8 Ups & 2 Downs For AEW Collision (29 July)

A main event marvel, a ladder war, and the Real Worlds Champion.

by Andrew Pollard
AEW Collision Tony Schiavone CM Punk
AEW

In what is becoming a habit, AEW Collision once again delivered a show that had plenty to please the vast majority of wrestling fans.

Of course, the main attraction of this latest dose of Saturday night AEW action was the prospect of unlikely partners-turned-BFFs Adam Cole and MJF challenging for FTR's AEW Tag Team Titles. Elsewhere, there was the chance to see CM Punk and Ricky Starks going face-to-face as Absolute has his eyes on what Punker's been keeping in his little red bag.

Having put on a belter of a bout on AEW Collision's first episode, we this week had Andrade El Idolo and Buddy Matthews squaring off once more; this time in a ladder match with Andrade's mask on the line. Nicely padding out Collision's two hours, Darby Allin had a surprise opponent in the shape of Minoru Suzuki, Mercedes Martinez took on Kiera Hogan in a bout that ultimately had TBS Title implications, and three of Bullet Club Gold's number lined up against the electric trio of Darius Martin, Action Andretti, and El Hijo del Vikingo.

With all of that in mind, then, let's takes a look at the Ups & Downs of the latest episode of a show that's continuing to be the highlight of the pro wrestling week for many.

Saturday night's alright for fighting, indeed...

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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, 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. 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.