March 16, 2024 – Canadian Tire Center, Ottawa, Ontario
AEW Wrestling returns to the Nation’s capital
Amidst their longest string of Canadian dates yet, All Elite Wrestling brought their Saturday Night Collision program to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. On March 16th 2024, the local wrestling community came together to welcome the Florida based AEW to the nation’s capital. With a few thousand in attendance, and not much announced for the card in advance, it was bound to be a night of surprises.
Before the main show got underway, we were treated to 3 matches presented by Ring Of Honor. The first action of the night saw a semi-final contest in the ongoing ROH Women’s TV Title tournament, pitting Queen Aminata against Red Velvet. A very exciting back and forth contest which saw Queen Aminata pick up a victory.
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The veteran Mercedes Martinez took part in the second matchup of the night as she stood across the ring from the young wrestling prodigy known as Billie Starkz. This contest saw Martinez use her more than 2 decades of experience to her advantage, putting Starkz to the test. However, her arsenal of limb wrenching holds and explosive suplexes weren’t quite enough to keep Starkz down as she was able to pick up a victory and advance to the finals of the Women’s TV title tournament. Match three of the ROH taping was a showcase for the team of Tony Ness and Ariya Daivari as they made quick work of two unnamed opponents.
We start the night with an appearance from AEW President Tony Khan. With microphone in hand, from the top of the stage he welcomes everyone to the company’s first event to take place in Ottawa. As the clock struck 8 PM, AEW Collision went live from the Canadian Tire Center. Jumping straight into the first scheduled bout of the broadcast, the crowd was treated to an absolute wrestling clinic. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson is set to face off against “The Wrestler” Katsuyori Shibata. A dream match to many, a first time meeting, one that would have seemed impossible a few short years ago when both men were forced into retirement due to head injuries. This match was as evenly matched, as technically sound and as hard-hitting as you’d expect knowing these two competitors. The mixed-martial arts influence was very apparent here from the early moments of the bout which consisted of a series of back and forth holds and counters, to the skillful strikes thrown by both sides. After a sensational showing from both sides, Bryan Danielson proved to be the better man as he secured the win with a sneaky cradle pin.
The second contest to take place during the live broadcast featured the only championship match of the evening. The TBS Champion representing the House Of Black, Julia Hart, would take on Trish Adora in singles competition. Hart, whose current persona is a far cry from when she first burst onto the scene, utilized her athletic background to combat her more physically imposing opponent. Even after taking the fight to the ringside area and manipulating Hart’s flexibility in a series of agonizing submissions, Adora’s strength advantage wasn’t enough to dethrone the champion as she fell victim to a moonsault.
Next up was a match between two opponents who have crossed paths a few times before. Daniel Garcia, who has a lot of history when it comes to Ottawa wrestling, takes on the technically proficient Lee Moriarty. This one started off hot with a number of quick arm-drags, headlock takeovers, and evaded strikes as these two men prove early on how quick on their feet they can be. As profound as each competitor is in terms of in-ring IQ, the natural intensity that Garcia possesses is unmatched. Despite the interference from Shane Taylor at ringside, Daniel Garcia is able to trap Moriarty in a leg submission for the victory. “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard who was on commentary for the match jumps into the ring to join in on the celebration.
A man who has earned many nicknames over the years for his mind-blowing aerial attacks, Pac, makes his return in the next contest. Aaron Solo, Pac’s opponent for the night, begins the match with a hard spinning kick to the head, followed up by an exploder suplex and a flipping dive outside the ring. Not quite enough to put an athlete of Pac’s stature away, he immediately gets back on the offensive, pummelling Solo with a series of stomps and kicks. Once he had Solo incapacitated, Pac was able to climb to the top rope and land his patented Black Arrow corkscrew shooting star press before locking in his Brutalizer submission for the win.
“MEAT” chants bellowed throughout the Canadian Tire Center crowd as two of the most physically intimidating members of the AEW wrestling roster went head to head. “The Swiss Cyborg” Claudio Castagnoli and “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer spent the early moments of the match trading blows, trying to knock the other off their feat with a sequence of lariats and strikes stiff enough to be felt in the furthest seats. The match then turned into a test of strength, each man flaunting their power with slams and suplexes but still nothing was enough to keep them down. The match ended without a definitive winner as it was ruled a no contest following interference from The Righteous — the duo of Vincent and Dutch. They entered the ring as Claudio had Archer locked in the Big Swing. After a quick beatdown by the duo, Danielson attempted to make the save for his Blackpool Combat Club teammate but was outnumbered by the other three in the ring. That is until Katsuyori Shibata sprinted down to the ring — with a steel chair in hand — to even the odds.
