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

5. Solid In-Ring From Shibata And Romero

AEW Collision Rocky Romero Katsuyori Shibata
AEW

Of the three qualifying matches for a shot at the FTW Title, Katsuyori Shibata vs. Rocky Romero was by far the most competitive and was likewise by far the most enjoyable.

While nobody in their right mind expected a Romero win, the action itself was smooth, flowing, and nicely snug when called for between two men obviously extremely well-versed in the style of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. And for those long-standing fans of NJPW, there was some sense of intrigue here for the simple fact that Shibata and Rocky had never faced each other in a singles match before this.

As solely a spectacle of in-ring work, this was a really nice contest, with Shibata largely focussing on his opponent's leg, culminating in the submission victory thanks to a Figure Four at the ten-minute mark. Romero had a couple of nice moments on offense, such as an early Octopus Lock and a lovely Tornado DDT, but this match was very much in tune with the bulk of the show - a predictable bout with zero suspense but technically sound wrestling.

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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 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.