AEW made their debut in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a jam-packed episode of pro-wrestling.
The show featured one title match, two tournament final bouts and a match involving the AEW Trios Champions.
It continued a streak of fantastic AEW Collision episodes, making it one of the most consistently good wrestling shows on today.
The July 15 2023 episode of AEW Collision is likely to be the first to feature a five-star match rating from Dave Meltzer, as well as hosting the finals of the second-annual Owen Hart Cup.
Let us know your favorite match in the comment section below the article!
FTR vs Bullet Club Gold (AEW Tag Team Championships)
One of the greatest tag team matches in history took place on AEW Collision, with FTR vs Bullet Club Gold.
FTR defended their AEW Tag Team Championships in a two-out-of-three falls match, taking on the duo of Jay White and Juice Robinson.
Bullet Club Gold defeated FTR the week prior to earn a title shot, and neither team disappointed in this nearly one-hour long match.
It equalled any of the FTR vs Briscoe matches, proving 58-minutes of fantastic tag team action.
In a match that will surely get a five-star rating, Bullet Club Gold earned the first fall through Jay White’s Blade Runner, before some innovative offense from FTR took all he had to kick out before three.
FTR eventually pulled one fall back, with a huge Shatter Machine onto Juice Robinson to make the score 1-1.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – 5.25 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 9.43
- Atletifo Rating – 5 Stars
Ruby Soho vs Willow Nightingale (Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final)
Ruby Soho went 0-2 in AEW finals, losing the Owen Hart Cup final for the second year in a row.
The two women were put in a tough spot on the card, following an incredible hour-long match from FTR and Bullet Club Gold.
They did their best, with the crowd getting behind Willow Nightingale during the match and willing her to win.
As expected, the Outcasts interfered ad nauseum, but Nightingale overcame it all and won the match, winning the Owen Hart Cup to a big crowd reaction.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – n/a
- Cagematch Rating – 6.36
- Atletifo Rating – 2.5 Stars
Kings of the Black Throne vs Local Talent
Two thirds of Death Triangle faced two local jobbers in the third match of AEW Collision, ending them in a short match.
The bout lasted less than three-minutes, and saw total domination from the AEW Trios Champions.
This match is too short to get a rating from Cagematch or Dave Meltzer, but gets a solid 2 stars from Atletifo.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – n/a
- Cagematch Rating – N/A
- Atletifo Rating – 2 Stars
CM Punk vs Ricky Starks (Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final)
Ricky Starks became just the third man to beat CM Punk in singles action in AEW, to become the second Owen Hart Cup winner.
Despite being the overwhelming favorite for the match, CM Punk was outsmarted by the younger Starks, who grabbed the rope to help his pin fall on Punk be successful.
Punk played a heel role in the match, taking in the negative crowd reaction and making it a part of the match.
Starks also showed his heelish tendencies in the match, which was especially clear with the finish of the match.
While CM Punk looks set to turn heel (especially after his match with Satoshi Kojima at Forbidden Door), Ricky Starks could also be a top heel on Collision following his actions on AEW Collision.
It wasn’t either man’s best matches, but was a well-paced, drama filled match from two of AEW’s best.
- Dave Meltzer’s Star Rating – 4 Stars
- Cagematch Rating – 6.74
- Atletifo Rating – 3 Stars
Garbage, like all aew matches & shows.
Anyone who hates on Collision must marry a rainbow dinosaur.