8 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW Collision (May 18 - Results & Review)

A hot opener, a good main event, some solid in-ring work, and some painfully familiar issues.

by Andrew Pollard
AEW Collision Dutch Bryan Danielson
AEW

Another week, another AEW Collision in the books.

Emanating from Portland, Oregon's Moda Center, this week's Collision - actually taped ahead of time on Thursday - delivered plenty of what we've come to expect from AEW's Saturday staple. Namely, it brought mainly solid-to-good wrestling while offering very little in terms of advancement and story development.

For the longest time now, it's often been that major moments and major story progression have been reserved for AEW Dynamite, and this was a Collision episode that very much backed up that sentiment. That's not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable show for the most part, though.

If there were any notable developments to speak of here, it was cementing the (obvious) three men who'll do battle on Dynamite for a shot at Chris Jericho's FTW Title. Other than that, there was a hot opener, a very good main event, and a few other matches that, while decent, will be forgotten about by tomorrow.

As Elton John has long told us, Saturday night's alright for fighting...

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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 and Presenter, 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 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 and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.