9 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Collision (July 8)

by Andrew Pollard

1. Most Importantly, The Main Event Delivered

AEW Collision CM Punk Samoa Joe
AEW

It's one thing to build up a match, but it's key that such build is delivered on. And boy, did Samoa Joe and CM Punk deliver.

It was always going to be a tough proposition for anyone to follow the outstanding FTR vs. Bullet Club Gold bout, yet Joe and Punk managed to overcome that potential obstacle to close Collision out in thrilling fashion. With call-backs aplenty, these two veterans delivered pro wrestling gold for 15 minutes, as the Second City Saint rolled up the Samoan Submission Machine for the 1-2-3.

While the in-ring work was fantastic here, even more important was the body language of both men once Punk had scored the three-count. These two icons of ROH and beyond sold the magnitude of the result magnificently. For CM Punk, he was almost in disbelief at what he'd finally been able to do. Likewise, Samoa Joe was similarly stunned at what had just taken place.

Again calling back to Ring of Honor, a post-match handshake between these warriors was a respectful way to mark the occasion... only for Joe to turn that handshake into a Coquina Clutch.

From here, we've got the tantalising prospect of more to come from Punk and Joe, plus the intriguing final of the men's Owen pitting the Chicago native up against his pal Ricky Starks.

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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.