We are just one week away from WORLDS END 2024 at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, FL where AEW World Champion Jon Moxley is set to face Jay White, Orange Cassidy, and Hangman Page in a Fatal Four-Way, AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May will take on Thunder Rosa in a Tijuana Street Fight, and the 2024 Continental Classic will culminate over the course of three contests! Tonight on CHRISTMAS COLLISION, as All Elite Wrestling makes its debut at the historic Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, it's all about the Continental Classic!
Fans will see FOUR more C2 bouts unfold as the finale of this year's tournament draws near! In the Blue League TNT Champion Daniel Garcia will face The Hurt Syndicate's Shelton Benjamin and Mark Briscoe meets The Beast Mortos. Meanwhile, in the Gold League, we have a rematch fans have been waiting to see since Konosuke Takeshita crashed their October 2nd International Championship match: Will Ospreay versus Ricochet, and another huge rematch between Darby Allin and AEW World Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli! The five-way tie in the Gold League will be snapped tonight during COLLISION!
COLLISION gets underway immediately following the NCAA Football Playoffs, and will be broadcast coast-to-coast live on TNT! The AEW fanatics can get ready for the action with a trip to AEW's official YouTube channel to catch highlights from DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, previous editions of COLLISION, recaps of the Continental Classic thus far, and so much more! Then join us right back at the Hammerstein Ballroom inside the Manhattan Center on Sunday afternoon for a special taping of DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET/RAMPAGE: NEW YEAR'S SMASH 2024, the final events before WORLDS END 2024
CONTINENTAL CLASSIC
Blue League...
Shelton Benjamin(6) vs. TNT Champion Daniel Garcia(4)
Wednesday night on DYNAMITE: HOLIDAY BASH 2024, fans witnessed a hard-hitting affair between Shelton Benjamin and The Beast Mortos that pushed The Hurt Syndicate member to his limits before getting the victory and three more Blue League points. In the aftermath of the match, Shelton, MVP, and Bobby Lashley intended to use Mortos to send a message to Benjamin's remaining opponents as well as the rest of AEW.
Well one of those two remaining competitors heard the message loud and clear, and odds be damned, TNT Champion Daniel Garcia wasn't about to sit back and let the 3-to-1 assault on The Beast Mortos continue! Thankfully Garcia had the support of Mark Briscoe in this situation or it could've ended up even worse than it actually did, and as seen in the video embedded above it did not end well for the TNT Champ or the former ROH World Champ.
The visual of Shelton holding the TNT Title communicated a very clear message to Garcia, as well as the fans in the arena who were actually singsonging “We Hurt People” and those watching around the world. Perhaps that championship battle does lie in Shelton's future, but before he can even consider pursuing Garcia's title, he's got to consider their Continental Classic bout going down tonight at Hammerstein Ballroom!
Shelton hasn't been in this venue since facing Mike Bennett at ROH's SUPERCARD OF HONOR VII event on 4/5/13, and frankly it's not a location that's been kind to his wrestling career. Six times Shelton entered the Hammerstein with Ring of Honor, and on four of those occasions he came out on the losing end, including twice dropping the ROH World Tag Team Titles! It may be a superstition, it may just be coincidence, but one can't help but wonder if Shelton looks on that history as he prepares to fight his next C2 battle inside the Hammerstein's walls. One also can't help but speculate about Benjamin's knee issue MVP mentioned on commentary during the Beast Mortos match, and wonder if bringing that up prior to facing a ruthless tactician like Daniel Garcia was the best idea.
After all, the TNT Champion employs the Dragontamer submission as his preferred maneuver and that's putting pressure on the back and knees of his opponents in order to gain a submission victory. To be fair, he'd have to be able to apply it on Shelton to begin with and that would be no small feat given the size disparity between the two, saying nothing of just how powerful Shelton's legs are to begin with!
With each man having one bout left at DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET (Garcia versus Kyle Fletcher, Shelton versus Kazuchika Okada) this outcome is crucial, especially in the case of the TNT Champion. If he wins, Danny will bump up to seven points and still be a viable contender to take the Blue League depending on how the rest of the matches play out. If he loses, Garcia is on the outside looking in no matter what happens with the rest of the Blue League.
