Collision
Date: October 24, 2026
Location: LJVM Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Paul Wight

The pretty quick road to Full Gear continues here and the card for the next pay per view is already starting to come together. We have a few weeks to go before then though and that means AEW needs some big stuff to fill in the time. That’s what we’ll be doing tonight with FTR vs. the Motor City Machine Guns in the second match of their best of five series. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is Jay White, flanked by the Bang Bang Gang and what is left of the Dogs. White teases the Guns Up line but thinks the team needs a new name. It’s supposed to be the Bullet Club but America is too stupid for that, so they’re…..The Last Outfit? Are they going to team with a washer/dryer combination in a low rinse cycle street fight against a dry cleaner?

Anyway they’ve had issues before but they can be friends again and take out the Death Riders. Marina Shafir and Roderick Strong can be together and happy now that the team is going after them. White can’t stand Orange Cassidy with his stupid kicks, but he’s going to take the Continental Title from Jon Moxley. You better be down with the Last Outfit and if not, they have two words for everyone. No starch?

Kyle O’Reilly and the Conglomeration aren’t impressed with the Last Outfit.

We look at the Motor City Machine Guns beating FTR at WrestleDream.

FTR vs. Motor City Machine Guns

Match #2 in a best of five series with the Guns up 1-0. Wheeler and Shelley start things off but it’s quickly off to Harwood, who gets caught in the Dream Sequence. We settle down to Sabin fighting out of the corner and backdropping Harwood for two. Wheeler comes in off a blind tag for a bulldog but everything breaks down. FTR is sent outside for a suicide dive and we take a break.

We come back with Shelley giving Harwood a belly to back superplex. The Shatter Machine is broken up and the tag brings in Sabin to clean house. Everything breaks down and Shelley’s sunset flip gets a quick two. FTR tries a spike piledriver but Sabin breaks it up and gets two off a high crossbody. Another Shatter Machine attempt is broken up and Sabin is elbowed into a German suplex for two more.

A small package gets Sabin out of trouble and he gets over to Shelley for the tag. Sabin’s missile dropkick sets up Shelley’s frog splash for another near fall. Skull & Bones is loaded up so Stokely offers a distraction, only for Wheeler to be sent into Stokely and Harwood. Back up and the Shatter Machine connects out of nowhere, with Shelley diving in for the save. Sabin and Harwood crash out to the floor, leaving Wheeler to grab a rollup and the rope for the pin at 16:11.

Rating: B. It’s not quite as good as their match at WrestleDream, but this was still a treat to watch as you probably expected. You have two of the best teams of their era getting a lot of time to see what they can throw out there. I liked the match again and thankfully it’s only best of five rather than seven, which is that sweet spot to avoid running it into the ground. Hot match here, again, which shouldn’t be a surprise at all.

Video on Blood & Guts being set up.

Will Ospreay is ready for Blood & Guts and none of his teammates are going to submit or surrender. Adam Copeland says he swims in blood and guts and is ready to end the Don Callis Family.

Death Riders vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Mixed eight person tag. The brawl starts fast with Moxley and Taylor slugging it out in the ring, with Moxley hammering away in the corner. The Riders beat up the Promotions on the floor as Taylor takes over on Moxley inside. Bravo comes in and gets double shouldered by Moxley and Shafir.

It’s off to Shafir to armbar Adora, with Dean making a save. That earns Dean the running clotheslines in the corner, followed by Moxley’s cutter as we take a break. We come back with Garcia getting crushed in the corner, with a BBC (Wight: “Is that the British Baseball Club?”) making it worse. Moxley comes in with a dive for the save and Garcia gets in a spinning neckbreaker. Castagnoli (in a mask) is in to clean house, including muscling Taylor up for a suplex. It’s off to Shafir vs. Adora for the standing clotheslines, with Garcia grabbing Dean in the Dragontamer. The Brutalizer makes Adora give up at 9:55.

Rating: B-. I saw the Riders beat up the Promotions enough over the summer to not need to see it again anytime soon. That was the case here, though it was nice to see Shafir getting some focus on the way to her big showdown with Mercedes Mone. Having her use the Brutalizer is a nice tribute and I could absolutely go for that being a regular thing. More good stuff here.

Post match Moxley says Jay White thought he started a war, but the Death Riders have been at war with everyone. White made a move, but now it’s Moxley’s move.

Josh Alexander vs. Blade Brown

Alexander backs him into the corner to start and snaps off a belly to belly. Brown is allowed to get in some free chops and is promptly destroyed. An arm trap piledriver and the ankle lock finish Brown at 1:46. Total squash.

Post match Alexander puts over the Don Callis Family and thinks it’s time to bring in some gold. So on Dynamite, he wants the TNT Title. He’d be a fighting champion, just like Adam Copeland, but they smashed his head in on Dynamite. Cue Copeland, who beats up RPG Vice as Alexander runs. More of the Family runs in to lay Copeland out.

We look at Ilja Dragunov’s debut on Dynamite, where he beat Mike Bailey.

Swerve Strickland vs. Myron Reed

Strickland jumps him before the bell but Reed says he’s in. The Vertebreaker is blocked though and Reed sends him outside for a dive. Back in and Strickland easily wins a slugout and sends Reed to the floor again for a kick to the head. Reed is back up with a posting though and the big running flip dive over the post drops Strickland again. Strickland easily plants him again and we take an early break.

We come back with Strickland getting serious enough to take his shirt off but getting Stundog Millionaired. Reed plants him down on the apron and hits some clotheslines but the diving cutter is blocked. A poisonrana and 450 give Reed two but Strickland (eventually) muscles him up into the Vertebreaker for the pin at 10:55.

Rating: C+. This is where AEW’s booking style becomes an issue, as you don’t need someone on the level of Myron Reed giving a former World Champion this much trouble. That’s not even factoring in that Strickland jumped him before the bell and still had this much trouble. It’s to let someone like Strickland run through an opponent and that’s what we should have seen here.

United Empire vs. Allen Brothers

Bailey kicks Steve away and then blasts Robert with a kick to the head. Andrade takes off his pants (Nigel: “Tony, what are you doing? Put those dollar bills away.”) and the Tornado Kick finishes Steve at 1:54.

Post match Andrade loads up the photo with the fan but gets jumped by Tommaso Ciampa. Bailey chases Ciampa off.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Wrathlander

Bayne shoulders Statlander down to start but gets knocked down. That brings Kross in for an elbow from behind and a double boot drops Statlander again. A double clothesline gets Statlander out of trouble though and it’s off to Cameron for a headscissors. Everything breaks down and Wrathlander fire off the right hands in various corners but Kross and Bayne are back with stereo fall away slams.

We take a break and come back with Bayne booting Cameron down for two. Cameron chops her way out of trouble and everything breaks down. A crucifix bomb puts Bayne down and Cameron kicks Kross away, allowing the tag to Statlander. Everything breaks down and something like a cartwheel dive off the apron hits Kross on the floor. Bayne and Cameron fight to the floor and Statlander’s toss Blue Thunder Bomb sends Kross flying. Cue the Sisters Of Sin to jump Wrathlander for the DQ at 10:41.

Rating: C+. I was liking the match but I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want Wrathlander to get a win on the way to their title shot. They’ve only been a team for a little while and some wins would help them. Then again there is a good chance for this to be setting up Blood & Guts, which shows the problems with building to a pair of matches at once, as Wrathlander needed to get a better win here.

Post match Thekla whips Kris Statlander with a belt but Willow Nightingale runs in with a chain for the save. Bayne is back up though and the villains stand tall.

Post break Nightingale and Wrathlander say the Brawling Birds hate those five too. How about Blood & Guts?

Jay White vs. Kyle O’Reilly

White immediately bails out to the floor as Wight and McGuinness do their weekly bickering on commentary. Back in and they go with the grappling with O’Reilly taking over on the arm. White kicks him into the corner so O’Reilly goes after the leg. The ankle lock sends White over to the rope and it’s a diving knee off the apron to take White down on the floor. An attempted chair shot is cut off so White dragon screw legwhips him over the rope.

We take a break and come back with White staying on the leg. O’Reilly strikes him down, including a legsweep to set up a guillotine. That doesn’t last long so O’Reilly grabs a reverse fisherman’s suplex for two more. Another guillotine is broken up and a Downward Spiral gives White two.

White goes after the leg again but O’Reilly is back with a rebound lariat. A brainbuster gives O’Reilly two more and he grabs a cross armbreaker to send White over to the ropes. O’Reilly misses a dive off the apron and hurts his leg again, meaning it’s a Blade Runner on the floor. Another Blade Runner inside gives White the pin at 14:03.

Rating: B. It’s no surprise that these two had a good match as they’re talented wrestlers who were allowed to do their thing. If nothing else, White absolutely should have gotten the win as the Last Outfit is officially a thing. It’s a good way to close the show after White and company got the big moment to start the show so they have a nice bookending here.

Post match the Conglomeration runs in but the Last Outfit surrounds them for the beatdown. The Death Riders come in (from the entrance rather than the crowd as a surprise) and the big brawl is on. Claudio Castagnoli throws some people around but gets caught with a low blow. Moxley goes Abdullah The Butcher by grabbing a fork but gets taken out as well. Orange Cassidy is up with some Orange Punches and a dive, only to hit Moxley by mistake. White gets in a Blade Runner to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I liked this show for the most part, but I’ve been a Jay White fan for a long time. He’s far better as a heel and while having that many people in a stable is a stretch, the biggest problem is the name. Granted the fact that I’m a few days late with this and AEW has already seemed to rename them The Cut (not great, but better) shows that at least AEW isn’t tone deaf. Other than that, good show here, with the opener being a hot match and the Blood & Guts announcement feeling important.

Results
Motor City Machine Guns b. FTR – Rollup with ropes to Shelley
Josh Alexander b. Blade Brown – Ankle lock
Swerve Strickland b. Myron Reed – Swerve Stomp
United Empire b. Allen Brothers – Tornado Kick to Steve
Wrathlander b. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne via DQ when the Sisters Of Sin interfered
Jay White b. Kyle O’Reilly – Blade Runner

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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WrestleDream 2026
Date: October 17, 2026
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Paul Wight, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re back on pay per view and it has been a rushed build to say the least. Not only are we only a few weeks removed from All Out, but the Pac tribute show took away some of the time. That’s absolutely not on AEW (or anyone, as it was a tragic situation that had to be dealt with) but it has made things a bit tricky. The big main event is a new concept match called Clockwork Carnage for the World Title, which is certainly intriguing. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Sisters Of Sin

Hart and Kross grab each other to start with Kross grabbing a backbreaker. Hart’s armdrag is blocked and it’s off to Blue, who is taken into the wrong corner. A middle rope hurricanrana gets Blue out of trouble and a crucifix gets two on Bayne. Kross offers a distraction though and Bayne suplexes Blue as we take a break.

We come back with Blue slugging away and grabbing a tornado DDT. It’s back to Hart to pick up the pace with some kicks to the face, followed by a crucifix bomb for two on Kross. A running…I think Codebreaker hits Kross in the ropes but Bayne German suplexes both Sisters at the same time. Blue catches Bayne with a Cheeky Nandos kick and a powerbomb out of the corner but Bayne grabs a release gordbuster. Kross knees her in the face and Divine Intervention finishes Hart at 9:38.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine opener here with Bayne and Kross continuing to be the monsters that they are. Getting them back on their horses after losing to the Brawling Birds is the best thing that can be done and it worked well enough here. The Sisters will be fine as long as they’re with Thekla and there’s no reason to think that will be changing anytime soon.

Kickoff Show: Don Callis Family vs. Alex Breeze/Papi D/Rhys Maddox

The destruction starts fast with Papi being clotheslined on the floor. Maddox tries some chops to Wardlow, who runs him over without much effort. A bunch of powerbombs give the Family a triple pin at 2:45. I have no idea why this needed to be on the show.

Kickoff Show: Death Riders/The Dogs vs. Bang Bang Gang/Conglomeration

12 man tag and Jay White is back. Connors chops Strong in the corner to start and it’s a string of double suplexes to put the Riders and the Dogs down. Castagnoli isn’t having that and grabs his own double suplex, followed by a ridiculous 70 second (and by real time, not the off speed fan counting) Swing to Cassidy.

Castagnoli falls outside and we take a break, coming back with Austin fighting his way out of the corner. The diving tag brings in White as everything breaks down and some dives have the villains in trouble. Finlay gets in a backbreaker so it’s back to Colten, who gets in a dropkick to Castagnoli.

That’s it for the offense though as Colten is sent into the corner for the running clotheslines. Marina Shafir gets in one of her own so Willow Nightingale sends her crashing out to the floor. Yuta sends Nightingale outside and the fans are not exactly pleased. We get the parade of knockdowns until the Gunns start taking over but Yuta cuts that off. The Fastball Special finishes Colten at 11:03.

Rating: B. This was the fun kind of match where AEW excels, even with so many people in there that only Castagnoli, with that absolutely ridiculous (in a good way) Swing getting to stand out. It doesn’t help that it feels like these teams have been feuding for the better part of ever without much changing. With so many people involved though, that’s about all they can do to get them all a chance. Rather entertaining match here.

Kickoff Show: FTR vs. Motor City Machine Guns

Match #1 in a best of five series and Stokely is here with FTR. Shelley and Wheeler start things off but it’s quickly off to Harwood, who gets caught in a hammerlock. The Guns take turns working on the arm so it’s back to Wheeler, who gets armdragged into an armbar of his own. Harwood is knocked outside and we take a break.

We come back with everything breaking down and the Guns clearing the ring, much to the fans’ delight. Wheeler tries a tag on the floor and for once the referee enforces a rule, meaning Harwood has to come back in to take over on Shelley. That doesn’t last long as it’s back to Sabin for the alternating chops to Harwood as the pre-show ends and we go into the main pay per view. Therefore the pyro goes off, apparently rather pleased about Wheeler getting caught in the Dream Sequence.

Shelley’s baseball slide misses though and he gets dropped face first onto the apron. That means Shelley can get caught in the ropes and kicked in the face a few times, followed by an abdominal stretch. Wheeler switches in for one of his own before it’s back to Harwood, who gets dropped with a clothesline. That’s not enough for the tag though as Wheeler is back in with a chinlock, which is broken up rather quickly as well.

A Stunner over the top rope slows Harwood down but he drops Shelley with a right hand. Shelley gets his gord bustered for two and the chinlock goes on again. Shelley fights up again and dives over for the tag to Sabin, who is pulled off the apron in one of those spots that will always work. Wheeler misses a charge into the corner though and it’s finally back to Sabin to clean house. Stokely offers a distraction but punches Harwood by mistake, leaving Wheeler to get in a cheap shot.

Harwood gets in a spinebuster for two but Sabin grabs a cutter. That means a missile dropkick into a frog splash for two and a pair of sunset flips get two each. Skull & Bones hits Harwood so Wheeler puts the foot on the rope for the save. Sabin chases Harwood, who catches him in a spike piledriver for two. The Shatter Machine is broken up though and it’s a Dirt Bomb to finish Wheeler at 26:05.

