After watching watching Glasgow’s edition of All Elite Wrestling ‘Dynamite’ (handily reviewed here), it would be rude not to catch ‘Collision’ as well.

Don Callis sweatily announced Hechicero to the ring to start the show straight away, he was joined by the rest of the Don Callis Family, Josh Alexander, Lance Archer, and Rocky Romero.

If I thought Adam Page coming off a ScotRail train was culturally on the nose, Nigel McGuinness quoting and crediting Billy Kirkwood was a very nice touch as they were ready to “wreck the place” in the OVO Hydro.

Hiromu Takahashi, & SkyFlight (Scorpio Sky, Dante Martin, & Darius Martin) w/Christopher Daniels defeated The Don Callis Family (Josh Alexander, Rocky Romero, Hechicero & Lance Archer) by pinfall.

Hiromu Takahashi made life hectic for Josh Alexander and Rocky Romero early on with both tagging out for Scorpio Sky and Hechicero to keep the pace high, as did Dante and Darius Martin until Lance Archer got his big hands around the neck of Darius with a slam onto the apron.

SkyFlight tried to stay fresh against Archer but after a distraction from Alexander, Dante found himself being roughly baled overhead for a high shouldered landing to slow down the match up with The Don Callis Family taking control.

Josh Alexander flung Dante Martin around like a wet trackie, bringing the rest of the family one by one to get their shot in. Hechicero trapped the arm of Dante to spin the youngster around, stopping the momentum with a backbreaker.

Dante finally got an opening with a headscissor to Lance Archer to tag in Scorpio Sky who took on all comers, slamming Romero with a Sky High. The Don Callis Family cleared the area and took turns to double team Scorpio. Takahashi dived in to break the fall as the match broke down with bodies coming in and out.

Dante and Darius held Lance Archer up and landed a vertical suplex but were bundled out by Rocky Romero. SkyFlight took out everyone at ringside with a triple dive through the ropes to leave Romero to be planted with a Death Valley Driver by Hiromu Takahashi for the win.

Post-match Kyle Fletcher stotted out with Don Callis to stare down Takahashi.

It was fine but it was a lot of doing moves to doing moves and I didn’t feel anything towards either team. There was some simple story telling of Lance Archer being the mountain of overcome but with so many wrestlers involved it was brief. Hechicero was a curious one, he got a massive reaction but I found some of his offense relied on extra time to set up which in a multi-man match where time is precious it halted the action in a couple instances, stopping some flow going on.

Much like the big tag match that opened Dynamite and subsequent big brawl this felt more like a match so you could see who you wanted to see like Hechicero or Hiromu Takahashi but not necessarily there to see that match itself. A box ticking “I saw them wrestle” portion of the night.

Megan Bayne w/Penelope Ford defeated Isla Dawn by pinfall.

Glasgow born Isla Dawn got a big cheer for her AEW debut, she was quickly muscled around by Megan Bayne who took Isla to task with chops in the corner. Dawn fought back by putting a sequence together, knocking Megan back with a dropkick, but was quickly caught and thrown overhead with a Fallaway Slam.

Bayne continued the bodyslams and stalked Isla Dawn, slowly dismantling her. A running big boot across the face of Isla in the corner and a butterfly suplex had Dawn reeling. Isla avoided a powerbomb and tried to pick up speed, knocking down Megan Bayne with a kick to the knee then to the side of the head.

Isla tried a corner rush but was met with a running lariat. Bayne dragged Dawn up to be picked up for a running sit out powerbomb to finish the match.

This was just a rampage from Megan Bayne really. Isla Dawn got a good reception but as soon as Megan Bayne’s name appeared on the tron it just killed it. Isla was fighting back but the crowd didn’t really get invested because Bayne was untouchable and looked to have little trouble swatting away the attempts to build an attack. It was a shame that this was so comprehensive and it came at the cost of a debuting Isla Dawn.

As the camera lingered on Bayne and Ford, Willow’s music hit to overlap as she bursted out for the next match.

Willow Nightingale & Queen Aminata defeated Triangle of Madness (Skye Blue & Julia Hart) by pinfall.

Julia Hart distracted Willow Nightingale to allow Skye Blue to try and get the jump but Willow quickly turned it back around, barging Hart into the corner and bringing in Queen Aminata. A convoluted Old School from Julia Hart landed but a missed clothesline saw her being spun around

Skye Blue interrupted a Chocolate Kisses from Aminata to give the Triangle of Madness the control. Blue rocked her with a deep forearm in the corner as Julia Hart slowed down the action to isolate Queen Aminata.

As we returned from a break with Willow Nightingale was charging through Skye Blue with a Pounce, a spinebuster for Julia Hart for a two count. As Queen Aminata recovered in the corner, Blue returned to spike Willow with a double DDT. Willow countered a double Irish Whip to bring Aminata back in who crashed Skye Blue to the canvas with a running elevated reverse DDT for a near fall.

