8 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW Collision (19 August)

1. Another Dazzling Collision Main Event

AEW Collision Christian Cage Darby Allin
AEW

With each passing week, there's the thought that surely AEW Collision can't serve up yet another mesmerising main event. To the show's immense credit, there's now been ten episodes of Collision, and all ten have delivered a main event that's been good, great, or a bona fide Match of the Year contender.

For just shy of 21 minutes, Christian Cage and Darby Allin closed out this week's Collision with a belter.

This is the first time that the two have gone one-on-one, and they carved up a marvellous story based around the fiery, frenetic, risk-taking babyface trying to overcome the cunning, underhand veteran and his "Sea Monster".

That Cage can operate at such a high level at the age of 49 is remarkable, particularly when thinking of the wear and tear put on his body in the various high-risk gimmick matches of yesteryear. And for Darby Allin, the snap with which he performs every move and takes every bump is just ridiculous. Without any sense of hyperbole, there simply isn't anyone in the world like Darby.

After Luchasaurus had been sent to the back, there was a great nearfall as Allin kicked out at 2.99 following a TNT Title shot to the head. That was soon followed by another great spot where Cage nailed his opponent with a spear; the finishing manoeuvre of his long-time BFF Edge, of course.

Darby would eventually manage to outsmart the wily veteran, reversing an Unprettier into a jacknife cover for the victory, but that was immediately followed by a beatdown from Christian and Luchasaurus. Being the total prick that he is, Cage then made Tony Schiavone count a faux three count on the fallen Allin to round out another solid outing for AEW Collision.

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 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.