8 Ups & 2 Downs For AEW Collision (12 August)

Downs...

2. Same Old, Same Old

Kris Statlander is great. Willow Nightingale is great. Mercedes Martinez is great. Diamante is a welcome addition back to AEW programming whose alliance with Martinez already looks to be a smart move from Tony Khan.

So, why can't these women get more than the tired, head-scratching formula that Khan applies to Collision's ladies' bouts?

On a two-hour broadcast, Statlander & Nightingale vs. Martinez & Diamante got nine minutes, three of which were a picture-in-picture commercial break. With that being Collision's one women's match, this is again a slap in the face to the promotion's female talent.

As for the match itself, it was somewhat of a mixed bag. There were a few moments where the timing was a little off, plus Mercedes essentially Razor's Edge-ing her partner onto their opponents on the outside was a scary spot that could've ended extremely badly, but there were some positives. Martinez and Diamante were fantastic as the mocking heels when they were on top, Willow had a nice babyface comeback, Stat has one of the best hot tags in the game right now, and both pairings served up some great, inventive tandem offense.

Unfortunately, this same issue will likely be written about during next week's Collision Ups & Downs, but hey, maybe Tony Khan will surprise us and feature more than one women's match or at least feature one that doesn't spend a good chunk of its time playing out during an ad break.