COLLISION and RAMPAGE are back on TNT this Saturday night for another three hour block of the greatest professional wrestling on the planet today! With the shocking reveal of Darby Allin as the Anarchy In The Arena replacement for an injured Eddie Kingston closing out DYNAMITE, All Elite Wrestling heads to the Moda Center in Portland, OR for a Saturday night of fights!
After the fallout from last week's Will Ospreay/Lee Moriarty bout saw Ospreay knocked out by Shane Taylor, “The Aerial Assassin” is gunning for Taylor's head on COLLISION, plus we will see the #1 Contender for the AEW Women's World Championship, Serena Deeb, take on Anna Jay in a rematch nearly two years in the making, and HOOK competes in a Qualifying match for the FTW Championship ! As for RAMPAGE, we know that “El Toro Blanco” RUSH will be in action and that “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo will go one-on-one with Robyn Renegade in their first-ever encounter!
With both COLLISION and RAMPAGE on tap, All Elite Wrestling is bringing three hours of the best professional wrestling on the planet to TNT this Saturday night, beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT, and with DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 only eight days away, fans won't want to miss a minute of AEW action! Before COLLISION gets started, drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as our various social media platforms, for highlights from previous episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the latest edition of the CONTROL CENTER! Then join us next Wednesday night for the last DYNAMITE before DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 as we head to Bakersfield, CA and the Mechanics Bank Arena!
COLLISION
ONE-ON-ONE...
“The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay vs. Shane Taylor
This one is going to hurt; take a Will Ospreay who's already quite angry having to deal with Roderick Strong and the Undisputed Kingdom, add in being blindsided by Shane Taylor after his match with Lee Moriarty, and “The Aerial Assassin” is ready to unleash his fury on COLLISION.
Thankfully Shane Taylor is always up for a fight, and he'll be excitedly waiting for Ospreay in the middle of that squared circle, but what will this bout mean for the DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 International Championship fight between Ospreay and Roddy Strong? Ospreay may have earned that shot by winning the Casino Gauntlet, but would a loss here officialy change that Vegas fight? “The Aerial Assassin” said if Shane Taylor beats him, then he might as well be added to the title fight on May 26th, so there is a lot more weighing on this bout than just bragging rights about who is the better fighter. This could change the complexion of DON '24, and certainly not in favor of the defending champion...
PREPARATION...
“The Professor” Serena Deeb vs. Anna Jay
We are just eight days removed from DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 and Serena Deeb's AEW Women's World Championship match with “Timeless” Toni Storm, but the challenger is ready to step into the ring this Saturday night on COLLISION to keep herself ready for the fight!
But this isn't just some easy warm-up match for “The Professor of Professional Wrestling”, she's stepping into the ring with “The Queenslayer”, “The Star of the Show”, none other than Anna Jay, a woman on a mission to become the best version of herself and finally earn championship status. Much like the bout between Shane Taylor and Will Ospreay, this could have an impact on the future of the Women's World Championship should Anna Jay score a victory over the #1 Contender. It won't change Deeb getting the DON '24 title match, but it could put Anna Jay in a position to be the next contender if she can cinch her arms around the neck of Serena Deeb and choke her out!
FTW CONTENDER'S SERIES MATCH...
HOOK vs. Johnny TV
Former 2-Time FTW Champion HOOK wants his title back, but perhaps more than that, he wants to drop Chris Jericho on his head with suplexes, choke him out with the Redrum for a second time, and snap ever branch off the learning tree. Unfortunately for HOOK, in order to get there he will have to go through this FTW Contender's Series that Jericho has concocted. It begins Saturday night on COLLISION with three singles matches between six competitors, then moves onto DYNAMITE where the winners will meet in a Three Way Bout to determine Jericho's challenger.
For HOOK that means a first-time bout with Johnny TV, a man who only recently returned to AEW television after feuding with Dalton Castle during ROH ON HONOR CLUB's last several months. Johnny obviously has the experience edge on the young “Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil”, but that's never stopped HOOK before, and he aims to cut down anyone in his path to Jericho, even if it's one of his own friends...
FTW CONTENDER SERIES MATCH...
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Rocky Romero
Just over two weeks ago, Katsuyori Shibata went to war with FTW Champion Chris Jericho in a title fight contested under FTW Rules, and if it weren't for the involvement of Big Bill, Shibata would likely be standing before the world as a deserving FTW Champion. Instead, Bill earned his spot under Jericho's learning tree by helping to cost Shibata the match, but in the process created an enemy that neither Chris or his “Giant Redwood” should want to fight, yet that is just what may come to pass depending on the outcome of this FTW Contender Series match!
While “The Learning Tree” only got his FTW Championship match because HOOK was gracious enough to accept the challenge, Jericho's belief that someone needs to earn their title fight with him has created this trio of matches that will ultimately crown his next contender. We've got the aforementioned HOOK/Johnny TV bout, this contest right here, and a fight between “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith and Beefcake Boulder of The Iron Savages; when all is said and done, one of those men will be Jericho's foe, but first they've got to get past this first step.
