{"id":180936,"date":"2024-07-02T11:34:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=180936"},"modified":"2024-07-02T11:34:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:34:15","slug":"aew-collision-hits-misses-6-29-tracking-how-many-promos-on-show-can-be-interrupted-the-latest-from-the-learning-tree-hangman-page-vignette-swerve-ospreay-weigh-in-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/07\/02\/aew-collision-hits-misses-6-29-tracking-how-many-promos-on-show-can-be-interrupted-the-latest-from-the-learning-tree-hangman-page-vignette-swerve-ospreay-weigh-in-more\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (6\/29): Tracking how many promos on show can be interrupted, the latest from The Learning Tree, Hangman Page vignette, Swerve-Ospreay weigh-in, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1183494910\" 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 \/>\nJUNE 29, 2024<br \/>\nBUFFALO, N.Y.<br \/>\nAIRED ON TNT<br \/>\nBY DAVID BRYANT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/h3>\n<p><em>Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuiness<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Hey! Welcome back to another edition of my AEW Collision Hits &amp; Misses column \u2014 the best place to find the worst takes!<\/p>\n<p>Given that I suffered multiple power outages while trying to write this Godforsaken column, I\u2019m going to skip the rest of my opening paragraph and jump straight into making immature comments about the show.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ORANGE CASSIDY &amp; TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. TMDK\u2019S SHANE HASTE &amp; ROBBIE EAGLES \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Orange Cassidy came out first, followed by Tomohiro Ishii. Shane Haste &amp; Robbie Eagles came out together, and Shane Haste wore his IWGP Tag Team Championship Belt around his waist, his Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship belt around his neck, and neither belts were ever fully explained.<\/p>\n<p>The match itself was fast-paced, and Eagles and Cassidy had great in-ring chemistry together. However, I have no idea if they have great out-of-ring chemistry together because this match felt like an exhibition match that was put on for no reason other than someone in the back thought it would be a good match (and to be fair, it was.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;HANGMAN&#8221; ADAM PAGE VIGNETTE \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A trailer for a horror movie about Johnny Cash\u2019s insecure ghost aired, and I\u2019m just now remembering that &#8220;Hangman&#8221; Adam Page is still under contract.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4287406187\" 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>Side Note: Has anyone heard from Miro lately?<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHRIS \u201cTHE LEARNING TREE\u201d JERICHO CONTINUES TO MEGA-HIT IT OUT OF THE BALLPARK \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hey guys!<\/p>\n<p>As the only living member of the human race who enjoys this gimmick, I believe it is incumbent upon me to share my favorite piece of Jericho-rrific wisdom I learned by not going to the bathroom during this segment:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time you go into the trainer\u2019s room, grab a roll of tape and put it in your bag. That way, you don\u2019t have to pay for it later.\u201d ~ Abraham \u201cThe Learning Tree\u201d Lincoln<\/p>\n<p><strong>STEPHANIE VAQUER VS. LADY FROST \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Vaquer came out first wearing her signature cosplay horns, and Lady Frost came out wearing a Siegfried &amp; Roy-inspired outfit designed by Tilda Swinton. Once both women were in the ring, Mercedes Mone came out looking like a more expensive version of Rose McGowan at the 1998 VMAs.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m actually excited for this match because I am excited to see Stephanie Vaquer wrestle in an AEW ring, but part of me wishes her first match could have been saved for the actual PPV. That said, I can understand why Tony Khan chose to have this match. He is in a sort of \u201close-lose situation\u201d here \u2014 booking this match means giving away Stephanie Vaquer\u2019s first bit of in-ring action in AEW for free, but not booking this match means she has to wrestle for an AEW crowd who is even less familiar with her body of work.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3716791891\" 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>The match itself was enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing Vaquer\u2019s more fulsome performance tomorrow night. Also, Lady Frost is growing on me, even if her character feels like an undefined parody of what people outside of wrestling think wrestling characters are supposed to be. (That problem could be easily remedied by giving Frost more time to better explain her character to AEW\u2019s viewers.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>MERCEDES MONE AND THE GREAT BEAT DOWN \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While I would have preferred a promo in place of this beatdown, I am happy to see AEW add a little more fuel to this feud\u2019s fire before it culminates at Forbidden Door.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A LUCHAS BROS. PROMO GETS INTERRUPTED \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There was nothing wrong with this segment (aside from Takahashi\u2019s acting,) but it felt \u201cflat\u201d and not at all like a promo that was airing the night before a major PPV.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SERENA DEEB VS. KELLY MADAN \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Serena Deeb came out wearing a bathrobe she borrowed from Ric Flair who borrowed it from a bird, and somehow, this was a good look for her. As for the match itself \u2014 it ended in about the same amount of time it took me to type this paragraph, so there\u2019s not much to say about it other than it accomplished its goal of making Deeb look both strong and powerful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DEEB CUTS A POST-MATCH PROMO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deeb acknowledged her recent loss to Toni Storm, and then she said, \u201cI refuse to be put into wrestling purgatory.