AEW COLLISION HITS & MISSES (9/5): Andrade defends against Gabe Kidd, Motor City Machine Guns make their tag debut, Nick Wayne-Jericho heats up, more

To help add context, my “Hits” are ordered from best to worst. With that said, let’s move into the high points of this week’s episode.

HITS

ANDRADE’S PUSH

I continue to enjoy what AEW is doing with Andrade. His match with Gabe Kidd was good, but more importantly, the push still feels like it’s working. Andrade continues to stack up wins as National Champion, and the title has given him a clear direction every week.

Sometimes it really can be that simple. Andrade feels important right now, and each week AEW continues to give you another reason to take his title reign seriously.

NICK WAYNE

AEW continues to feature Nick Wayne, and I think that investment is paying off. His match with Komander was another solid showcase for him, but what interested me more was what happened afterward with Chris Jericho.

Jericho hitting Wayne with the Judas Effect continued their issue and made me more interested in where this feud is going. Wayne continues to get opportunities to work with established names, and a program with Jericho feels like another chance to move him further up the card.

PERSEPHONE’S PRESENTATION WITH BRITT BAKER

Persephone has always had a swagger about her that projects extremely well on television. There’s a confidence in the way she carries herself that makes her stand out, and I thought this episode continued to showcase that.

Pairing her with Britt Baker also caught my attention. The fact that AEW is willing to put Persephone alongside someone as established as Baker makes me think they could be looking at her as a long-term piece of the women’s division. Britt adds something to Persephone’s presentation without taking away what already makes Persephone stand out.

For someone still establishing herself with the AEW audience, this felt like another encouraging step in her presentation.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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MISSES

LACK OF MEANINGFUL PROMO TIME

One of my bigger issues with this episode was the lack of meaningful promo time, especially for Hangman Page. Coming out of All In and losing the Trios Titles, I wanted to hear more about where Hangman goes from here. This felt like a missed opportunity to continue telling that story.

Hangman and Brodido were featured in a quick win, but I wanted more than that. Give Hangman a few minutes to explain where his head is at and what comes next. With a character that has been defined by his journey as much as his matches, this show could have used more of that.

FINAL SCORE

• HITS: 3
• MISSES: 1

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was an extremely skippable episode of Collision. There were things I enjoyed, especially Andrade continuing to build momentum, Nick Wayne getting another meaningful spotlight, and the presentation of Persephone. But as a complete two-hour show, this felt more like an episode of Rampage than Collision.

Coming out of Wednesday’s Dynamite, I was hoping Collision would bring a little more energy to the week. Instead, it carried a lot of the same flat feeling. The wrestling itself was perfectly fine, and Andrade vs. Gabe Kidd was the highlight for me, but this was one of those episodes where if you missed it, I don’t think you missed very much.

WRESTLING HISTORY

On this day in 2020, AEW held All Out at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville Florida. Jon Moxley defeated MJF in the main event to retain the AEW World Championship. The show also featured Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy in the Mimosa Mayhem match and Britt Baker vs. Big Swole in the Tooth and Nail match.