It's been a wild week so far in the aftermath of DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024! The TNT Championship was stripped from Adam Copeland due to injuries suffered inside the Barbed Wire Steel Cage and a Ladder Match was established for FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 to crown a new champion. Konosuke Takeshita was the first man to qualify for that pay-per-view battle, and we will see who else earns their way in the coming weeks. Plus, we witnessed AEW International Champion Will Ospreay win his second Casino Gauntlet match, this time to earn an AEW World Championship match at FORBIDDEN DOOR against Swerve Strickland, or whoever may be champion come June 30th! It's been a wild one, and it continues tonight with some Saturday night fights for your viewing pleasure...
COLLISION drops 8pm ET/7pm CT tonight on TNT, and it's quite the stacked night of action! In your main event, AEW International Champion Will Ospreay will defend his title against Kyle O'Reilly, plus we've got Roderick Strong fighting Lio Rush, Claudio versus Johnny TV, Daniel Garcia & Shibata fighting The Workhorsemen, and more! It's all about FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 taking place June 30th at the UBS Arena on Long Island, and you can get ready for Saturday night's action by dropping in on the official AEW YouTube channel before the show begins for highlights from DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024, and more! Then All Elite Wrestling heads to Colorado and the Blue Arena in Loveland for the return of MJF and Saraya battling Mariah May one-on-one!
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Will Ospreay(c) vs. Kyle O'Reilly
Before April 24th's DYNAMITE in Jacksonville, Kyle O'Reilly and Will Ospreay had never shared the ring before, but that changed with the unpredictable nature of the first Casino Gauntlet Match in which the winner earned an International Championship bout. Despite surviving a Hidden Blade from “The Aerial Assassin”, Kyle O'Reilly was not able to put together the win that night, instead he had to watch as Ospreay defeated Komander to earn the title fight with Roderick Strong at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024, and then stood by ringside to watch as The Undisputed Kingdom confronted Ospreay after his victory.
O'Reilly also had to sit back and watch this past Sunday night as Will Ospreay did what Kyle was unable to do at DYNASTY 2024 a month prior: dethrone Strong as the AEW International Champion. It was likely slightly satsifying for O'Reilly to see Roddy lose, but more so frustrating to know it was someone else who accomplished that goal.
Keeping all that in mind, Kyle O'Reilly should consider himself fortunate that tonight on COLLISION, he will be the first man to challenge the new International Champion for his title, and potentially beat the man who beat the man that beat him to end The Aerial Assassin's reign before it gets out of the starting blocks. It would be a massive stumble for Ospreay to lose this title less than a week after winning it, but also just three days after earning a World Championship match!
ONE-ON-ONE...
“La Mera Mera” Thunder Rosa vs. Reina Dorada
Reina Dorada, an eleven year veteran of the sport, comes to All Elite Wrestling by way of Mexico City after having competed all over the landscape of the Lucha Libre scene! From AAA to CMLL to independents throughout the country, “The Golden Queen” has even competed for House of Glory in the United States, as well as several other promotions in Texas, California, Illinois, even events at The Arena in Philadelphia! Suffice to say she is a well-traveled competitor, and is now looking to make an impact on a worldwide scale tonight when she steps into the ring with Thunder Rosa!
Now this is a first-time match between the former AEW Women's World Champion and Dorada, and you can bet that the newcomer to AEW is aiming to step up and show off her skills in hopes of earning future opportunities with All Elite Wrestling. As for Rosa, she's got to have her mind set on getting hands on Deonna Purrazzo after their fight during the DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024: BUY-IN ended with some chicanery from “The Virtuosa”.
Will we see Reina Dorada score a breakout victory tonight on COLLISION, or will “La Mera Mera” use this fight to get back on track towards another Women's World Championship bout?
TAG TEAM ACTION...
The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) vs. Daniel Garcia & Katsuyori Shibata
Even though Anthony Henry was only cleared for competition barely two weeks ago after suffering a broken jaw in March, he and JD Drake jumped right back into Ring of Honor competition, having fought two bouts in a week's time, and now they're coming to COLLISION to punch in once again! This contest marks The Workhorsemen's first tag team bout in AEW since losing to Sting and Darby Allin back in January, but they aim to make an impact on the fans, and on the bodies of their opponents for the night; two former ROH Pure Champions in Daniel Garcia and Katsuyori Shibata!