All four came in for a superkick/clothesline sequence which didn’t look great but got a polite applause in the OVO Hydro. The Triangle of Madness locked in dual submissions but were ran into each other by Aminata and Willow.

Queen Aminata punted Skye Blue in the face while she was prone on the bottom rope and dragged her into the centre of the ring for the pin. Thekla arrived to jump Aminata with Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford beat down.

Harley Cameron rushed out to make the save but was thrown by Megan Bayne, Kris Statlander was next to try and save the day but had a better success to clothesline Bayne over the top rope to stand tall.

Right, let’s get some positives in. Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue looked great in whatever they did. They brought a lot of fire and the in-ring was solid when they were involved, plus they looked very comfortable in making the action just go together naturally. I would’ve liked to see the hot tag when Willow got in towards the end but that’s not on the wrestlers.

Julia Hart looked ineffective in her offense, it all seemed so light with Queen Aminata having to stand about like a numpty having to wait for the Old School, it shouldn’t be that early in a match, it’s not a great move at any point in a match but definitely not near the start. Queen Aminata looked knackered, she did have to endure most of the isolation though but next to Willow and Skye she was noticeably on a lower level.

The post-match was fine another get everyone in situation but the introduction from Harley Cameron got a massive reaction. Anything I see from Harley just seems to work, she is so charismatic, then we got the showdown between Kris Statlander and Megan Bayne which also got a great reaction.

Daniel Garcia and Daddy Magic were backstage for a natter. It was a thing that happened.

Zack Sabre Jr defeated Max Caster by submission.

Zack Sabre Jr answered Max Caster’s open challenge as he proceeded to twist Caster’s wrist about while looking over to Nigel McGuinness at the commentary desk. Max Caster tried to use some power but was quickly locked into a kneeling abdominal stretch for the quick tap out.

It was two and a half minutes that set up another stare down which ended with a tense handshake between McGuiness and Sabre Jr. so I’ve taking it as just that.

Anthony Bowens belted his way down the ramp to beat down Max Caster while he was down. Billy Gunn marched down to tower over Bowens and admonish him. Bowens backed off to close.

Harley Cameron thanked Kris Statlander backstage, there was a bit of exposition about The Young Bucks owing Statlander money with the Death Riders arriving, Mox went into the locker room and came out with an envelope of cash and silently handed it to Kris and walked off.

Konosuke Takeshita w/Don Callis defeated Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall.

A holy shit chant broke out as the two leathered each other with forearms. Then leathered each other with more forearms. Takeshita broke the stalemate with an uppercut but was chopped by Ishii and sent to the outside with a clothesline.

Ishii followed out with some big chops, they battled to the apron where Takeshita swept the leg of Ishii to land a draping DDT to the floor. Takeshita took charge, bringing Ishii back into the ring with a rear facelock, transitioning into a grounded side headlock as Ishii fought back to his feet but was taken down with a leg sweep for a two count.

Takeshita absorbed chops from Ishii and decked his opponent with a forearm to drop Ishii like a stone. They battled onto the second rope with Ishii able to lift Takeshita with a delayed vertical suplex.

It was back to forearms being traded with Takeshita grabbing Ishii for a package tombstone piledriver, holding on to swing Ishii back with a German Suplex which looked impressive. Takeshita run into the corner with a running knee but was picked up for a powerbomb for a near fall. Ishii fired up but his strikes were weathered as Ishii ran into a Blue Thunder Bomb for another two count.

Once again Ishii was back at it with strikes, running through Takeshita with a clothesline. Takeshita grabbed Ishii for a poisonrana but Ishii got back up to German Suplex Takeshita who landed on his feet to trade knee strikes to lay both out.

Both returned to a vertical base, a clothesline from Ishii was returned with another kneestrike to the head. Takeshita put down Ishii with the sitout suplex slam aka The Raging Fire.

Two big lads smashing lumps out of each other, that is my thoughts on the matter. Like, cool.

Big Bill w/Bryan Keith defeated Mark Andrews by pinfall.

Mark Andrews was already in the ring for Big Bill to consume. A big boot sent Andrews to the floor. Once it got back into the ring Andrews had a flurry of chops and and evasion but was eventually grabbed for a sit out Black Hole Slam to end it.

Bryan Keith grabbed a couple chairs for Bill to chokeslam Mark Andrews through.

Mark Andrews, marketed as one of the best the UK has produced, former NXT UK Tag Team Champion, treated like a chump, like fodder. Another waste. I get it if they picked up guys that haven’t been on TV for these types of matches but it hurts Mark Andrews’ stock to get punked out so easily in my opinion.

Once again in an overlap, Big Bill watched from the crowd as the Gates of Agony entered.

Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) w/Ricochet defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) by pinfall.

Bishop Kaun overpowered James Drake with Toa Liona getting a taste of the action. Drake maneuvered his way from a front headlock to tag in Zack Gibson to give the Grizzled Young Veterans a shot to build momentum.