Rating: A-. Well yeah of course these teams are going to have a great match. They’re teams who are basically designed to have awesome matches and that’s what they did here. This was exactly what you would have been expecting and if they keep that up in the next few matches, we should be in for something awesome. Granted there is also the chance that things will get stale as they face each other so often, but that is the chance you run with something like this. Anyway, heck of a match here.

The opening video looks at the work that has to be done to become a champion and the issues that have brought us here.

We recap Thekla challenging Mercedes Mone for the Women’s Title. Thekla says Mone has never been toxic and Mone implies that she has a large belt shaped penis.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Thekla

Thekla is challenging. Mone sends her into some buckles to start and chokes with the boot. The Statement Maker goes on less than a minute in but Thekla spiders out in a nice counter. Thekla poses in the ropes and avoids a charge to send Mone outside, where Mone is whipped into the barricade. A running boot and high crossbody give Thekla two but Mone is back with a quick gutbuster.

The Meteora gives Mone two and she’s already getting annoyed. Some double arm cranks have Thekla in more trouble and Mone grabs the surfboard. Back up and Mone misses a charge in the corner and gets caught in an upside down leg choke. They head to the apron with Mone hitting a Codebreaker but the running Meteora hits the post. Thekla stomps her off the apron and dances and the spider superplex connects back inside.

A spear drops Mone for two but she’s back up with a sunset bomb into the corner. Now the Meteora can connect in the corner and the middle rope version gets the same. Thekla is right back with something like an Octopus on the mat, followed by a stomp for two. Mone has to roll out to the floor, where she takes off the mask and smacks Thekla upside the head. Thekla escapes the Mone Maker but misses a stomp, allowing Mone to hit the Mone Maker to retain at 14:33.

Rating: B. This was about what I was expecting, with Thekla feeling like enough of a threat to keep the match interesting. Mone is likely to hold the title for a long time and Thekla is one of the few women right now who feels strong enough to give her a real threat. That’s a good thing to see, though I’m not sure who is supposed to come after the belt next without feeling like a nothing challenger.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne. Jericho thinks Wayne is a young whippersnapper and Wayne is mad that Jericho broke his necklace. They’re 1-1 and like to trade low blows so we’re having a rubber match.

Nick Wayne vs. Chris Jericho

Wayne insists that he is described as really handsome and such, which the fans don’t like. Wayne spits in Jericho’s face to start and is quickly knocked outside for a whip over the barricade. Jericho stops to hug Paul Wight at ringside before catching a diving Wayne for an AA onto the steps. We get the Jericho camera spot before he takes Wayne inside to stomp away.

The super hurricanrana is broken up as Jericho is knocked outside for a moonsault. Back in and Jericho trips him to cut off a dive before winning an exchange of chops. The Judas Effect misses but Wayne’s World is countered into a Codebreaker to leave them both down. They chop it out until Jericho gets in a brainbuster but the Lionsault is broken up. Wayne misses a dive while Jericho is tied in the ropes, meaning Jericho can hit a big dive to the floor. Back in and Wayne hammers away in the corner but gets powerbombed down, setting up the Walls.

That sends Wayne over to the rope and he grabs some water on the floor, which he spits into Jericho’s eyes. A Sliced Bread on the apron hits Jericho and a 450 gets two back inside. Wayne’s World misses so Wayne settles for a middle rope cutter. Jericho Hulks Up though and catapults Wayne into the corner. The low blow….doesn’t do anything to Jericho so Wayne kicks him low again with no effect for a second time. Jericho reveals a cup and uses it to hammer Wayne, who ducks the Judas Effect and gets a small package for the win at 14:50.

Rating: B. The ending is going to need some time to sink in as Wayne got a clean win but it felt like he caught Jericho rather than beating him. That’s about as good as you’re going to get and the good thing is that Jericho did indeed get pinned with no cheating. Well no effective cheating at least. They need to move on though as the match has been done enough, with Jericho giving him a pair of wins.

Post match Wayne brags about winning another match against Jericho, who looks disgusted.

We recap the Don Callis Family challenging the Young Bucks for the Tag Team Titles. The Bucks won the belts at All out and the Family has won some matches to set this up.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family

The Family (Kevin Knight/Kyle Fletcher in this case) are challenging. Nick and Knight lock up to start with Knight getting in a shoulder and doing the muscle pose. Back up and Nick is knocked out to the floor so we’ll try Matt vs. Fletcher instead. They trade shoulders with the much bigger Fletcher getting the better of things to take over, with Knight coming in for a pop up dropkick.

Everything breaks down and the Family does the stereo running bulldogs, ala the Bucks, and Matt stays in trouble. Back up and Matt avoids a charge, allowing Nick to come in and clean house, with the Family being knocked outside. The big moonsault connects and Don Callis is chased into the crowd to a positive reaction. Back in and Fletcher gets German suplexed but Matt is dropkicked out of an electric chair. Knight’s pair of clotheslines (corner and sliding) gets two but Matt gets in the slingshot X Factor.

The moonsault to the floor takes Fletcher out and there’s the rolling tag off to Nick. Everything breaks down and the rolling northern lights suplexes get two on the Family. The springboard double stomp to the back sends Fletcher crashing into a sitout powerbomb for two. A nasty Michinoku driver gets two on Matt but Nick is up with a step up Canadian Destroyer off of Matt’s back to take Fletcher out. The Bucks give Fletcher an assisted springboard hurricanrana to take him down again before going up.

That takes too much time though and it’s a double crotching, followed by Knight’s UFO Splash to Matt. A DDT onto the apron drops Fletcher but Knight gets out of a Meltzer Driver on the floor. That only works once though, as Nick runs the announcers’ tables to hit the second Meltzer Driver to drop Knight, leaving a hurricanrana to get two on Fletcher back inside.

The EVP Trigger gets two but Fletcher is back up to send Matt into the Tree of Woe. Nick is sent into the corner as well and Knight his a double Coast To Coast, setting up Fletcher’s brainbuster for two. A super brainbuster onto the turnbuckle and the UFO Splash gets two more, with Matt making a save. Fletcher loads up something in the corner but Knight tags himself in, only to springboard into a superkick. Fletcher comes back in for some running shots in the corner before walking into a string of superkicks. Knight springboards into Fletcher by mistake and the EVP Trigger to Knight retains the titles at 22:39.

Rating: B+. As usual, the Bucks have a very entertaining match with the teams both getting in a bunch of cool looking stuff. It might not look the most realistic (an understatement) but it’s some of the best junk food style wrestling out there. The Bucks weren’t going to lose the titles so soon after their latest crowning moment, but I can hardly complain about something like this.

Quick recap of the TBS Title match. Persephone is champion and a bunch of women are after the title. That’s about it.

TBS Title: Queen Aminata vs. Hyan vs. Dani Luna vs. Persephone

Persephone, with Britt Baker, is defending and runs her mouth a lot to start, earning a quick triple beating. Back up and Persephone gets stared at by all three at once, with Persephone and Aminata fighting to the floor. That leaves Luna to basement clothesline Hyan for two but Aminata is back in for the Chocolate Kisses. Hyan is back up with the knees to Aminata with Persephone having to make a save.

A fall away slam drops Luna and a German suplex gets two with Aminata making the save this time. Luna’s middle rope dropkick is speared out of the air to give Hyan two but Luna is back up with an apron German suplex to Persephone. That just earns Luna another shot from Aminata, who hits a top rope double stomp but Persephone makes the save. Luna kicks Persephone to the apron and they slug it out on the apron. Aminata headbutts Luna into a powerbomb onto the floor from Luna before Aminata stomps Hyan through an open chair.

Back in and Aminata’s Off With Her Head hits Persephone for two, with Hyan making another save. A Michinoku Driver gives Hyan two before Luna fall away slams Hyan and Persephone at the same time. The slingshot Blue Thunder Bomb gives Luna two on Aminata and it’s Luna winning a slugout with Hyan. Persephone moonsaults onto the two of them and hits another to Hyan for the pin to retain at 13:56.

Rating: B. It was an exciting match with some good near falls, though this title still feels like a rather low level title. Persephone just does not seem like a top star or really someone who matters that much. She’s certainly talented and is smooth in the ring, but she still doesn’t come off some that big of a star. Maybe she needs some kind of a change to make that work, but it’s not getting there thus far.

We recap Andrade El Idolo defending the National Title against Tommaso Ciampa. There isn’t much to this one, as Ciampa wants a title and helped Samoa Joe pin Andrade earlier this week.

National Title: Andrade El Idolo vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa is challenging. They stare at each other to start and immediately strike it out, with Ciampa missing the knee to the face. An exchange of suplexes stagger both of them until Andrade hits a high crossbody to send Ciampa bailing to the floor. The removal of the pants takes too long though and Ciampa jumps him from behind. A running clothesline looks to set up the running knee again, with Andrade bailing out to the floor.

The Three Amigos have Ciampa in trouble on the floor and a split legged moonsault gets two back inside. Ciampa is sent outside for a springboard corkscrew dive and we pause for a photo with the woman at ringside. Which woman? The woman there to take a photo with Andrade. Back in and Ciampa sends him into the ropes for the running knee out to the floor, meaning it’s time for Ciampa to be pleased with himself.

Ciampa stops for a photo with a child (I’m assuming his daughter given the kiss thrown in) and we hit the chinlock back inside. Andrade fights out of a chinlock but gets knocked right back down. Ciampa stomps away in the corner but the super Air Raid Crash is broken up. Instead Ciampa settles for a running knee in the corner, allowing him to take off his own trunks, revealing I JUST KNOW trunks. Andrade fights up and hits a backbreaker but only gets his pants half off as Ciampa jumps him again.

Andrade knocks him off the top for the double moonsault and NOW the pants come all the way off. The running knees in the corner and ropes get two on Ciampa as the fans are rather into this. Ciampa is able to catch him on top for a shove out to the floor but he stops to beat up Andrade’s pants. That takes so long that Andrade is back up for Dia de los Muertos and two more. Ciampa’s running knee cuts him off for two of his own and they knock each other down for a double breather.

Back up and they strike it out again with Ciampa rolling him up for two. They go outside where Andrade misses a middle rope moonsault and gets shoved into a cameraman. Ciampa knees him down for two more and grabs the belt, with the referee cutting it off. The chair is cut off as well but it’s enough for Andrade to hit a DDT onto the belt for two. The DM retains the title at 20:57.

Rating: B. I was getting into this one more and more as Ciampa getting the title was far from out of the question. That’s what makes for a better match as you don’t know where it’s going. Other than that, it was a hard hitting match, though Ciampa stopping to beat up the pants for so long was rather out of character for him. He’s more focused than that most of the time and that’s not great to see.

We recap the Trios Titles match, which is pretty much a backdrop for Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland.

Trios Titles: New Level/Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page/Brodido

Page/Brodido are challenging in a 2/3 falls match. Creed headlocks Bandido to start but Bandido flips away for the finger guns. They run the ropes with Creed avoiding a bunch of shots and the champs triple teaming Bandido down. Bandido is able to muscle Kofi up into a suplex for two and it’s off to Page for the fall away slam. It’s already time for Page and Strickland to brawl on the floor with King getting involved and having to be pulled off of Creed.

Bandido has to calm Page and King down and we settle to Page booking Kofi in the face. A belly to back suplex into a backsplash gets two on Kofi but he kicks King out of the corner. That and a moonsault put King down and it’s Creed coming back in to take over. A springboard tornado DDT plants Bandido and Swerve is in for a suplex. Bandido’s very spinning DDT drops Strickland but New Level catches Bandido with a springboard wheelbarrow Fameasser for a near fall. The assisted top rope DDT plants Bandido (of course) for the first fall at 9:29.

New Level/Strickland – 1
Page/Brodido – 0

Page and Strickland get into it again with Page being sent to the apron, where he gets tagged back in a few seconds later. Strickland gives Page a backbreaker but Page gets the Deadeye, with New Level pulling him to the floor. The camera goes wide for some reason and we come back with Bandido hitting his pop up cutter on Creed. King sends Creed and Strickland into the corner for a cannonball and Page blasts Kofi with a clothesline. The monkey flip 450 gives Bandido the pin on Creed at 13:48.

New Level/Strickland – 1
Page/Brodido – 1

Bandido flip dives onto New Level on the floor but Strickland hurricanranas Page off the apron. Bandido is draped over the barricade for a double stomp to the back but King is back up with a suicide dive onto all three champions. A shooting star press gives Bandido two on Creed and the X Knee into the Buckshot Lariat into the German suplex gets two with Kofi making a save. Everyone is down and of course we get the big Page vs. Strickland showdown.

Strickland kicks King off the apron and hits Page with a rolling Downward Spiral. Page Deadeyes Kofi on the apron but gets caught with the Swerve Stomp. Creed fails at slugging away at King and is taken up top but King is taken down with a Vertebreaker. Bandido is back up with a springboard poisonrana to Creed, followed by a super fall away slam to New Level. Strickland is back up and tries Big Pressure but gets reversed into a rollup to give Bandido the pin and the titles at 24:21.

Rating: B+. It was a wild match and little more than an excuse for Page and Strickland to fight again, as they always do. At the same time, the match was a ton of fun and that’s what you knew it was going to be. They got to do all kinds of insane spots and kept their feud going even longer. If nothing else, I’m glad to get the titles off of New Level, who feel ready to move into the tag team scene where they belong.

Post match New Level and Brodido show respect but Strickland drops the title rather than handing it to Page. Yeah that fits.

We meet the newest member of the roster: Ilja Dragunov. Yeah that’s not surprising but it should be a lot of fun.

Quick recap of Mark Davis vs. Jon Moxley for the Continental Title. Davis pinned him in a tag match and that’s about it. Moxley is seemingly on a downward spiral but is ready to fight through it, as he tends to do.

Continental Title: Mark Davis vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and Pac’s chair now has his name on the towel. They fight along the ropes to start and go nose to nose in a rather aggressive way. Back up and a running shoulder doesn’t work for Moxley, who bounces into the corner. Davis takes him into another corner and chops away before raking Moxley’s eyes over the rope. A Downward Spiral into the buckle has Moxley in more trouble and Davis gives him a running forearm. Moxley is already busted open and gets forearmed even more to draw extra blood.

They go outside with Moxley’s leg getting bent over the barricade and we’re off to the chinlock inside. The right hands to the cut in the corner don’t seem to do much to Moxley, who knocks him off the top. There’s the suicide dive over the announcers’ table and Moxley hits some more effective right hands back inside. Some clotheslines and a cutter drop Davis but Moxley can’t get a cross armbreaker. Then he does indeed get a cross armbreaker, which is broken up just as fast.

Dirty Deeds is blocked and Davis’ tilt-a-whirl faceplant gets two. The piledriver onto the apron knocks Moxley silly but he’s back on his feet about a minute later. Naturally Moxley is all angry but we pause for the referee to check on him, with the Death Riders popping up in the crowd to cheer him on. See they’re not at ringside so it doesn’t count. Moxley gets back in with a stomp for two and they slug it out again. Davis dropkicks him into the corner but Moxley is back with a running clothesline to knock both of them down.

