6 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Collision (15 July)

2. Calgary, Take A Bow

AEW Collision FTR Bullet Club Gold Calgary
AEW

Few places are as synonymous with professional wrestling as Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And boy, did Calgary show up last night for AEW Collision.

Emanating from the historic Saddledome, this latest Collision offering featured an absolutely rabid crowd. From the moment Juice Robinson and Jay White made their way out to the ring, those in attendance were on fire. Despite being heels, the Bullet Club Gold fellas got a strong reaction from Calgary, but that reaction was nothing when compared to the one reserved for FTR.

As for the match itself, FTR vs. BCG had the crowd on the edge of their seat throughout. Plentiful "This Is Awesome" chants accompanied the action, and a standing ovation awaited Robinson, White, Dax and Cash when that near-hour contest was up.

There was a slight dip in the energy for the early goings of Ruby Soho vs. Willow Nightingale, with the crowd clearly recovering from the stunning in-ring work they'd just seen. Once Soho vs. Nightingale really got going, though, Calgary again ate it up.

Malakai Black, Brody King, and Andrade El Idolo all likewise garnered a decent reaction from those in the Saddledome, and then there was the main event. There, Ricky Starks was over like rover with the Canadian crowd, whilst CM Punk elicited a monstrous response; a response split with cheers and boos.

Having the finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament take place in the King of Hart's hometown was always going to bring in a passionate crowd, and Calgary delivered an electric atmosphere.

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Senior Writer
Senior 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, 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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.