2023 Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finalists Decided On AEW Collision

On AEW Collision, two semi-final matches determined who would face off in next week’s final of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

Earlier in the show, Powerhouse Hobbs took on Ricky Starks in a match in which a referee distraction from QT Marshall seemingly cost Hobbs the match.

Marshall distracting the referee is actually what led to Starks being able to hit Hobbs with a Spear and pick up the pinfall victory to advance to next week’s final.

Hobbs then laid out both Marshall and Aaron Solo, seemingly signalling his exit from QTV.

In the main event of tonight’s AEW Collision, CM Punk took on Samoa Joe for the first time since 2005 to decide who would be in the final against Starks.

Punk survived the Coquina Clutch, and in the end, was able to roll up Samoa Joe to capture not only the pinfall victory but also advance to the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

After the match, the pair stood in the ring for a few moments as the crowd chanted “Owen” as Punk had encouraged them to do earlier in the night.

Then, the pair shook, but Joe would quickly attack and lock Punk back in the Coquina Clutch, seemingly knocking Punk out as he yelled at him, “I’m better than you! I’ve always been better than you!”

While FTR ran out to make the save, sending Joe away, the other Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finalist and recent partner of CMFTR, Ricky Starks, came out on the ramp.

Starks did not however join the trio in the ring, despite them gesturing of him to do so, as the episode ended on the tease for next week’s big final!

Next week’s Collision will host Punk vs Starks as the men’s final, and also the women’s final which will be Ruby Soho or Skye Blue vs Athena or Willow Nightingale. Soho vs Blue will be on next week’s Dynamite and Athena and Nightingale will be on Rampage, postponed from tonight due to a Nightingale injury.

Also on next week’s Collision is a 2/3 falls match with FTR defending the AEW World Tag Team Championship against Bullet Club Gold, and after Collision for Battle of the Belts, Shawn Spears will challenge Luchasaurus for the TNT Championship.

Ricky Starks stands at the rampway and understands the weight of next week's finals match.

Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT!#OwenHartFoundationTournament pic.twitter.com/zDAhJ7gxTq

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 9, 2023

If you want to stay fully updated on all the latest wrestling news, click the red bell in the bottom right of your screen to receive notifications from WrestleTalk.com straight to your device!