11 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (Jun 14 - Review)
3. Collision Takes Shape
AEW
It was odd hearing Excalibur tee up Collision in the spot once occupied by Rampage (that card was put together on the proverbial napkin as the show was going off the air - more on that later), but Saturday's debut is set to offer more than just CM Punk's return.
Andrade taking on Buddy Matthews was almost snuck on the card but could steal the whole show. The aforementioned women's tag team match could be setting the stage for a Thunder Rosa return (and swerve turn?), and Miro's first match of 2023 and first AEW contest since September 2022's All Out pay-per-view stands to be a squash so gnarly that he'll probably be back in title contention by the end of the night.
Tony Khan is under immense pressure not to see his new vehicle go the way of Rampage, and though no such judgments can be arrived upon from the debut alone, the stage has been extremely well set for Things Being Different This Time.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years.
As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
