The Calgary Stamped Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta is where tonight’s Collision and the latestiteration of AEW’s Battle of the Belts takes place. Championships are on the line and the finals of the Owen Hart Cup hold dominion over this night. Skipping the pretense, the jokes, and the prose today – let’s get into it.
AEW Collision
CM Punk vs Ricky Starks (Owen Hart Cup Final)
The alliance between CM Punk and Ricky Starks means little tonight as each man has a legacy to carve in the name of Owen Hart. Ricky Starks overcoming Juice Robinson and Powerhouse Hobbs sees him across the ring from CM Punk who overcame Satoshi Kojima and legendary rival Samoa Joe. How fitting that these men defeated men who represented past demons in the previous matches? Now it’s time to see who is meant to represent Owen Hart in 2023 and who isn’t.
Ruby Soho vs Willow Nightingale (Owen Hart Cup Final)
Ruby, Ruby, Ruby Soho. She’s had trouble making it in WWE, and she’s had trouble in making it in AEW, but this, this is the chance for her to cement her name in the annals of AEW history. Standing in her way is a woman who has made a name for herself this year, making history in becoming the inaugural NJPW Strong Women’s Champion and being the first woman to successfully pin Athena before she became possessed with flame incarnate and eternal. The impossible inevitable vs she with everything to prove: who will prevail?
FTR (c) vs Jay White & Juice Robinson (AEW Tag Team Championship, 2 out of 3 Falls)
After unexpectedly being given more time last Saturday, FTR and Bullet Club Gold had a tag team classic that was so good that it harkened back to FTR’s incredible trilogy with The Briscoes in 2022. This time, the teams engage in the stipulation of a 2 out of 3 Falls, a match FTR knows well, having defeated Jay and Mark Briscoe, 2 to 1. Undoubtedly this will go long, and with the chemistry of the men involved, this will undoubtedly be in the conversation for all the times to come.
Battle of the Belts VIII
Orange Cassidy (c) vs Lance Archer (AEW International Championship)
Lance Archer and Jake “The Snake” Roberts returned to AEW, ready to bring carnage to the locker room. Following the demolishment and desolation of Trent Beretta on AEW Rampage until The Murderhawk summoned Orange Cassidy to the ring, demanding a title match. Orange must give it all he’s got until he’s freshly squeezed or else everybody dies.
Luchasaurus (c) vs Shawn Spears (TNT Championship)
As Christian Cage celebrates himself being Luchasaurus’s TNT Champion, the dinosaur stares down a man who has been with AEW since the beginning – Shawn Spears. Returning to his gimmick of The Chairman, Spears demands with his body and soul that he must overcome and have his time in AEW mean something, or all of these developments in life are for naught.
Toni Storm (c) vs Taya Valkyrie (AEW Women’s World Championship)
Over her bitterness of not gaining the TBS Championship, Taya Valkyrie goaded Toni Storm into a title match for Battle of the Belts. Having never faced each other before, both women bring a level of pain and strength to the table that could steal the night.
As the tour of Canada nears a close, AEW is going out with a bang with some small cards bound to have longer matches of high quality.
Catch AEW: Collision tonight at 8ᴘᴍ ET/ 7ᴘᴍ CT and Battle of the Belts VIII immediately after on TNT.
