The FORBIDDEN DOOR creaks open a little bit more every single day as All Elite Wrestling gets closer to June 30th's venture onto Long Island. NJPW, CMLL, Stardom, as well as the athletes of AEW; they all want to be part of the pay-per-view experience and we witnessed it on both DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE this week! It even carried over to CMLL last night when TBS Champion Mercedes Moné confronted NJPW STRONG Women's Champion Stephanie Vaquer on her home turf!
The excitement continues tonight on COLLISION when the legendary Ultimo Guerrero comes to AEW for an Eliminator bout with Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, AEW International Champion Will Ospreay puts his title on the line against “The Machine” Brian Cage, The House of Black is in tag team action, The Patriarchy is in Trios competition, and Chris Jericho teams with “The Redwood” to face Private Party in a tag team grudge match! It all begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, so don't miss out on a minute of action when the best come to wrestle!
Don't forget to check out the official AEW YouTube channel before the show begins for highlights from this week's DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, previous COLLISION's, and so much more, then join us in Buffalo next Wednesday for the last DYNAMITE before the FORBIDDEN DOOR is blown off its hinges!
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
“The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay(c) vs. “The Machine” Brian Cage
Many people questioned why Will Ospreay came to ring on Wednesday, seemingly to aid MJF, after all the trash the former AEW World Champion talked about the current International Champion. Well we all heard it from the mouth of the Billy Goat himself, he was there for Daniel Garcia, Max just so happened to be involved in this Cage of Agony/Hechicero situation as well.
That desire to aid Daniel Garcia, a man looking to earn his International Championship match in proper fashion, has now led Will Ospreay into a title fight with a different man who is content to jump any line and get his shot the easy way. “The Machine” Brian Cage is that man putting Ospreay to the test once again, his third championship challenger in the twenty-seven days since beating Roderick Strong at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024, and his fourth match overall counting the Casino Gauntlet that earned Will his World Championship fight on June 30th.
Ospreay is clearly not going to back down from any fight or any challenge, it's not in his nature to turn away from a battle, but one can't help but question if doing all this ahead of fighting Swerve Strickland at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 is the wisest course of action.
The effect this run as International Champion will have on Ospreay going into his World Championship fight remains to be seen, and we will see what impact Brian Cage makes on it tonight on COLLISION! In their two previous fights, Ospreay has scored the win in each, but it has been eight years since their first bout, two years since their second, and this AEW landscape is quite the different world than those matches, and each man has amassed a world of experience in that time. Will Cage end this International Championship run and snap Ospreay's 17-match streak ahead of Will's biggest AEW match? Or will Ospreay make it 18 straight as he stares down Swerve's promised kill shot?
ELIMINATOR MATCH...
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Ultimo Guerrero
With thirty-three years of experience inside the ring, Ultimo Guerrero is one of the most experienced competitors on the CMLL roster, with two reigns as CMLL World Heavyweight Champion to his credit lasting a combined 2,037 days, as well as an amazing 1,309 days as World Light Heavyweight Champion, six World Tag Team title reigns, and an amazing 1,086 days as World Historic Middleweight Champion! Now he comes to All Elite Wrestling for this Continental Championship Eliminator match with a man he's watched grow from the humblest of beginnings in 2006 to a man considered one of the greatest competitors of his generation. Kazuchika Okada and Ultimo Guerrero have known one another since a 2006 bout during Guerrero's travels to Japan, but also from Okada traveling to Mexico, and Ultimo's participation in the NJPW-presented FANTASICA MANIA shows from 2014-2018, but it has been six years since they last shared a ring.
That changes tonight on COLLISION when Ultimo Guerrero squares off with Okada for their very first singles match with a future shot at the Continental Championship on the line! Could this be Ultimo Guerrero's way to step through the FORBIDDEN DOOR?
TAG TEAM CHALLENGE...
“The Learning Tree” Chris Jericho & “The Redwood” Big Bill
vs.
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
Coming off a victory over Komander and Metalik last night on RAMPAGE, Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen tried to throw down with FTW Champion Chris Jericho, “The Redwood” Big Bill, and “Bad Apple” Bryan Keith despite the odds not being in their favor, and it was only the presence of security and referees that prevented it from ending badly for Private Party. It didn't matter to them that they were outnumbered 3-2 against Jericho and his newest lackeys, Zay and Quen just wanted to let “The Learning Tree” know that they were ready for tonight's fight on COLLISION!
With his altruistic facade fully on display, Jericho seems insistent that he has the best of intentions for Private Party, that he only wants to teach them how to become better at their chosen profession and elevate them to the next level, but Quen and Zay see through it all as they prepare for this fight. Between Jericho's experience advantage, and the sheer size of “The Redwood”, Private Party has their hands full but they've shocked the world on more than one occasion over the last five years, no doubt they aim to do it again on COLLISION!
TRIOS BOUT...
HOOK, Katsuyori Shibata, & Samoa Joe vs.
Premier Athletes (Ariya Daivari, Josh Woods, & Tony Nese)
This dynamic between HOOK, Samoa Joe, and Katsuyori Shibata is quite the fascinating thing to watch grow; it bears similarities to what Chris Jericho is selling to Big Bill and Bryan Keith, but here there is a genuine desire to mentor HOOK and teach him the path rather than one that involves using him up and spitting him out as “The Learning Tree” is known to do.
This bond that has formed between Joe, Shibata, and HOOK has brought them into conflict with “Smart” Mark Sterling and his Premier Athletes, in large part due to Sterling running his mouth to begin with, but now rather than it resulting in a locker room brouhaha, it will take place inside the squared circle in a Trios battle! These men are all quite familiar with one another from different bouts during their time with All Elite Wrestling, but this is the first-time HOOK, Joe, and Shibata have united for a trios match. Now as good as the Premier Athletes are, as conditioned and fine-tuned a machine as they may be, the trio they are facing should be looked at as possibly the most dangerous one AEW has ever seen come together despite their lack of experience together. The striking, the submissions, the intensity, they've got it all and then some, and The Premier Athletes are about to experience it first-hand!
ALSO FEATURING:
-The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Killswitch, & Nick Wayne) vs. The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) & Jacked Jameson!
-The House of Black in action!
-And More!!
It's a stacked night with the AEW International Championship on the line, the Continental Champion in action against a Lucha Libre legend, Jericho & Big Bill versus Private Party, two big Trios bouts, and so much more as we get closer to June 30th! So before the bell rings tonight, make a point to visit AEW's official YouTube channel for highlights from this week's DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, previous COLLISION's, and so much more, then join us in Buffalo next Wednesday for the last DYNAMITE before the FORBIDDEN DOOR is blown off its hinges!