Last week on COLLISION, Ricky Starks was informed about a thirty-day suspension for his assault on Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat but he essentially didn't care, instead promising that he and his newly acquired manager's license would set the company on fire starting this week! The Acclaimed returned to tag team action with a victory over The Iron Savages, Willow Nightingale and TBS Champion Kris Statlander were defeated by Diamante and Mercedes Martinez, and The House of Black retained their AEW World Trios Championship over CMFTR, thanks in no small part to ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe removing CM Punk from the equation.
Plus we heard Powerhouse Hobbs call out Miro for a fight, and actually lay “The Redeemer” out, and Luchasaurus retained the TNT Championship in an impromptu match versus Brock Anderson that led to this week's fight between Christian Cage and Darby Allin!
This week, as ALL IN: LONDON approaches, COLLISION: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2023 is heading to Lexington, KY and the Rupp Arena with more of the best professional wrestling on the planet today! We know Darby Allin and Christian Cage will lock horns in singles action, their first such fight, and after how their tag match went down last week, Willow Nightingale will take on Diamante in their third AEW match.
The show begins at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW's international fans, so make it a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week's episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest edition of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
GRUDGE MATCH...
Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage (w/ TNT Champion Luchasaurus)
It would be more than accurate to say that Darby Allin has his AEW plate quite full at the current moment. Not only is he heading into ALL IN: LONDON for a Tag Team Coffin Match pitting him and Sting against AR Fox and Swerve Strickland, he's also got a TNT Championship match scheduled for ALL OUT 2023 in Chicago just one week later, and that impending title match has been occupying a great deal of his time on Saturday nights.
Last week, after Luchasaurus took on the impromptu challenge of Brock Anderson, a challenge made into a TNT Championship match by Tony Khan, Darby would come onto the scene to challenge Christian Cage to step up to the plate against him. Though Cage claims to be the actual TNT Champion, despite the fact Luchasaurus was the one who defeated Wardlow on the first COLLISION and is the one who has defended it ever since, this will not be a title fight on Saturday night in Lexington, but rather a standard singles match in an arena where Christian has won five of the seven matches he's fought inside Rupp across his career.
For Darby, with so much going on in his AEW career at this moment, every night is a crucial one for one reason or another, and after his tag team victory over The Gates of Agony on Wednesday, he's going to be ready for another fight on Saturday. While DYNAMITE impacted Darby's ALL IN: LONDON future, this one is all about his ALL OUT 2023 one, as well as his championship endeavors.
Ahead of that TNT Championship fight with Luchasaurus, can Darby take down the faux-champion? There's no question that Cage will have his Right Hand of Destruction at ringside with him, but just who that will effect the match remains to be seen. A victory here would go a long way towards a psychological advantage going into the United Center on September 3rd, but a loss could affect that bout as well as Darby's mindset heading into the Coffin Match at Wembley.
ONE-ON-ONE...
Diamante vs. Willow Nightingale
Last week Willow Nightingale united with TBS Champion Kris Statlander in a tag team bout opposite Diamante and former ROH Women's World Champion Mercedes Martinez. The match came about as a result of Diamante's assault on Statlander following the champion's victory over Martinez the week prior. Mercedes and Martinez joining forces brought together the two baddest Latinas in professional wrestling, and they made sure Stat and Willow felt their wrath as they walked away, no matter how it came to pass, with a victory over one of AEW's champions and a former NJPW STRONG Women's Champion.
But this Saturday night it isn't going to be a tag team affair, Diamante is going to have to square up with Willow Nightingale one-on-one, and in their AEW history of doing so, the women have split the pair. Diamante won the first in 2021, Willow the second in March of this year, so consider this a rubber match that will likely the eyes, if not the presence, of Kris Statlander and Mercedes Martinez.
Who will score the victory in this third contest between the women? Will it have any implications in the TBS Championship situation? Tune in Saturday night to see how it all unfolds!
ONE-ON-ONE...
“Switchblade” Jay White vs. Dalton Castle
Plus:
-We will hear from Miro!
-And Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action!
AEW COLLISION comes to Lexington, KY and the Rupp Arena for a grudge match between Willow Nightingale and Diamante, as well as one between Darby Allin and Christian Cage ,and more! The night kicks off at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW's international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from last week's COLLISION, this week's episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest edition of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!