WWE Worlds Collide: Brands Collide Live Results and Reactions Review

Welcome to the live ongoing results page for the last of four WWE Worlds Collide specials! This edition is themed as “Brands Collide” and will feature two battle royals (one for the men and one for the women).

This post will be a combination of a live review of my reactions of the matches as well as the overall results for those who haven’t checked the spoilers from WrestleMania Axxess.

Everything is set to air at 9pm EST on the WWE Network, so stay tuned for live coverage and keep refreshing for updates!

Women’s Battle Royal

List of competitors (in alphabetical order) = Aliyah, Bianca Belair, Deonna Purrazzo, Io Shirai, Jessamyn Duke, Jessie Elaban, Kacy Catanzaro, Kavita Devi, Kay Lee Ray, Lacey Lane, Marina Shafir, Mia Yim, Piper Niven, Reina Gonzalez, Taynara Conti, Toni Storm, Vanessa Borne, Xia Li

• Whoever was responsible for the audio volume of the commentary team on this mix has once again screwed up and done a terrible job. They’re barely audible.
• So Taynara Conti is a heel again?
• Jessie is totally “New Bayley” and I dig her.
• To echo previous thoughts I’ve said, Lacey Lane’s theme does not fit her at all. It seems like it should be a generic background track to a promo.
• Not knowing who wins this, I would think the top choices would be (in no particular order) Bianca Belair, Mia Yim, Toni Storm, Piper Niven and Io Shirai.
• Well, we know it wasn’t Kay Lee Ray.
• They really like pairing Kacy Catanzaro up with Reina Gonzalez. Is it just because of the big/small disparity, or are they super close buds or something that I’m unaware of?
• The action really just slowed down to a standstill and everything went awkward. This hasn’t even been a long match to warrant that.
• Jessamyn Duke going over the top rope was really shoddy.
• I’m really surprised they haven’t done the whole “the two biggest superstars square off” thing with Gonzalez and Niven yet.
• And now they won’t, since Niven is gone from a little Mae Young Classic partnership of Storm and Shirai.
• Final four are Belair, Gonzalez, Storm and Shirai. Gonzalez won’t win.
• Gonzalez is gone. Saw that one coming.
• Belair takes out Storm, so now it’s either woman’s match. Both could definitely win.
• Hell of a press from Belair. She’s deceptively strong.

RESULT: Bianca Belair wins by last eliminating Io Shirai.

Men’s Battle Royal

List of competitors (in alphabetical order) = Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, Dave Mastiff, Dominik Dijakovic, Drew Gulak, Eric Bugenhagen, Fabian Aichner, Humberto Carrillo, Joe Coffey, Ligero, Mark Coffey, Matt Riddle, Rinku Singh, Roderick Strong, Saurav Gurjar, Steve Cutler, The Brian Kendrick, Travis Banks, Tyler Bate, Wesley Blake

• There’s definitely a divide of 205 Live, NXT and NXT UK guys. Not sure yet if that’s intentional. But Dave Mastiff is on the wrong side, if that’s the case.
• Aichner, but no Marcel Barthel?
• Oh if Matt Riddle is in this, he’s going to win.
• I’ve never seen Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar. They look like a legit tag team, which is good.
• Tyler Bate, but no Trent Seven?
• Bugenhagen and Riddle having a jam session makes so much sense.
• Here we go with that awful sound mixing again.
• Joe Coffey didn’t get the hint that he was supposed to turn around and focus on Dijakovic until way late. Also, I was thinking maybe that gang-up spot was meant for Mastiff and that’s why he was standing on the wrong side at first, but clearly, I was wrong.
• Oooof, Carrillo’s elimination from Dijakovic was fun.
• Didn’t think Boog would take out Daivari in that spot. I figured it would be the other way around.
• Whichever one it is, Gurjar or Singh, is big as hell.
• I don’t think Ligero liked that fall.
• Dijakovic went out already?!? Wow. I was expecting him to either win or be the last person Riddle eliminated, not for Riddle to take him out with a bunch of people still left.
• Boooo and Gulak is gone, too? Lame.
• Why are Singh and Gurjar attacking each other??
• Okay, so Gurjar is the bigger guy.
• Final four are Bate, Strong, Riddle and Gurjar.
• Wow, Gurjar took out Riddle. That was a shock. Again, I figured Riddle would win. At the very least, I’ll give them credit for surprising me with this booking.
• And Bate’s the one who singlehandedly takes out Gurjar? Tip of the hat that I’m not wearing right now.
• Very good ending to a solid match.

RESULT: Roderick Strong wins by last eliminating Tyler Bate

Overall Thoughts

I enjoy battle royals, so I had more fun watching this special than the other three. However, I don’t think either of these individual matches were the absolute best that we had out of all four episodes and the 14 bouts in total.

I’m glad they showcased a few different people here, like giving the Performance Center recruits more time to shine and a little bit of the spotlight. Now, I have a better indication of what’s to come with Singh and Gurjar, a little more of Jessie and Lacey Lane, etc.

When it comes to specials like this, I’m of dueling philosophies. I understand why nobody would bother watching them, as they’re ultimately just filler extraneous bonus material and serve no purpose in the grand scheme of things, and at times, aren’t even necessarily all that great, but I do appreciate WWE putting out more content that isn’t just repeat video packages and such. They need to let these other men and women work in front of crowds and get more exposure in order to build for the future. Plus, it’s something different. I’d rather watch these specials than to see another The Shield vs. Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre thing, wouldn’t you?

With these all said and done, I do hope they do something similar for SummerSlam, but with a few tweaks: 1) don’t wait so long to air the specials, as it’s May 1st and these were the beginning of April, 2) fully embrace the brand crossover aspect even more, 3) if you’re going to advertise it as having main roster stars, actually have some, 4) put something on the line so people have a reason to watch it, like the tournament title shot previously had going on, and 5) promote the damn thing so people know to tune in to watch it. If you don’t advertise it on Monday Night Raw specifically, nobody is going to know! I feel like I’m the only person paying attention to this stuff and that’s because it’s my job.

The concept in general is a thumbs up. There are still aspects to be worked on, but I’d rather see Worlds Collide become a regular thing at Axxess and continue with SummerSlam and Survivor Series than to see this experiment ruled out as a failure just yet.

What do you think about this special? Tell us your thoughts on Worlds Collide in the comments below!