Cardiff's Collision: All In Card Set, Local Heroes Shine
AEW's UK television debut with *Dynamite
on 21 August wasn't the only action filmed at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff, Wales. The promotion also taped the 24 August episode of *Collision*, offering a glimpse into the build-up to the monumental *All In* event at Wembley Stadium.
Fans in attendance provided glimpses of the action, highlighting some key moments:
Tony Khan, AEW's President, employed a *Timecop* analogy to remind the crowd that the company taped the shows out of order. The *Rampage* episode set to air between *Dynamite* and *Collision* was actually filmed the previous weekend.
The Conglomeration, comprised of Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, and Kyle O'Reilly, alongside Tomohiro Ishii, emerged victorious against The Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven). O'Reilly secured the win with a guillotine choke submission on Taven.
Willow Nightingale triumphed over Harley Cameron. Ishii accompanied Nightingale to the ring and celebrated her victory.
Katsuyori Shibata, accompanied by Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes, defeated Jay Lethal (accompanied by Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt) with a submission armbar.
Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway dominated Lykos II and Nina Samuels in a quick squash match. Statlander delivered the decisive blow, pinning Lykos after a slam from Hathaway.
HOOK secured a victory via submission with a sleeper hold against Big Bill. Chris Jericho provided commentary for the match. Despite his heel tactics, Bill was overwhelmingly popular with the crowd, who chanted "We still love you" throughout the match. The crowd booed the finish and chanted "We want Bill" when Jericho posed with the FTW Championship after the contest.
Ari Daivari, representing the Premiere Athletes stable, cut a scathing promo on Cardiff, mocking their lack of a Premier League football team. His opponent, Jeff Jarrett, was incredibly popular with the crowd, though not as much as Big Bill. Jarrett ultimately secured the win with his signature move, The Stroke.
The main event determined the fourth team in the London Ladder Match for the Trios Championships at *All In*. Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) and Lio Rush battled Blackpool Combat Club's Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli, alongside their partner, PAC.
The Blackpool Combat Club and PAC emerged victorious after a hard-fought battle. PAC, another fan favourite in Cardiff, took the pin following a combined assault from Claudio, Yuta, and PAC himself.
After the match, Christian Cage and "Mother" Wayne appeared, with Cage congratulating the winners and boasting about his experience in ladder matches. This distraction allowed Nick Wayne and Killswitch to attack the BCC and PAC with chairs, but the Bang Bang Gang intervened to save the day. As the Bang Bang Gang retrieved a table from under the ring, the lights went out. Upon their return, the House of Black descended from the top of the ramp, causing The Patriarchy to disperse. The temporary alliance between the non-champions disintegrated into a massive brawl involving all four teams, ending the show on a high-octane note.
With a packed card and exciting matches, the *Collision
taping in Cardiff certainly offered fans a tantalising taste of the action to come at *All In*. Will local heroes like PAC and Big Bill make a statement at Wembley? Only time will tell.
