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

3. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

AEW Collision Samoa Joe Roderick Strong The Kingdom
AEW

Roderick Strong is great. Mike Bennett and Matt Taven are great. The Iron Savages are a personal favourite of your writer's and have so much potential. That said, everything involving Strong and the Kingdom on this week's Collision just felt a little naff.

There's only so many times you can hear Roddy scream "Samoa", "Dasha", or "ass" before it becomes a little stale. And sadly, this whole schtick felt extremely stale on this latest Collision; not helped by the Iron Savages being put away in barely two minutes.

Whether it was the backstage interaction with Samoa Joe or the stuff with Boulder and Bronson, this is starting to feel somewhat played out for Strong and his buddies. Yes, the "Adam!" joke was funny the first few times around, but there needs to be something more by this point.

To borrow a line from The Smiths, that joke isn't funny anymore.

Having Adam Cole on the shelf clearly impacts whatever's going on with Strong, the Kingdom, and the wider story with MJF and Samoa Joe. And likewise, the ongoing Devil saga means that Roddy feels somewhat stuck in a holding pattern until that reveal is eventually made. Either way, AEW is at a very real risk of completely jumping the shark on what started as a funny 'bit'.

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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.