BRM Reviews some of the 7/15/2023 Collision (FTR VS. BULLET CLUB GOLD!)

[Big Red Machine]

OPENING PROMOS:
FTR- good
Bullet Club Gold- terrible
Willow- fine
Ruby Soho- great
Ricky Starks- fine
CM Punk- great

Ian Riccaboni is on commentary instead of Kevin Kelly! My prayers have been answered! Unfortunately, he was wearing a horrible cowboy had that made him look like a total clown.

2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH FOR THE AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: FTR(c) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson)- 9.5/10
Jay White told Ian that he had ordered Gunn Club not to interfere tonight so that he and Juice can “do it on their own.” Why would he do that? He has no problem winning with interference in any other match. Just watch some New Japan and you’ll see that over and over. Why would he have this sudden change of heart? Ian should have just not said anything (or whoever told Ian to say that should have told him to just not say anything) because if they don’t interfere, all you’re doing is digging a plot-hole that wouldn’t be there otherwise, and if they are going to interfere, 1) no one watching will be fooled by this, so you’re putting that idea in people’s mind, so it will be less surprising when it does happen, and 2) Ian will come off looking like an idiot for believing Jay White.
The announcers also went into this match not knowing if the titles would change hands if the deciding fall was by count-out. Saying this not only made them look unprepared, but also potentially made Juice Robinson look like an idiot for wanting the count-out if it turned out that they couldn’t.
The only flaw in this match was that they spent too much time on the outside without getting counted out (no, “they might be injured” isn’t an excuse, and even if it was, the referee should have started counting them out the moment the medical staff him they were okay, not waiting until they hit all of their spots and got into position to have a “dramatic” Double Count-Out Tease That No One Ever Buys™). Other than that, it just an awesome, exciting, dramatic tag team match that built and built and built and built. This the closest thing you’ll see to FTR vs. Briscoes.

BLOOD & GUTS VIDEO PACKAGE- fine


OWEN HART FOUNDATION WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT FINALS: Ruby Soho vs. Willow Nightingale- 5/10
Willow won a match so short (nine minutes) that it made the tournament feel unimportant. The Outcasts, who always come out to ringside for each other and always interfere in their matches, didn’t come out for the finals of this supposedly important tournament … and wouldn’t you know it, this is the time the babyface wins clean, and we didn’t have interference marring the big main event of our tournament. Stuff like this drives me nuts, because it makes it feel like I’m watching a booker trying to put together a show that will earn the most snowflakes rather than watching actual characters who have agency and consistency of character.
From this point on, the sh*ttiness of SlingTV on my crappy Vizio SmartTV made the show unwatchable, but I do want to talk about the decision to have Ricky Starks beat CM Punk. Specifically, that I really liked it. Hopefully this allows Starks to recapture the momentum he had after the Jericho feud and sets him up for something big, and putting a young guy over should be part of why CM Punk is there... except that they ruined it by having Starks cheat. Ricky Starks should not be turning heel, and doing this in this spot lessens the impact that beating Punk would have had.