It's Saturday night, and you know what that means ...
The road to AEW & NJPW: Forbidden Door 2024 continues, as AEW Collision returns with a taped show at 8/7c on TBS with their latest two-hour prime time show from the Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California.
On tap for tonight's show is Claudio Castagnoli vs. Johnny TV, The Gates Of Agony & Brian Cage vs. KM, Danny Gee & Danny Rose, FTR will appear, Roderick Strong vs. Lio Rush, Will Ospreay vs. Kyle O'Reilly for the AEW International Championship, Katsuyori Shibata & Daniel Garcia vs. The Workhorsemen, Thunder Rosa vs. Reina Dorada, as well as Shane Taylor Promotions vs. NJPW STRONG's West Coast Wrecking Crew.
Featured below are complete AEW Collision results from Saturday, June 1, 2024 for the show that was taped on May 30, 2024. The following report was written by F4WOnline.com.
AEW COLLISION RESULTS (6/1/2024)
Sir Elton John kicks us off on this week’s Collision, as we are on the road to Forbidden Door. Would that be a walkway? We are live – to tape – from Palm Springs, California. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness are on the call, but Schiavone is in the ring to start the show.
Schiavone welcomed FTR to the ring, as we got highlights of Anarchy In The Arena. McGuinness made sure to note that Jack Perry pinned Bryan Danielson to win the match. Wheeler said that it was hard to accept their loss on Sunday, but the Elite hadn’t killed them off just yet. Harwood struggled having to see his partners get brutalized, but he would fight until his dying breath to defend AEW. He said that one day soon that Danielson, Allin, and FTR would be back to kick The Elite’s asses.
(A nice little promo to let everyone know that the war isn’t over yet.)
We cut to footage of Jack Perry after Double or Nothing. He said that blood, sweat, and tears were the bare minimum sacrifice needed to succeed. He got set on fire in the name of saving AEW. No one believed in the spirit of AEW more than he did, even when the company turned its back on him. He will keep fighting and sacrificing to shape the AEW’s future, through blood, sweat, and fire.
(Jack Perry has become a quality promo in his time away from AEW. It was the only hole in his game, and he’s proving weekly that he’s filled it.)
We got a recap of the TNT Title situation, with Adam Copeland having to vacate the title and the announcement of the ladder match at Forbidden Door. Konosuke Takeshita won the first qualifier match last night on Rampage over Penta El Zero Miedo.
Roderick Strong (w/Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated Lio Rush
Pro wrestling is better when Lio Rush is doing it. Any time you get annoyed at his consistent absences, a match like this reminds you how capital-G Great Lio Rush is. Hopefully, he can find a consistent home on either side of the Forbidden Door. Meanwhile, the Undisputed Kingdom continues to putter on, even as their main rival MJF seems to have moved on from caring about them. I like all of the talent in the group, but there is no use in having this group exist anymore.
Strong quickly got a hold of Rush and stomped on him in the corner. Strong clubbered Rush around the ring, chopping him and focusing his offense on his midsection. Strong laid in some heavy running elbows before dropping Rush with a front slam. At ringside, Taven put on Rush’s puffy ring coat to big boos. Rush slid into the corner and picked up the pace, hitting a pair of suicidas to send Strong into the announce desk as we went to commercial.
Strong hit an Olympic Slam for a nearfall as he regained the advantage during the break. Taven laid in a boot to a floored Rush outside. Rush got back in the ring and evaded Strong long enough to hit a hurricane kick. Rush rolled through a kitchen sink knee for a roll-up nearfall, then hit a satellite DDT for another nearfall. After a Taven distraction, Rush hit Taven & Bennett with a springboard moonsault.
Strong came back with a baseball slide, but after a back-and-forth in the ring, Rush hit the Rush Hour stunner for a nearfall. Rush thwarted another distraction, but frog splashed into Strong’s knees. Strong transitioned directly into the End of Heartache to score the win.
We got a recap of Will Ospreay winning the excellent Casino Gauntlet Match from Dynamite to earn an AEW World Title match against Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door.
We cut to Ospreay’s opponent and challenger for tonight, Kyle O’Reilly. He didn’t plan on having a great match tonight. Instead, he planned on beating Ospreay quickly and efficiently tonight. O’Reilly noted that in the first Casino Gauntlet Match, he kicked out of the Hidden Blade. Ospreay may have bigger fish to fry, but he’ll regret overlooking O’Reilly. O’Reilly said that he wasn’t leaving Palm Springs empty-handed.
