7 Ups & 1 Down For AEW Collision (Jan 20 - Results & Review)

5. A Welcome Singles Return

Whilst she may have made her in-ring return last month, this week's Collision marked Thunder Rosa's first singles match since successfully defending the AEW Women's Title against Jamie Hayter back in August 2022.

Right now, AEW is at the point of reintroducing Rosa and establishing her as a strong part of the women's division. And with this outing against Queen Aminata, that was certainly achieved.

Aminata proved to be a perfect foil for Thunder, with the Guinian an ideal larger powerhouse for La Mera Mera to work against. When Thunder Rosa's at her best, it's often against a more powerful opponent or an underhand heel; pitting her against the odds and making the most of the unique, fantastic fire she has on her comebacks and offense.

In that regard, a nice story was told of Queen Aminata soon honing in on the back which kept Thunder Rosa out of action for well over a year. And with her facials, Rosa did a phenomenal sell job. With both ladies, they absolutely brought the physicality here, laying in some snug shots and showcasing some great aggression throughout.

Using the real-life issues with Thunder's back was smart, and it again played a part in launching an electric comeback against her stronger, larger opponent, with Rosa sealing the win with the Tijuana Bomb after nine minutes.

Could the match have done without the picture-in-picture break sandwiched in the middle of it? Absolutely. And were the crowd a little quiet in the early stages? A smidge, with Queen Aminata not exactly a 'known' presence to the majority of those watching. Still, the St. Louis fans did raise the volume as the match progressed, rallying behind Thunder Rosa.

Also, with eight AEW/ROH appearances under her belt across the past month, if she's not already signed, AEW could do far worse than making Queen Aminata #AllElite.

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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 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.