9 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Collision (July 1)

2. Samoa Joe, Destroyer

AEW Collision Samoa Joe Roderick Strong
AEW

There's no more believable wrestler in the world than Samoa Joe.

Joe has long been that rough, tough badass who can put a beating on your with strikes or simply opt to put you to sleep. As seen at several points throughout his career, when Samoa Joe is fully in his stride, there's no more intense sight in professional wrestling.

The swagger, the trash-talking, the stare, the snug work style. Right now, Joe is in his stride and then some.

In just three weeks of television - one of which he was absent from - Samoa Joe already feels like the Final Boss of AEW Collision. And this week, it was poor Roderick Strong who was on the receiving end of the Samoan Submission Machine's wrath.

The match between Joe and Roddy was as good as you'd expect from two extremely capable hands, with Strong fighting from underneath and showcasing some impressive strength in taking it to his opponent. Likewise, the commentary team of Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness - complete with CM Punk - did a phenomenal job in putting over Roddy Strong as a cardio monster, while also putting over Samoa Joe as, well, the monster.

This meeting of two ROH icons ended when Samoa Joe made Roddy say "night, night" after around 14 minutes, with Strong passing out rather than tapping out. Setting up a tantalising Joe vs. Punk match in the semi-finals of the Owen Hart Cup, further spice was added to this contest when Joe talked trash to the Second City Saint post-match, before the Destroyer attacked Strong and sent him packing on a stretcher.

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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.