Possibly the most emotional moment of the night saw the return of Kyle O’Reilly to in-ring action after nearly 2 years away due to injury. His opponent for this one was the hard-hitting “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith. Kyle was quick in bringing the fight right away throwing a series of strikes but was taken down with a spinning kick from Keith. Looking to wear down O’Reilly, Keith locked in an abdominal stretch before transitioning and dropping him on his injured neck with a DDT. Kyle bounced back and was able to trap Keith in a triangle choke before getting hit with a ferocious power bomb. O’Reilly was able to fight back hitting a rebound lariat — a tribute to Nigel McGuinness on commentary, a brain buster, and his Armageddon submission finisher for the victory. Following the win, O’Reilly was joined by the United Kingdom’s Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Michael Bennett who were just as elated about as his return as he was.
The final match of the night was a quarter-final contest in the AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament. The Infantry’s “Captain” Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo against House Of Black’s Buddy Matthews and Brody King. Before the match even started King and Matthews looked to take out their opponents with a brutal beatdown at ringside. After the referee checking on The Infantry, reassuring that they are still okay to compete, the match is under way. The early stages of the match are controlled entirely by the House Of Black, mounting heavy offence on their opponents who were still recovering from the ambush. King and Matthews take turns wearing down Bravo as he attempts to crawl over to his partner but is unsuccessful each time. After several minutes he is able to catch Matthews with a hard right hand and tag out to the fresher man on the team, who despite a slip up on the top rope is able to take down Matthews with a back suplex. His comeback is short-lived as Brody King nearly takes his head off with a lariat. Even after a piledriver on the announcers desk, The Infantry were able to pick up a win thanks to Mark Briscoe nailing Buddy Matthews with a chair shot as he was seated on the top rope.
One more segment was scheduled for the live broadcast of Collision —Adam Copeland addressing his long time best friend turned bitter enemy Christian Cage with whom he was set to face in an I Quit Match in Toronto just days later. To a thunderous ovation, Copeland makes his way into the Canadian Tire Center holding a briefcase with the word “SPIKE” marked on the front. As his music fades, microphone in hand, he fondly relives some of his Ottawa memories. Thinking he would never perform in this city again, he addresses his history here. Speaking of history, he delves into his storied past with the man his career has been intertwined with for more than two decades. How the man he once knew, the man who was once his brother, has lost himself. Now he has transformed into the “Christian Cage” persona and is no longer recognizable. Though he doesn’t know who Christian is anymore — he finally remembers who he is. After a conversation with “Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy”, Copeland is ready to dig deep into the dark caves in his mind, to reach deep down and become the “Rated R Superstar” once again. Which is when he opened the case and introduced “SPIKE”. A two-by-four with nails poking through it. Copeland is well equipped to finally finish the 40 year story and force Christian to mutter the words “I Quit.”
As the broadcast of Collision came to a close, the ring crew performed a quick switch-over and prepared the ring for the next ROH taping. Another 7 matches were lined up to treat the live audience. First up was Hikaru Shida — former AEW Women’s Champion — taking on Rachael Ellering. In a solid matchup, the former champion was able to pick up a victory. Dalton Castle versus Nick Comoroto is next with Dalton Castle getting the win. Following the match, Taya Valkyrie comes out with a microphone to taunt and distract Dalton long enough to allow Johnny Honor to ambush him from behind. Lee Johnson was slated for a one-on-one matchup against local talent London Lightning — who received unbelievable support from his hometown crowd. Despite an excellent effort, London came up short against Lee Johnson.
Another showcase match against local talent saw Cole Karter and Griff Garrison secure themselves a win. ROH Women’s Champion Athena made an appearance next in a “Proving Ground” wrestling match that would earn the challenger a future title match should they beat her. Another un-signed Ontario talent got the opportunity to impress the ROH crowd, but ultimately it was the champion Athena with her arm raised at the end of the wrestling match.
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Another singles contest between two of the talented women of the ROH roster was up next as Kiera Hogan took on Diamanté with the former getting the hard fought win. The final match of the second taping saw another hometown hero — who was teased all night during commercial breaks — Dark Order member Evil Uno. His opponent for the night was the ferocious brawler JD Drake of The Workhorsemen.
Another hard hitting match between two of the bigger men on the roster saw the hometown Uno secure a pinfall victory. After the match Uno was jumped by Kyle Fletcher — but was saved by Adam Copeland who made sure to send the crowd home happy after hitting his signature Spear. Both Uno and Copeland spoke to those in attendance to say they’ll be asking Tony Khan to bring AEW back to Ottawa. The taping and event would then conclude as Uno and Copeland mingle around ringside to take photos and sign autographs. A historic debut saw a night packed to the brim with action and emotion, hopefully Ottawa proved to the AEW higher ups that we are a wrestling city and deserve more events.
By Jason Watson
