With one day left before DYNASTY 2024 in St. Louis, All Elite Wrestling debuts in Peoria at the Peoria Civic Center with three hours of live action! It begins with COLLISION at 8pm ET/7pm CT, then rolls right into 10pm ET/9pm CT with a live edition of RAMPAGE, and it's all building towards Sunday night's pay-per-view extravaganza!
Bryan Danielson will be in action one night before his historic clash with Will Ospreay, this time teaming with Claudio Castagnoli for a Bunkhouse Brawl against Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita of The Don Callis Family! But Danielson isn't the only one competing so close to his pay-per-view bout, in fact numerous competitors are stepping into the ring during COLLISION and RAMPAGE! The Elite will be in trios competition against FTR and PAC, The Acclaimed dip back into tag team action to face The Gunns, and the trio of Copeland, Kingston, and Briscoe will face Top Flight and Action Andretti! As mentioned, it all begins at 8pm ET on TNT, but you can get prepared by visiting the official AEW YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@AEW/featured) for highlights from DYNAMITE, COLLISION, RAMPAGE, BATTLE OF THE BELTS X, and so much more of the action that has brought us to the verge of DYNASTY 2024!
COLLISION
BUNKHOUSE BRAWL...
Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Catagnoli) vs.
Don Callis Family (ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita)
Claudio Castagnoli comes into this Saturday night having just experienced a tremendous battle with “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay on DYNAMITE. It was a fight that could have gone either way, but Ospreay was able to sway it into his favor by stringing together a series of moves that began with countering the Giant Swing. Capped off with the Hidden Blade, Ospreay secured the victory, but mere seconds after the victor's hand was raised, the rest of The Don Callis Family attacked “The Swiss Superman”. Though Ospreay did not join Takeshita, Hobbs, and Fletcher in the assault, he didn't do anything to stop it either, nor did he get involved when Jon Moxley hit the ring to run off The DFC.
So once again Ospreay did nothing, said nothing, but simply allowed The Don Callis Family to do whatever they wished in a method that only serves to benefit Ospreay at DYNASTY 2024. That's exactly what's happening Saturday night on COLLISION as well with this Bunkhouse Brawl pitting Danielson and Castagnoli against Fletcher and Takeshita. Whether The Blackpool Combat Club wins or losez is inconsequential to Bryan's clash with Will Ospreay at DYNASTY 2024, it's what happens during the brawl that is most important because the violence that plays out is what will have the most direct effect on that dream match. Takeshita and Fletcher are simply here to make sure “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson is as battered as possible heading to St. Louis, that he is easier pickings for “The Aerial Assassin”, but is it at the behest of Don Callis or at that of his golden goose? Is Ospreay simply turning a blind eye to how Callis is trying to stack the deck in his favor, or is Ospreay an active participant in these decisions made to his benefit?
Whatever the case may be, Danielson and Castagnoli aren't going to fight this one with any thought given to the next twenty-four hours. They will live in the moment of COLLISION, take on Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita as if they are the only fight in the world, and look towards Sunday night after Saturday's fight has concluded. Bunkhouse rules be damned, a fight is a fight is a fight, and there are very fiew individuals in professional wrestling who fight harder than The BCC!
DYNASTY TRIOS PREVIEW...
The Elite (AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson, & Nicholas Jackson) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) and “The Bastard” PAC
The Elite of Kazuchika Okada and The Young Bucks have been incredibly successful as a trio since “The Rainmaker” signed out with The EVPs. They're 3-0 in Trios bouts over the last month, two of those victories over teams that included “The Bastard” PAC, with the most recent one taking place this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE. It's certainly bolstered the confidence of Kazuchika Okada, enough that he accepted PAC's challenge to a Continental Championship fight at DYNASTY 2024 this Sunday night.
Just as is the case with Okada, The Young Bucks seem quite confident heading into their Ladder Match with FTR to crown new AEW World Tag Team Champions. With the titles vacant in the aftermath of Sting's retirement at REVOLUTION 2024, the two 2-Time World Tag Championship teams made their way through their respective brackets in the Tag Team Tournament, but it has been Matthew and Nicholas Jackson who've abused their position as EVP's in the process. They've done whatever they've wanted without fear of reprisal, attacked FTR, drilled them with chairs and a Double EVP Trigger, all seemingly without any concern that there may be consequences for their actions.
