{"id":194970,"date":"2025-03-24T11:53:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T16:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=194970"},"modified":"2025-03-24T11:53:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T16:53:36","slug":"aew-collision-hits-misses-3-22-slam-dunk-saturday-including-adam-cole-vs-daniel-garcia-max-caster-vs-hook-julia-hart-vs-queen-aminata-callis-family-interrupted-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/03\/24\/aew-collision-hits-misses-3-22-slam-dunk-saturday-including-adam-cole-vs-daniel-garcia-max-caster-vs-hook-julia-hart-vs-queen-aminata-callis-family-interrupted-interviews\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (3\/22): &#8220;Slam Dunk Saturday&#8221; including Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia, Max Caster vs. Hook, Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata, Callis Family, Interrupted Interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1262351814\" 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 (PT. 1) &#8211; HITS &amp; MISSES<br \/>\nMARCH 22, 2025<br \/>\nOMAHA, NEB.<br \/>\nAIRED ON TNT<br \/>\nBY DAVID BRYANT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR<\/h3>\n<p><em>Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuiness<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\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 this show is only one hour long, I will try to keep my intro brief.<\/p>\n<p>And boxer.<\/p>\n<p>And thongs sometimes.<\/p>\n<h3>NO COLD OPEN \u2014 HIT<\/h3>\n<p>Normally, I would bemoan this episode\u2019s lack of a cold open, lack of theme music, lack of pyro, and lack of excessive nudity, but given that this particular episode of AEW Collision was airing in a late-night timeslot for the very specific reason of capitalizing on an unusually large lead-in, I think cutting straight to tonight\u2019s in-ring action was the right call.<\/p>\n<h3>DANIEL GARCIA vs. ADAM COLE \u2014 MEGA-HIT<\/h3>\n<p>Dressed like the McDonald\u2019s logo, Daniel Garcia started this match by shaking hands with the secret love child of HBK and Ivory (I assume) before both men transitioned into a series of wristlocks. (Given that one of tonight\u2019s highest priorities was to capture as many eyeballs from their NCAA lead-in as possible, starting this match off with an exchange of wristlocks might not have been the best idea.) However, after what felt like an initially slow start, this match\u2019s action picked up precipitously.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, in my opinion, which is not gospel but is definitely influenced by EDM and Indie Rock, this was one of Adam Cole\u2019s best matches since his in-ring return on October 30 2024. And yet, despite that, Garcia was the one who really stood out the most in this match. Garcia\u2019s facial expressions, in-ring acting, and in-match storytelling skills were only a few steps below that of Bryan Danielson.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1458774750\" 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>Watching this match made me feel even worse about the way Garcia\u2019s TNT Title reign has been handled by AEW. While I didn\u2019t write the review of the final match of last week\u2019s episode of AEW Collision (My fianc\u00e9, August Strachan, wrote the second half of that column while I wrote the first), I fully agree with Strachan\u2019s assessment of Garcia\u2019s TNT Title reign. Garcia has everything he needs to be a star, but if you want someone to be a star, you need a strap a rocket to their back and launch their careers into the stratosphere and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note To Commentators: The more you bring up time limits, the more we know how the match will end!<\/p>\n<p>Second Side Note To Commentators: Please stop calling me a sicko. I am healthy, vaccinated, work out five days a week, and was a gold medalist in adult figure skating at the 2019 State Games of America. I am not sick.<\/p>\n<h3>MAX \u201cTHE GREATEST LESSER ALIVE\u201d CASTER CUTS A PROMO \u2014 HIT<\/h3>\n<p>Max \u201cI Peaked In High School\u201d Caster, started his promo by trying to badmouth the incredibly talented Anthony \u201cI Literally Worked For A Modeling Agency\u201d Bowens. The crowd was having none of it, and by none of it, I mean they were literally the last guy in a long line at a family reunion buffet.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight\u2019s crowd\u2019s loud chants for Anthony \u201cMy Veins Are A Roadmap To Heaven\u201d Bowens were so deafening my hearing aid tapped out halfway through. Because of this reaction, Max \u201cThe Opening Act\u2019s Opening Act\u201d Caster was forced to directly address Anthony \u201cNot Even Ariana Grande Could Steal My Boyfriend\u201d Bowens\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n<p>Side Note: Aubry Edward\u2019s reaction to Max \u201cThe World\u2019s Best Technically A Wrestler Alive\u201d shoving his plastic-framed patent into her unexpecting arms was priceless. Give this woman a raise.