5 Ups & 5 Downs For AEW Collision (Dec 2 - Results & Review)

2. Some Solid Backstage Progression

While one can question why Ethan Page has only been featured three times on AEW programming since his hometown battle with MJF on the third ever episode of Collision back in June - all three of those matches being losses, all three being doomed to AEW Rampage, and two of them being battle royals - it was at least great to see All Ego resurface on AEW TV here.

Page was featured in a backstage promo, bigging up his more recent ROH appearances and boldly throwing down the challenge to Kenny Omega for a match next week in Montreal. As always with the former North man, he brought his usual charisma to this challenge, and hopefully this is the start of more TV time for Page. Then again, this could just be a case of Tony Khan bringing the Canadian out for another Canada show, just to revert to type and banish Ethan to ROH once Montreal is out of the way...

Elsewhere, seeing Willie Mack on AEW TV was similarly a blast. Mack has long been one of the most underrated men in the game, and we now know he'll be going up against Wardlow next week. Then there was the interaction between Miro and CJ Perry, with the Bulgarian promising to stay away from Perry's new client, Andrade El Idolo; a promise that clearly won't last all that long.

Whereas the in-ring focus for AEW women's division was again incredibly frustrating on Collision, there was at least some promo time for "Timeless" Toni Storm and, later, Skye Blue. With these two gearing up to do battle over the AEW Women's Championship, Blue cut what could well be her best promo so far. As ever, of course, "Timeless" Toni was great at doing her "Timeless" Toni schtick - even if AEW needs to be extremely careful not to, like Roddy Strong, jump the shark with Storm's curent persona.

Shane Taylor was another to get some time in the spotlight, as he and Lee Moriarty confronted Keith Lee backstage. While some may quibble at AEW TV time being taken up by ROH content, the now-confirmed Taylor vs. Lee match at ROH Final Battle later this month is something that's been a long time - too long, to be honest - in the making.

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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, 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 the 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, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.