Back up and Moxley puts his own hands behind his own back so Davis can hit him harder. Davis knocks him silly and grabs a choke, which Moxley reverses into one of his own, which is broken up with a cannonball into the corner. Moxley breaks up another piledriver on the apron and hits a suicide dive. Back in and Davis hits a clothesline to the back of the head setting up a German suplex. Moxley’s Death Rider gets two so he slugs away, only to get clotheslined. Davis gets pulled into a Brutalizer, followed by a choke for the tap to retain the title at 23:26.

Rating: B. This has been “Jon Moxley is TOUGH and AWESOME and THE BEST FIGHTER EVER” part….whatever we’re up to now. The idea was that Moxley needed to prove himself and the only way to do that was to get beaten up a lot and then come back and win. That might work a bit better if we hadn’t seen it so many times, but I never bought the title being in jeopardy. But at least we know that Moxley is indeed, awesome and tough.

Post match Moxley is rather pleased. And don’t forget tough.

We recap the Clockwork Carnage match for the World Title. So it’s basically an eight man Royal Rumble and if you survive all of the entrances, you advance to a 15 minute Iron Man match with the most falls leaving as World Champion.

AEW World Title: Clockwork Carnage

Will Ospreay (one of eight entrants with three minute intervals) is defending and it’s Ospreay in at #1 and Konosuke Takeshita in at #2. They forearm it out to start and the fans are indeed behind Ospreay. Takeshita is sent outside for a slingshot forearm and some rather loud chops have him in more trouble inside (as the ring is sounding strange here for some reason). Ospreay is knocked outside for a dive from Takeshita and it’s Mike Bailey in at #3 (as the clock is already being trimmed, which is pretty normal).

Bailey and Ospreay double team Takeshita and kick him down for two but spend too long posing. That lets Takeshita knock both of them down and Ricochet is in at #4. An anklescissors sends Ospreay outside for the big running dive and Ricochet’s springboard high crossbody hits Bailey back inside. Bailey and Ospreay go up top with Takeshita, who superplexes both of them at once. Ricochet’s 450 gets two on Takeshita and Darby Allin is in at #5.

A quick Code Red gets two on Ricochet and a Coffin Drop to the floor hits Takeshita. The suicide dive hits Takeshita’s jumping knee but Ospreay takes Takeshita out as Kazuchika Okada is in at #6 (That would be the fourth entry with three minute intervals, meaning twelve minutes. We’re just over ten minutes into the match, so they’re certainly trimming time.).

Okada gets to clean house, including a dropkick to put Allin on the floor. Bailey comes back in to flip Okada off and the Rainmaker is countered into a sunset flip for two. Takeshita gives Bailey a heck of a wheelbarrow suplex and the Blue Thunder Bomb into Raging Fire gets rid of Bailey at 13:51.

Adam Copeland is in at #7 and finally catches Ricochet with a big boot as the fans sing the song. The spear misses but Copeland gets his knees up to block Ricochet’s shooting star press. Takeshita counters the spear into a Blue Thunder but Okada Rainmakers Takeshita for the elimination at 15:58.

An Oscutter gets two on Okada and Vertigo gives Ricochet two on Allin. Samoa Joe is in at #8 to complete the field (Joe, Ospreay, Ricochet, Allin, Okada and Copeland) and start us off on the 15:00 Iron Man section (with only pins and submissions counting). Ricochet’s suicide dive is sidestepped by Joe, who backsplashes Allin’s knee. The MuscleBuster gives Joe the pin on Allin with 14:27 to go.

Joe – 1 (for the sake of simplicity, I’ll only list points earned and will omit anyone with no points)

Joe dives onto someone on the floor and Ricochet is smart enough to pin Allin with 14:13 to go.

Joe – 1
Ricochet – 1

Copeland is in with a full nelson slam to Ricochet but gets caught with a Rainmaker to give Okada the pin at 13:48 to go.

Joe – 1
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1

Ospreay’s Phenomenal Forearm hits Okada and Ricochet steals another near fall, with Joe pulling him to the floor. Stormbreaker plants Okada but Ricochet dives in for the save, with Ospreay breaking up the cover. A Styles Clash gives Ospreay the fall on Ricochet with 12:11 to go.

Joe – 1
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1
Ospreay – 1

Allin Coffin Drops Ospreay for the pin with 12:06 to go.

Joe – 1
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1
Ospreay – 1
Allin – 1

Copeland and Allin have a staredown (as commentary points out that it’s sudden death between anyone who is tied in the event of a draw) and Allin la majistrals Copeland for the pin with 11:28 to go.

Allin – 2
Joe – 1
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1
Ospreay – 1

Copeland can’t believe it and misses a charge to the floor, leaving Ospreay to Hidden Blade Allin for a fall with 11:00 to go.

Allin – 2
Osprey – 2
Joe – 1
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1

Ricochet and Ospreay slug it out in the corner until Ricochet’s super hurricanrana gets two. A running knee knocks Ospreay down again and a shooting star press gives Ricochet two. Ricochet beats up some more people on the floor (where a table has been set up) but gets sent to the apron by Ospreay with 7:00 left.

Ospreay charges into a boot but Copeland spears Ricochet off the apron and through the table at ringside. Joe and Allin fight on the floor and Okada drops a top rope elbow on Ospreay. A standing Spanish Fly gives Ospreay two on Okada and Joe plants Allin on the floor with 5:00 left. Joe walks away from the Oscutter and then does it again before grabbing the Koquina Clutch on Ospreay. Commentary is begging Ospreay to tap out, which he FINALLY does with 3:32 to go.

Allin – 2
Ospreay – 2
Joe – 2
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1

Joe is looking rather cocky as he slowly beats on Ospreay. The MuscleBuster is escaped though and Copeland spears Joe for the pin with 2:09 to go.

Allin – 2
Ospreay – 2
Joe – 2
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1
Copeland – 1

Another spear out of the air pins Ricochet with 2:01 to go.

Allin – 2
Ospreay – 2
Joe – 2
Copeland – 2
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1

Another spear to Ospreay is countered into a small package for two as we have 1:30 left. The Hidden Blade misses and Copeland hits an Impaler but can’t cover. Instead he pulls himself up for another spear but Okada cuts him off. Okada gets speared down but Ospreay hits a Hidden Blade on Copeland and steals the pin with 3 seconds left.

Ospreay – 3
Allin – 2
Joe – 2
Copeland – 2
Ricochet – 1
Okada – 1

And time expires to retain Ospreay’s title at 32:05.

Rating: B+. There’s a lot to go through here. First of all, it was fun, and the drama at the end was good. The star power was absolutely there and it felt like a big match. You can also tweak it a bit with the amount of people involved in the second half. At the same time, I’m not sure if this felt like a pay per view main event. It feels more like a #1 contenders match and maybe that’s what it becomes later on now that it’s established. For something where they didn’t really have anything else ready, this was about as good as it was going to get and I did enjoy it, so well done overall.

Post match Copeland shows respect to Ospreay to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. For a show with very little in the way of stakes or hype (again, not AEW’s fault given the circumstances), this more than over delivered. I had a good time with the show and while there were some matches that definitely could have been trimmed, it was a heck of a second tier pay per view. All things considered, this was a big hit and while it wouldn’t work every time, they escaped through hard work and a unique main event format. Solid show here, but they need to make the next one feel a lot more important.

Results
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Sisters Of Sin – Divine Intervention to Hart
Don Callis Family b. Alex Breeze/Papi D/Rhys Maddox – Triple pin
The Dogs/Death Riders b. Conglomeration/Bang Bang Gang – Fastball Special to Colten
Motor City Machine Guns b. FTR – Dirt Bomb to Wheeler
Mercedes Mone b. Thekla – Mone Maker
Nick Wayne b. Chris Jericho – Small package
Young Bucks b. Don Callis Family – EVP Trigger to Knight
Persephone b. Queen Aminata, Hyan and Dani Luna – Moonsault to Hyan
Andrade El Idolo b. Tommaso Ciampa – DM
Hangman Page/Brodido b. New Level/Swerve Strickland 2-1
Jon Moxley b. Mark Davis – Bulldog choke
Will Ospreay won Clockwork Carnage

 

 

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Collision
Date: October 3, 2026
Location: Truist Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Paul Wight

We’re done with All Out and rapidly closing in on Wrestledream, with the schedule being a bit crunched because of the Pac tribute show from earlier this week. That should make for a bigger Collision here, as they don’t have a lot of time to waste with just two weeks before the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

Kofi is excited to be here and can’t wait to get going. Lee Moriarty says he’s been Pure Champion for 799 days and wants more respect. Kofi doesn’t get what’s wrong with him.

Kofi vs. Lee Moriarty

Non-title and Austin Creed is on commentary. Moriarty spins out of a hammerlock to start and we’re at a standoff. They trade a crossarm choke and Moriarty takes him over to the ropes for the break. Kofi sends him to the floor and teases a dive but bounces off of the ropes instead.

Back in and a leg lariat gives Kofi two but Moriarty plants him with a running DDT and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Moriarty bridges back on his neck and mocks Kofi as we take a break. We come back with Moriarty hitting a backdrop but getting knocked off the top. A tornado DDT and dropkick have Moriarty in trouble until he pulls Kofi into a triangle choke. That’s broken up and Kofi tries a springboard….I think crucifix driver but completely misses.

Instead Moriarty gets in a suplex so Kofi kicks him down and drops the double leg. Trouble In Paradise misses and Moriarty pulls him into a Border City Stretch. Kofi makes it over to the rope so Moriarty punches him in the head. Kofi’s choke has Moriarty in the rope, only for Moriarty to send Kofi head first into the buckle. A European clutch gives Moriarty two but Kofi is back up with Trouble In Paradise for the pin at 13:17.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was exactly what you would have expected, with two established talented guys getting to show what they could do. Moriarty can wrestle a technical match as well as anyone and Kofi is one of the most consistently successful stars of his generation. This was quite the opener and Kofi is quite a good addition to the roster.

We take a look at the Pac tribute show, which is still hard to see.

Commentary gives some thoughts on Pac, with McGuinness sounding close to breaking.

The Young Bucks talk about Pac and how helpful he was to them in Japan when they were starting out. You can hear the emotions here and Nick breaks down in tears.

Video on Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada at Grand Slam Paris, which was announced after All Out.

Commentary announces Clockwork Carnage, which is a rather complicated match involving eight wrestlers entering but possibly being eliminated until they’re all in. Once that is up, the remaining wrestlers have what is basically a fifteen minute Iron Man match and the most points win. So a Royal Rumble/Iron Man hybrid?

Conglomeration vs. Solorato/Griff Garrison

Garrison gets taken into the corner for some double chops as Wight pops back onto audio to yell at McGuinness for muting him. Cassidy gets more fired up than usual and hammers away with about twenty five right hands in the corner. Comorato crotches Cassidy on top but Solo stops to do the Macarena. A tornado DDT gets Cassidy out of trouble and Garrison gets high/lowed on the floor. Back up and Solo tries a 21 Plex of all things, which is easily broken up. The Orange Punch finishes Comorato at 3:09.

Rating: C. This was a more serious Conglomeration than usual and that’s certainly a way to go, as Cassidy being serious might not be the best idea. I’m assuming this is in response to Strong being annoyed at the team’s recent loss so maybe they’re going in something of a different direction. Then again it’s just Solorato/Garrison so it only means so much.

Post match here are the Death Riders for their scheduled match and a staredown.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Death Riders

The Gang starts in on Yuta’s arm with some alternating shots before Austin gets pulled into the wrong corner. Austin fights back against Garcia and Yuta, meaning it’s time for the double fireman’s carry with the squats. Castagnoli breaks it up with a big boot though and we take a break. We come back with Austin hitting a brainbuster, allowing the tag off to Colten. That means right hands and a dropkick to take over, with Austin coming in for the still cool Quick Draw.

Everything breaks down and a step up clothesline to the back gets two on Garcia. Castagnoli’s powerbomb out of the corner gets two on Colten and it’s off to the six way slugout/knockdown. Marina Shafir and Juice Robinson tease a fight but Gabe Kidd breaks it up. The Gunns chase Kidd off but Yuta dives onto both of them. That leaves Austin to get crushed with running elbows in the corner, with Shafir getting in a shot of her own. The running knee and Dragontamer finish Austin at 12:20.

Rating: B-. Hey look: Austin takes the fall in a match with the Gunn Club there to do it instead. For the life of me I do not get why Austin has to take so many losses but here we are again. Other than that, it was a good enough tag match and a way for the Riders to get a regular win after their big showcase on Wednesday.

Darby Allin talks about how things have been put into perspective and he thought Steven Borden’s career was over at All Out. The Tag Team Titles will still be waiting for them though and it’s time to focus on the TNT Title. Kyle Fletcher never lost it so Allin wants to give him a title shot at Grand Slam so Allin can feel alive.

Myron Reed vs. Dante Martin

They trade rollups to start as McGuinness and Wight have what sounds like a less than playful exchange on commentary. Martin knocks him outside and rolls through a slingshot sunset flip attempt. Reed is right back up with a dropkick and we take a break. We come back with Reed hitting the hanging Downward Spiral from the apron to the floor. Marin is back up for the suicide shove but Reed tries the running diving cutter. The term is try as Martin blocks it and reverses into a poisonrana on the floor. Back in and Martin goes up for…something that takes so long that he dives into a cutter. Reed’s 450 finishes at 9:49.

Rating: B. It was a nice collection of flips and dives with the 450 being a cool looking finish but this felt like it would have been better suited for a middle of the show match on Ring Of Honor. Martin feels like he has been ready to move up to the next level for years now and there is no reason to suggest that is the case. Reed is talented but I have no reason to believe he’s going anywhere either.

Thekla tries to go see Mercedes Mone but can’t get an answer to a knock. Then Mone sneaks up from behind and knocks Thekla down. This has been “Mone is smart and her challenger is dumb”.

Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Emily Rose/Joiya Blake

Divine Intervention finishes Rose at 46 seconds.

Post match Julia Hart comes out for her match and a staredown with Bayne/Kross. Yeah I saw them do that about thirty minutes ago.

Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata

Hart gets headbutted out to the floor to start, followed by the Chocolate Kisses back inside. Hart knocks her down out of the corner though and Aminata is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with Aminata getting two off a stomp and putting her in a chair on the floor. That means a running double stomp to drive Hart through chair for a nasty crash and they go back inside. Back in and Hart gets in an Octopus, which is reversed into an Air Raid Crash for two. A Backstabber with the feet has Aminata in trouble again but she knocks Hart into the ropes. Off With Her Head finishes Hart at 9:13.

Rating: C+. They were hitting each other hard but this show has been on a streak of matches that do not feel even remotely important. You know where Hart and Aminata are at the moment and it would be ridiculous to think that either of them is going anywhere off of this win. Maybe Aminata can get a shot in Ring Of Honor or something but it’s not happening here, at least not in anything serious.

New Level are glad about what they’re doing so far and Kofi wants to be a singles champion. That means an official challenge to Bandido for Grand Slam, which is certainly a switch.

Jack Perry says he beat Katsuyori Shibata and wants Samoa Joe, who returned at All Out.

Samoa Joe is back and hopes that Perry can be man enough after the beating he’s going to get.

