{"id":218236,"date":"2026-06-21T20:53:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T01:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=218236"},"modified":"2026-06-21T20:53:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T01:53:28","slug":"aew-collision-hits-misses-6-20-26-maya-world-shocks-athena-juice-strikes-gold-in-his-segment-statlander-keeps-building-momentum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/06\/21\/aew-collision-hits-misses-6-20-26-maya-world-shocks-athena-juice-strikes-gold-in-his-segment-statlander-keeps-building-momentum\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (6\/20\/26): Maya World shocks Athena, Juice strikes gold in his segment, Statlander keeps building momentum"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3949088216\" 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><p>To help add context, my \u201cHits\u201d are ordered from best to worst. With that said, let\u2019s move into the high points of this week&#8217;s episode, starting with the most significant moments.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>HITS<\/h3>\n<p><strong>MAYA WORLD FINALLY GETS HER DEFINING MOMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Owen Hart Tournament is at its best when it creates new stars, and Saturday night felt like a major step forward for Maya World.<\/p>\n<p>Athena has spent years establishing herself as one of the most protected and accomplished wrestlers across AEW and ROH. Victories over performers of that caliber are designed to elevate careers, and that&#8217;s exactly what this accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>What stood out most was that Maya never looked overwhelmed by the moment. She wrestled with confidence, remained competitive throughout, and looked like she belonged in the biggest match of her career.<\/p>\n<p>Whether Maya ultimately wins the tournament or not, this feels like the kind of victory fans will point back to as a turning point in her development.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE DOGS CONTINUE TO SHOW PERSONALITY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the more enjoyable developments on Collision over the last several weeks has been watching The Dogs evolve beyond being a group of generic tough guys.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2722442235\" 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>For a long time, acts like this can easily become interchangeable. They talk tough, wrestle tough, and eventually blend together. AEW has done a much better job recently, allowing The Dogs to show personality, chemistry, and a sense of humor without sacrificing their credibility.<\/p>\n<p>The backstage segment was another strong example. Instead of feeling like stock wrestling characters, they came across as distinct personalities with natural chemistry.<\/p>\n<p>The wrestling itself will always matter, but character work like this is what gives fans a reason to invest in performers beyond their matches.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JUICE ROBINSON STRIKES GOLD WITH 1-800-GUNS-UP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Juice Robinson has always been at his best when AEW allows him to fully embrace what makes him unique.<\/p>\n<p>The 1-800-GUNS-UP segment was entertaining, memorable, and continued to give viewers a reason to stay invested in the ongoing issues between Bullet Club Gold and The Dogs. More importantly, it felt different from everything else on the show.<br \/>\nNot every memorable wrestling segment needs to be serious. Sometimes personality is enough, and Juice continues proving he understands exactly how to connect with an audience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>KRIS STATLANDER KEEPS BUILDING MOMENTUM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kris Statlander continues to feel like one of the most credible competitors in AEW&#8217;s Women&#8217;s Division. Mina Shirakawa&#8217;s popularity made this feel like a meaningful tournament victory rather than a routine advancement.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-244836380\" 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>Statlander has quietly rebuilt momentum over the last several weeks. With Survival of the Fittest approaching, this was another important step in keeping that momentum moving in the right direction.<\/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-dehnel-kanner-ask-has-the-forbidden-door-gimmick-worn-out--72612127\">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\" title=\"All Elite Conversation Club - Dehnel &amp; Kanner ask, has the Forbidden Door gimmick worn out?\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=72612127&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>MISSES<\/h3>\n<p><strong>THE HURT SYNDICATE&#8217;S MOTIVATION DOESN&#8217;T ADD UP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Hurt Syndicate has been one of AEW&#8217;s strongest acts, which is why MVP&#8217;s post-match comments stood out. During the segment, MVP emphasized that the group only cares about money and not championships. The problem is that professional wrestling has traditionally presented championships as one of the clearest paths to making more money.<\/p>\n<p>Champions receive more television exposure, headline bigger events, and position themselves for greater opportunities. If The Hurt Syndicate&#8217;s primary motivation is financial success, pursuing championships should be a priority rather than something they dismiss.<\/p>\n<p>The segment was likely intended to reinforce the group&#8217;s confidence, but instead, it left me questioning their motivations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE OPENING MATCH DIDN&#8217;T NEED FIFTEEN MINUTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Elite vs. The Lethal Twist was entertaining. With the talent involved, that was never going to be the issue. My criticism comes down to time management.<\/p>\n<p>Did Blake Christian, Jay Lethal, and Lee Johnson need 15 minutes against The Elite? I don&#8217;t think so. The same story could have been told in 10 or 11 minutes while accomplishing all of the same goals.<\/p>\n<p>Collision only has two hours each week, and every minute matters. When a match runs longer than necessary, it often comes at the expense of character development or other segments elsewhere on the show. This wasn&#8217;t a bad match. It was a good match that simply lasted longer than it needed to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FINAL SCORE<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>HITS: 4<\/li>\n<li>MISSES: 2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>FINAL THOUGHTS:<\/strong> Maya World&#8217;s victory over Athena gave Collision its defining moment and provided the type of upset result that can elevate a young wrestler&#8217;s standing overnight. Elsewhere, Juice Robinson and The Dogs continued proving that personality matters just as much as in-ring ability, while Kris Statlander took another step forward in the Survival of the Fittest for the TBS Title.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WRESTLING HISTORY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On this day in 2009, Hiroshi Tanahashi regained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of NJPW Dominion, defeating Manabu Nakanishi in Osaka.<\/p>\n<p><strong>VIP MEMBERSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Did you know you can read an ad-free, silky-smooth-loading version of this website with a PWTorch VIP Membership? Also, unlock 35+ years of archives including nearly 2,000 PWTorch Weekly Newsletters dating back to the late 1980s, hundreds of retro radio shows from the 1990s, and two decades of podcasts including Post-PPV Roundtable Podcasts dating back to the mid-2000s. Plus, new VIP-exclusive articles and podcasts throughout the week, fully compatible with the native Apple Podcasts app.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/govip\">CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON VIP MEMBERSHIP<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (6\/17) - AEW Dynamite w\/Keller &amp; Halley\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ulwhT6mNmec?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-2878594013\"><div id=\"pwtor-3196160474\"><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>To help add context, my \u201cHits\u201d are ordered from best to worst. With that said, let\u2019s move into the high points of this week&#8217;s episode, starting with the most significant moments. HITS MAYA WORLD FINALLY <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/06\/21\/aew-collision-hits-misses-6-20-26-maya-world-shocks-athena-juice-strikes-gold-in-his-segment-statlander-keeps-building-momentum\/\" title=\"AEW COLLISION HITS &#038; MISSES (6\/20\/26): Maya World shocks Athena, Juice strikes gold in his segment, Statlander keeps building momentum\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":218238,"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_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218236","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\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-21-at-8.52.30-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218236","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=218236"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218240,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218236\/revisions\/218240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}