The tandem of Garcia and Shibata is quite an imposing one given the particular skill set each man possesses. They are deadly combination of striking ability and submission grappling, and any team that faces them should be quite wary of getting down on the mat with either man. That being said, Henry and Drake are quite the unique team as well, two men whose skill sets are quite different from one another, but yet compliment each other quite beautifully. They hit hard, they move quick, and do not back down from any fight no matter who the opponents may be. Perhaps that mentality is what's earned The Workhorsemen a groundswell of support from the AEW faithful, and they aim to show the Garcia/Shibata tandem they mean business in the AEW tag team division!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Roderick Strong vs. Lio Rush
Roderick Strong is not a happy man; not only did he lose the AEW International Championship to “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024, he also had to watch as his opportunity to earn the FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 AEW World Championship match slipped away before he could even get inside the ring! The nature of the Casino Gauntlet match means the bout can end at any time, even before all twenty-one potential entrants have been added to the bout, but to be the next man on deck and watch the bout end before your music even hits is definitely a kick in the gut.
Apparently that's what happened to Roderick Strong on Wednesday, or at least that's what he is claiming happened, and as a result he's looking to take some anger out on anyone else who was involved in that match. Perhaps because of their history in one-on-one matches, “The Messiah of the Backbreaker” is looking for a fight with Lio Rush, the man who entered seventh in the Casino Gauntlet, the man who hadn't appeared in an AEW ring since 12/8/21, and the man who Roddy holds three one-on-one victories over throughout their career.
The first time these two locked horns was during the ROH/NJPW WAR OF THE WORLDS 2016 Tour, just a few months removed from Lio winning ROH's 2016 Top Prospect Tournament, challenging Jay Lethal for the ROH World Title, and getting a DQ victory over Christopher Daniels. It would be a couple years before the two faced off again, this time in a pair of matches when both were residing in Florida, and Strong again proved victorious in their two encounters there.
That was six years ago, both have been through a great deal in their careers and their personal lives since then, and tonight they will lock up once again! Strong is fighting angry, not always the best situation to be in, but he's also fighting with Matt Taven and Mike Bennett at his side which may prove the deciding factor in this contest! Can Lio Rush make his return to AEW competition a successful one, or will “The Messiah of the Backbreaker” use The Undisputed Kingdom to tip the scales in his favor?
SINGLES CONTEST...
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Johnny TV
For the first time in their storied careers, tonight on COLLISION two of the fittest individuals in the entire sport of professional wrestling will go one-on-one! As heard in the clip embedded above, Johnny TV has challenged Claudio Castagnoli to a fight and “The Swiss Superman” has accepted the challenge. Of course, what else would one expect from a member of the Blackpool Combat Club, but after coming so close to victory in the Casino Gauntlet Match on Wednesday night, Claudio has to be amped up to make up for that “L” on his resume!
Given the insane fitness of both men involved, the 1% body fat between them combined, this is a battle of two men with insane cardio, off the charts endurance, body control like no others, and strength matched by few. This is a bit of a low key dream match, but it is becoming reality tonight on COLLISION!
TAG TEAM CONTEST...
Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty) vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson)
They are multi-time tag team champions over the course of the years they've spent together, and they even fought a handful of AEW bouts in 2021 during the Jacksonville days, but it wasn't until they came under the NJPW STRONG banner that Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson really bloomed into the team they are today. Competing as part of Tom Lawlor's Team Filthy, the two men had shots at the NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Titles, were able to fight at Korakuen Hall in July 2023, but ultimately grew frustrated with Team Filthy and Tom Lawlor, stabbed him in the back at WINDY CITY RIOT 2024, and struck out on their own once again.
Now, for the first time since fighting FTR on the 6/21/21 edition of DARK: ELEVATION and for the first time since adopting the West Coast Wreckign Crew moniker, Royce Isaccs and Jorel Nelson are back in AEW to make an impact on one of the most impactful groups in the company, Shane Taylor Promotions! While Shane and Lee Moriarty haven't amassed the wins in their column that they'd hoped as a team, they've certainly left a lasting impression on everyone they've faced, and tonight's tag team contrest with the West Coast Wrecking Crew will be no different!
It's going to be a hard-hitting affair when these four men lock up on COLLISION, and much like Thunder Rosa's bout, just an example of the unpredictability that FORBIDDEN DOOR season brings to All Elite Wrestling!
ALSO IN ACTION:
-Cage of Agony (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, & Toa Liona)!
-We'll hear from FTR!
COLLISION is coming your way Saturday night at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and what a loaded card is in store for the AEW faithful: Roddy versus Lio Rush! Cage of Agony in Trios action! Thunder Rosa welcoming Reina Dorada to AEW! International Champion Will Ospreay defending against Kyle O'Reilly! It's going to be a tremendous night of action on TNT as we heads towards FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 on June 30th at the UBS Arena! Get prepared for the Saturday night of fights by visiting to official AEW YouTube channel before the show begins for highlights from DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, then join us next Wednesday in Loveland, CO for the return of MJF and Saraya versus Mariah May!