Both blocks are in action this week as Collision continued in Berlin!
Quick Results
Collision Cup Block B: Kuro pinned Alex Duke in 5:19 (**¾)
Collision Cup Block A: Nino Bryant pinned Pahlevan Nima in 6:40 (***)
We’re back at die Weiße Rose in Berlin for a show that’s not to be confused with one of the same name. This one doesn’t rip off the Nitro logo, not at all!
We open with a recap of last week’s show, with Big Nik overpowering Kuro… and David Adili surprising Alex Duke… only to get attacked by Michael Noel afterwards. Cue titles, and cue post-match comments from Adili from last week who was livid at what happened… while Alex Duke says that he’s only staying because the tournament needs him in it.
Virgil Defour and Sepp Hammer are on German commentary once more!
Collision Cup Block B: Kuro vs. Alex Duke
Both guys of course appeared on the last episode, as that was exclusively block B… but both came out on the losing end of things.
Duke’s accompanied to the ring by Michael Noel and some music that wouldn’t sound out of place on… not YouTube, we’ll just say! We get going with Duke working Kuro’s wrist and arm, only for Kuro to return the favour… then throw in a dropkick after he’d sent Duke into the ropes. A facebuster from Kuro drops Duke for a two-count, before Noel at ringside distracted the referee… allowing Duke to pull Kuro into the ropes. An Irish whip bounces Kuro into the corner, before a chinlock kept the Frenchman down. Duke keeps it going with a running kick to Kuro in the corner, then a double axehandle for another near-fall.
Kuro’s hung up in the ropes again, but this time he’s able to dropkick away Duke as the Posterboy came off the top rope… and with a back senton crashing into Duke in the corner, Kuro does a deal with a Falcon arrow… but Noel’s up on the apron and doesn’t distract anyone in the process. GOOD! Noel does get in Kuro’s face after the kick-out, but gets superkicked for his troubles… there’s fans in the crowd screaming for Kuro to watch out, and it works as he ducks a Duke clothesline and hits a backslide… then won with a Magistral cradle! Kuro gets his maiden win, while Duke’s all but out… so he low blows Kuro afterwards. I liked how they didn’t play into “guy’s on the apron and the ref abandons his job to have a word with him” card. **¾
Backstage, Kuro’s dismissing Duke’s actions for now because he wants to focus on winning his next match in the tournament. Duke, meanwhile, suddenly doesn’t give a stuff about the tournament, saying he left each match on top… and says he’ll show us what he can do against Big Nik.
Collision Cup Block A: Nino Bryant vs. Pahlevan Nima
Like in the opener, both guys here came up short in their first match a few weeks back…
Nima takes things to the mat early with a Dragon screw, only to get cradled as Bryant tried to out-grapple him on the mat. A toe hold from Bryant’s kicked away, so he torques on Nima’s arm and wrist before Pahlevan pushed him away. An unfortunate side effect of Bryant’s name, by the way, is that it sounds like a siren when chanted… Bryant’s taken down with a neckbreaker as Nima proceeded to batter him with stomps, then with a forearm before a side Russian legsweep picked up a two-count. Nima busts out almost a Disaster kick – a springboard single-leg dropkick – for a two-count as Bryant looked to be in big trouble.
Nima looks for a cross armbreaker, but Bryant escapes it… before the pace quickened, leading to blocked ‘ranas and leg sweeps. Bryant looks to slow it down once more, scoring a waistlock takedown en route to an O’Connor roll, before adding an overhead kick after the kick-out. Nima goes back to the arm, hanging it up on the rope… but a follow-up cross armbreaker’s stopped as Bryant countered with a roll-up for the win. This was a pretty good match for the time they had, switching between styles – with Bryant catching out Nima as he tried to take it to the mat once more. ***
Post-match, a deflated Nima shook Bryant’s hand, then headed to the back as credits rolled on another week’s show. BUT WAIT… post-match promos see Bryant being happy that he controlled the match, and that it led to a win. He’s looking to win his final match, and hope for the best, while Nima admitted he’d taken Bryant too lightly. He’s in the same boat as Nino though, with a win in his last match likely to put him through to the next round.
So, three episodes in, this is how the blocks look as some are closer to the finish line than others.
Block A
Schreier (1-0 / 2pts)
Bryant, Nima (1-1 / 2pts)
Amaru (0-1 / 0pts)
Block B
Adili, Nik (1-0 / 20pts)
Kuro (1-1 / 2pts)
Duke (0-2 / 0pts)
Collision so far has been a really easy show to watch – with the ten minute time limits making for quick action and matches that don’t drag. Make sure to find time to at least binge these shows, as they’re a good way to get an eye on the next generation of talent on the European scene.