\u201d (I\u2019m guessing she doesn\u2019t get along with Miro? Adam Page? Wardlow? Is Evil Uno still alive?) She then immediately followed that up by saying, \u201cBecause this is AEW!!!\u201d (The War and Peace of purgatory.) \u201cAnd this is where the best wrestle!!!\u201d (Sometimes more than once!) \u201cSo come on, AEW \u2014 give me some competition that is on the Professor\u2019s level!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite how excited I was to cover Abadon\u2019s return, Riho came out instead.<\/p>\n<p>(No complaints, though.)<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: Did you know AEW has 37 women on its roster page?<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHRIS JERICHO MAKES A SECOND APPEARANCE \u2014 MEGA HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hey guys!<\/p>\n<p>Multiple people have expressed utter disbelief that I can enjoy these Chris \u201cThe Learning Tree\u201d Jericho segments as much as I claim to enjoy them, and I have been asked to explain my reasoning. Because my reasoning is both sound and good, I have decided to sum it up in a single sentence: Chris Jericho is, unequivocally, beyond a shadow of a doubt \u2014 and I have no reservations about saying this \u2014 a wrestler who is 100 percent of everything that I have said about him in this sentence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cTHE LEARNING MOUNTAIN\u201d ATTACKS \u201cTHE LEARNING TREE\u201d \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hey guys!<\/p>\n<p>Chris \u201cThe Learning Tree\u201d Jericho explained to the audience that the Zamboni machine was invented by Frank Zamboni in 1949, but he neglected to mention that it was also based on a prototype Mr. Zamboni had previously abandoned in 1947 and that his 1949 remake was not patented until 1953. Even after he patented the Zamboni Machine, Frank Zamboni continued to make changes to the machine\u2019s design for over a decade. When you think about it, a lot of work and time went into creating that Steven Austin segment for which I assume the machine was invented.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, during this segment, Chris Jericho opened what looked like a janitor\u2019s closet, and Hook came out of the closet during Pride month.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: Hook also ripped off his shirt during the ensuing brawl, and I\u2019m assuming this was also for Pride month, and I appreciate his benevolence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AN ORANGE CASSIDY PROMO GETS INTERRUPTED \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Orange Cassidy cut a promo, and to the shock of everyone who tuned into professional wrestling for the first time tonight, he was interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: Did you know that Orange Cassidy is only three years younger than John Cena?<\/p>\n<p><strong>HECHICERO VS. KEVIN BLACKWOOD \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Looking like he was dressed for both a rave and a dungeon, Hechicero came out first, and to the shock of everyone who tuned into professional wrestling for the first time tonight, he obliterated the man who was already waiting for him in the ring.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHRISTIAN CAGE WINS THE WORLD BY EXISTING (WHILE BEING INTERRUPTED) \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With the proud glow of a man who\u2019d just helped a kitten get stuck in a tree, Christian Cage was killing it on the microphone (the promo, not the kitten. He killed the kitten earlier when he accidentally tied it to a train track.), but then, out of nowhere, Jay White interrupted the promo because professional wrestlers are contractually obligated to barge in on anyone who is caught talking in public.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: Jay White is incredible on the microphone.<\/p>\n<p>Second Side Note: Twinky McFacePubes is incredible at being hateable, even when he isn\u2019t talking, and that\u2019s saying something because I actually liked the little Harry Potter-looking reject before I found out he was the human equivalent of a White Claw made out of the carbonated tears of someone who recently ate a grapefruit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DANIEL GARCIA VS. THE BUTCHER \u2013 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There wasn\u2019t anything wrong with this match, but like most of the matches on this show, it felt superfluous.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A WILL OSPREAY PROMO GETS INTERRUPTED BECAUSE OF COURSE IT DID \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Will Ospreay got out about three sentences before he was interrupted by the A-list manager (and D-list comic book villain) Don Callis. However, in a second Shyamalanian plot twist, Don Callis was interrupted by the A-list hairdresser (and D-List comic book hero) Rush.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A JACK PERRY PROMO GETS INTERRUPTED \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jack Perry, a Tom Holland-quality twink who was recently bitten by a radioactive homeless man, started to cut a promo, but, via the insurmountable rules of professional wrestling, Perry was interrupted by Christopher Daniels. Daniels threw around his as-of-yet undefined authority and threatened to take Perry off tomorrow night\u2019s PPV if Perry didn\u2019t perform for him later.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DEONNA PURRAZZO VS. HIKARU SHIDA \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was a good (but not mind-blowingly good) match. However, it ultimately suffered from the same problem that many of AEW\u2019s matches suffer from \u2014 a failure to adequately advocate the magnitude of the stakes that are involved.