<\/p>\n<h3>MAX \u201cTHE MAN WHO WEARS CURVE COLOGNE AS AN ADULT\u201d CASTER vs. HOOK \u2014 HIT<\/h3>\n<p>You know, teenage girls are a fairly untapped market for professional wrestling, and AEW has a man with a face that puts Timothee Chalamet\u2019s to shame on their roster. How are they not capitalizing on this more?<\/p>\n<p>Think about it for a second, okay? Hook\u2019s face could sell lunchboxes to vampires; James Dean\u2019s ghost is dying for Hook to follow him back; dead flowers bloom whenever Hook looks in their direction, and I\u2019m pretty sure that just seeing a picture of Hook can clear up acne and improve your credit score. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s scientifically proven, but I am saying that I\u2019ve had not one single zit since Hook started wrestling, and I\u2019ve received dozens of unsolicited text messages from foreign nationals wanting to lend me obscene amounts of money for businesses I don\u2019t own. Coincidence? I think not.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1420637261\" 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>Anyway, the match ended in under a minute.<\/p>\n<h3>LEXY NAIR CONDUCTS AN INTERVIEW THAT GETS INTERRUPTED \u2014 MINOR-MISS (BUT NOT BECAUSE OF THE PERSONALITIES INVOLVED)<\/h3>\n<p>AEW has got to start conducting some of these wrestling interviews in safe rooms. I could not imagine any other program operating under such a format.<\/p>\n<p>For example: If during Linda McMahon\u2019s interview on this morning\u2019s episode of &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; she had only gotten halfway through a single answer about why Americans do not deserve the same educational departments afforded to nations like England, Australia, China, Russia, Germany, Albania, Turkey, Pakistan, Montenegro, Uruguay, Guatemala, Serbia, Ghana, Rwanda, and The Marshall Islands*, Jake Tapper had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, burst into the studio, bounded past the cameras, and put his nose into Dana Bash\u2019s face so as to challenged her to a dual for the right to sit in her anchor\u2019s chair, I don\u2019t feel like that would have gone down well.<\/p>\n<p>If that happened I would hope CNN would fire Tapper, issue an apology to Bash, and cut to a commercial or at least to something distracting like Linda McMahon\u2019s resting puppet face.<\/p>\n<p>*<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_education_ministries\">Sauce<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>JULIA HART vs. QUEEN AMINATA \u2014 MINOR-HIT (ALSO NOT BECAUSE OF THE PERSONALITIES INVOLVED)<\/h3>\n<p>After multiple weeks of Tony Khan booking women to look like the stars they were meant to be, this match was at least five minutes too short. That really was a shame because neither Queen Aminata nor Julia Hart were holding anything back, front, or to the side.<\/p>\n<p>Queen Aminata has great facial expressions and a memorable look, and Hart is a star in waiting. While Hart\u2019s in-ring skills are not at the level of someone like Mercedes Mon\u00e9, her astoundingly fast progress has her well on the way to becoming every bit as good if not better. (Although, when it comes to Mercedes Mon\u00e9, I question if \u201cbetter\u201d is actually possible for anyone, no matter their skill level.)<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the &#8220;All Elite Conversation Club&#8221; with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/all-elite-conversation-club-joel-dehnel-reviews-dynamite-incl-mox-s-nails-to-the-back-mike-bailey-and-ricochet-set-to-face-omega-more--65027419\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cpwtorch\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=65027419&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<h3>A VIDEO PACKAGE AIRED FOR AEW DYNASTY \u2014 HIT<\/h3>\n<p>This package opened with Swerve Strickland, and it ended with Toni Storm. Watching this was reassuring because it was good to see that AEW clearly understands who their biggest draws are. Strickland vs. Moxley and Storm vs. Bayne are the two best reasons to order this PPV, and it is good that the advertising reflects that.<\/p>\n<h3>LEXY NAIR INTERVIEWS HARLEY CAMERON \u2014 HIT<\/h3>\n<p>Future megastar, ventriloquist, singer, rapper, model, actress, journalist (TIL, this woman has a whole-ass degree in journalism), dolphin therapist, prehistoric fashion consultant, and subterranean cloud cartographer, Harley Cameron, was interviewed by Lexy Nair.