Adam Priest vs. Mark Davis

Davis chops him down to start but Priest is able to get in a knockdown to the floor. A dragon screw legwhip over the rope has Davis in trouble but he’s able to run Priest over as we take a break. We come back with Priest taking out the leg and hitting a top rope DDT. Another twist of the knee has Davis in trouble but it’s too early for the half crab. And then the half crab goes on to have Davis screaming quite a bit. That’s broken up and Priest goes after the leg again but gets pulled into the piledriver to give Davis the pin at 8:39.

Rating: C+. This show has turned into ROH Collision as you’re getting longer matches with zero doubt about who wins. At the same time, and really far worse, is that neither of these two are going to have anything changed with the result. Davis beat someone he should beat and Priest lost to someone he should lose to. That’s been the case with most of the matches this week and it’s making for a very dull watch.

Queen Aminata is told she might get a title shot and says she’ll face Mercedes Mone at Grand Slam. Then she can go on to WrestleDream to beat Thekla up.

Grand Slam rundown.

Jon Moxley vs. Jake Doyle

Non-title Eliminator Match. They start slowly and Moxley can’t get very far by running into Doyle. A running shoulder doesn’t work but the second is more successful for Moxley. Back up and Doyle powers him into the corner but Moxley reverses and hammers away. A running shoulder sends Moxley off the apron and into the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Moxley in trouble on the floor and a ridiculously slow count, which allows Moxley to sit down next to the post for a few moments. Back in and Moxley wins a slugout, even throwing in some kicks to the leg. The rebound lariat hits Doyle and a cutter sends him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Doyle tries a powerbomb but gets his face bitten instead. A piledriver just wakes Doyle up and he powerbombs Moxley for two. Back up and Doyle tries Into The Void but gets pulled into the rear naked choke to give Moxley the win at 13:19.

Rating: B. That was exactly what I was expecting, with Moxley selling a bunch and then winning in the end. The match was good and all, but the result was exactly the same as it so often is with Moxley and that makes for a tedious watch. Moxley being there made it feel more important than the rest of the show but dang this did not come off like a main event.

Overall Rating: C+. This really did feel like a Ring Of Honor show, with a bunch of people having matches to fill in the time. A few of them might be building to something, but so many of the matches felt like background noise while commentary announced matches for the two upcoming shows. You have a live television show with the wrestlers there so make this more like this week’s Dynamite. The wrestling was good but the presentation didn’t work, which made this feel very, very long.

Results
Kofi b. Lee Moriarty – Trouble In Paradise
Death Riders b. Bang Bang Gang – Dragontamer to Austin
Myron Reed b. Dante Martin – 450
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Emily Rose/Joiya Blake – Divine Intervention to Rose
Queen Aminata b. Julia Hart – Off With Her Head
Mark Davis b. Adam Priest – Piledriver
Jon Moxley b. Jake Doyle – Rear naked choke

 

 

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All Out 2026
Date: September 26, 2026
Location: Now Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s the sequel to the biggest show of the year (in case you couldn’t tell by the name) and we have a pair of huge matches on top of the card. That would be a ladder match (tables and chairs implied) for the Tag Team Titles and Will Ospreay defending the World Title against Jon Moxley. Let’s get to it.

In today’s “AEW Needs To Stop”, I just spent 20 minutes watching the Buy In (where matches have aired at least the last two editions) on their YouTube channel expecting to get to the matches (as listed in the chapters on said YouTube channel) and then realized it was just the talking one. I need to watch the OTHER pre-show, the Tailgate Brawl. Stop making this more complicated than it needs to be.

Pre-Show: Jack Perry vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata takes him down with a headscissors so Perry headstands his way out. Back up and Shibata allows him to fire off some chops, with a bigger chop putting Perry down. They go outside for more Shibata chops and we take a break. We come back with Perry uppercutting him into the corner and pounding him down.

A running boot sends Shibata out to the apron and Perry suplexes him on the floor. Back in and Perry pulls him into the Snare Trap but Shibata rolls out and fires off some kicks to the chest. Perry dropkicks him down and gets two off a tiger driver. Shibata gets in some more chops and tries a sleeper, with Perry backflipping into a cradle for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C+. This was Perry working his way up through the Opps to Samoa Joe, which isn’t a big stretch as the team other than Joe is hardly top level opposition. The match could have been on pretty much any edition of Collision with the same result and that’s about what you would want on a pre-show. Perry winning was never really in doubt and that’s ok for a match like this. It was little more than a hill to climb and Perry did fine.

Post match Samoa Joe comes back and Perry wants a handshake but gets headbutted instead.

Pre-Show: Sisters Of Sin vs. Mina Shirakawa/Queen Aminata

This was teased on TV earlier this week due to a brawl after a singles match. Hart fights out of Shirakawa’s early headlock but gets rolled up for a quite two. Blue (the hometown star) comes in to take over on Aminata, who is right back with the Chocolate Kisses. Shirakawa is back in and gets DDTed as we take an early break.

We come back with Shirakawa fighting back and hitting a top rope Codebreaker to Hart. The Figure Four goes on to Blue, with Aminata adding a top rope double stomp. Hart makes the save and the Sisters get in some stereo submissions, which are broken up as well. Aminata gets in a fisherman’s neckbreaker to Blue but Hart pulls Aminata off the apron. That leaves Blue to grab a quick Code Blue for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C+. It’s another perfectly fine match to keep the crowd going and having the hometown star win is fine. Naturally Shirakawa took the fall because that’s what she does most of the time. I’m still not sure how this is the best use of her AEW can find but at least she was on the show.

Pre-Show: Bang Bang Gang vs. The Dogs/Death Riders

Texas Tornado rules and both teams have football gear, including helmets and shoulder pads for the villains. They go down into three point stances and the bell rings to start the fight. Finlay gets caught in the corner and caught with some running forearms. White chops Finlay outside, where we run a football play so Connors, in his football pads, can run people over.

We take a break and come back with White getting crushed in the corner over and over to knock him silly. Don’t worry though as Austin has a football and gets in a three point stance to run down the ramp and take the other team out. Austin gets inside for a running flip dive right back to the floor.

White gets the football and flip dives onto the pile at ringside, leaving Finlay alone in the ring against the entire Gang. We pause for a brawl between Marina Shafir and Juice Robinson, allowing Finlay to hit Austin in the head with a football helmet. The parade of knockdowns leaves almost everyone down until the Blade Runner pins Yuta at 11:55.

Rating: B-. Of all of the football themed matches I’ve seen over the years, this has been the most recent. The idea of tying it into the pre-show’s name was pretty unnecessary for teams who have had such issues, but if this means I don’t have to see the Dogs for the rest of the night, I’ll take what I can get. And the Gang actually won something!

And now, the show proper.

The opening video looks at both Chicago and the show’s main matches.

National Title: Pac vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade is defending and the fans seem to like him. An early Dia de Los Muertos gets two on Pac, who can’t get a crossface. Pac flips out of a running hurricanrana and they trade running boots to put each other down. Back up and Pac suckers him in off a handshake attempt but gets high crossbodied for two. The third Amigo is broken up so Andrade goes with a dropkick to the floor instead.

The slingshot dive to the floor is kicked out of the air though and Marina Shafir gets in some stomps. Pac sends him into the barricade but Andrade fights back as they go up top. Back in and the double moonsault gives Andrade two but he takes WAY too long loading up the running knees, allowing Pac to grab a suplex into the corner. A slingshot cutter gives Pac two more and they trade forearms, with Andrade getting the better of things.

Now the Three Amigos can work a bit better, allowing Andrade to take his pants off. The springboard corkscrew dive hits Pac on the floor but we pause for the photo…which is broken up by Shafir. Pac gets in a cheap shot so a 450 can connect for two back inside. Andrade hits him with a big Dia de Los Muertos so Pac rolls outside. That means a whip into the barricade to put Andrade in more trouble. The Black Arrow misses so Shafir offers a distraction, allowing Pac to hit his big running clotheslines. The Brutalizer goes on, with Andrade rolling him up for the pin to retain at 18:39.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was as fired up and impactful as you would have expected, with Andrade getting a big pay per view win on his way to getting his World Title shot. Pac was a good choice for a challenger as well, as he was able to offer a good challenge without losing much by not winning the title. Rather good opener here in a match that lived up to its high expectations.

We recap the Don Callis Family vs. Steven Borden/Darby Allin. The Family is trying to become a more cohesive in an effort to get some gold, while Allin seems to want to turn Borden into another version of his partner in Sting.

Don Callis Family vs. Steven Borden/Darby Allin

For a future Tag Team Title shot. Fletcher wants to start with Borden and powers him up against the rope. Borden fights out of the corner with Allin coming in as well to clear the ring out. Knight comes in and gets armdragged into an armbar, followed by a dropkick to send Knight into the ropes. It’s off to Allin for the rather high springboard armdrag but Knight knocks him into the corner.

Fletcher kicks Allin off the apron and then powerbombs him onto the steps for a nasty crash. Back in and Allin tries a sunset flip but Knight tags out, allowing Fletcher to get in a quick kick of his own. Allin gets over to the corner for the tag, which the referee doesn’t see thanks to a Knight distraction. The Family gets sent into each other though and now the tag brings in Borden to clean house. That doesn’t last long as Borden is knocked outside and sent into the barricade, leaving Allin to come out with the dive.

Knight clotheslines him right back down and ties Allin in the Tree Of Woe, meaning it’s time to load up the Coast To Coast. Borden gets up to save Allin and climbs up for a top rope staredown with Knight (uh oh). They springboard at each other and collide (which wasn’t helped by Borden jumping way before Knight, with Borden slamming his head into the mat and knocking himself cold. The doctor comes in and the referee stops the match, with the Family winning at 12:25.

Rating: B-. I’ll wait to hear how Borden is doing before going into a rather lengthy rant about how utterly idiotic it is to allow someone who hasn’t even been wrestling for a year to do that kind of a spot. Anyway, Borden continues to look fine in limited doses (that dropkick is very good) but he’s still in over his head. Allin doing most of the work for his team is the right way to go, though I’m not wild on a former World Champion spending so much time trying to bring up the son of a legend on TV every week.

Commentary gets rather serious, as they should after this kind of an ending. This also serves as a way for Borden to get out of the arena, likely on a stretcher.

Persephone has issued an open challenge for the TBS Title.

TBS Title: Persephone vs. ???

Persephone, with Britt Baker, is defending against….the debuting Dani Luna (powerhouse, formerly from TNA). They fight over a lockup to start and an exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere. Persephone grabs a belly to belly and gets in some rollups, only to get blasted by the rather strong Luna. A basement clothesline puts Persephone down again and Luna easily blocks a monkey flip attempt.

Baker pulls Luna outside though and Persephone hits her suicide dive. Back in and Persephone gets two off a northern lights suplex but Luna hits a middle rope dropkick. Luna puts her down again with a running boot and something close to a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. They go to the apron, where Persephone gets in a German suplex before hammering away back inside.

A rolling Kimura has Luna in more trouble as the fans only seem so interested in this. Back up and they clothesline each other for a double down so Persephone rolls to the apron. Luna muscles her up with a German superplex for two more, followed by her Lunar Landing (fireman’s carry into a sitout spinebuster) but Baker makes a save. Luna dives onto Baker but gets taken down by Persephone, setting up the Razor’s Edge to retain at 13:41.

Rating: B-. The match was fine, but this had no business being on pay per view. Persephone doesn’t feel like a star and she’s defending against someone who a lot of the fans either don’t know much about or don’t care about. That’s not a recipe for a pay per view match and it shouldn’t be a surprise that it only got so far. The wrestling was fine, but it was a match between two people who only mean so much around here.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa challenging Kazuchika Okada for the International Title. Ciampa is stepping up and wants one of the best in the world so the title shot is on.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa is challenging. Okada backs him into the ropes for the slap to the chest to start. That works so well that Ciampa does it right back to him, with Okada coming back with a knockdown of his own. Back up and Okada teases the middle finger, which sends us into an exchange of forearms. The running knee misses for Ciampa and Okada realizes he dodged a big shot there.

Ciampa gets in another knee to send Okada outside, where a knee lift knocks Okada off of the announcers’ table. A Don Callis distraction lets Okada elbow away in the corner and a neckbreaker puts Ciampa back down. Okada hits a DDT to send him to the apron, where Ciampa is able to get in some chops. The super Air Raid Crash is broken up and Okada dropkicks him head first into the post.

Ciampa is hung over the barricade for a DDT and it’s time to flip off Ciampa’s daughter (on her 8th birthday). The girl flips him off right back and Ciampa is up to unload on Okada at the barricade. Back in and Ciampa rolls some German suplexes before the Fairy Tale Ending gets two. Okada gets in the Air Raid Crash onto the knee, setting up the top rope elbow. The middle finger is extended and then bitten by Ciampa so Okada gives him a dropkick.

Ciampa pulls him up for a quick Project Ciampa for two so Callis gets off commentary for a distraction. The big screwdriver shot is cut off by a knee and the running knee gives Ciampa two. Ciampa’s Rainmaker is blocked and he misses another knee, allowing Okada to get in a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. The Rainmaker retains the title at 21:02.

Rating: B+. This was another awesome match and the kind that I was expecting when it was announced. Ciampa has been doing very well since he came to AEW, though there was no real reason to believe he was winning the title here. Okada still seems to be involved in the long running story with other members/ex-members of the Don Callis Family so this was just a rather good side trip. As a sidenote, good luck topping Ciampa’s daughter flipping Okada off, because that was just great.

Steven Borden is awake and alert and being observed. That’s good to hear.

We recap the Women’s Tag Team Title match. The Brawling Birds won the title last month in London so it’s time for a rematch with no rules.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Brawling Birds

The Birds are defending in a Chicago Street Fight. Naturally the fight, including the weapons, starts on the ramp with the Birds taking over. Hayter throws in some chairs before setting up a table at ringside. They get inside, where Kross and Hayter are knocked down but manage to send the challengers into the open chairs. A double suplex drops Bayne onto a chair onto Kross but she’s fine enough to suplex Windsor into the corner.

Bayne sends a chair flying at Windsor and Hayter gets sent though the table at ringside. Kross holds Windsor over the ropes for the kendo stick shots from Bayne. Hayter is back up for the save and Windsor gets the kendo stick. Kross gets a trashcan put over her head for a missile dropkick and a double chair shot puts her down again. Back up and Bayne gets in her own knockdown, leaving everyone down and Bayne/Kross busted open.

Four chairs are put up so they can sit down and trade forearms, with the Birds being dropped for two each. Hayter gets up to kick away, only for Bayne to hit a double German suplex. It’s time to bring in a piece of the barricade, which takes too long, allowing the Birds to suplex Kross onto it instead.

That’s shrugged off and the Divine Intervention onto the open chairs gets two, with Hayter making the save. We get to the next natural step, meaning a barbed wire board being put up in the corner. That takes too long as well, allowing Hayter to Death Valley Driver Bayne through the board. The thumbtacks are poured out and Two Birds One Stone sends Kross into them to retain the titles at 17:40.

