{"id":178793,"date":"2024-05-22T13:42:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T18:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=178793"},"modified":"2024-05-22T13:42:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T18:42:00","slug":"aew-collision-hits-misses-5-18-christian-nick-wayne-promo-ftr-danielson-vs-the-righteous-archer-ospreay-vs-taylor-jericho-promo-hook-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/05\/22\/aew-collision-hits-misses-5-18-christian-nick-wayne-promo-ftr-danielson-vs-the-righteous-archer-ospreay-vs-taylor-jericho-promo-hook-more\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (5\/18): Christian &#038; Nick Wayne promo, FTR &#038; Danielson vs. The Righteous &#038; Archer, Ospreay vs. Taylor, Jericho promo, Hook, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1866165421\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>AEW COLLISION &#8211; HITS &amp; MISSES<br \/>\nMAY 18, 2024<br \/>\nPORTLAND, ORE.<br \/>\nAIRED LIVE ON TNTBY DAVID BRYANT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/h3>\n<p><em>Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuiness<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CHECK OUT THE LATEST EPISODE OF OUR AEW-DEDICATED WEEKLY PODCAST, &#8220;ALL ELITE CONVERSATION CLUB&#8221; in the PWTorch Dailycast line-up (or search &#8220;pwtorch&#8221; in your podcast app to subscribe to the PWTorch Dailycast).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=60078852&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&#8211; Hey! Welcome back to another edition of my AEW Collision Hits &amp; Misses column. I just got back from an awesome out-of-state wedding, so I\u2019m a little behind on wrestling-related storylines, but since it&#8217;s AEW, I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NEW OPENING MONTAGE \u2014 HIT &amp; MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>WHY IT WAS A MISS: I have no idea if I\u2019m in the majority or not, but I\u2019ve been enjoying the \u201cElite\u201d takeover of AEW. Sadly, it looks like they have decided to forgo Elite-themed opening montages going forward.<\/p>\n<p>WHY IT WAS A HIT: It featured more footage of Hook than I had expected it to, and my opinions are cheaply bought.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WILL OSPREAY vs. SHANE TAYLOR \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Last week, I brought up how counterproductive it was to have Lee Moriarty look so strong against Will Ospreay just two weeks before Ospreay\u2019s match at Double or Nothing 2024. While I stand by that opinion, I also hoped this match would be of a decent length because I am a fan of Shane Taylor\u2019s in-ring work. Because of this, I am happy to see that AEW found a creative way (via interference by Roderick Strong, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven) to give this match a longer runtime without making Ospreay look weaker. On top of that, seeing Ospreay hit his Stormbreaker finisher on a man the size of Taylor was an impressive visual that more than makes up for the runtime!<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2248687247\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>FTR &amp; BRYAN DANIELSON CUT A POST-DYNAMITE PROMO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this segment, three of AEW\u2019s most outstanding wrestlers cut an outstanding promo. I just hope that their upcoming match at Double or Nothing is more cohesively presented and better filmed than last year\u2019s \u201cAnarchy in the Arena\u201d match. (A match with so many wrestlers and potential locations should be storyboarded in advance.) I also hope that Darby Allin doesn\u2019t do anything risky, unsafe, or typical of everything he\u2019s ever done in public and probably private.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI &amp; JON MOXLEY CUT A PROMO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During this stellar promo, Jon Moxley said, \u201cWe don\u2019t hunt because we\u2019re hungry; we hunt because we\u2019re lions.\u201d While lions do engage in surplus killing, it is almost always due to hunger-related survival instincts, drought, as a side effect of the lower brain activity often associated with feline domestication, or because they are killing the cubs of a lion they are replacing<\/p>\n<p>On a less relevant note, this promo was well executed. Moxley is both terrifying and insane, and I\u2019m not entirely sure it\u2019s an act. Claudio Castagnoli is also terrifying, cerebral, deliberate, and probably likes to watch whenever Moxley kills the cubs of lions he\u2019s replacing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHRIS JERICHO CUTS A POST-DYNAMITE PROMO \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Still bleeding from Hook\u2019s mic-shot-to-the-head, Chris Jericho was on the cusp of tears of joy for Hook and how well he is \u201clearning.\u201d Jericho said he was so very, very glad Hook hit him in the head and made him bleed. He then smiled through clenched teeth and, after the promo, mumbled something about how much pain he loved being in.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: How is anyone crapping on this new Chris Jericho gimmick? This whole \u201clearning tree\u201d thing is so hilariously hateable that I can\u2019t imagine anyone NOT wanting to see Hook beat the ever-loving crap out of Jericho! Personally, I\u2019d watch a 15-minute loop of Hook doing nothing but beat Jericho over the head with a microphone, the FTW Title belt, a kitchen sink, a bigger kitchen sink, and a copy of &#8220;The Giving Tree.