<\/p>\n<p>During this interview, Lexy Nair asked Harley Cameron if she was the same person as Harley-gram, and I swear to God her reaction made me laugh. If there is anyone on this planet who can pull off a gimmick as tragic as \u201cHarley-gram,\u201d it is the one-and-only Grand Poobah of the Intergalactic Federation of Unicycles, Harley Cameron.<\/p>\n<h3>POWERHOUSE HOBBS &amp; THE CONGLOMERATION vs. THE DON CALLIS FAMILY \u2014 MINOR-MISS<\/h3>\n<p>This match felt like something you\u2019d see on a random Rampage. That isn\u2019t to say this was a bad match, and in fact, it was quite enjoyable at times (for a clustermatch), but I can\u2019t believe this is the main event AEW chose as a show-closing attraction on a program that was hoping to capitalize on an NCAA lead-in.<\/p>\n<h4>FINAL THOUGHTS:<\/h4>\n<p>Tonight\u2019s show was a good show with one outstanding promo (Harley Cameron) and one outstanding match (Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Cole). That said, this episode of AEW Collision still managed to somehow feel mediocre compared to previous weeks. This may be due to the one-hour format (and I say that as someone who would greatly prefer this condensed format.) It will be very interesting to watch Part 2 of AEW Collision\u2019s Slam Dunk series and see how that episode comes across. BTW, the Hits &amp; Misses Column for Part 2 of AEW Collision: Slam Dunk will be written by my fianc\u00e9, August Strachan. He really enjoys writing for you guys, and I really enjoy making him happy!<\/p>\n<p>Now, for tonight\u2019s \u201cShow Grade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On a 7-point grading scale, I would give this show\u2019s \u201cMatch Grade\u201d an A-, due to the Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Cole match. Without the Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Cole match, I would give this show\u2019s \u201cMatch Grade\u201d a C. That is how much I liked that Garcia vs. Cole match. When it comes to this week\u2019s \u201cStoryline Grade,\u201d AEW Collision performed well, even within the confines of its truncated 1-hour format. The storytelling in the Garcia\/Cole match, the Cameron promo, Aubry Edward\u2019s facial expressions in Max \u201cThe YOLO Tour\u201d Caster\u2019s in-ring segment, and tonight\u2019s commentary elevated this show\u2019s storytelling to a solid B. Given this was only a one-hour broadcast, I think a solid B grade is pretty impressive on the storytelling front.<\/p>\n<p>Overall Match Grade: A-<br \/>\nOverall Storyline Grade: B<\/p>\n<p>SHOW GRADE: B+<\/p>\n<p><strong>DAVID\u2019S DODGY MATCH RECOMMENDATIONS:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Match of the Night: Daniel Garica vs. Adam Cole<\/li>\n<li>Second Best Match: Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata<\/li>\n<li>Third Best Match: Hook vs. Max \u201cKeg Stands Are My Personality Trait\u201d Caster<\/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, a good pun is its own re-word.<\/p>\n<p><em>(David Bryant\u2019s 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 dowel-based cassette tape rewinder that also doubles as a pencil. Less impressively, David studied screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show - AEW Dynamite w\/Wade Keller &amp; Kelly Wells\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/B1N8VJ7KaLI?start=9&#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-2745581922\"><div id=\"pwtor-3668982534\"><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 (PT. 1) &#8211; HITS &amp; MISSES MARCH 22, 2025 OMAHA, NEB. AIRED ON TNT BY DAVID BRYANT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuiness &#8211; Hey! Welcome back to another edition of my <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/03\/24\/aew-collision-hits-misses-3-22-slam-dunk-saturday-including-adam-cole-vs-daniel-garcia-max-caster-vs-hook-julia-hart-vs-queen-aminata-callis-family-interrupted-interviews\/\" title=\"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (3\/22): &#8220;Slam Dunk Saturday&#8221; including Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia, Max Caster vs. Hook, Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata, Callis Family, Interrupted Interviews\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194972,"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-194970","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\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-24-at-11.47.27\u202fAM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194970","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=194970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194973,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194970\/revisions\/194973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}