While the troubled Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Bryan Danielson, and FTR segment opened the show, it was Samoa Joe and Willie Mack who opened the in-ring action of this week's Collision.
This was only Mack's second appearance on AEW TV, and his first since a January 2023 loss to Brian Cage on Rampage. For those who haven't seen Willie's work in the likes of MLW, IMPACT Wrestling, AAA, and ROH, this bout was a nice showcase for the impressive Missouri native.
There wasn't any real risk here of Samoa Joe losing the ROH TV Title, but this was a fun back and forth between two powerful fellas. The finish came when the Samoan Submission Machine stopped Mack from hitting his Six-Star Frog Splash, with Joe instead hitting his opponent with the Muscle Buster to get the 1-2-3.
Seeing more of Willie Mack on AEW Collision in the future would certainly be welcomed by this writer.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.