&#8221;<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1125514896\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>SPEAKING OF HOOK BEATING PEOPLE UP \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hook beat the ever-loving crap out of Johnny TV, who, for some reason, made his entrance while wearing a coat made out of his wife\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SHIBATA vs. ROCKY ROMERO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a fairly straightforward (not a bad thing) match, Shibata defeated Romero to earn a shot at a shot at the FTW Title.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE IRON SAVAGES SCREAM A PROMO \u2014 MINOR-MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I had trouble understanding most of this promo due to its volume breaking my hearing aid, but I did catch the words \u201ctitty city,\u201d and, while I\u2019ve never cut a professional wrestling promo before, I know that can\u2019t be right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>BRYAN KEITH vs. BEAR BOULDER \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a fairly straightforward (not a bad thing) match, Bryan Keith defeated Bear Boulder to earn a shot at a shot at the FTW Title.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: Boy, it sure is nice to see how seriously AEW is taking its top title that is in no way affiliated with their company. I mean, after all, given how much Christian Cage went through to get his World Championship match against Swerve Strickland, it is only fair.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PAC CUTS A BACKSTAGE PROMO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This intense promo took place in front of the door to a sex dungeon in Pentagram City \u2014 a location I am frankly surprised Lexi Nair neither asked about nor tried to find the portal from which they came.<\/p>\n<p>Also in this promo, we learned that Pac has feathers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A RECAP OF THE WILLOW\/MERCEDES CONTRACT SIGNING AIRED \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s nice to see AEW treating their women\u2019s division with the pomp and circumstance it deserves. It is also nice to see a recap of what looked like the most murderous-looking table-involved powerbomb in AEW history. (Seriously, the way Mercedes fell limp upon impact had me wondering if something went horribly wrong for a second.) Bravo to both women for their execution of that particular segment (unless Mercedes Mone was supposed to be a face, in which case, something really did go horribly wrong.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE ATTENTION SPAN OF BOTH AEW\u2019S CAMERAMAN AND THEIR COMMENTATORS \u2014 MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bullet Club Gold made their entrance, complete with the cameraman fully encircling them, and yet, somehow, someway, with the obliviousness of a political tribalist, nobody noticed they were accompanied on stage by Pac\u2019s corpse until the camera zoomed out &#8211; and that is not how vision works.<\/p>\n<p><strong>BULLET CLUB GOLD CUTS A PROMO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jay White is fantastic on the mic, and it is not his fault that AEW hires people with only a transient grasp of sensory perception.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHRISTIAN CAGE AND NICK WAYNE CUT A PROMO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not surprising that Christian Cage was good here. Cage has been one of the best promos in AEW for quite a while. However, I was very surprised by how good Nick Wayne was. It is not easy to cut a promo about \u201cbecoming a man\u201d and achieving major goals on your own while still coming off like the contents of a colostomy bag if fecal matter could reach adolescence. However, Nick Wayne pulled that feat off perfectly, and from an acting standpoint, I am impressed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NICK WAYNE\u2019S FACE PUBES \u2014 MINOR-MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If Nick Wayne is going to play the \u201cson\u201d to Christian\u2019s \u201cdaddy,\u201d he needs to keep his face shaven so as to look the part. While I know that it is conventional wisdom for male wrestlers to try to look as masculine as possible, Wayne has managed to stumble into the one gimmick where that wisdom does not apply.<\/p>\n<p>That said, I\u2019m reticent to even mention this minor quibble because everything else about Wayne\u2019s appearance right now screams Saltburn-but-funnier, and he couldn\u2019t be doing this gimmick more right if it were his actual personality (and from having seen some of his work in GCW, I don\u2019t gather that it is).<\/p>\n<p><strong>ORANGE CASSIDY vs. ISIAH KASSIDY \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a battle of the C\/Kassidy\u2019s, Cassidy won.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: I love how much sense it made to have Orange Cassidy fight so hard and get so easily distracted by Trent Beretta doing nothing but stand in the audience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LEXI NAIR INTERVIEWS TRENT BERETTA AT RINGSIDE \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The heat Trent Beretta got during this promo was so overwhelming it was hard to hear what he was saying over the boos, but given how loud those boos were, he must have been saying something right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SERENA DEEB vs. ANNA JAY \u2014 MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was a pretty decent match, and I applaud Anna Jay\u2019s incessant refusal to remain bad at everything. In fact, if Jay keeps improving at this rate, she\u2019ll be on Deeb\u2019s level in a matter of only many years.