Well it isn't DYNASTY 2024 quite yet, but repercussions are sure to come for The Elite this Saturday night on COLLISION when Okada and the brothers Jackson have to face FTR and PAC in a Trios Match! The Young Bucks and FTR have not been in a ring together since teaming up at ALL OUT 2023 to defeat BULLET CLUB GOLD, and obviously circumstances have changed quite a bit since that night in Chicago!
As with many of the fights taking place this Saturday in Peoria, this one is all about that last-minute advantage before AEW travels to the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis on Sunday! Will it be The Elite or FTR and PAC who get the edge?
IT'S BEEN AWHILE...
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Cater) vs. The Gunns (Austin & Colten)
Long before the Bang Bang Scissor Gang was born, before Jay White ever set foot in All Elite Wrestling, and before Billy Gunn was dubbed “Daddy Ass”, there was a bond between Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Max Caster, and Anthony Bowens.
On the July 12, 2021 edition of DARK: ELEVATION, Billy and Colten stood on the opposite side of the ring from Bowens and Caster in an eight-man tag, and came out of it with the victory. For Colten and The Acclaimed that night was a revelation, it was the first night back on the road for All Elite Wrestling following seventeen months living in Jacksonville, FL during the COVID pandemic, and a great deal of that time spent with no fans inside Daily's Place. The Gunns and The Acclaimed had a common bond in that experience, perhaps that's part of what brought them together in January 2022 and kept them bonded for the better part of the year, through Anthony Bowens recovery from injury, through the original FORBIDDEN DOOR PPV event, and into the Summer of 2022.
But eventually it imploded, pitting the two teams against each other in a Dumpster Match on the 8/3/22 edition of DYNAMITE, a match won by The Acclaimed it should be noted, and truly began both teams down the road to where we are today nearly two years later. It's a road that included The Gunns ending the AEW World Tag Team Championship reign of The Acclaimed after 140 days, that saw Billy Gunn choose The Acclaimed over his children and be rechristened Daddy Ass, and even brought The Acclaimed together with MJF to fight BULLET CLUB GOLD.
It was a wild ride, but perhaps the wildest part was watching Jay White, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Billy Gunn, Anthony Bowens, and Max Caster join forces on the January 20th edition of COLLISION to form The Bang Bang Scissor Gang! The path over the three months since, the apparent bond that had been created, it all came to a screeching halt a month ago after Darby Allin's loss to Jay White, and now we've got a Winner Takes All Trios fight at DYNASTY 2024 looming! Before that title unification bout comes to pass though, The Acclaimed and The Gunns will rekindle their tag team rivalry this Saturday night during COLLISION. Somewhat surprisingly, The Acclaimed have not been in a traditional tag match since an August 12, 2023 win over The Iron Savages while Austin and Colten haven't had one since FULL GEAR 2023: ZERO HOUR on November 18th when they lost to MJF and Samoa Joe.
So not only is this a dip back into the tag team rivalry between the two teams, it's also a return to form for two former AEW World Tag Team Championship duos! Which pair will get a last minute edge for their trio before the Winner Takes All fight during the ZERO HOUR event prior to DYNASTY 2024 proper?
TRIOS BOUT...
TNT Champion Adam Copeland, ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe, & NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston vs. Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin)
After being physically assaulted by Brody King on DYNAMITE under the guise of a Mixed Tag Match, TNT Champion Adam Copeland is getting right back into action in preparation for DYNASTY 2024, and that means Trios combat with ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe and NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston at his side! Their foes for Saturday night, the guys who like to say every flight with them is a red eye (https://www.shopaew.com/roster/topflight/top-flight-red-eye.html), Top Flight and Action Andretti!
