Remaining in Huntsville, Alabama, AEW Collision this week offers the whole spectrum of the promotion’s wrestling buffet. A dash of comedy perhaps, with The Learning Tree facing off against The Outrunners. The 3-way TNT Championship match puts three unique technical hybrid wrestlers into a war of attrition. “Timeless” Toni Storm will bring drama and there’s both nostalgia and blood with the Mid-South Street Fight.

When AEW does violence, it can be a bloody splendour of a masterpiece. Or it invertedly looks staged or sports entertainment-like. The Death Riders have ridden that fine line and stepped on both sides of it. Attempts at kidnapping FTR and The Rock N Roll Express have felt, for some, more attitude than threatening. Yet, it was not that long ago that some fans questioned a 12-man tag match that, overall, turned into a pretty fun main event encounter. For those unfamiliar/needing a refresher, Bill Watt’s Mid-South had a reputation for sports-centered and realistic storytelling and violence. It blurred the lines of kayfabe. FTR’s old-school mentality and work fit the stipulation like a loaded black glove on Ted DiBiase’s hand. Likewise, Jon Moxley is a killer. Moxley also has put on brutal realistic action with FTR in the past.

Add Wheeler Yuta, who is no stranger to blood or scrapping, and this could be the upturn in the bell curve some need to get back into this storyline. There will likely be involvement from a range of others. As if the Death Riders are going to let this one play out fairly. The implications ahead for Grand Slam and beyond could be made in the outcome of this one. Giving Nicholas Cage a run for his money and outdoing “Lost in Cleveland”, we learned that Toni Storm’s amnesia was a ruse! The performance of a lifetime that, in many respects, deserves an Emmy nod alongside that other show like Succession where his family is fighting over a necklace. In all seriousness, “Timeless” Toni Storm’s re-emergence was a masterpiece. The highlight of last week’s Collision. However, while the reveal was the talking point, Mariah May still got the beating in on Storm in the first place. Storm is still not at full strength. A character who took so much workshopping has developed into an icon. Storm is now truly timeless but we, as the audience, want more.