8 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW Collision (9 September)

1. Couldn't Roddy Have Got A More Dominant Win?

AEW Collision Darby Allin Roderick Strong
AEW

Not to say that Roderick Strong should've beaten Darby Allin in a quick squash match, but having that bout go 15 minutes took away some of the impact of Luchasaurus' pre-match attack on Darby.

Allin was battered by the dinosaur, thrown into a metal door, left in a broken-down mess, and was clearly at a disadvantage against Roddy. So, the fact it took 15 minutes for Strong - complete with interference from Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Nick Wayne, and AR Fox - to put Darby away, doesn't seem the wisest of calls.

Yes, Darby Allin is a fantastic seller and is one of the best fighting-from-underneath babyfaces in the game these days, so 15 minutes allowed for a decent underdog story for the former TNT Champion. The problem is, the valiant, defying-the-odds Darby wasn't really needed here. Well, at least not to this extent.

If Strong got the win in maybe eight or ten minutes, that adds further meaning to the Luchasaurus attack, and it also plays up Roddy as a snivelling, smart heel who fully takes advantage of a situation. And for Darby, he loses nothing, but gains a little more sympathy for how the pre-match assault had him at such a disadvantage Strong was able to score a fairly swift win.

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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 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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.