{"id":182391,"date":"2024-07-30T22:53:24","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T03:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=182391"},"modified":"2024-07-30T22:53:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T03:53:24","slug":"aew-collision-hits-misses-7-27-cassidy-vs-johnny-tv-ftr-vs-mxm-lance-archers-felonies-jericho-waving-with-broken-pinkie-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/07\/30\/aew-collision-hits-misses-7-27-cassidy-vs-johnny-tv-ftr-vs-mxm-lance-archers-felonies-jericho-waving-with-broken-pinkie-more\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (7\/27): Cassidy vs. Johnny TV, FTR vs. MxM, Lance Archer&#8217;s felonies, Jericho waving with broken pinkie, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4231772930\" 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 \/>\nJULY 27, 2024<br \/>\nARLINGTON, TEXAS<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>Before I start this column, I want to clarify that I am not an AEW hater. I am rooting for AEW, and I have been since the very beginning of the company. The people who felt last week\u2019s column was too harsh are justified in their opinions, but I want to assure them that I am not being \u201chard\u201d on AEW because I am an E-drone or in a \u201ccult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, to be honest, I haven\u2019t watched WWE in almost a month. (That isn\u2019t because I dislike WWE; they put on incredible shows. I have just been undertaking a fairly significant new project, as well as preparing to spend 90 days on the road, traveling through both the United States and Canada.) Anyway, because of the things mentioned in the parenthetical portion of this paragraph, I have had to triage my TV viewing time, and I have actively chosen to make time to watch AEW\u2019s programming. So, believe me when I tell you I am not a hater; I am merely honest.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway&#8230; Dynamite has been on a roll lately, and Collision has been on life support. So, here\u2019s hoping this week\u2019s show pulls through and leaves me as gleeful as when I first saw Jack Perry handcuffed to a cage and not as disheartened as when I realized the match was going to end because Darby Allin doesn\u2019t respect safe words.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ORANGE CASSIDY VS. JOHNNY TV \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Orange Cassidy came out first, accompanied by a volley of cheers, and Johnny TV came out second, accompanied by an Andy Warhol painting.<\/p>\n<p>The match itself was a well-paced, entertaining, and appropriately humorous spectacle. However, most of its build took place at Comic-Con, which is not an AEW television program, PPV, quarterly special, or nationally broadcast live entertainment event of any sort. I am open to being wrong here, but I do not see how that lends itself to expanding Collision\u2019s audience in any way, shape, or form.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2520164871\" 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: At one point during this match, Cassidy tossed Mr. TV\u2019s sunglasses into the audience, and Nigel McGuiness exclaimed, \u201cDid you see what he just did! Those must have cost him $3,000.\u201d I assume McGuiness was talking about Ray-Ban\u2019s limited edition \u201cAviator Solid Gold\u201d sunglasses, and I also assume he has never seen a pair in person.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TAYA VALKYRIE\u2019S RINGSIDE ANTICS \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From fanning her over-heated husband to attacking Cassidy at ringside, Taya Valkyrie was comedy gold throughout this entire match. (But that doesn\u2019t mean she should beat Toni Storm at Battle of the Belts! Storm is comedy diamonds.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>POST-MATCH SHENANIGANS \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Looking like a clown that has been half-melted by the digestive fluids of a kaleidoscope, Taya Valkyrie kicked Orange Cassidy with her bare feet (Why would she take off her shoes to do that?) before Willow Nightingale came to Cassidy\u2019s rescue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE JUICY GUNNS CUT A PROMO \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During this promo, Austin Gunn mentioned the Olympics (and I just remembered I was missing them and set my DVR); Colton Gunn claimed responsibility for the current state of the E-Sports Arena, and Juice Robinson threatened to screw Mother Wayne \u2014 I think? Honestly, I was distracted by my DVR menu, but he definitely said the word \u201cscrew\u201d a lot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB VS. BRIAN CAGE &amp; LEE MORIARTY VS. TOP FLIGHT \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-576330656\" 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>This match was not bad, and in fact, it exceeded my expectations. Bravo to all of the men involved in creating it.<\/p>\n<p>That said, I have no idea why this match was taking place. I mean, I do to an extent, but not to enough of an extent to care. While I\u2019m sure AEW firmly established all of the many reasons this match had to happen, I\u2019m also sure they did so during a press conference on TikTok Live in front of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Given that I was not on TikTok that day and I did not need landscaping, I missed it.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: All jokes aside, please try to make the rest of the matches on this show feel meaningful and well-built.