Rating: B. This was the kind of violent match that you would expect, though it ran a few minutes longer than it needed to. You had both teams beating the fire out of each other, with the Birds getting their win in what should be their match. It’s pretty much exactly what was expected and it went well, though dang I’m sick of the tacks spot.

Steven Borden is at the hospital and speaking, which is a good sign.

We recap the Trios Titles match. New Level debuted last month and joined forces with Swerve Strickland to win the titles. Now the former champions are getting a one on one rematch.

Trios Titles: Brodido/Hangman Page vs. New Level/Swerve Strickland

New Level/Strickland are defending. Kofi starts with Bandido, the latter of whom easily pulls him out of the air. They trade finger gun points to the face and Bandido dropkicks him down, leaving Kofi to stick the landing off of a monkey flip. That’s enough for a handshake so Creed and King come in for a change. Creed fires himself up and is promptly knocked down to the floor, with page getting in a shot from the apron.

Back in and Page comes in to kick Creed in the face, with Bandido adding a slingshot hilo. Strickland is up and goes after Page on the floor, with the old anger coming out again. That’s broken up and Strickland gets the tag in the melee to stomp Bandido down in the corner. An assisted moonsault gives Kofi two on Bandido and something like a Hart Attack gets the same.

Bandido’s comeback attempt is cut off by a backbreaker so he goes with a corkscrew crossbody instead. Page and Strickland almost get into it again, leaving Bandido to hit a pop up cutter. The tag brings in King to clean house, including a Death Valley Driver to Kofi on the apron. The Cannonball to Kofi gets two, with Strickland making the save. Now we get the Page vs. Strickland showdown, with the two of them slugging it out and going nose to nose, followed by, of course, more slugging.

Page is sent outside and Strickland hits a running flip dive to take him down again. Kofi kicks Bandido from the apron and Strickland gives Page a House Call to leave everyone mostly down. Back in and stereo Blockbusters give Page two and Creed chops away at King. Creed manages to fireman’s carry King, leaving Bandido to fireman’s carry Page and Kofi at the same time. Geez what a showoff.

King gets out and stacks Creed on top of the other two for a triple Samoan drop. Bandido moonsaults out onto the floor, followed by King German suplexing Bandido, who German suplexes the New Level at the same time. Creed is able to powerbomb King out of the corner and Swerve’s 450 gets two. Page is back up to stare Creed down but it’s broken up too, with everyone being knocked down. Page uses Kofi as a launchpad to hit the Buckshot Lariat but gets caught with a House Call. The 21 Plex is countered into Big Pressure to retain the titles at 23:59.

Rating: B+. As soon as this match was announced, you could guarantee two things. One, it would be a wild party match with no tagging and that Bandido would take the fall. Bandido losing on AEW PPV has become a running theme and now he’s getting pinned by the same person multiple times. Anyway, this was the crazy match you would expect and it was a blast, with tagging just being kind of a suggestion rather than a rule.

We recap Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale. It was seemingly designed to be a triple threat also involving Mercedes Mone but Mone is injured so let’s do a #1 contenders match instead.

Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale

For a Women’s Title shot at WrestleDream. Thekla sends her into the ropes to start but misses a charge. It’s too early for the Babe With The Powerbomb so they trade some rollups for two each. Back up and Nightingale Pounces her into the ropes but Thekla is back up to knock Nightingale off the top. The whip into the barricade has Nightingale in more trouble and Thekla gets to snap the fingers back inside.

A stomp onto Nightingale’s injured hand has her in more trouble but she’s fine enough to knock Thekla down again. The basement dropkick gives Nightingale two of her own and it’s off to a Texas Cloverleaf. With that broken up, Thekla is sent crashing out to the floor but she’s able to take over again. A big dive to the floor takes Nightingale down again and they trade some forearms. Since we’re actually having a count, they dive back inside at nine, where Thekla misses a stomp.

The Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two and they both go up top. Thekla knocks her down though and a double stomp hits the bad hand. They both spider up and a clothesline leaves both of them down. Cue Julia Hart so Skye Blue can get in a belt shot to Nightingale, only for Hart to miss a belt shot of her own and hit Thekla by mistake. That’s enough to give Nightingale two so Thekla kicks her in the head. The Stomp gives Thekla the pin at 13:37.

Rating: B. Another perfectly good match which didn’t quite feel like it was a major pay per view showdown. I do like the idea of Thekla getting the shot as it means getting to hear her talk some more, though I don’t quite like Thekla’s odds in the title match. Nightingale gets to move on to something else, which won’t be a lengthy World Title reign because that’s not her style it seems.

We recap the Tag Team Title match, which has tables, ladders and chairs. Does the rest really matter?

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. FTR vs. Young Bucks

Copeland and Cage are defending in a ladder match and FTR’s British Tag Team Titles, which they just had to wear here, aren’t on the line. The brawl is on to start fast with Copeland and Harwood going outside to grab the first ladder. Back in and the champs take over, including bringing in the chairs. The Bucks set the chairs up and bulldog FTR onto them, with the champs getting back up and hiptoss Matt onto the chairs.

FTR grabs a ladder to beat on the Bucks, earning themselves dives from Copeland and Cage. Copeland goes up the ladder, which is cut off by a dropkick from Matt. The Bucks go up and are pulled right back down, meaning it’s time for the Bucks and FTR to take turns breaking up climbs. Nick gets a ladder dropped down onto him so FTR beats up the champions instead.

The Bucks get back up to take over, including monkey flipping Cage onto a ladder against the ropes. Copeland finds the really big ladder, which is bridged into a regular ladder. Harwood superplexes Copeland onto the bridged ladder and it’s time for more slugging. The tables are set at ringside with a backdrop sending Wheeler through one. Matt is sent onto another one, which doesn’t break. With that OUCH out of the way, Cage gives Nick a super Killswitch onto the ladder to leave him on another planet.

Copeland is back in to beat on FTR with a chair but Stokely throws powder at Cage. Stokely climbs a ladder and is shoved down, sending him crashing through a table at ringside for the huge crash. A spike piledriver onto the apron knocks Copeland silly and a Meltzer Driver on the floor does the same to Harwood. Copeland and Harwood are put on tables for stereo splashes from the Bucks, allowing them to go up.

Harwood makes the save (oh come on) and they all climb up for the six way brawl on the ladders. That’s broken up and a Shatter Machine hits Matt so Copeland and Cage chair FTR down. The Conchairto misses though and Nick springboards onto the ladder. Matt is back up as well and it’s a BTE Trigger to Cage, allowing the Bucks to get the titles back at 23:29.

Rating: B+. Well of course they did. The Bucks winning the titles isn’t exactly a major shock in AEW and it was either going to happen at All In or here. This was exactly what you would have expected, with a bunch of violence and carnage as the weapons were destroyed. If you liked TLC matches, you’ll like this and that’s about as much thought as I’m going to put into a match that has been done to death.

Wardlow is coming back. I’m sure it’ll be a smash.

We recap Will Ospreay defending the World Title against Jon Moxley. Ospreay came back from a broken neck (at the hands of Moxley) and won the World Title after Moxley helped train him. Now Moxley is getting a title shot.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is defending and Moxley’s Continental Title isn’t on the line. We get a special entrance for Ospreay, including narration, a live violin and what I believe is Assassins Creed gameplay footage. They stare at each other for a good while until Ospreay’s attempt at a single leg backs Moxley against the ropes. Ospreay goes for the arm and they grapple to the mat, with neither being able to get very far. A shoulder puts Moxley down so he grabs a headscissors, with Ospreay bouncing up for the escape.

Ospreay’s running hurricanrana sends Moxley to the floor and of course Ospreay is right there with a slingshot dive. Back in and Moxley bites Ospreay’s head on top, where a DDT brings him down onto the buckle. That’s enough to bust Ospreay open so Moxley fires off crossface shots to the head. A neckbreaker gives Moxley one and he snaps Ospreay’s finger. The piledriver gives Moxley two as the fans aren’t reacting that hard on the kickouts, likely knowing that the insanity is still to come.

Ospreay counters another piledriver to Moxley pulls him into an STF of all things. Ospreay is able to reverse a cross arm choke into one of his own, followed by a Phenomenal Forearm for two more. The standing corkscrew moonsault gets another near fall and yes indeed it’s time to trade forearms. Moxley has to block a Styles Clash and pulls him into a rear naked choke. That’s broken up so Moxley hits a Gotch style piledriver for two more.

The Stomp is blocked and Moxley can’t believe it, even as Ospreay strikes away and grabs a Styles Clash for two. The Oscutter gets two more so the Death Riders offer a distraction, meaning it’s time to brawl with the United Empire. A Hidden Blade hits Moxley but the referee is bumped somewhere in there. The Riders and Empire get inside to keep up the brawl so here is Andrade El Idolo to take Pac out.

A Paradigm Shift and Hidden Blade connect but Marina Shafir hits Ospreay with the briefcase. The rather slow count gets two on Ospreay so here are the Brawling Birds to go after Shafir. Hayter hits a big dive to the floor and everyone else brawls off. Moxley crosses himself and hits a big briefcase shot to Ospreay for two more. Two more Paradigm Shifts drop Ospreay for two so Moxley grabs his choke. Ospreay gets up and flips out of the corner for another Hidden Blade. Stormbreaker gives Ospreay two and Moxley starts laughing, only for another Hidden Blade to knock him cold and retain the title at 32:45.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting match that you would have expected, with all of the interference and such bringing it down. It felt like something closer to a Jeff Jarrett or HHH title defense from way back in the day, which isn’t the best thing to see. Ospreay needed this win as it ties up his biggest loose end as champion and now we get to see whomever is next. Good match here, but tone it down with all of the interference next time.

Post match Moxley takes the belt from Ospreay and gives it back to him. Make up your mind man.

Overall Rating: B+. This show was going to have trouble getting out of All In’s shadow but it was more than good enough. The action was good and it felt like a big card, which thankfully didn’t feel like it was dragging. I liked it rather well and while it didn’t have any great matches, it had a bunch of very good ones and that’s more than enough for a solid PPV, as usual.

But cut out that two pre-shows thing. It’s just stupid.

Results
Jack Perry b. Katsuyori Shibata – Rollup
Sisters Of Sin b. Mina Shirakawa/Queen Aminata – Code Blue to Shirakawa
Bang Bang Gang b. The Dogs/Death Riders – Blade Runner to Yuta
Andrade El Idolo b. Pac – Rollup
Don Callis Family b. Darby Allin/Steven Borden via referee’s decision
Persephone b. Dani Luna – Razor’s Edge
Kazuchika Okada b. Tommaso Ciampa – Rainmaker
Brawling Birds b. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne – Two Birds One Stone onto tacks to Kross
Swerve Strickland/New Level b. Brodido/Hangman Page – Big Pressure to Bandido
Thekla b. Willow Nightingale – Stomp
Young Bucks b. FTR and Adam Copeland/Christian Cage – The Bucks pulled down the titles
Will Ospreay b. Jon Moxley – Hidden Blade

 

 

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So we’re just a few weeks after All In and we’re already looking at something of a sequel, if nothing else with the opposite name. That makes for something of a problem as it’s going to be a bit of a step down from the biggest show of the year. This show is basically a two match card and that should be enough to carry the whole thing. Now if the rest of the card can live up to that standard, we should be in a good place. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Bang Bang Gang vs. Death Riders/The Dogs

I’m running out of ways to explain how uninterested I am in the Dogs. They’re on almost every show and they’re just the most generic heel team. At least Gabe Kidd isn’t involved in this and that should help a bit, but the team still isn’t interesting. In this case, at least we have the Gang in there and they can make just about anything work. If nothing else Ace Austin…yeah he’s not going to get the fall is he?

I’ll go with the Riders and Dogs to win here, as the Dogs continue to be the team that AEW wants to get over no matter what. The Gang is a team who seem ready to move up the ladder but it isn’t going to happen if they keep losing. The problem is they always lose and that’s what I’m expecting to see again here. Just don’t make it be Austin again, as good grief he deserves some wins. Or at least less losses.

Zero Hour: Jack Perry vs. Katsuyori Shibata

This is part of the latest attempt to get Perry over as a big deal but it’s just a stopping point on the way to what is likely Perry vs. Samoa Joe. The problem is Perry kept mentioning Joe in the last few weeks and then Joe isn’t here. Instead it’s Shibata, who might be talented (he certainly is) but he’s not seen as a top star. This is the kind of a match that feels like it belongs on Collision and that’s not the best feeling.

There is no reason to think that Perry is going to lose here so I won’t bother suggesting that anything else will be happening. Perry wins here and gets to move on to a big showdown with Joe. Why would they bother doing anything else? At the end of the day, Perry is someone who has always been teasing getting into the main event scene and this could be a step in his latest attempt. I’m not sure if this needs to be on the pay per view but Perry is a big enough star to warrant a spot.

TBS Title: Persephone(c) vs. ???

So the problem here is rather simple: Persephone doesn’t feel like a big star. She’s talented, she has a good associate with Britt Baker as her (close enough) manager and is the champion, but does she really feel like someone important? Honestly, not really, and that makes it hard to buy her as a manager champion. I have no idea who is coming after the title, but it’s likely only going to feel so important.

On the grounds of “I don’t know who is challenging for the title”, I’ll say that Persephone retains here. I’ve heard a rumor about who will be challenging and I won’t spoil it here (it’s easy to find online if you’re that interested) and I would hope they have something bigger than that. Persephone needs to beat some big names and this is a good chance for it to happen, assuming it actually does.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Brawling Birds(c) vs. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross

This is a rematch from last month where the Birds won the titles in London and now it’s time to do the rematch in their style of match, with a street fight. That should make for a fun match, with Kross and Bayne being rather impressive on the way to the match. It’s a simple story of the Birds trying to fight back against the two monsters and that is going to be easier said than done.

I see no reason to expect the titles to change hands here, as Bayne and Kross have already had that big reign with the titles. They don’t need to do it again and there is no reason to have the Birds lose the titles right back in what should be their signature match. Do the right thing here and let the Birds get their important title defense. I don’t know if it’s going to be a long title reign, but it shouldn’t be ending here. Birds retain.

Darby Allin/Steven Borden vs. Don Callis Family

This is for a future Tag Team Title shot and…yeah I’m not sure where to go. At the end of the day, Allin is a star but Borden is just so, so new at this and putting him into a title program is a big leap. At the same time, that might be the story they’re telling, as Allin and Borden have already had an issue with the reigning champions. Then again it’s not like the Family winning and getting the shot would be a stretch either.

I’m really not sure here but we’ll go with….I guess the Family, as it would be a step too far to have the a pair of former champions lose to someone who has had what, two matches on TV? I could easily see Allin and Borden winning, but I’m not sure it makes the most sense. The fact that I’m this unsure tells me that AEW is doing well with their storytelling, as having two viable options is a good thing.

National Title: Andrade El Idolo(c) vs. Pac

Now this is an interesting one, as There is no reason to believe that Idolo is going to lose as he’s the hottest star in the company. The catch though is that he has the World Title contract and it would be reasonable to think that he needs to get the National Title out of the way before he gets into the main event picture. At the same time though, I’m not sure I can picture the loss happening here.

