragged Mina to her corner to tag in Kross. Toni charged in to break up a double team attempt, but Toni and Marina ran into simultaneous fallaway slams. Bayne and Kross posed as Toni rolled out of the ring.
Kross hit Mina with a forearm and rammed her into the corner. Kross hit a flurry of kicks and then planted Mina with a spinning (and spinning) sideslam. Kross made the over, but Mina kicked out at two. Bayne tagged in and hit Mina with shoulder thrusts int eh corner capped off with a chop. Mina fought out of a German suplex with back elbows and ducked a boot to roll other corner and tag in Toni.
Toni charged in and hit Bayne with a shotgun dropkick followed by three snapmares and a low dropkick. Toni made the cover, but Bayne kicked out at two. Toni sidestepped Bayne in the ropes, sending her to the outside. Kross charged also, and Toni pulled down the top rope, sending Kross tumbling to the outside. Toni assisted Mina to the top rope and sent her flying to the outside with a crossbody onto Kross and Bayne.
Mina set Bayne up on the apron as Toni charged in with a hip attack, but Bayne dodged it. Kross lifted Toni up into an electric chair and dropped Toni face first into the apron. Luther checked on Toni as Bayne hit the opposite ropes and nailed Toni and Luther with a dive through the ropes as they went to commercial. [c]
Back from commercial, Toni fought out of the corner and rolled to tag in Mina. Mina hit a flurry of strikes on Bayne. Bayne reversed a whip into the corner, and Mina dodged Bayne as she charged in. Mina slipped to the apron and then stepped through into a kick on Bayne. Kross blindsided Mina with a forearm, but Mina came back with a swinging ropes-assisted DDT.
Mina hit the ropes and took Bayne down with a spinning headscissor. Mina climbed to the middle rope and caught Bayne with a shotgun dropkick. Toni tagged in, and lifted Mina up into a tornillo splash onto Bayne. Toni made the cover, but Bayne kicked out at two. Bayne caught Toni and Mina and slammed them both with a combination fallaway slam and Samoan drop.
Bayne climbed to the top rope, but Mina met her there. Toni and Mina set up for a double superplex, and Kross slipped in underneath them in a powerbomb, slamming down all three women. Toni and Bayne got to their feet trading strikes in the center of the ring. Bayne got the better of it, but Toni came back with a. headbutt. Kross dropped Toni with a blindside thrust kick and then Mina took Kross down before Bayne dropped Mina with a lariat.
Toni drilled Bayne with a DDT. Bayne rolled to the corner and Toni hit her with a hip attack. Mina got the tag and Toni held Bayne in place some Mina could hit her with a slingblade from the top rope. Mina made the cover, but Bayne kicked out at two. Mina took Bayne’s leg and locked in a figure four. Bayne struggled and managed to roll over to reverse the hold. Toni ran in and rolled her back. Kross subsequently came in and rolled them back itno place. Then Toni came in to re-re-reverse it. Kross entered and finally broke the hold with a senton onto Mina.
As Mina crawled to make the tag, Marina Shafir appeared out of nowhere, dragging Toni off of the apron. Marina locked in the Mother’s Milk and rolled under the ring with Toni as Bayne distracted the referee. A confused Mina wandered into a jackhammer from Kross. Kross hooked the leg and picked up the victory.
WINNER: Megan Bayne & Lena Kross in 13:00
(White’s Take: Fun match, although not perfect by any stretch. I don’t know much about Lena Kross, but she actually stands taller than Bayne and looks to be a good replacement for Penelope. Bayne and Kross would make believable challengers for the women’s tag titles in the near future. Toni, meanwhile, looks to be branching off to deal with Marina Shafir.)
-Mark Briscoe was backstage and said something has been off with Ciampa since his arrival. Briscoe said, after he attacked him, that’s the Ciampa he remembered. Briscoe said “shame on me” for not trusting his instincts and letting his guard down. He said shame on Ciampa for attacking him from behind like a coward and aligning with FTR (did he?). Briscoe said he doesn’t know how to make it mathematically, but he’s talked with his brothers, challenging FTR and Ciampa to a trios match against Briscoe and The Young Bucks.
(6) THE DOGS (Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors & David Finlay) vs. COSMO ORION & GMO KAMINARI & JADEN MONROE
Schiavone said it was time for our standby match and Gabe Kidd entered alongside Clark Connors and David Finlay. Their opponents were already in the ring and didn’t even get a chyron with their name. The bell rang to start the match 38 minutes into the second hour.
Finlay stared down his opponents, but Kidd charged in and knocked Cosmo and GMO off the apron. Connors hit a spear on Jaden in the ring. Finlay tossed Cosmo across the ring and hit powerslam on GMO before Kidd blasted Jaden with a rebound clothesline. Kidd planted Jaden with a Gotch-style piledriver and then handed then handed him over to Finlay. Finlay lifted Jaden up into vertical suplex position and dropped him down into a knee to the face; a move Finlay calls The Overkill. Finlay made the cover and got the win.
WINNERS: The Dogs in 2:00
-After the match, they stacked the goodies of their fallen opponents in the center of the ring and posed. [c]
-They returned from commercial as Tonin Storm emerged from the back on microphone, screaming “enough.” Toni called out Marina and challenged her to a match with everyone banned from ringside. Toni said, after that, she wants her world championship back. She signed off with an intense “chin up, tits out, and I’ll see you, and only you, at Revolution.”
-They showed highlights of Persephone beating Mercedes to win the CMLL women’s title. Persephone will get a future TBS title shot at Willow.
