6 Ups & 3 Downs For AEW Collision (March 9 - Results & Review)

1. A Diluted, Slightly Muddled Main Event

This may sound extremely harsh, but...

As a plunder war, Mark Briscoe, Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett vs. House of Black ticked plenty of the expected boxes, but it also had so many fundamental issues surrounding it.

Firstly, if you do something similar time and time again, it naturally dims down what was once intriguing. Given how AEW Dynamite featured a No DQ FTW Rules bout, which itself followed the insane main event of AEW Revolution, plus the countless multi-man matches where weapons use is permitted, did we really need yet another match where rules aren't applicable?

The brewing rivalry between Mark Briscoe and the House of Black may have necessitated a physical match with rules thrown out the window, but this is more a problem of such No DQ-type contests happening so regularly. Likewise, those triple-threats, four-ways, and the like mean we see way too many people put through tables, way too many weapons legal, and way too many once-shocking moments now not so shocking because we see them on such a frequent basis.

Elsewhere, the babyface/heel dynamic here was all over the place. Yes, Mark Briscoe is one of the most beloved babyfaces in the industry, but are we expected to have sympathy for Karen Jarrett when she gets misted by Julia Hart? Are we supposed to have sympathy for Jeff Jarrett when he's grabbed by Malakai Black? And are we really meant to be desperate for something bad to not happen to Sonjay Dutt?

All three of those have been presented as irritating, underhand, shortcut-taking prick heels during their time in AEW, but now they're positioned as de factor babyfaces? Jay Lethal has likewise been a villain throughout his AEW tenure, yet that can at least be a little overlooked due to Lethal's tight friendship with the Briscoes. Still, should Chicken trust career villain Jeff Jarrett simply because Jay said so? Probably not.

Again, as a Street Fight, this was good for what you'd want. Credit to all six men for working hard and putting their bodies on the line, but it's tough to get too up for this sort of match when you frankly see them so often, and there wasn't particularly anyone to cheer on in the main event bar the ever-loveable Mark Briscoe.

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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 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.