Give me Idolo to retain the title here, as it’s too early for him to lose a match like this. The good thing is that Idolo and Pac should be able to tear the house down and have one of the better matches you’ll see on the show. These two know how to have an exciting match and they can tear the house down on this kind of stage. Idolo retains, though him losing the title wouldn’t be totally out of the question.

Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale

The winner gets to challenge Mercedes Mone for the Women’s Title at WrestleDream. It felt like we were getting a triple threat title match but I’ll take these two facing off, as Mone being taken out here gives them more of a chance to shine. That’s a great thing to see, and now we get to find out what they can do against each other in such a situation. Now who wins here?

It’s a Nightingale match, so of course I’m assuming she loses. Nightingale is one of the most beloved stars in all of AEW but she isn’t going to be a realistic threat to win here. We’ve already seen Mone vs. Nightingale on the big stage and it’s time to get us on to Thekla trying to get her title back. I’ve liked the build, but there is no reason to think that Nightingale is winning.

Trios Titles: Swerve Strickland/New Level(c) vs. Hangman Page/Brodido

As good as Strickland and New Level have been together, it still makes me wonder why we haven’t seen more of New Level on their own as a team. You know, that whole “we signed one of the most successful teams of this generation” and all that. Anyway, this is the closest thing to a big time match as we have, though it’s only going to feel so important given that it’s about the Trios Titles.

I’ll go with the champions retaining here, as there is no reason to switch the belts back. At the same time, Bandido is on pay per view and that gives him roughly a 94.4% chance of taking the fall. Yes he’s on his way to the record for longest Ring Of Honor World Title reign and that has meant a grand total of nothing when it comes to winning on AEW PPV. The champions retain here and we wait for them to find another serious set of challengers.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa

I waited to go ahead with this one as I don’t want to get to the result. Ciampa is someone who has felt like a breath of fresh air in AEW as he just has something that makes you want to watch him. That has already made him a champion, but it is only going to do so good when it comes to challenging here. I think you can tell where this one is going from here and that should be the case.

Okada retains here, as while Ciampa is rather awesome, he’s not going to be put in a spot where he can beat someone as high up on the totem pole as Okada is at the moment. Okada has too much going on with the Don Callis Family to lose the title because Callis…gah. I want to see Ciampa get a breakthrough win, but there does not seem to be much of a reason to believe it’s happening.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage(c) vs. FTR vs. Young Bucks

This is the ladder (tables and chairs implied) match that I was expecting at All In and I cannot bring myself to care. We are 27 years removed from Copeland and Cage having the first tag team ladder match. 27 years. We already have the Hardys and the Dudleys still running around on various other shows and all it does is make you realize how long we’ve been watching these same people. The Bucks and FTR aren’t much better, as they’ve been feuding with each other for the better part of ever in AEW. Seeing them all together with ladders does nothing for me, but you knew it was coming one day.

I’ll take the Bucks to win here, as it’s just been too long since they’ve won something big. I’m aware that I say that a lot, but the Bucks are one of those acts that just will not go away no matter how uninteresting they continue to be. This will have a bunch of big spots and old people crashing through things and I’m sure it will get quite the collection of pops. Then we can move on to whatever the next ladder match happens to be.

AEW World Title: Will Ospreay(c) vs. Jon Moxley

We’ll wrap it up here and it’s quite the odd build. The story has been set up and built over the last few months. Ospreay got close to Moxley after Moxley…broke his neck, because that’s how this thing has gone. After that though, Ospreay went on to feud with Kenny Omega with Moxley just kind of there in the background. Now we get to spin back around to them and it feels like it could have used some more swerving time.

This is the kind of match that is going to go into a big, long fight and I’ll take the champion to retain. Ospreay had his big moment last month and it is WAY too early for him to lose here. Moxley has already had a bunch of title wins on his own and keeps the Continental Title (because we need to have a chance of someone to be a double champion again) and doesn’t need to win here. Ospreay retains in a very long and even harder hitting match.

Overall Thoughts

There are two major matches on this card and they should be enough to carry things. The rest of the card might not feel as important, but it should be more than good enough to carry the night. There are more than a few matches here which feel like they could steal the show and that’s a nice situation to have. This show has a big shadow to escape from All In but the pieces are there to make it happen.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: September 23, 2026
Location: Fishers Event Center, Fishers, Indiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s the second half (er, third….I think) of the night with the show taking place just after the two hours of Dynamite. We’re still three days away from All Out and that means we are likely getting some more matches announced here. Hopefully this is more like another hour of Dynamite than the usual Collision in this case so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Jack Perry bangs his head against some tubes because he isn’t getting to face Samoa Joe. Instead, he’s ready to face Katsuyori Shibata, who is a killer.

Here are Lena Kross/Megan Bayne to go face to face with the Brawling Birds. And we even have some tea and I’m guessing crumpets. Kross and Bayne mock the idea of the champions being undefeated because they’ve both beaten the Birds one on one. The Birds say may the best team win and then hit them with the tea to start the fight. Bayne and Kross leave them laying with stereo slams. Of everything they could do, slams?

Last week after Dynamite, the Conglomeration was upset about their loss, with Roderick Strong being sick of all the losing. He can’t do this anymore and walks off.

Don Callis Family vs. Outrunners

It’s Kevin Knight/Kyle Fletcher for the Family. Fletcher backs Floyd up against the ropes to start and a running boot puts Floyd down as well. Knight is dropped onto Floyd for two but it’s quickly off to Magnum, who is beaten down in the corner. The Outrunners are sent outside and knocked down as we take a break.

We come back with Magnum getting in a needed backdrop and handing it off to Floyd. Everything breaks down and the Mega Powers Elbow gets two on Fletcher. That’s shrugged off and it’s a German suplex into the brainbuster into the UFO Splash to pin Magnum at 9:12.

Rating: C+. This was the right way to build up this version of the Family for Saturday as the Outrunners are established enough that beating them matters and it’s hardly a stretch to see the Family beat them. The Family took whatever the mostly comedy guys threw at them and then won. That’s how you set things up for their big match on Saturday and it’s nice to see it done properly.

Post match Fletcher says he didn’t like Knight at first but now they’re working as a family. All Out should be a cakewalk because they want to be #1 contenders. This looks to bring out Darby Allin and Steven Borden, but RPG Vice are waiting at the entrance. Instead, Allin and Borden are in the rafters, with Allin saying they’re too smart for that. Knight calls out Borden for being a rookie but Allin says it won’t be an upset.

All Out rundown.

Here is Chris Jericho for a chat. Last week, he beat Nick Wayne clean in the middle of the ring but then got kicked low. Jericho wants Wayne out here right now so here he is, actually wearing a suit for a change. Wayne declares himself smart and handsome and everyone who has ever trusted Jericho has gotten stabbed in the back. Jericho: “Fair point.” Jericho understands what Wayne did last week and teases giving him a kick right back.

They have a lot in common but Jericho asks if Wayne has ever heard of Nick Bockwinkel (of course he has). Jericho was on a show with Bockwinkel at 21 years old and asked Bockwinkel to watch his match. Bockwinkel said Jericho did too much and moved too fast, which had Jericho wondering what the old man could have been thinking. Wayne talks about how he’s been doing this since he was 9 years old and issues the challenge for Grand Slam Paris. Jericho promises to give him a beating and the match is on.

Hyan (who lost to Persephone on Dynamite) has a new tag partner in the form of Thunder Rosa and wants to fight Britt Baker and Persephone.

Queen Aminata vs. Skye Blue

Mina Shirakawa and Julia Hart are here too and Mercedes Mone is on commentary. Aminata takes her down without much trouble to start and Blue looks rather frustrated. They trade running forearms with Aminata getting the better of things against, setting up Chocolate Kisses. Blue is sent outside and all four of them get in an argument, allowing Blue to send Aminata into the steps. A suplex off of the steps has Aminata in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Aminata fighting out of a chinlock and connecting with a double stomp. Blue gets in a superkick into a running knee on the ropes but Aminata knocks her right back down. Hart offers a quick distraction though and Blue grabs a rollup for two. The running knee gets two more but Code Blue is blocked. Instead Aminata hits a big headbutt and the running knee in the ropes gets the pin at 10:25.

Rating: B-. This was in fact a match that ran about ten minutes between two people who don’t have anything to do with All Out. I’m assuming they’re going to have a tag match added to the Kickoff Show, which is where a lot of people are just added to the card. This felt like filler, but it was good filler.

Post match the brawl is on again but Thekla runs in, only for Willow Nightingale to join in for the save.

Britt Baker and Persephone are ready to face Hyan and Thunder Rosa in Pittsburgh, which seems to be a bad idea for the latter two.

Pac vs. Ace Austin

Austin backs him up against the ropes to start and Pac doesn’t look happy. They run the ropes with Austin tripping him down and getting in a kick to the back of the head. The fireman’s carry lets Austin get in some squats and Pac is sent outside, with Austin hitting a slingshot dive. Back in and Austin does more squats into a Death Valley Driver as we take a break.

We come back with Austin in trouble for a change but getting a boot up out of the corner. Austin kicks him down again and drops a leg, followed by some rapid fire clotheslines in the corner. A top rope spinning Fameasser gives Austin two but Pac is right back with a release German suplex. Austin gets suplexed hard into the corner and the Black Arrow finishes for Pac at 10:36.

Rating: B. I get why Pac won (as he should have of course) but dang it’s hard to take seeing Austin lose so often. He’s that talented and can make almost anything look good out there but he never wins anything outside of the occasional nothing match. It’s fine that he loses to bigger names, though it would be nice to see him win something a little more important from time to time.

Post match Pac grabs the Brutalizer so the Bang Bang Gang and Dogs run in. The big brawl is on and Pac grabs the Brutalizer again (as you do in a brawl) but Andrade El Idolo runs in to go after Pac to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yeah it was fine. It came at the end of a long night of AEW and the brawl at the end was good. This really would have been better if they had just merged the two shows together as the whole night was really just a big All Out preview. In that sense, it did pretty well and this show was fine at an hour, though stretching it out even longer after a two (plus) hour Dynamite was a bit much.

Results
Don Callis Family b. Outrunners – UFO Splash to Magnum
Queen Aminata b. Skye Blue – Running knee
Pac b. Ace Austin – Black Arrow

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: September 19, 2026
Location: Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Paul Wight

After last week’s rather touching tribute to the Butcher, we’re back to a more traditional show here. The good thing is that means the action should be high quality, as it tends to be on Collision. Other than that, we’re a week away from All Out and might get some more additions to the card. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley says Will Ospreay has chosen conflict with he and the Death Riders. The problem is that Moxley is going to have this match and it is going to be a very long drop for Moxley. He has already given Ospreay everything he has and fallen before but now he has climbed back up. The cliff that Ospreay will fall off at All Out will be the result of gravity. More intense stuff here from Moxley, which he has covered quick extensively over the years.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Myron Reed

Reed is challenging and Steven Borden and Zachary Wentz are here too. We get a show of respect and Allin slips away from an early waistlock. Reed’s attempt to nip up out of a wristlock is broken up as Allin drops down into a headlock for a rather smart counter. Allin sends him outside and Reed is right back in with a jumping enziguri. Reed knocks him off the top for a big crash out to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive over the post as we take a break.

We come back with Allin hitting a top rope superplex and Reed rolls out to the floor. Allin is back up with a heck of a suicide dive and tries another one, only to get caught with a cutter. Back in and the diving cutter over the top rope Allin on the floor and a 450 gives Reed a delayed two. Reed kicks him off the apron and into an open chair, with Reed’s running flip dive crashes through the chair. Allin throws what is left of Reed inside for the Coffin Drop to retain at 11:23.

Rating: B. This was one of those matches where they were tasked with going out there and flying around the ring (both inside and out) until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That big dive onto the chair looked great as the chair was just crushed. It’s another case of a random title shot but AEW knew exactly what they were doing here and it worked.

Post match the other two come in and respect is shown. Allin gets the mic and says Reed showed he belonged tonight. As for Steven Borden, teaming with his father was one of the best things of Allin’s career. Borden is ready to give everything to help Allin get the titles again so they’re giving everything they have at All Out.

We look at Tommaso Ciampa attacking Kazuchika Okada to set up their International Title match at All Out.

Don Callis is ready for the Family to beat Steven Borden and Darby Allin to become #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles. Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher agree and Kazuchika Okada tells Tommaso Ciampa to be careful what he wished for with his challenge.

Juice Robinson wants the Bang Bang Gang to challenge the Dogs and the Death Riders to a Tailgate Brawl at Tailgate Brawl. We get a lot of football references as well.

Zayda Steel vs. Thekla

Willow Nightingale is on commentary. Shockingly Thekla has no time for a handshake so Steel takes her down and hammers away. Thekla’s kick tot he face is shrugged off and Steel gets in a running shoulder. A Codebreaker out of the ropes hits Thekla, who kicks her to the floor for a double stomp to the back. Thekla’s dancing takes us to a break and we come back with Thekla yelling at Nightingale, allowing Steel to get in a baseball slide.

Back in and Thekla is fine enough to grab a guillotine choke over the ropes but Steel fires off even more right hands. A TKO gives Steel two and they go up top, where Thekla blocks a sunset bomb. Instead Thekla gets tied in the ropes for a top rope double stomp and a near fall. The Killswitch is broken up and Thekla does her spider walk into the spear…and pulls Steel up at two. Instead it’s a stomp to pin Steel at 11:18.

Rating: B-. Steel got to show some offense here but Thekla needed a win on the way to All Out. The big deal here was that Thekla got to show what she can do in the ring, as she is mainly known for her talking abilities. I could still go with more of Steel though, especially with her winning a thing or two outside of a nothing match on Ring Of Honor.

Pac vs. Adam Priest

Pac starts fast with a running clothesline and whips him into the corner. Priest fires off some clotheslines of his own and he gets his half crab, sending Pac over to the rope. Commentary talks about Christmas cards as Pac snaps off a suplex for two and then chokes with the knee. Back up and Priest dragon screw legwhips him down but can’t get the half crab again. Instead Pac hits a running shot in the corner, setting up a Tombstone. The Brutalizer finishes Priest at 4:17.

Rating: C+. Priest is someone who has been built up to be a jobber to the stars and that’s a fine role for him. He’s only going to get so far given his size and basic look, but he’s good enough in the ring to be a good choice for something like this. Other than that, Pac gets to look dominant enough, which is where he tends to do best.

Post match Pac goes to leave but gets cut off by Andrade El Idolo’s entrance. You can imagine how this is received.

National Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade is defending. They circle each other to start and Garcia takes him into the corner for some slaps to the chest. Garcia asks HOW YOU KNOW and gets taken down, allowing Andrade to do a bit of posing. Back up and a test of strength doesn’t work for either of them so Garcia sends him into the ropes…for the Tranquilo pose. A running hurricanrana sends Garcia outside for the slingshot dive and we take a break.

We come back with Garcia raining down right hands in the corner and then escaping Three Amigos as a bonus. Garcia knocks him outside and loads up his own picture with a woman, which has Marina Shafir yelling at Garcia to get back inside. Andrade backdrops him to the floor and there go the pants, setting up a springboard corkscrew dive to take Garcia down again. Garcia breaks up the Three Amigos again so it’s a double moonsault to give Andrade two. They fight over a small package and, after about eight counts, Andrade retains at 13:24.