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEFF JARRETT AIRS A PROMO HE PRETAPED SO IT COULDN\u2019T GET INTERRUPTED \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once again, Jeff Jarrett was one of the best things on this entire show. (Don\u2019t worry; I felt just as dirty typing that sentence as you felt reading it.) I hope we get to see a lot more of this \u201cserious\u201d side of Jeff Jarrett going forward, and (God, I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m about to type this), I really, really hope Jeff Jarrett wins his match on Dynamite.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TONI STORM CUTS A PROMO THAT WAS NOT INTERRUPTED! \u2014 HOLY SHIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Promos like this remind me of why I love professional wrestling.<\/p>\n<p>Toni Storm has taken on one of the most one-dimensional, off-the-beaten-path characters a wrestler could possibly choose to portray, and she has made that character one of the most compelling, intricate, and empathetic individuals in all of professional wrestling today. I am truly starting to believe that if Storm had been born in some far-off yesteryear, she would have been a star so undeniable that even Cecil B. DeMille would have bowed to kiss her glass-covered feet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LIO RUSH &amp; MARK BRISCOE &amp; DANTE MARTIN VS. JACK PERRY &amp; TAKESHITA &amp; PHANTASMO \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was an action-packed match that culminated in a daredevilish ladder-based stunt that served to hype the TNT ladder match tomorrow night. I don\u2019t normally enjoy cluster-matches, but this one worked because of the talent involved, because it served a valuable purpose, and because it may have secured a few extra buys for this weekend\u2019s PPV.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWERVE STRICKLAND AND WILL OSPREAY ARE ASKED TO DISCLOSE THEIR WEIGHT IN PUBLIC \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, I now know the exact size and shape of Will Ospreay\u2019s penis.<\/p>\n<p>On a more serious note, this was a clever way to end the show with a stare-down between two talented men who would, in just 24 hours\u2019 time, put on an insanely entertaining main event at Forbidden Door. AEW loves to end its go-home shows with high-profile stare-downs, but this time, they made an effort to have a damn good reason for it to happen. I give everyone involved in this segment an \u201cA for effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>FINAL THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was a better-than-average episode of AEW Collision, but it wasn\u2019t the \u201chomerun\u201d I would expect from a company that is about to put on one of their biggest PPV events of the year and ask their fans to pay $50 for it.<\/p>\n<p>Much like this show, this year\u2019s Forbidden Door has felt like an event that was more about the matches taking place than the storylines that led up to them; however, both things are required to put on a great show. Imagine if the creators of a blockbuster action film only did half of their jobs but still wanted you to pay the full price for a ticket? Would you really want to pay $15 to watch Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans do a table read? (I mean, sure, Chris Evans is nice to look at, but he\u2019s not that nice to look at.) (Hook, on the other hand\u2026)<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, I\u2019m not saying Forbidden Door isn\u2019t going to be a great show. In fact, thanks to a multitude of power outages, I am writing these \u201cfinal thoughts\u201d after Forbidden Door has already taken place, and it was indeed a very good show. All I\u2019m saying is that just because something is good doesn\u2019t mean it is as good as it can get. I can only imagine how tremendous Forbidden Door would have been if it had been brimming with storylines, and as good as my imagination is, the real thing would have been better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SHOW GRADE: B<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>DAVID\u2019S DODGY MATCH RECOMMENDATIONS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Match of the Night: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Lady Frost<\/li>\n<li>Second Best Match: Jack Perry &amp; Takeshita &amp; Phantasmo vs. Marc Briscoe &amp; Dante Martin &amp; Lio Rush<\/li>\n<li>Third Best Match: Daniel Garcia vs. The Butcher<\/li>\n<\/ul>\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, while outrage makes winning an argument easier, it also makes succeeding in an argument harder.<\/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 reverse Zamboni machine. The \u201cInobmaz\u201d is a machine that worsens the ice\u2019s surface because Hockey players enjoy watching figure skaters ruin our blades on practice ice. Less impressively, David studied screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"12 Minute Hot Take - What do AEW fans like about AEW?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EyK9UzP8I4A?start=419&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-765125795\"><div id=\"pwtor-3303868458\"><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 JUNE 29, 2024 BUFFALO, N.Y. AIRED ON TNT BY DAVID BRYANT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuiness &#8211; Hey! Welcome back to another edition of my AEW Collision <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/07\/02\/aew-collision-hits-misses-6-29-tracking-how-many-promos-on-show-can-be-interrupted-the-latest-from-the-learning-tree-hangman-page-vignette-swerve-ospreay-weigh-in-more\/\" title=\"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (6\/29): Tracking how many promos on show can be interrupted, the latest from The Learning Tree, Hangman Page vignette, Swerve-Ospreay weigh-in, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":180937,"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-180936","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\/07\/Screenshot-2024-07-02-at-11.33.39\u202fAM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180936","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=180936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180938,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180936\/revisions\/180938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}