6 Ups & 3 Downs For AEW Collision (June 1 - Results & Review)

Ups...

6. Good Opener Makes Roddy Look Like A Beast

AEW Collision Roderick Strong Lio Rush
AEW

Making his AEW Collision debut, nobody particularly thought Lio Rush might score an upset win over Roderick Strong, but that doesn't mean that Rush vs. Roddy wasn't a fun, effective match all the same.

Having spent 2024 working for various independent promotions - on the heels of plentiful work in the likes of NJPW and GCW for the past few years - Lio was a perfect opponent for Strong's style of wrestling. As in, his small stature and energetic flying and bumping meshed brilliantly as the Undisputed Kingdom man dealt out plenty of suplexes, strikes, submissions, and of course his patented backbreakers.

For Lio's part, he also had several spirited moments to showcase his ridiculous athleticism and always-entertaining offense, whether that was directed at Roddy or at the ringside duo of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett.

If it weren't for the company's already bloated roster, Lio Rush would make for a fine addition to AEW. Regardless of his contract status, though, the 29-year-old was utilised in a great way here - even if one could argue this spot could've easily gone to one of the many, many talents already contracted to AEW - in bringing some relative name value and giving Strong a fairly dominant win on the back of losing the International Title to Will Ospreay.

Advertisement
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.