Gibson and Drake dropped Kaun off the apron but Ricochet jumped onto the apron to halt the GYV. Bishop Khaun drove Drake into the barriers with Liona barging James Drake into the crowd. Drake crawled back into the ring but the Gates of Agony were quick to make sure his was isolated from Zack Gibson.

We came back to the break to James Drake jumping over Kaun to get Gibson tagged back in. Zack ran wild, diving out to drive Toa Liona into the announcer table but before he could keep Bishop down Toa Liona was back to break the fall.

A double team coast to coast dropkick had Liona roll out, a lungblower from Gibson to Bishop Kaun then a double team Michinoku Driver/Dropkick scored another close two. Toa Liona returned to send James Drake flying out of the ring and a double team crucifix bomb sealed it for the Gates of Agony.

It was nice that the Grizzled Young Veterans actually got a look in for a back and forth bout that made the Gates of Agony’s win more impressive. Toa Liona looked like a beast.

Backstage, Bullet Club War Dogs took turns to talk about challenging The Opps for the Trios Championships. Nothing really to write home about.

The Young Bucks (Rod & Todd) defeated Paragon (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick) Strong by pinfall.

The Young Bucks got the non-televised entrance much to their chagrin. Kyle O’Reilly and Matt Jackson (Rod or Todd) started out with O’Reilly grabbing limps and wearing down Jackson, taking aim at the arm of Matt. A tag to Roderick Strong and double team Matt brought in Nick Jackson but he was soon sent to the outside.

Matt faked out a superkick to DDT Kyle O’Reilly to finally get the upper hand. Some miscommunication saw Kyle dodge a corner double team that had Nick kick Matt that allowed Strong back in to punch Matt over and over as he leaned against the ropes.

The Bucks managed to pick up some steam but ended up with Matt moonsaulting onto Nick by mistake. Matt sprung in with a facebuster to Roderick Strong as The Bucks draped Strong onto the second rope for an elevated Swanton Bomb.

O’Reilly tried a pendulum rebound clothesline but Nick grabbed him from the floor for an assisted tombstone piledriver on the outside. The Young Bucks used the numbers to take turns wearing down Roderick Strong.

Strong halted an Irish Whip to avoid a double superkick but before he could get to his corner for the returning Kyle O’Reilly to tag, Matt Jackson was on hand to trip Kyle off the apron and land a flip over stunner outside. Roderick Strong once again fought off the duo to tag in O’Reilly to throw strikes at Matt and Nick. O’Reilly put together a human centipede dragon screw, jumping off the apron to dropkick a retreating Matt Jackson.

Kyle got a cross armbreaker locked in but Nick reached the ropes with his foot. Nick ducked a double team to start the superkick party. O’Reilly was kicked into the ropes for a rebounding double lariat to leave all four laying on the canvas.

As both teams reset, Kyle and Matt traded punches with O’Reilly stopping a superkick to lock in a guillotine. Matt sent O’Reilly overhead for two Northern Lights, pulling Strong in for a third. The Young Bucks set up a Meltzer Driver but Roderick Strong ran in to crack Nick with a knee to the face.

Paragon landed a high low combo to Matt Jackson but Nick broke the fall. Roderick launched Nick Jackson up for an End Of Heartache. As Kyle O’Reilly locked in an ankle lock, Don Callis minced out to distract the referee for Okada to come out and interfere. The Young Bucks drove Kyle O’Reilly to the mat with a Meltzer Driver.

A post-match beatdown was stopped by the music of Swerve Strickland as he marched to the ring with Prince Nana doing that dance behind him. Okada made a hasty exit while Swerve looked to take out an attempted Young Bucks assault. Okada slid back in to clip the knee and took out Strickland with a Rainmaker to stand tall.

This had a lot going on, and from what I understand that’s atypical of a Young Bucks match. There was some cool stuff but there was so much of it it ended up lost in the shuffle of moves. The post-match was fine and again felt like a box ticking exercise so that Glasgow got to see Strickland and Okada.

I surprisingly enjoyed Dynamite with it actually drawing me back into giving All Elite Wrestling another go but this Collision wasn’t a good show for me. There was too much and it all overlapped one after the other after the other. The UK wrestlers were made to look like rubbish with Isla Dawn and Mark Andrews handily trounced, thank whomever that the Grizzled Young Veterans got an extended period of offense in so that it wasn’t a hat trick of maulings. Dynamite allowed each story to breathe and it was well paced with the three matches over the two hours but this was a constant barrage of matches that didn’t feel like there was anything to care about. The crowd sounded tired and with this extending past 11pm you could feel the fatigue.

It was definitely a case of different strokes for different folks I think. Again, I want to focus on some positives, as mentioned Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue were really good, Kris Statlander and Harley Cameron were nice inclusions because they have a star aura about them. GYV getting involved and being able to show some of their work was good. Megan Bayne was fantastic but I wish it didn’t come at the expense of Isla Dawn.

Eight matches, that included essentially an extended segment with Caster/Sabre Jr, two squashes with Dawn/Bayne and Bill/Andrews, a bit variety elsewhere but it wasn’t a show I had fun watching.