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NEW JOKER TRAILER \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the commercial break, a trailer for the new Joker movie aired, and other than the Joker looking like he recently inhaled a donut shop, I could not be more hyped for this sequel. In fact, I would not be surprised if its trailer ends up being the highlight of tonight\u2019s broadcast.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WILLOW NIGHTINGALE CUTS AN INTERRUPTION \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I remember the days when Willow Nightingale\u2019s promos looked like they were being cut by someone who was trapped in a haunted house. Those days are not these days. It is frankly amazing how far Nightingale has come on the mic, and she should be an inspiration to everyone who thinks they can\u2019t train themselves into cutting serviceable promos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MARK BRISCOE CUTS A PROMO \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mark Briscoe cut a promo while holding a baby, and that adorable baby\u2019s facial expressions looked exactly how you\u2019d expect them to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HOLOGRAM VS. THE BEAST MORTOS \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Up first, Naomi came out dressed like a character from Tron, and \u2014 no, wait; that\u2019s Hologram. Up first, Hologram came out dressed like a rave held in the basement of a Halloween Spirit store, and up second, The Beast Mortos came out dressed like both Bebop and Rocksteady at the exact same time.<\/p>\n<p>Despite looking like a B-movie crossover, this match was pretty darn good. After seeing this, I take back some of the things I said about Hologram in private. (Not the things I said about his costume, though. That outfit is stupid.) Still, his wrestling skills are as good as his gimmick is bad.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: This whole thing feels like Tony Kahn watched Suicide\u2019s debut in TNA and thought, \u201cThis is a good idea. We need more of this in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>THUNDER ROSA VS. ALREADY IN THE RING \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Already-In-The-Ring, who is being portrayed by Maya World tonight, lost this match in 3 minutes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>VIDEO RECAP OF WILL OSPREAY VS. LANCE ARCHER AT NJPW\u2019S DOMINION 2023 EVENT \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Given that Lance Archer hasn\u2019t had a lot of television time in recent months, this video was a quick and easy way to give him some high-quality street cred with AEW\u2019s newer fans who may not be familiar with Archer\u2019s larger body of work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LANCE ARCHER COMMITS MULTIPLE FELONIES IN A ROW \u2014 MINOR-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lance Archer is a pretty good promo, and I certainly miss his work with Jake \u201cThe Snake\u201d Roberts, but unlike the aforementioned recap video, watching Lance Archer go on a totally random and very felonious assault and battery spree makes me more curious about how he found so many H&amp;M models gathered in one place and less curious about what his character will do next.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE PREMIER ATHLETES VS. THE CONGLOMERATION \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This match was definitely a \u201chit,\u201d and it was very entertaining. However, there was also no suspense, and it had the build of a twink. This entire broadcast feels less like a wrestling show and more like a white flag.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CHRIS \u201cTHE LEARNING TREE\u201d JERICHO CUTS A PROMO \u2013 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hi Guys!<\/p>\n<p>Scratch what I said about the Joker trailer; this promo was the highlight of tonight\u2019s show. Watching Chris Jericho repeatedly try to wave at his many branches (and by \u201cmany,\u201d I mean me.) with a broken pinky was laugh-out-loud funny. One of the best things about \u201cheel Jericho\u201d is that he is never afraid to make a total fool of himself if it means his fans leave the building feeling entertained. Few people do that as well as him (and by \u201cfew,\u201d I mean MJF.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>LANCE ARCHER VS. ALREADY IN THE RING \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t remember the name of the man Lance Archer wrestled in this match, but I\u2019m pretty sure he can\u2019t remember his name either.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FTR vs. MXM COLLECTION \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Somehow, despite being only vaguely aware that MXM Collection had even signed with AEW, FTR managed to get me to buy into this match completely, and I am glad they did. This match had comedy, brawling, mat-wrestling, and Dax Harwood \u201cmodeling.\u201d For a split second, I managed to forget that the outcome of this bout was a foregone conclusion, and I am still stunned to be typing those words.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ANTHONY BOWENS &amp; MAX CASTER CUT A PROMO \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Live from Mankind\u2019s 1996 boiler room, Max Caster and Anthony Bowens cut one of the best promos I have ever heard them cut. Hell, I didn\u2019t even think these guys were capable of producing something this good. I\u2019m not sure if I should applaud them or run away in terror because this promo made me more afraid of The Acclaimed than I am of Lance Archer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PAC VS. LIO RUSH \u2014 HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was great! It was devoid of meaning, but it was great! This match was like most of AEW Collision tonight; it felt like I was drinking a freshly cracked-open bottle of ice-cold Coca-Cola with its half-shaken suds tracing their way down the length of the glass. Its carbonation sparked against my tongue, its soda tasted like a glacier made out of sugar, and its calories left me every bit as empty as I was before.