Lexy Nair was backstage, looking to get a word with Roderick Strong. Strong blew past her to get to Tony Khan & Christopher Daniels. Strong noted that he was the next entrant in the Casino Gauntlet Match on Dynamite, but never got a chance to come out since Will Ospreay won the match. After complimenting Khan’s neck strength, Strong wanted a chance to win the World Title and get his revenge on Ospreay at Forbidden Door. Khan liked the idea, so he made the match official for Dynamite: Swerve Strickland vs. Roderick Strong for the AEW World Championship.
(I’m not a fan of Khan as an on-screen character. I am a fan of Strickland/Strong being booked for Dynamite. Strong being the next man in the gauntlet match and being mad that he never got to enter the match was a great bit.)
Daniel Garcia & Katsuyori Shibata defeated The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
This is the kind of match that makes me love Collision. The WorkHorsemen, a great team that never gets pushed, against two aligned babyfaces in Garcia and Shibata in a match that got some time to breathe and real energy from the crowd. As a long-time advocate for them, I’m so glad the WorkHorsemen were able to shine in a TV opportunity like this. I hope the reaction they got scored them more chances like this one. Meanwhile, Garcia scores a fall on his road to an International Title shot.
Matt Menard joined commentary for this one. We got a recap of Garcia’s interview from Wednesday, where he made his intentions clear for the International Championship. Henry mocked Shibata’s pose and lived to regret it, with both Shibata and Garcia laying into him with kicks. The Horsemen tried to isolate Garcia, but he fought his way free. The Horsemen tripped up Shibata, allowing Drake to hit a Shining Wizard on Shibata.
Drake rolled out of the ring and sat with the ringside doctor for a moment before getting back in the ring to tag in Henry. Henry hit Garcia with a pair of neckbreakers as we went to a commercial. After the break, the Horsemen clubbered on Garcia in their corner. Garcia fought through Drake’s chops to hit a Saito suplex and tag Shibata. Shibata ran wild on both Horsemen, hitting the hesitation dropkick on Henry. Shibata clubbered on Henry in the corner as Garcia danced to fire up before hitting running knees.
Drake snuck a tag in and hit a Magnum TA-style belly-to-belly. Henry hit running knees on Garcia before Drake hit a moonsault that brought Palm Springs alive. I’m shocked because he never actually hits that moonsault. Shibata broke up the cover, then helped Garcia isolate Drake. Shibata hit the Penalty Kick before Garcia got the win with his jackknife cover.
We got a recap of Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway turning on Willow Nightingale after her TBS Title loss at Double or Nothing. Hathaway & Statlander were in the back. They apologized to Nightingale with a gift, a bunch of garbage that reminded them of Nightingale. Statlander said that she would destroy anyone that got in her way, intimating that she would be in action next week.
Thunder Rosa defeated Reina Dorada
They noted that Dorada was a rising name in the independent scene in Mexico. Rosa hit a Dominator that Dorada kicked out of before scoring the win with the seated Cobra Clutch. Rosa had some words for Deonna Purrazzo, noting that their issues weren’t settled yet.
Cage Of Agony (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) defeated Danny Gee, Danny Rose & KM
These poor dweebs got murdered by the former Mogul Embassy, getting the pin on Rose after just flinging him in the air by his limbs and letting gravity finish the job. I cannot emphasize how much of a demolition this was.
We got footage of Toni Storm, Mariah May, & Luther from Rampage. May told her opponent for Dynamite, Saraya, that she watched the movie on her life and wondered why they cut out her downfall. May said that they would have to make a sequel to it called S***storm, before Storm let everyone know that her Forbidden Door was wide open. Good to know.
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Johnny TV (w/Taya Valkyrie)
Johnny came out looking like late-career Randy Savage with the leather cowboy hat and duster. Castagnoli caught Johnny on a leapfrog with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Johnny tripped Castagnoli in the ropes before hitting a running knee to take control. Castagnoli reversed a neckbreaker into a backslide before hitting a double stomp to the guts. Castagnoli held Johnny up for a stalling vertical suplex before dropping him. Castagnoli went for the Giant Swing, but Johnny pulled Taya into the ring as a distraction. Johnny scored with a mule kick before hitting the Flying Chuck for a nearfall.