Dante Martin was one of the competitors who pushed Copeland to new lengths during the Cope Open that preceded Adam's TNT Championship win, and Kingston danced with Dante too many moons ago on the 100th edition of AEW DARK, but everything else about this Trios battle is uncharted territory. The TNT Champion has never teamed with Mark or Eddie before, much less both of them in the same contest, Eddie is the only one who has previously fought with Action Andretti though that was as part of the 2023 Face of the Revolution Ladder Match, and none of them have battled Darius Martin before.
Conversely, the Martin Brothers and Action are quite familiar competing together. Between AEW and ROH they've united on twelve occasions, have won three straight Trios matches in ROH, are 8-4 overall, and have won four of their last five between the two companies! This is going to be a tough fight for both teams, a rough outing for the Copeland/Briscoe/Kingston trio as they prepare for The House of Black, and certainly a risky endeavor to undertake so close to what will most certainly be a violent Sunday night!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Skye Blue vs. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch
Coming off her failed TBS Championship challenge against Julia Hart, Leyla Hirsch is set to lock up with Hart's right-hand woman this Saturday night on COLLISION! Leyla and Skye have been partners and they've been on opposite sides of matches, but they've never clashed in singles competition until today! Hirsch desperately wants another shot at Hart's championship after how things ended in their TBS Championship match, can she get closer to one by going through Skye Blue on COLLISION?
RAMPAGE
HIGH FLYING 4/20 ELIMINATION MATCH...
Rob Van Dam vs. Lee Johnson vs. Isiah Kassidy vs. Komander
We are one day shy of two months since the last time Rob Van Dam fought for AEW, but this 4/20 he is back in action in a High Flying Elimination Match! It's a whole mess of firsts right here as RVD hasn't faced any of these competitors in his five previous AEW contests, and only Lee Johnson and Komander have ever been involved with one another outside of a tag, trios, or multi-man tag before, so this is going to be one exciting, and combustible, combination of elements! Who will fly highest on 4/20 in his elimination affair? Tune into TNT this Saturday to find out!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Yuka Sakazai vs. Emi Sakura
It's been a little over three years since Yuka Sakazaki and Emi Sakura have met in singles competition, that night it was as competitors in the Japan Bracket of the Women's World Title Eliminator Tournament, and it was Yuka who emerged victorious. The two women traded wins in several tags and trios in 2022, with their last AEW encounter taking place on the 5/28/22 edition of AEW DARK, but their most recent bout actually happened for Tokyo Joshi Pro on March 31st of this year when Yuka's Magical Sugar Rabbits team beat Emi and Chris Brookes in a tag team bout.
This Saturday night on RAMPAGE the two women will meet once again, Emi's first AEW match in four months, and both are looking to get their footing in the Women's Division post-DYNASTY 2024! We know Serena Deeb has a vested interest in Yuka Sakazaki, will we feel her presence on Saturday night?
TRIOS MATCH...
The Undisputed Kingdom (AEW International Champion Roderick Strong & ROH World Tag Champions Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. Kyle O'Reilly, Rocky Romero, & Daddy Magic
Though Kyle O'Reilly will be the one squaring off with Roderick Strong on Sunday night during DYNASTY 2024, there are plenty of people who have scores to settle with The Undisputed Kingdom, and two of them will get a chance to join Kyle this Saturday night! “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard and Rocky Romero have both engaged Strong in Eliminator matches in the last month, both were beaten, but the bigger concern wasn't so much the loss as what The UK did before, during, and after those matches.
Now Kyle has a chance to soften Roddy up before their championship fight on Sunday, while Menard and Romero have their opportunity to even some scores with the Undisputed Kingdom in the process! Saturday night is loaded with Trios competition, but this one may just be the hardest-hitting one of the bunch!
All Elite Wrestling comes to Peoria and the Peoria Civic Center just twenty-four hours before DYNASTY 2024 airs on pay-per-view! The action begins with COLLISION at 8pm ET/7pm CT and continues on into RAMPAGE immediately after; it all goes down on TNT, but be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube Channel to get ready for the fights with highlights from Wednesday night's DYNAMITE, as well as previous editions of COLLISION and RAMPAGE, not to mention the most recent CONTROL CENTER with Tony Schiavone! Then join us in Jacksonville next week for all the fallout from DYNASTY 2024!
Comments