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: All jokes aside, it is good to see Jay improving, and her improvements are notable and should be lauded. I hope she does not give up or become complacent because if she can master her craft in the ring, she could be unstoppable, given that she already has the look of a star.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LUTHER STEALS DEEB\u2019S FLAG \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Luther stole Serena Deeb\u2019s flag, and as one of only more than a dozen AEW stars with a flag for sale on AEW\u2019s website, Deeb was devastated at the possibility of having to spend five hours trying to remove canyon-deep creases from its poorly packaged replacement. (Why are AEW\u2019s flags shipped folded? Flags should be furled, right?)<\/p>\n<p>Toni Storm then used the flag as a privacy screen to undress behind, and once she was fully nude, she proceeded to wear it like a makeshift dress. When Serena Deeb chased after Storm, it apparently had never occurred to her all of the many, many ways this could go wrong.<\/p>\n<p><strong>VIDEO RECAP OF THE CHRISTIAN\/SWERVE ANGLE ON DYNAMITE \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Holy crap.<\/p>\n<p>That wasn\u2019t a blade job; that was a blade career.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NICK WAYNE vs. JACK CARTWHEEL \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This quick squash match is exactly what should have happened going into Nick Wayne\u2019s upcoming match against Swerve Strickland on Dynamite, and I\u2019m glad to see AEW make an effort to build Wayne as a worthy opponent so there is at least some level of suspense regarding whether or not he can weaken Strickland to the point of Christian Cage having the illusion of a smidgen of a chance of possibly beating him at Double or Nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: Given Wayne\u2019s previous wrestling style, it is impressive how seamlessly Wayne has transitioned into wrestling like a heel.<\/p>\n<p>Second Side Note: I hope Jack Cartwheel\u2019s arms, knees, and ribs are okay. That mid-match crash to the floor looked brutal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FTR &amp; BRIAN DANIELSON vs. THE RIGHTEOUS &amp; LANCE ARCHER \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>FTR and Bryan Danielson strive to never disappoint their fans, and this match was no different. However, even their best efforts (and they were very good efforts) were unable to overcome the unbearable suspense of whether or not three of AEW\u2019s biggest stars could overcome three of AEW\u2019s central casting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>POST-MATCH ANGLE \u2014 IN THE MIDDLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sure. Why not? That makes sense for AEW.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FINAL THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This show was better than last week, but it was great. Tonight\u2019s episode of AEW Collision felt very \u201cmid.\u201d Hopefully AEW will up the quality of next week\u2019s episode of Collision since it is technically their go-home show for one of their biggest PPVs of the year.<\/p>\n<p>SHOW GRADE: B-<\/p>\n<p><strong>DAVID\u2019S DODGY MATCH RECOMMENDATIONS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Match of the Night: SHIBATA vs. ROCKY ROMERO<\/p>\n<p>Second Best Match: FTR &amp; DANIELSON vs. THE RIGHTEOUS &amp; LANCE ARCHER<\/p>\n<p>Third Best Match: WILL OSPREAY vs. SHANE TAYLOR<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all for reading. I truly appreciate it. And as always, I\u2019m still working on my sign-off, but until next week, remember, \u201cblood is thicker than water,\u201d unless someone hits you over the head with a picture frame, in which case, \u201cblood is thinner than Ozempic-infused vapor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>(David Bryant\u2019s new bathroom-selfies can be found on his \u201cArtist Formerly Known as Twitter\u201d account @IamDavidBryant; a video of David Bryant being knocked unconscious by an exploding television set can be found on his Instagram account @IamDavidBryant, and David Bryant\u2019s Threads account is threadbare and also located @IamDavidBryant because David Bryant sucks at usernames. David is a published author, circus artist, drag promoter, male pageant winner, unrenowned musician, sloppy figure skater, and the inventor of the world\u2019s first silent alarm clock for those who prefer to wake up peacefully and in a panic. Less impressively, he studied screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.)<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-656810841\"><div id=\"pwtor-3628750845\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>AEW COLLISION &#8211; HITS &amp; MISSES MAY 18, 2024 PORTLAND, ORE. AIRED LIVE ON TNTBY DAVID BRYANT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuiness CHECK OUT THE LATEST EPISODE OF OUR AEW-DEDICATED WEEKLY PODCAST, &#8220;ALL <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/05\/22\/aew-collision-hits-misses-5-18-christian-nick-wayne-promo-ftr-danielson-vs-the-righteous-archer-ospreay-vs-taylor-jericho-promo-hook-more\/\" title=\"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (5\/18): Christian &#038; Nick Wayne promo, FTR &#038; Danielson vs. The Righteous &#038; Archer, Ospreay vs. Taylor, Jericho promo, Hook, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":178794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-22-at-12.35.42\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178796,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178793\/revisions\/178796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}