After a commercial break, Castagnoli reversed a hold into a vertical suplex. Johnny avoided another Swing with an inside cradle before hitting a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Johnny brought Castagnoli to the ropes to let Taya slap him, but the slap woke Castagnoli up. Castagnoli got in Taya’s face on the floor, allowing Johnny to hit a dive over the post.
Castagnoli cut off the Starship Pain and hit a reverse superplex before locking on the Sharpshooter. Johnny pulled Taya into the ring again, but Castagnoli caught the leg on a second mule kick attempt and hit the Giant Swing. Castagnoli hit a running lariat to score the win.
We got a hype package for the Premier Athletes – Josh Woods, Tony Nese, & Ariya Daivari – narrated by Smart Mark Sterling.
Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty & Shane Taylor) (w/ Anthony Ogogo) defeated The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
Due to a technical issue, I was unable to watch this match. I did see Ogogo knock out Isaacs after the match as Moriarty and Taylor stood tall.
The Iron Savages were in the back, noting that the trios division was full of vegans that didn’t want any of their beef. Thankfully, Killswitch entered the frame and killed these geeks.
AEW International Title Match – Will Ospreay defeated Kyle O’Reilly to retain
Another fantastic match from Will Ospreay. In other news, the sun rose in the east today. O’Reilly had another great title fight, adding to his stellar resume since returning from injury. He would be my pick to win the TNT Title ladder match at Forbidden Door, paying off how close he’s come in these title challenges. This was a stellar Collision main event.
Ospreay got the first win of the match so to speak, scoring with a headscissors and a plancha to the floor. After a commercial, O’Reilly cut off Ospreay’s handspring kick by kicking Ospreay’s arm out from under him. O’Reilly lasered in on Ospreay’s left arm as we got a look at Daniel Garcia & Matt Menard watching on in the back. Ospreay came back, hitting a springboard forearm with the bad arm for a nearfall.
Tony Schiavone noted on commentary that we would hear from Swerve Strickland tonight after the World Title match announcement for Dynamite. O’Reilly dropped Ospreay on the apron with an arm wringer before hitting a Dragon Screw through the ropes. Ospreay was tied up in the ropes, allowing O’Reilly to hit a flying knee off the ropes for a nearfall. Ospreay tried to catch O’Reilly with a sunset flip, but O’Reilly snatched on an armbar to force Ospreay into the ropes. O’Reilly forced Ospreay into a chair at ringside before hitting a running dropkick against the barricade as we went to another commercial.
After the break, Ospreay took O’Reilly’s guillotine attempt and turned it into a suplex before hitting a traditional Tiger Driver for a nearfall. O’Reilly cut off Ospreay on the ropes, avoided a 450 splash, and cut off an Oscutter, but lost a kick battle with Ospreay to put both men down. Ospreay went for another Oscutter, but O’Reilly caught him on the way down in an armbar.
O’Reilly transitioned between an armbar and a triangle choke, but Ospreay muscled O’Reilly up for a one-armed powerbomb. Ospreay hit a pair of head kicks, but O’Reilly countered the Stormbreaker with a leg-trap suplex for a nearfall. O’Reilly hit a Penalty Kick, but Ospreay rolled through to hit a desperation Hidden Blade. Ospreay went for another Hidden Blade, but O’Reilly drilled him with a knee to the chin.
The two men traded headbutts and forearms on the mat before O’Reilly dropped Ospreay with a rolling elbow. Ospreay countered a brainbuster with a Stundog Millionaire and a Hidden Blade, but O’Reilly kicked out of it again. Ospreay then hit the Stormbreaker for the win.
We got words from Swerve Strickland. He congratulated Will Ospreay on his wins at Double or Nothing and on Dynamite. Strickland felt bittersweet about Forbidden Door, noting that he was on the pre-show while Will Ospreay stole the show on the main card. Meanwhile, Ospreay hasn’t main evented an AEW PPV like Swerve had. It was like they complemented each other in that way. Strickland turned his attention to Roderick Strong, who thought a good win over Lio Rush entitled him to the champ’s time. Strong is no longer the bully who could take advantage of Swerve. Strickland would be the champion going into, and coming out of, Forbidden Door because it was Swerve’s House.
