Tag team wrestling seems to go through phases. One minute it’s hot and the next it’s a dumpster fire.
This match is one for the ages, hence why I’m reviewing it of course. The match did not even take place on PPV! Tony Khan you sicko! Giving this away for free! One hour of pure magic. AEW! AEW!
Collision was the place. Saturday night is alright for fighting and the four men put on a show-stealing performance.
FTR VS BULLET CLUB GOLD @COLLISION – 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS, AEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Chicago, July 15, 2023
Sometimes wrestling gives you exactly what you didn’t know you desperately needed. In an era where attention spans are measured in TikTok seconds and matches rarely exceed 20 minutes, FTR and Bullet Club Gold decided to go full boomer dad energy and remind everyone why tag team wrestling used to be the backbone of this business.
Fifty-eight minutes. That’s how long Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Jay White, and Juice Robinson held Chicago’s United Center hostage with what can only be described as a masterclass in everything modern wrestling has forgotten how to do. No gimmicks, no interference, no sports entertainment nonsense—just four wrestlers who understood the assignment and proceeded to absolutely demolish it.
The Build
The backstage buzz leading into this was fascinating. The whole feud started when Bullet Club Gold demanded an apology from FTR for interfering at Double or Nothing, which led to Juice sucker-punching Dax and a beatdown on Dynamite. Classic wrestling 101: hurt someone’s pride, get them mad, then let them settle it in the ring. Revolutionary stuff, apparently.
But here’s the thing that made this special—this match came about after Jay White and Juice Robinson defeated the champs the week before in a non-title bout, which was perhaps the best match in the very short history of Collision up to that point. So we had the rare situation where the build-up match was already great, and somehow they had to top it. Spoiler alert: they absolutely did.
The Meltz Rating
Dave Meltzer rated this 5.25 stars in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and it’s sitting at 9.42 with over 400 votes on fan sites. Those numbers don’t lie, but they also don’t capture the real story here: this was AEW remembering what made it special in the first place.
The structure was perfect wrestling storytelling. Bullet Club Gold scored the first fall with White hitting the Blade Runner on Cash Wheeler. Classic heel move—get the early advantage, make the heroes work from behind. FTR, being the old-school masters they are, scratched and clawed their way back into it, setting up the inevitable third fall drama.
The match featured “customary terrific FTR performance punctuated with bruising Cash Wheeler body blocks and fiery Dax Harwood-driven chop exchanges. But it also has a commendable Juice Robinson selling masterclass and Jay White’s usual array of beautiful suplexes.” That’s the thing about great tag team wrestling—everyone has a role, and everyone commits to it completely.
Juice Robinson deserves special mention here. The man has always been underrated, but his selling throughout this match was absolutely sublime. Every move looked like it genuinely hurt, every comeback felt earned, and when he was finally trapped in Dax’s sharpshooter for the decisive third fall, you could feel his desperation through the screen.
Gold Standard
Jay White, meanwhile, was peak Switchblade throughout. His suplexes looked brutal, his heel tactics were perfectly timed, and his partnership with Juice felt organic in a way that most thrown-together tag teams never achieve. This wasn’t two singles wrestlers playing dress-up—this was a legitimate tag team operating at the highest level.
The finish was poetry. FTR won via submission when Dax submitted Juice with the sharpshooter to retain the titles. No shenanigans, no interference, just one wrestler proving he was better than another when it mattered most. The fact that it took nearly an hour to get there only made it more satisfying.
But the real story was told after the bell. Harwood and Wheeler extended their hands to White and Robinson, who initially didn’t oblige, which led to a “shake their hands” chant from the Chicago crowd. Eventually, the heels spit on them and walked off. Even in defeat, they stayed true to their characters. That’s commitment to the craft that you rarely see anymore.
This was described as “a full-on production, a showcase of bare bones wrestling from all 4 men. Every member feels important in a unique way, and the near falls and pin breakups are all great.” That’s the perfect encapsulation—this wasn’t about high spots or shock value. This was about four wrestlers who understood that sometimes the best story is just “who’s better?”
Collision Boost
The timing couldn’t have been better for AEW either. Collision was still finding its identity as the more wrestling-focused show, and having your opening match be an hour-long tag team classic immediately established what the program was about. No celebrity guests, no backstage drama, just wrestling at its absolute purest.
FTR and Bullet Club Gold “carried the new AEW TV show Collision from an in-ring standpoint during the show’s first few weeks of its existence.” They weren’t just having great matches—they were defining what the show would become.
Looking back, this match feels like a time capsule from when wrestling matches were events unto themselves. When wrestlers could hold an audience for an hour without pyrotechnics or celebrity cameos. When the story was simple—we’re better than you, prove us wrong—and the execution was flawless.
Tag Team Wrestling
In a business increasingly obsessed with viral moments and social media clips, FTR and Bullet Club Gold reminded everyone that sometimes the best wrestling is just great wrestling. No bells, no whistles, just four professionals who cared enough about their craft to spend an hour proving why tag team wrestling, when done right, remains the most compelling form of sports entertainment ever created.
They don’t make them like this anymore. Except, apparently, when they do.
REWATCH VALUE: 24/25 This is the kind of match you put on to show people what great wrestling looks like. Every segment has purpose, every move builds to something bigger. Nearly an hour long and it flies by. Wrestling comfort food at its absolute finest.
STORYLINE: 22/25 Simple but perfect—earn your shot, prove you deserve it, settle it in the ring. The post-match handshake refusal kept character integrity intact. Could’ve used slightly more personal stakes, but the wrestling was the story.
MATCH QUALITY: 25/25 Flawless execution of classic tag team wrestling. Perfect pacing across three falls, brilliant selling from all four men, logical psychology throughout. This is how you work an hour-long match without losing the crowd for a second.
FAN REACTION: 22/25 Chicago was completely invested from start to finish. The “shake their hands” chant showed how much the crowd cared about the story. Critical acclaim was universal. This became the match people pointed to when explaining why AEW mattered.
You must be logged in to post a comment.