<\/p>\n<p>There was no build to hardly any of this show. This show felt meaningless, and Pac and Lio Rush are two very talented men who produce art that is worthy of having meaning bestowed upon it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FINAL THOUGHTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not to belabor the metaphors, but watching tonight\u2019s episode of AEW Collision was like unwrapping an ornate book for Christmas and realizing its pages are blank because it\u2019s a journal. It felt like an unkept promise made out of thrown-in towels, and while I know Tony Khan is stretched thin and is only human, this shows current state cannot be the answer to its ratings predicament.<\/p>\n<p>When watching television, most viewers want to feel like they are experiencing a store rather than an exhibition, and if AEW Collision continues to feel like an empty journal with blank pages, people will eventually stop trying to read it. I\u2019m not saying this to be a \u201chater,\u201d I\u2019m saying this because it is true and because if something doesn\u2019t change, then pulling in ratings that are mired in the \u201c300,000 range\u201d will become the norm for AEW Collision rather than the exception.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t have to be this way. \u201cDelegation\u201d is not a dirty word, and it often leads to fantastic storytelling. Just look at every Writer\u2019s Room in the country. Writer\u2019s Rooms gave us &#8220;Succession,&#8221; &#8220;Game of Thrones,&#8221; &#8220;Stranger Things,&#8221; and nearly every major television series produced in the modern era, and they were better for it.<\/p>\n<p>Just like those shows felt meaningful, episodic wrestling should feel meaningful, too. I know that wrestling inhabits a different world that is meant to mirror the tribulations of real life more than the twists and turns of &#8220;The Haunting of Hill House,&#8221; but real life needs meaning, too! That is why people have mid-life crises and why ambition is an emotion felt by nearly every person who has ever lived. I\u2019m not one for quoting Shakespeare because doing so often comes off as trite, but let\u2019s just say that Act V, Scene 5 of \u201cMacbeth\u201d has a lot to say about tonight\u2019s episode of AEW Collision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SHOW GRADE:<\/strong> D<\/p>\n<p>DAVID\u2019S DODGY MATCH RECOMMENDATIONS:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Match of the Night: FTR vs. MXM Collection<\/li>\n<li>Second Best Match: Pac vs. Lio Rush<\/li>\n<li>Third Best Match: Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos<\/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, as impressive as an automobile is, it is not one big machine. It is a thousand smaller weak machines that hold hands to make it move.<\/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 sulfur-scented deodorant for aspiring hermits. Less impressively, he studied screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CHECK OUT THE LATEST EPISODE OF &#8220;THE AEW CONVERSATION CLUB,&#8221; PART OF THE PWTORCH DAILYCAST LINE-UP: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/all-elite-conversation-club-dehnel-kanner-discuss-blood-guts-controversial-finish-aew-at-comic-con-tony-khan-comments-on-wbd-tv-deal--60819758\">CLICK HERE TO STREAM<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(or search &#8220;pwtorch&#8221; in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe for free)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=60819758&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\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED NEXT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/07\/29\/aew-collision-results-7-27-kellers-report-on-pac-vs-lio-rush-cassidy-vs-johnny-tv-mansoor-madden-vs-ftr-archer-thunder-rosa-plus-acclaimed-react-to-blood-guts-win\/\">AEW COLLISION RESULTS (7\/27): Keller\u2019s report on Pac vs. Lio Rush, Cassidy vs. Johnny TV, Mansoor &amp; Madden vs. FTR, Archer, Thunder Rosa, plus Acclaimed react to Blood &amp; Guts win<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2024\/07\/27\/aew-collision-results-7-27-powells-live-review-of-pac-vs-lio-rush-orange-cassidy-vs-johnny-tv-ftr-vs-mxm-collection-hologram-vs-the-beast-mortos-thunder-rosa-vs-maya-world\/\">AEW Collision results (7\/27): Powell\u2019s live review of Pac vs. Lio Rush, Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV, FTR vs. MxM Collection, Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos, Thunder Rosa vs. Maya World<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2153397788\"><div id=\"pwtor-676998931\"><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 JULY 27, 2024 ARLINGTON, TEXAS 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\/30\/aew-collision-hits-misses-7-27-cassidy-vs-johnny-tv-ftr-vs-mxm-lance-archers-felonies-jericho-waving-with-broken-pinkie-more\/\" title=\"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (7\/27): Cassidy vs. Johnny TV, FTR vs. MxM, Lance Archer&#8217;s felonies, Jericho waving with broken pinkie, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182392,"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-182391","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-2024-07-30-at-10.52.46\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182391","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=182391"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182393,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182391\/revisions\/182393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}