In Shelton's case, a victory ties him up with Kyle Fletcher at nine points, and possibly Mark Briscoe too depending on how his bout with The Beast Mortos goes, while a loss slides him farther behind the 8-ball than he'd probably like heading into his final bout. Suffice to say the math of it all doesn't go in Benjamin's favor if he falls to Garcia thanks to the Fletcher/Garcia final matchup. If Shelton loses tonight, Garcia heads into that with seven points to Fletcher's nine, meaning Fletcher either leaves DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET with 12 from a win, Garcia leaves with 10 from a win, or we go 10-8 on a draw.
None of those situations benefit Shelton if he falls to Danny tonight on COLLISION as even a victory over “The Rainmaker” in their final league bout would give him a nine point final score. That is why every moment counts, why every victory is important, and why no one should be content with points from a draw against their opponent. If Shelton wants to bring a tournament victory home to The Hurt Syndicate, tonight is just as much of a must-win as it is for the TNT Champion if he wants to keep his chances alive...
Mark Briscoe(6) vs. The Beast Mortos(0)
Another man fighting to stay afloat in the C2 is former ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe as, just like Shelton Benjamin, he enters this bout with six points to his name, but unlike Shelton he doesn't have one more match to try and score points. This is the end of road for “Chicken”, and though he's fared better than he did last year, where victory didn't come until the final night of League play, he's not exactly where he hoped he'd be on his final night in the 2024 iteration of the C2. Unfortunately there are a great many factors that would have to fall into place in order for Mark to make the cut, factors involving draws and losses in other people's matches, but those aren't ones he can control. He can only worry about tonight, The Beast Mortos, and trying to get nine points to wrap his C2 journey on a high note.
The Beast Mortos isn't here to win the Blue League at this point, he's in here to spoil someone else's hopes, and in this case, get a little revenge for the ROH World Title loss he experienced at Mark Briscoe's hands during ROH ON HONOR CLUB #78 on August 22nd. He already holds one pinfall victory over “Chicken” in a trios bout from the July 31st Dynamite, can The Beast Mortos add a second to avoid ending his C2 with zero points?
Gold League...
Will Ospreay(6) vs. Ricochet(6)
On the October 2nd edition of DYNAMITE, then-AEW International Champion Will Ospreay and Ricochet went to a draw in their championship fight as a result of a double pinfall. Though they were authorized to resume the match by AEW President Tony Khan, “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita allowed them just a matter of moments before he elected to interfere in the contest to cause a No Contest. The result of that incursion led to the Three-Way International Title bout at WRESTLEDREAM 2024, which in turn led to Kyle Fletcher stabbing his supposed best friend Ospreay in the back to cost him the International Title to Takeshita. That meant Ricochet was twice robbed of the title through no direct fault of his own, though he did get his one-on-one opportunity to claim it at FULL GEAR 2024. Sadly that night in Newark, NJ was a disappointment for both men as Ricochet failed to dethrone “The Alpha” and Ospreay failed to best “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher in their singles clash.
So for both the Continental Classic became a form of therapy, working out their frustrations over the disappointments of the last several months, and though it started strong for Ospreay with a victory over Juice Robinson, that wasn't the case for Ricochet as he fell to Claudio Castagnoli. Perhaps that's why Ricochet did what he felt he had to do in order to defeat Brody King in his last bout and used the turnbuckle Brody himself exposed to gain an advantage that led to a pinfall victory. Ricochet made no apologies for his choices, and has stated he will do what he has to do in order to win, but will that be the case tonight when he finally gets another one-on-one chance with Ospreay in a setting that brooks no interference?
As for Ospreay, he's coming into this contest having added a victory over Claudio Castagnoli to his point total at DYNAMITE: WINTER IS COMING 2024, but having fallen to Darby Allin this past Wednesday during DYNAMITE: HOLIDAY BASH 2024. That result, combined with Brody King's victory over Komander last night on RAMPAGE: HOLIDAY BASH 2025 has put the Gold League into a five-way tie for the top spot! That makes these final matches for everyone absolutely critical, they can't afford a draw much less a loss, not if they want to be there when the 2024 Continental Classic culminates at WORLDS END 2024! So with just one match remaining in the Gold League during DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET for each man (Darby for Ricochet, Brody King for Ospreay), who will add three more points to their total, who will fall behind in the chase to be league leader, or will we see another inconclusive conclusion to this rematch 2+ months in the making?
