8 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Collision (June 17)

Ups...

8. The Presentation

AEW Collision
AEW

Many were pondering what exactly AEW Collision would look and feel like. And on that front, AEW has done a great job with the overall identity of its new Saturday night show.

Visually, Collision does very much feel like a familiar AEW show, but it has enough uniqueness to make it not merely be a Dynamite or Rampage clone. The red ropes and the logo-emblazed ring apron work well, and the most impressive element of the entire setup is the fantastic stage design, with a giant screen either side of where the wrestlers emerge from as they make their way to the ring.

Away from the look of Collision, there was a sense of intrigue to see how the commentary team would line up. With it announced over the weekend that Jim Ross, Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness would be on the call, that trio was largely just a double-act in reality.

Handling most of the heavy lifting, Kelly and McGuinness - who of course are no strangers to one another due to their time in ROH - were fantastic. For JR, he was extremely hoarse when he joined the announce table for the show's main event, and Ross himself has since tweeted how he's going to step away "to heal" - with Collision coming shortly after Jim had a fall at the end of last week.

Speaking of "announce table", it was also great to see the commentary booth at ringside, rather than be up by the stage. A small change, but a welcome one that likewise helps to make AEW Collision feel different to other AEW programming.

Yes, there was the odd flub - Kevin Kelly butchering Andrade El Idolo's name several times, ring announcer Dasha Gonzalez announcing Buddy Murphy instead of Buddy Matthews - but AEW Collision has a brilliant overall vibe to it.

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.