Rating: B. It was quite the technical showcase with some of those counters being rather nifty. As usual, these title defenses aren’t so much about the title being in jeopardy as much as they’re about getting Andrade in the ring. It makes sense as he’s one of the hotter names in AEW at the moment so showcase him where you can.

Post match the Death Riders run in and beat down Andrade, with Pac demanding a National Title shot at All Out. Andrade accepts in a less than polite fashion and gets beaten up some more. Francesco Akira runs in for the save but gets choked, with Mike Bailey bringing in a chair for the real save.

Mike Bailey vs. Wheeler Yuta

They go with the grappling to start until Bailey snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Yuta is fine enough to send him face first into the steps and bends the exposed ankle over the turnbuckle. Bailey is back up with a missile dropkick but gets German suplexed for two more. They go outside where Bailey gets in a middle rope moonsault to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of rollups for two each until Bailey kicks him in the head to put them both down again. Bailey’s cross armbreaker is broken up and they trade rollups again with Bailey getting the better of things. The moonsault knees hit the mat so Yuta gets two more off a rollup. Back up and Bailey grabs a sunset flip with the arms tied up for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: B. Some of the exchanges of rollups were rather good as both of them can work that fast paced style. That’s the only reason to put these two together and it worked pretty well. Neither of them are about to go anywhere anytime soon but Bailey looks better in the ring than he does trying to make a save and look tough.

Post match the Death Riders and the Dogs run in until the Bang Bang Gang runs in for the save. Security has to break it up.

Jack Perry is walking through the woods and talks about how you have to face the best to be the best.

The Opps don’t seem impressed but offer Perry a match with Katsuyori Shibata first.

Queen Aminata/Mina Shirakawa vs. Georgia South/Emily Jaye

Jaye gets wristlocked and clotheslined to start and everything breaks down. Aminata and Shirakawa get to dance before we get stereo Chocolate Kisses. The Glamorous Driver drops Jaye and it’s a Figure Four to South with Aminata adding a top rope double stomp. Aminata gives Jaye a running knee for the pin while South taps at 2:46. Fun squash.

Nick Wayne rants about Chris Jericho beating him and then offering him a handshake. Maybe Jericho is the one who doesn’t know something.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay.

Jon Moxley vs. Zachary Wentz

Non-title eliminator match. Moxley takes him down by the arm to start and Wentz rolls out of a cross armbreaker attempt. Wentz handspring kicks him out to the floor, which is a bit too much selling for Moxley so he comes back in with a cutter. We take a break and come back with Moxley hitting a running shot in the corner but charging into a boot to the face.

A double stomp to the back and a kick to the chest set up a Blockbuster for two on Moxley so Wentz pulls him into a half crab. Moxley reverses into a choke so Wentz gets in a handspring kick to the head. Wentz misses a Spinal Tap though and Moxley Stomps him into the Death Rider for the pin at 9:19.

Rating: C+. Well, Moxley was his usual dominant self and that was only so entertaining, but I’ll take them going through this one a bit faster rather than dragging it out. Wentz was never going to be seen as a threat to beat Moxley so it was nice to see them get out of there a bit sooner. It’s another case of getting a star in the ring and that’s fine enough for a Collision main event.

Post match the Death Riders celebrate, with what sounds like the wrong music at first, as the song abruptly changes.

Overall Rating: B. That’s definitely an episode of AEW Collision, with some good action, not much in the way of big stories being advanced, and a few matches being set up for the future. I’ll take that pretty much every week though, as being in a formula can be ok if the formula is working. That was the case here and I liked it well enough this week.

Results
Darby Allin b. Myron Reed – Coffin Drop
Thekla b. Zayda Steel – Stomp
Pac b. Adam Priest – Brutalizer
Andrade El Idolo b. Daniel Garcia – Small package
Mike Bailey b. Wheeler Yuta – Arm trap sunset flip
Queen Aminata/Mina Shirakawa b. Georgia South/Emily Jaye – Running knee to Jaye
Jon Moxley b. Zachary Wentz – Death Rider

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date: September 10, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue the period of time before we get anywhere close to Final Battle and that could make for some treacherous shows. You pretty much never know what to expect from most of these shows as they could be any mixture of midcarders with nothing to do. I’m sure a title or two will be on the line though so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Andy Williams.

Opening sequence.

TV Title: Adam Priest vs. Action Andretti

Andretti is defending. Priest chases him outside so Andretti takes a look at the title, only for Andretti to come back with a handspring Stunner. That means Andretti gets to look at the title again but Priest is back up with a running clothesline. Priest works on the arm before snapping the leg over the ropes.

Now Priest goes outside to kiss the title, earning himself a stomping back inside. Andretti whips him hard into the corner for a handspring elbow but Priest is back up with some running clotheslines. Some kicks stagger Priest and a Falcon Arrow gives Andretti two. The leg gets banged up on a split legged moonsault though and Priest slaps on the half crab. Andretti grabs the rope rather quickly and they trade some rollups, with Andretti getting the rope for the pin at 9:44.

Rating: C+. This was in fact a match between Andretti and someone who had been built up with a few wins. At the same time, I cannot bring myself to get interested in Andretti. He’s just a standard heel but he’s with the Opps in the latest attempt to make them a thing. Andretti is perfectly fine but there is nothing about him that makes me want to see him and that’s an issue that is hard to overcome.

Post match Priest is rather unhappy with the cheating and rants a bunch before leaving. Andretti isn’t impressed.

Lacey Lane/Janai Kai vs. Maya World/Hyan

Hyan works on Kai’s arm to start and they flip around a bit, followed by a handshake. Lane comes in to take over on World, with a crucifix getting two. Back up and Lane is draped across the top rope for stereo running boots so it’s back to Kai. Some arm cranking and a suplex take Hyan down and Lane’s slingshot elbow gets two.

Hyan DDTs her way out of a double suplex and World comes back in to clean house. A reverse Cannonball gets two on Kai but lane crushes World and Hyan in the corner. Everything breaks down and Lane is sent outside, meaning it’s a spear to Kai and a middle rope moonsault…only gets two, with Kai making the save. A pump kick gets two on Hyan but Kai is sent outside again. The wheelbarrow faceplant/Downward Spiral finishes Lane at 8:37.

Rating: B-. That save by Kai was a surprise as I was convinced the match was over. World and Hyan are an established team and there isn’t much of a reason to have them toiling around here when they could be built up for a Women’s Tag Team Title match. As usual, Lane has a bit of star power to her but it doesn’t really matter if this is all she’s doing.

We look at Athena dominating on Collision.

Deonna Purrazzo and Emi Sakura seem ready to team up.

Il Cartello Grillo vs. Serpentico/The Colons

Grillo and Serpentico start things off, with Serpentico hitting a running shoulder. Orlando comes in to work on the arm and picks Grillo up for an atomic drop. It’s off to Seal, who gets taken down with an armdrag and everything breaks down, with Eddie getting caught. Impala knees Eddie down and we’re off to the armbar.

Grillo sends Eddie into the corner for the running knee and Seal grabs a chinlock. Back up and Seal dropkicks Eddie into Orlando in the corner and the pace picks up again. A spinebuster gives Orlando two and Serpentico tornado DDTs Grillo out to the floor. Some rolling suplexes and a pair of top rope splashes finish Seal at 7:47.

Rating: C+. I have a grand total of no idea why the Colons and Serpentico are getting a push, or really any kind of television time. The Colons haven’t felt important in years and Serpentico has been a jobber (or somehow a pair of them) for pretty much his entire time around here. How is there no better team who could be in this spot?

Caprice Coleman and Ian Riccaboni sit down with the MxM Collection with Riccaboni looking rather nervous. Riccaboni gets a finger touch and the Collection plugs Honor Club, with Riccaboni putting money in Mansoor’s shirt pocket. With Riccaboni squeezing between the two of them, Coleman has to ask Riccaboni to be composed. Mansoor wants Coleman to change his name to Sun, so he could be Caprice Sun. They all pose to end of the most entertaining segments I’ve seen in a long time.

Ortiz vs. Rocky Romero

This match is indeed happening. The referee gets some handshakes but Romero takes Ortiz down for some kicks to the head. Ortiz’s choke is blocked so he goes with a clothesline, plus a clothesline for good measure. Romero is able to break up a superplex with an arm snap across the top rope, followed by a middle rope knee to the arm. Ortiz gets two off a middle rope sunset flip and tries a Koji Clutch, which is reversed into an arm snap.

Back up and Ortiz gets in a powerslam for a double down before sending Romero outside. The suicide dive connects and a facebuster gives Ortiz two back inside. A tornado DDT gives Romero the same and he goes to the eyes to send Ortiz outside. Cue Trent Beretta for a cheap shot from behind, setting up a standing Sliced Bread for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C. The match isn’t bad at all and from a technical standpoint, it went well enough. The problem is, again, these two are so low on the totem pole that it’s like watching a pair of opening match wrestlers at an old house show. This felt like a match designed to just fill in time, which makes you wonder why it exists when the promotion gets to decide how long it lasts. Just more content for the sake of content.

Post match RPG Vice brags about their win and Romero mocks Ortiz.

AR Fox/Soleil vs. Body Bundy/Jacked Josh

Bundy and Josh jump them to start, with Soleil fighting back just as fast. Josh is kicked out to the floor and Fox hits a big running flip dive. Back in and Fox’s top rope flip dive connects, followed by some stereo rolling dropkicks (that was nice). A wheelbarrow Stunner finishes Josh at 3:52.

Rating: C+. The match was a fun squash, with Bundy and Josh being an indy team who didn’t exactly look like great body guys but they have enough of a theme together. Fox and Soleil are an entertaining enough team, though I could go with Fox being on his own. He had that nice singles run and then it just stopped for Lio Rush and Action Andretti. I get that Fox isn’t going to be a top star, but he could be more on his own than he is right now.

Action Andretti brags about beating Adam Priest clean

Jacked Jameson vs. Matt Menard

Wait. They have these marathon tapings with the matches feeling randomly assorted and no one cared that they had people named JACKED in back to back matches? Sweet goodness this place somehow finds new ways to not care. Jameson grabs a headlock and puts Menard on the apron, with Menard coming back in to get clotheslined. Menard is tied in the Tree Of Woe for a stomp, followed by something like a 619. A top rope backsplash misses though and Menard rains down some right hands in the corner. The DDT gives Menard the pin at 3:56.

Rating: C. Well, it could have been worse if they had gotten some more time. This is another match where the people involved don’t mean much around here, with Menard’s highlight being a random Pure Rules Title match. Jameson hasn’t meant anything in forever and this was just a quick match that changes nothing for him. As usual.

Infantry vs. Alex Zayne/Mance Warner

Shane Taylor Promotions are here with the Infantry. Warner and Dean start things off with Warner posing in the corner and Bravo coming in with a cheap shot to Zayne. Back up and Warner and Zayne quickly clear the ring and Zayne hits a big running flip dive. Warner bites Bravo’s head and Zayne is back in with some twisting double knees. Zayne gets sent into the post though and the double stomping is on outside.

A swinging neckbreaker takes Zayne down back inside and Christian XO gets in a cheap shot from the floor. The Bronco Buster connects in the corner but Warner is right back up to clean house. That includes the wind up elbow to Bravo and it’s a superplex into a Swanton for two. Dean comes back in to knock Zayne down but he gets two off a facebuster. A running knee and hurricanrana get two on Dean with Bravo making the last second save. Back up and the double stomp finishes Zayne at 10:32.

Rating: B-. There have been some nice matches on this show and it was fun to see the Infantry getting a chance to shine. They’re a talented enough team but as is the case with far too many good wrestlers, they’re stuck in a big stable and can’t get the chance to showcase what they can do. Warner continues to be fun, while Zayne is good while he’s around, even if that isn’t very often.

The Kingdom says AI has given them the solution: they need a third member. Like Bryan Keith, comes in to say he’s here for money but he’s in.

Steph de Lander vs. Zayda Steel

De Lander isn’t about to shake hands to start and knocks Steel into the corner, leaving Steel frustrated. A wristdrag out of the corner seems to get some of that frustration out but a hanging Codebreaker is blocked. De Lander gets her in an electric chair and walks her around the ring for a face first drop onto the apron. Back in and a fall away slam sends Steel flying for two and de Lander suplexes her for the same.

Hold on though as de Lander goes outside to yell at Christopher Daniels, earning herself a suicide dive from Steel. The comeback is on but de Lander catches her on top with a running boot and brings her back down for two. Steel is fine enough to spin around into a DDT to plant de Lander, who is back with a spear for two more. De Lander loads up a fireman’s carry, which is quickly reversed into a rollup to give Steel the fast pin at 7:32.

Rating: B-. They were building into something here with the idea of Steel trying to get in whatever she could over the much stronger de Lander. It made for a good match and Steel continues her slow rise up the charts. That’s not a bad idea as she’s doing well in her spot, though she still has a bit to go.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Beef/Premiere Athletes

Robinson and Daivari start things off with Daivari taking over on the arm. That doesn’t last long as Robinson snaps off a Russian legsweep and screams a lot, with Austin screaming right back. Colten comes in and gets taken into the wrong corner, with Beef coming in to work on the arm. The chops in the corner miss though and it’s off to Austin for the snap jabs. The Gang clears the ring but Nese posts Robinson to cut him off.

Back in and Robinson is tied in the Tree Of Woe for some stomping, including some with Nese doing some crunches. Robinson is stomped down in the corner and Nese fires off some crossfaces to the jaw. The throat snap across the top rope sets up a missed Lionsault and it’s Austin coming in to clean house. Everything breaks down and a full nelson slam gets two on Nese. A spinning kick to the face gives Nese two but Beef misses a charge in the corner. We hit the parade of secondary finishers, with Robinson decking Mark Sterling. 3:10 To Yuma finishes Beef at 11:25.

Rating: B-. It’s that much easier to get through an Athletes match when they’re not around every week, though the Gang being in there helped too. The Gang can make just about anything work and it’s nice to see them getting a showcase. They’ve had that a few times now and hopefully they get to do something a bit more important.

Overall Rating: C+. The show had some good parts, but my goodness there were a lot of parts overall. You had some nice stuff in there but asking me to watch stuff like Serpentico/the Colons, Menard and Jameson and Ortiz vs. Romero and it’s not the most thrilling show. Split this in half and get rid of some of the lowest level people and it works that much better. It won’t happen, but it would be nice to see.

