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

by Andrew Pollard

1. An Excellent Main Event

AEW Collision Bryan Danielson Eddie Kingston
AEW

Where this week's AEW Collision was concerned, it was very much three for three when it comes to the Continental Classic.

While Claudio vs. King was a meshing of elegant, precise power and monstrous brute force, and Andrade vs. Garcia was more a sleek exchange of holds and a classic chess match, Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston closed out Collision with a lovely, snug war between two of the most popular performers in the company.

As is often the case with this duo, plentiful chops were the order of the day, with some of those strikes being absolutely deafening. Then there was a particularly gnarly-looking back suplex on the outside from Kingston to the American Dragon, as both men clearly felt the impact of that.

Adding to the sense of drama was the fact that Eddie had come up short against Brody King on last week's Collision, meaning the Mad King was desperate not to face a second straight Continental Classic loss, especially with his ROH Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship on the line. As such, it didn't take long for Kingston to target Danielson's orbital injury as he attempted to take advantage of the bullseye painted on Bryan's face.

However, despite Eddie's best efforts, it would be Bryan Danielson who emerged victorious here, getting the pinfall win after hitting a Busaiku Knee, in turn getting the Blackpool Combat Man off the mark in the Continental Classic and cementing him as the early favourite to win the tournament.

As usual, there has to be additional props to Nigel McGuinness, who once again did a fantastic job of mocking Bryan at every turn, even shouting advice to Kingston at times, as we continue to dream of Danielson vs. McGuinness at All In next August.

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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.