9 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Collision (July 8)
A MOTY candidate, a magical main event, and plenty more on AEW Collision.
It's been very much a case of so far, so good for AEW Collision during the show's previous three outings, and All Elite Wrestling's Saturday offering once again delivered the goods in its fourth week.
Emanating from Regina, Saskatchewan's Brandt Centre, the clear and obvious main attraction of this week's Collision was the renewed rivalry between CM Punk and Samoa Joe. With their extensive history - and the small fact that Punk has never bested the Samoan Submission Machine - anticipation was high that these wily veterans would put on something special when they clashed in the semi-finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament.
In other Owen action, former Team Taz cohorts Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs squared off to see who would face Punk or Joe in the men's final of this tourney. Elsewhere on the card, FTR faced Bullet Club Gold's Jay White and Juice Robinson in an eliminator affair, House of Black's Julia Hart took on Bambi Hall, and we had the long-awaited return to action of Scorpio Sky, as the two-time TNT Champion tangled with the promising Action Andretti.
As has become a regular pattern in its short lifespan, AEW Collision again proved to be a highlight of the pro wrestling week here. With that in mind, let's see how where this latest episode shone, and where it maybe fell a little short.
Saturday night's alright for fighting, indeed...