Claudio Castagnoli(6) vs. Darby Allin(6)
It was November 20th on DYNAMITE when Darby Allin last stepped into the ring with Claudio Castagnoli and though he waged war with that Death Rider for nearly 14 minutes, the combination of being Gorilla Pressed down through a table and having his head nearly clotheslined off his body proved to much for the 2-Time TNT Champion. While Claudio may have won, the mistake he made was leaving Darby in a position to be able to fight again, and that's just what he did at FULL GEAR 2024 when he got behind the wheel of a car and aimed it at The Death Riders.
It may not have been the wisest decision given the repercussions of that act certainly hampered Darby's first Continental Classic bout with Brody King, but he rebounded from the crash to score his first three Gold League points over Komander. Then this past Wednesday night, in perhaps the most anticipated matchup in either the Gold or Blue League, Darby added three more points to his total when he defeated “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay in an epic test of grit and determination. The bout lived up to every bit of hype, every expectation, and it proved that Darby was capable of doing something his foe tonight has failed to do on two occasions: beat Ospreay.
As for Claudio, he started off strong in the C2 with victories over Ricochet and Brody King but Ospreay stifled that momentum, and now with the Gold League in a five-way tie, this Death Rider aims to repeat what he did one month ago and leave Darby a battered man in the middle of the ring. Perhaps Claudio is coming in with the intent of putting Darby in such a bad way he's unable to enter into his final match with Ricochet during DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET while Claudio heads into battle with the winless Komander that night.
Wins are a must given the dynamic of this Gold League, no one can settle for a draw and hope to head to Orlando on December 28th, but this bout has that added dynamic of what's going down between Darby and The Death Riders. A victory here for Darby is as much about the Continental Classic as it is about sending a message to AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, PAC, Wheeler Yuta, and Marina Shafir. Darby isn't going to back down from them no matter what they do...
ONE-ON-ONE...
Kris Statlander vs. Penelope Ford
Last night on RAMPAGE, after Willow Nightingale defeated Harley Cameron, the former TBS Champion was assaulted by Penelope Ford, with an alliance seemingly born between Ford and Cameron. Even more shocking given the recent history between the two women, Kris Statlander came to the rescue of Willow Nightingale after wishing her good luck in Tokyo at WRESTLE DYNASTY 2025!
Whatever is going on there, perhaps Statlander finally bridging that gap after betraying Willow seven months ago, it's lead to Statlander facing off with Penelope Ford tonight on CHRISTMAS COLLISION! Though Statlander has a 2-0 historical advantage on Penelope here in AEW, it's been well over three years since the last time these two competitors went one-on-one and both have been through quite a lot in that time frame!
Can Penelope score her first victory over Statlander, or will the former TBS Champion continue her climb back towards contender status after narrowly losing to Mercedes Moné at FULL GEAR 2024?
FACE-TO-FACE...
The match is set for WORLDS END 2024, the Dynamite Diamond Ring will be on the line between Adam Cole and 5-Time Holder of said jewelry Maxwell Jacob Friedman, there's nothing MJF can do to avoid it, nothing he can say to stop it from happening. All of his low-hanging fruit “jokes” and personal insults directed at Adam Cole aren't going to change what's coming on December 28th and Cole getting to finish what he started on DYNAMITE.
That may even begin tonight on CHRISTMAS COLLISION when the former ROH World Tag Championship partners meet face-to-face ahead of their inevitable fight! Will it break out into violence or will that be saved for Orlando?
CHRISTMAS COLLISION will begin immediately following the NCAA Football Playoffs, and it will be simulcast East Coast-to-West Coast live on TNT! We've got Continental Classic action in both the Blue and Gold League as Shelton Benjamin faces TNT Champion Daniel Garcia and Mark Briscoe versus The Beast Mortos in the former while Ricochet clashes with Will Ospreay and Darby Allin battles Claudio Castagnoli in the latter! We will also hear from TBS Champion Mercedes Moné, witness Kris Statlander take on Penelope Ford, and watch Adam Cole come face-to-face with MJF! Fans can get themselves prepared for the evening by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel to watch all the highlights from DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, previous editions of COLLISION, recaps of the Continental Classic, and much, much more! Then Sunday afternoon we are right back at it inside the Hammerstein Ballroom for a special taping of DYNAMITE ON 34TH STREET/RAMPAGE: NEW YEAR'S SMASH 2024, the final two events before WORLDS END 2024 comes your way from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando!