Rina Set For AEW Debut on Collision, NJPW Stars Also in Action

By Noah Leatherland

Forbidden Door may have come and gone, but the spirit of crossover competition is still in the air. On this week’s edition of AEW Collision, STARDOM’s young prospect Rina is set to make her debut for the American promotion, while other NJPW roster members are scheduled to compete.

Rina’s AEW debut comes in the form of a singles match with the reigning Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion, Athena. The two will compete to decide who will gain the advantage of entering first in the Casino Gauntlet at AEW Dynamite Beach Break next week. As such, Rina’s entry into the Casino Gauntlet, as the first entrant or otherwise, is also seemingly confirmed. The winner of the Casino Gauntlet will challenge for the AEW Women’s World Championship at AEW Redemption in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on July 26th.

Rina faced Athena earlier this year at STARDOM’s WrestleMania Weekend event. Athena came out victorious in that previous encounter. Rina has recently been touring the Americas. She competed in the Major League Wrestling tapings earlier this month, and then went down to Mexico to compete for CMLL. At just 19 years old, these international reps are sure to make the Pink Devil an even more dangerous competitor.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Collision card features more visiting wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling. After picking up a win on the Forbidden Door Buy-In, Drilla Maloney teams with Shingo Takagi to face Claudio Castagnoli and PAC of the Death Riders. Then, having recently faced Will Ospreay on AEW programming, El Phantasmo will also square off with Kyle Fletcher on Collision.

This week’s episode of Collision takes place on Thursday, July 2nd.