(7) CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI (w/Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir) vs. KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
The Death Riders’ music hit and the camera showed up backstage with Claudio in his lucha mask. He slapped hands with his teammates and the whole group marched through the backstage area before Moxley and Marina continued with him through the crowd to the ring. Takeshita’s music played and he made his way to the ring as Moxley sat in on commentary. The bell rang to start the match 50 minutes into the second hour.
Claudio took Takeshita to the mat with a wristlock. Takeshita took Claudio’s legs out from under him and grabbed a leglock before transitioning into a headlock. Claudio rolled into a quick pin for a one count. Takeshita forced Claudio into the corner, and Claudio hit him with cheap shot on the break.
Takeshita reversed a whip into the corner and followed in with a running boot. Takeshita climbed up and delivered a series of punches, but Claudio lifted him up and dropped Takeshita face-first onto the top turnbuckle. Claudio stomped Takeshita down in the corner. Claudio lifted Takeshita up into a headlock. Takeshita shot Claudio off of the ropes and landed a single leg dropkick.
Claudio rolled to the apron, grabbed Takeshita’s arm and snapped it across the top rope. Claudio went for a shoulder block, but Takeshita absorbed it. They went back and forth with neither man budging until Claudio clawed at Takeshita’s eyes. Schiavone agreed with Moxley that the cheap heel move was smart, and it allowed Claudio to finally take Takeshita down with the running shoulder block.
Claudio whipped Takeshita into the corner and charged into a back elbow and then a big boot. Takeshita jumped from the middle rope and caught Claudio with a hurricanrana. Takeshita rammed Claudio into the top turnbuckle and took him to the neighboring turnbuckle and repeated it. Takeshita locked eyes with Moxley which allowed Claudio to ram Takeshita’s arm across the turnbuckle. Claudio wrapped Takeshita’s arm in the turnbuckle and wrenched it as they went to commercial. [c]
Back from break, Takeshita elbowed his way out of a headlock, but Claudio hit him with a combination of right hands. Claudio hit the ropes and ran into a kick. Takeshita went for a suplex, but Claudio reversed it, took Takeshita down and locked in a short arm scissor. Takeshita escaped by rolling Claudio into a pin for a one count. Claudio went for the springboard uppercut, but Takeshita caught him in midair with a hard forearm.
Takeshita hit the ropes, ducked a pair of clotheslines and took Claudio down with a. flying clothesline. Takeshita followed up with an exploder suplex. The crowd chanted “Takeshita” as he lined up a running knee. Takeshita charged, but Claudio caught his knee, swept his legs out and spun Takeshita into the giant swing. Claudio only delivered a few spins before transitioning into a modified step-over toe hold and armlock.
Takeshita managed to escape, but Claudio took Takeshita’s hurt arm and rammed it repeatedly with his shoulder. Takeshita tried to escape with a few forearms and eventually pulled Claudio into a blue thunder bomb. Takeshita held on for the pin, but Claudio kicked out at two. Takeshita rocked Claudio with a discus forearm smash. Claudio came back out of nowhere with a pop-up into the very European uppercut. Claudio fell into the cover, but Takeshita kicked out at two.
The crowd chanted “this is awesome” as Claudio rolled out of the ring and retrieved a chair. Claudio tossed it into the ring and grabbed a second chair. Claudio argued with the ref. As the referee went to clear out the chairs, Claudio grabbed his CMLL title. Hechicero appeared at ringside and took the title from Claudio. As Claudio argued with Hechicero, Takeshita hit Claudio with a. flipping dive to the outside. Takeshita rolled Claudio into the ring and drilled him with the running knee. Takeshita made the cover, but Claudio kicked out at two.
As Claudio tried to get to his feet, Takeshita pulled his kneepad down and lined up a second knee. As Takeshita charged, Claudio sprung to his feet and caught Takeshita with an uppercut. Claudio threw Takeshita to the mat by the arm and went for Neutralizer, but Takeshita escaped. Claudio held onto Takeshita’s wrist and hammered at his arm until Takeshita drilled Claudio with an elbow shot.
Claudio came back with a flurry of uppercuts the stunned Takeshita. Claudio set Takeshita up for the Ricola bomb, but Takeshita rolled into a hurricanrana into a pin. Claudio rolled through, but so did Takeshita, getting to his feet, hitting the ropes, and drilling Claudio with the expose knee. Takeshita wasted no time in lifting Claudio up and delivering the Raging Fire. Takeshita held on for the pin and got the win.
WINNER: Konosuke Takeshita in 15:00
(White’s Take: A rock-solid main event a one might expect between these two. Their draw in the Continental Classic was a good match, I’d say this one was better, even though it was five minutes shorter. It seemed pretty obvious that Takeshita would win, but the action still delivered on every level. If you see one match from Collision, this is the one.)
-Takeshita slid out of the ring and got in Moxley’s face, gesturing to the Continental title. Hechicero blindsided Moxley and went to further attack him until Takeshita pulled him back, telling him he doesn’t need it. Moxley came back and brawled with Takeshita and Hechicero. Claudio joined in and the continued to fight around the ring. Officials tried to break it up but failed as they went off the air.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The streak of good Collisions continues. We got a collection of good matches (and a few squashes for good measure) along with some movement in a few storylines setting up matches for Dynamite and Revolution. The opener and main event were the standout matches, but, with the exception of Ciampa’s loss, everything else was also good and contributed to an enjoyable two hours of wrestling that flowed nicely from beginning to end.
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