For Shibata it means stepping into the ring with familiar face in Rocky Romero, and though they've never met in one-on-one competition, they are familiar with one another from multiple multi-man matches in NJPW prior to Shibata's injury forcing him to the sidelines for four years, not to mention the LA Dojo in California. Shibata made it clear to HOOK earlier this week that he wants another shot at Chris Jericho as much as the former champ, and both men are willing to fight each other for that opportunity. Rocky Romero, on the other hand, is on a mission to hold a championship in AEW after being a success everywhere else he has competed, and even though the FTW Title is not recognized as an AEW championship, it has been defended with pride for the last four years, that is until Jericho got his hands on it.
Will it be Rocky who gets closer to his championship goals, or Shibata who gets closer to his of revenge?
TRIOS BATTLE...
Bryan Danielson & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs.
“The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer & The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent)
Well the conclusion of DYNAMITE proved to be quite the surprising situation as former 2-Time TNT Champion Darby Allin stepped up to the plate in lieu of Eddie Kingston's injury, aligning with Bryan Danielson and FTR to fight The Elite at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024's Anarchy in the Arena! Given that Darby broke his foot only a few months ago, and was recently hit by a bus, the fact that he was willing and able to defend AEW against The Young Bucks, Jack Perry, and AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada is quite wild.
Now that a fourth man has been re-established for their team, and with that fight looming in just eight days, Danielson and FTR have elected to go into Trios competition this Saturday night on COLLISION! With their first time working together, the Team AEW trios is taken on quite a heavy burden when they face Lance Archer and The Righteous!
These six men all have some familiarity with each other, FTR defeated Vincent and Dutch in a tag team battle back in November, while Danielson has already had several rows with Archer and The Righteous thus far in 2024. Luckily Danielson has some familiarity with FTR, both as ally and foe, so he's not stepping into this one with utter strangers, but are those experiences enough to bring victory to Team AEW as they look towards Las Vegas in eight days time?
THE PARTY'S OVER?
Orange Cassidy vs. Isiah Kassidy
It was Isiah Kassidy who said the party might be over in that interview embedded above, an unfortunate sentiment to hear given how much Private Party is part of AEW's foundation, but the same can be said for The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy. They too have been involved in All Elite Wrestling since the very beginning, and while Private Party's last call is just a possibility at this juncture, it is a hard fact for Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor, and Orange Cassidy. Chuck's in-ring career is over because of what Trent did in their Parking Lot Fight, the Best Friends as a tag team were done even before that, and any relationship between Cassidy and Trent is dead and buried after the last month, especially with how Beretta responded to losing a match against the former 2-Time AEW International Champion.
So essentially we have two men at a crossroads in their lives, both looking for their paths forward to get back on track, and possibly doing so all alone for the first time in their AEW careers with this first-ever match! OC and Zay were opponents in several trios and multi-man matches during 2021, but they've never gone one-on-one in All Elite Wrestling or anywhere else during the course of their careers. This bout is quite the intriguing one for the future of each man's career, which one will rise to the occasion?
ALSO FEATURING...
-FTW Contender Series Match: Bryan Keith vs. Beefcake Boulder
-Nick Wayne vs. Jack Cartwheel
-We will hear from “The Bastard” PAC & The Bang Bang Gang!
RAMPAGE
ONE-ON-ONE...
“The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo vs. Robyn Renegade
Deonna Purrazzo has made it her mission to badger Thunder Rosa, both verbally and physically, ever since they found themselves mutually vying for a shot at Toni Storm's AEW Women's World Championship. With neither woman successful in that endeavor, they've turned on each other, but it's been Deonna who really elevated this into a physical battle rather than just a war of words.
Now Purrazzo is back in action this Saturday night, and it's not a question if Thunder Rosa will have her eyes on this bout, but rather how close of one, because there's no way “La Mera Mera” would ever let Purrazzo's words and actions go without retaliation...
A TECHNICIAN'S DREAM...
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Lee Moriarty
Both Kyle O'Reilly and Lee Moriarty are coming into this fight on the heels of losses to Adam Copeland and Will Ospreay respectively, meaning both are looking to rebound strongly and get back in their pursuit of ascending up the ladder. For fans of professional wrestling, that means two of the best grapplers in the game locking horns on RAMPAGE, but hopefully Anthony Ogogo keeps his nose (and fists) out of the game.
ONE-ON-ONE...
“The Machine” Brian Cage vs. Anthony Bowens
After a hard-fought loss to AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland, “The Machine” Brian Cage is ready to move forward into a future after The Mogul Embassy and that means meeting The Acclaimed's Anthony Bowens in a rare singles match! It's been eight months since the last time Bowens competed in a one-on-one situation, but his career hasn't just been tag and trios action, so Brian Cage best not underestimate his opponent and assume Bowens is the same man he beat on DARK: ELEVATION nearly three years ago!
MESS WITH THE BULL...
All Elite Wrestling is dropping three hours of red hot pro wrestling this Saturday night starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT, as both COLLISION and RAMPAGE are airing on TNT! DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 is just eight days away, and the excitement keeps building for both fans as well as the AEW locker room! Prior to COLLISION, visit the official AEW YouTube channel, and the other assorted social media platforms, to watch highlights from previous episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the latest edition of the CONTROL CENTER with Tony Schiavone! After that we it's DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 week, and we are kicking it off next Wednesday night in Bakersfield, CA at the Mechanics Bank Arena for the last DYNAMITE before AEW heads to Las Vegas!