Results
Action Andretti b. Adam Priest – Rollup while holding the rope
Maya World/Hyan b. Lacey Lane/Janai Kai – Wheelbarrow faceplant/Downward Spiral combination to Lane
Serpentico/The Colons b. Il Cartello Grillo – Top rope splash to Seal
Rocky Romero b. Ortiz – Standing Sliced Bread
AR Fox/Soleil b. Body Bundy/Jacket Josh – Wheelbarrow Stunner to Josh
Matt Menard b. Jacked Jameson – DDT
The Infantry b. Alex Zayne/Mance Warner – Double stomp to Zayne
Zayda Steel b. Steph de Lander – Rollup
Bang Bang Gang b. Premiere Athletes/Beef – 3:10 To Yuma to Beef

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Collision
Date: September 5, 2026
Location: Credit Union Of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Walker Stewart

We’re rapidly on the road to All Out and the main event is already set, even if it seemed to be a surprise to the participants. New AEW World Champion Will Ospreay is set to defend against Jon Moxley, who helped train him to win the title. Throw in the (unofficial) TLC for the Tag Team Titles and we’re mostly set. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Don Callis Family vs. Young Bucks

The Family jumps them from behind to start and sends them outside. Back in and Doyle chokes Matt in the corner but Matt slips through the legs and dives over for the tag to Nick. Everything quickly breaks down and a double dropkick has the villains on the apron for the running flip dive. Cage is fine enough to grab an apron superplex and Matt is knocked down as we take an early break.

We come back with Nick being pulled out of the air but coming out with a Canadian Destroyer. Matt comes back in and everything breaks down again, with a Swanton and top rope elbow combining for a double near fall. The Bucks fire off the superkicks until Cage counters the Meltzer Driver into the F5. Cage and Doyle are sent into each other though and the BTE Trigger finishes Doyle at 11:51.

Rating: B-. This was the usual match from the Bucks and any members of the Family. You could pretty much guess what this was going to be from the second the teams were announced and shockingly enough, the match was completely acceptable. The Bucks weren’t going to lose to the random Family members at any time, especially after the All Out match was announced but it worked for a Collision opener.

Video on Thekla coming after Mercedes Mone, though Willow Nightingale isn’t happy.

Hangman Page/Brodido vs. Braddah Kaimi/LVJ/Vin Parker

Parker chops King to start and…yeah it goes as well as you would expect. The non-stars are stacked up in the corner for a running Cannonball. The Deadeye into King’s big lariat into Bandido’s frog splash finishes Parker at 1:43.

The Bang Bang Gang doesn’t think much of Swerve Strickland and New Level but they’re ready for the Don Callis Family tonight.

The Brawling Birds aren’t done with Megan Bayne/Lena Kross so let’s do it again in a street fight at All Out.

Nick Wayne vs. Komander

Wayne backs him into the corner to start and hits the pose but Komander flips over him without much trouble. Komander sends him outside without much trouble and then does it again with a headscissors. Wayne pulls him down by the mask though and grabs a suplex into the corner as we take a break.

We come back with Komander fighting out of a chinlock but getting forearmed in the back. Komander gets up for a springboard Canadian Destroyer but Cielito Lindo hits raised knees. Wayne’s World is broken up as well so Komander goes up, only to dive into a cutter. The ProdigyPlex finishes Komander at 10:29.

Rating: B-. Wayne certainly seems to be getting more of a push in recent weeks and that’s not the worst thing. If nothing else, having him rack up some wins is better than having him just randomly get a title shot in Ring Of Honor. Let him show what he can do and why we should be impressed. That was what we saw here as Wayne looked good.

Post match Chris Jericho comes in to give Wayne a Judas Effect.

The Conglomeration (minus Roderick Strong) wants some more gold and Konosuke Takeshita seems to have similar goals.

TBS Title: Vertvixen vs. Persephone

Persephone, with Britt Baker (on commentary), is defending and fires off some knees to the ribs to start. Vertvixen gets in a trip for a quick near fall but gets caught in a fall away slam to send us to a break. We come back with Vertvixen fighting out of a rear naked choke and kicking her in the head. Back up and Persephone rolls into a basement dropkick to put Vertvixen down, setting up the Razor’s Edge to retain the title at 7:23.

Rating: C. This was just a way to get Persephone in the ring shortly after winning the title, with Baker being there to sing her praises. Vertvixen is little more than one of the bigger named jobbers and she’s good in the role, but there wasn’t much to be seen here. Persephone and Baker are an interesting combination and I could go for seeing where it goes, but we’re still really early in their story.

Post match the double beatdown is on but Maya World and Thunder Rosa make the save.

We recap Andrade El Idolo and Gabe Kidd’s rivalry in New Japan.

The Swirl vs. Motor City Machine Guns

Shelley and Johnson trade wristlocks to start and it’s off to Christian, who gets chopped into the corner. Sabin snaps off an armdrag into an armbar and everything breaks down, with the Guns taking over again. Sabin’s suicide dive takes both of them down and we take a break. We come back with Shelley making a diving tag to Sabin so house can be cleaned again.

Shelley works on Christian’s arm but Christian takes over, setting up an assisted top rope splash for two. Everything breaks down again and Sabin cutters Christian, setting up the Dream Sequence. The Dirt Bomb (kind of a double Death Valley Driver) finishes Johnson at 12:28.

Rating: B. The Swirl is a good pair of hands and it’s nice to see them being used in the right way. The point here was to establish the Guns in AEW and while the fans know them, we have to see what they can do. They beat a team who is established enough and looked good doing it. That’s a perfectly fine way to start and as usual, the Guns did their part.

Jack Perry still wants the World Title and will face the best to become the best.

The Demand wants the Trios Titles.

National Title: Gabe Kidd vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade is defending and Kidd jumps him from behind to start, setting up a brainbuster for two. They go outside with Kidd going for some toys but getting sent into the barricade. Back in and Andrade grabs Three Amigos and they head outside again, with Kidd going into the steps. That lets Andrade take off his pants but his frog splash hits knees as we take a break.

We come back with Andrade taking his usual picture and busting out the double moonsault for two. The running knees in the corner miss though and Kidd gets in a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. Andrade sends him into the corner again and now the running knees connect. Kidd slugs away until he charges into Dia de los Muertos for two and, since that’s a secondary finisher, Andrade grabs the DM for the pin seconds later at 11:44.

Rating: C+. I still do not see the appeal in Kidd most of the time and this was a match where the story was “well they’ve feuded in Japan”. Somehow that’s more than you get for a lot of title defenses around this show, and it’s fine for Andrade to get a title defense. I’m not sure why he needs to be the National Champion if he has the version of the Money In The Bank but Andrade is hot right now and the fans like him enough.

Post match Andrade talks about how he’s hoping to become the best National Champion of all time. Given that he’s the fourth champion, the title hasn’t been around for a year yet and he is already over a third of the way to the longest reign ever, that shouldn’t be hard. Anyway he’s going to defend the title every week.

Tommaso Ciampa wants some new gold.

Isla Dawn vs. Athena

Non-title Proving Ground match. Dawn gets kicked out to the floor to start and it’s time to trade forearms, with Athena getting the better of things. That means Athena can send her into the barricade but gets small packaged for two back inside. Dawn’s running knee gets two but Athena is back up with some rolling German suplexes. The O Face finishes for Athena at 5:00.

Rating: C. If you’ve been watching Ring Of Honor for any time in the last few years, this was nothing new for you. Athena has run through so many people that there are very few wrestlers left who can reasonably challenge her for the title. Dawn was little more than a human for Athena to beat here, in what will probably be another one off AEW match before she goes back to doing the same thing on Ring Of Honor for whatever reason.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Don Callis Family

That would be Ace Austin/Juice Robinson vs. Kevin Knight/Kyle Fletcher in this case. Austin and Fletcher start things off with Austin taking over with an armbar. Knight tags himself in and walks into a clothesline, allowing Robinson to hit a splash for two. Fletcher comes in for a save and Knight isn’t happy, meaning it’s time for an argument as we take a break.

We come back with Austin getting the tag to Robinson to clean house. The big jabs set up a DDT on Fletcher and Robinson dives on Knight on the floor. A running faceplant gives Austin two and he kicks Fletcher in the face. Fletcher hits a quick Michinoku Driver for two more but Austin has to go after Knight, allowing Fletcher to catch him with a superkick. Fletcher hits his brainbuster and Knight tags himself in to hit the UFO Splash for the pin at 12:15.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course this is how it went. I’m sure this was just thee way to set up this version of the Family to go after a bigger team, because if there is one thing AEW loves, it’s more of the Don Callis Family. And of course Austin looks like a star and then loses, which is the case way too often with him.

Post match The Family vs. the Young Bucks in a tables match is set for Dynamite. There it is.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a very typical Collision, as it was absolutely an acceptable wrestling show. The matches were good, there was some star power involved and it set up some things for Dynamite. At the same time, nothing on here felt overly important. It was a bunch of matches with people being thrown out there with little reason other than to get them on a show. It comes off like a cross between Dark and Ring Of Honor, albeit with some bigger names. I understand that you don’t want to burn stuff off on a Saturday night when fewer people are watching, but adding something of value to this show would be great.

Results
Young Bucks b. Don Callis Family – BTE Trigger to Doyle
Hangman Page/Brodido b. Braddah Kaimi/LVJ/Vin Parker – Frog splash to Parker
Nick Wayne b. Komander – ProdigyPlex
Persephone b. Vertvixen – Razor’s Edge
Motor City Machine Guns b. The Swirl – Dirt Bomb to Johnson
Andrade El Idolo b. Gabe Kidd – DM
Athena b. Isla Dawn – O Face
Don Callis Family b. Bang Bang Gang – UFO Splash to Austin

 

 

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All In 2026
Date: August 30, 2026
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have finally arrived at the biggest show of the year and that means we should be in for some major happenings. The show has a special two hour Buy In and the usual huge card, which should make for a pretty awesome night. There are a lot of British wrestlers challenging for titles, including Will Ospreay going after Kenny Omega’s World Title. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: The Opps vs. Lio Rush/The Rascalz

Rush is now in a rainbow poncho and runs around on all fours, as is his custom. The suicide dive connects on the floor but Andretti takes Rush down back inside. A double backbreaker and running shooting star from Andretti gives Bowens two and it’s off to Shibata. That means Rush can get over to Xavier to come in and take over. Everything breaks down and Reed breaks up a double whip, only to get dropkicked into a suplex.

Reed kicks and Stunners his way out of trouble, setting up the running diving cutter to send Andretti out to the floor. Back in and we hit the parade of knockdowns, via a selection of strikes and throws. Bowens gives Xavier the running Fameasser, followed by a wind up hanging DDT. Rush gives Bowens the springboard Stunner into the Final Hour for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: B-. This was basically a way for Rush to get his momentum back after he lost the ROH TV Title last week. It’s a match with a bunch of people flying around and getting in a spot here or there, which is about all you can do in a match like this. Rush continues to be so weird that it’s hard to not pay attention to him so this went well enough.

Zero Hour: Sisters Of Sin vs. Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron

Cameron and Blue shove each other around to start until it’s off to Statlander. That means Cameron can be dropped onto Blue for two but Hart gets in a middle rope hurricanrana. Statlander shrugs that off and Cameron is back in to catch Hart on the apron. Back up and Hart grabs Cameron from the ropes and snaps the arm across the top, allowing Blue to get in a running knee for two.

Statlander is back up and strikes away, with a double cover getting two. Hart gets in a quickly broken Black Widow and it’s back to Cameron, who is taken down with a swinging neckbreaker. A crucifix driver gets Cameron out of trouble and everything breaks down, with all four being knocked down. Back up and Statlander gets in a quick Staturday Night Fever to pin Hart at 9:54.

Rating: C. This match was thrown onto the card last night after an attack on Collision and that didn’t give them much time to really make it work. Cameron can have a weird partner of the week and make it work with anyone as she’s more than charismatic to pull the idea off. It’s another match that belongs on Collision, but if everyone has to get on the show (because reasons), it makes as much sense as anything else.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Boom & Doom/Hurt Syndicate

The rest of the Promotions and Big Justice are here too. Benjamin and Moriarty go face to face to start and it’s Benjamin glaring at Moriarty for daring a chop. Benjamin slams him down and it’s off to Boom & Doom to do the same. That just earns Marshall a trip to the apron for a string of shots to the back.

Moriarty slaps on an assisted Abdominal stretch until the cheating chain falls apart. Marshall flips over for the tag to AJ, who is dropkicked down for two. Dean gets in the Bronco Buster but AJ clotheslines his way out of trouble. That means it’s off to Lashley for the running clotheslines, followed by a spear to Taylor on the floor.

A running powerslam gets two on Dean, with Bravo making a questionable save. Bravo and Dean get in a belly to back neckbreaker combination but Benjamin is back in with an ankle lock. That’s broke up so it’s time to go after Taylor, with an assisted Powerboom planting him hard. The good guys are up with the string of strikes and Justice even gets in for a spear. The Dominator finishes Bravo at 11:24.

Rating: C+. This went about as well as it could have as, again, there were so many people involved in a single match. That’s been a problem for a long time around here and it’s continuing on the Kickoff Show, which already has twenty wrestlers in three matches. There is only so much you can do to get attention in that span and it only kind of worked here, even with the Syndicate getting to dominate.

Post match the Syndicate gets a $50,000 check from the Rizzler, which seems to work for them.

Bryan Danielson joins commentary.

Zero Hour: Maya World vs. Persephone

World is defending as Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line. World’s headscissors takes Persephone down to start and a springboard version does it again. Persephone is back with a corner clothesline and some stomping but gets knocked outside. The dive off the apron gives World two back inside but Persephone ties her up with a leglock.

With that broken up, Persephone grabs a Samoan driver for two and a fall away slam sends World flying again. World pops up with a springboard Stunner though and they’re both down. They go up top for a fall away slam and the tabletop suplex gets two on Persephone, who has to grab the rope. Cue a masked woman to shove World off the top though and the Razor’s Edge gives Persephone the pin and the title at 11:09.

Rating: C+. That’s a surprise title change as World didn’t feel like she was ready to drop the thing, but at the same time Persephone does seem to be a project for AEW. I’m curious about the interference as it could be just about anyone (Ted Arcidi is always an option) and that gives World another option of something to do. It wasn’t a great match, but it opens some doors and that’s always nice to see.

Post match the masked person is….back inside to give World the Lockjaw, as it’s Britt Baker. Well dang that’s a big surprise.

Thekla climbs onto the Zero Hour desk and confirms that she is back. She’s here to drink and watch the show closely because she’s coming for Willow Nightingale no matter what.

Persephone is glad to have a good doctor watching her back. Britt Baker comes in to say she’s glad to be back because she has some new perspective. They don’t seem to like Thunder Rosa either.

Trios Titles: Roulette Royal

Hangman Page/Brodido are defending and this is a Royal Rumble, with timed (intervals not listed) entrances and all three members having to be tossed. The Bang Bang Gang (Jay White/Colten Gunn/Austin Gunn) are in at #1 (of seven total teams) and the Dogs (Clark Connors/David Finlay/Gabe Kidd) are in at #2. They start with the exchange of right hands but the Gang spends too much time posing and get punched down. The Gang gets beaten down and the Demand (Ricochet/Bishop Kaun/Toa Liona) are in at #3.

The Dogs and the Demand get in an argument though and the Gang fight back up. Colten is sent to the apron though and a spear gets rid of him for the first elimination. The Conglomeration is in at #4 as the ring is starting to get full. Cassidy of course takes his time to get in as his partners beat various people up, only to get caught by Liona. Austin is launched into a cutter and knocked out, leaving White alone for his team. We slow down a bit and the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta/Pac) are in at #5.

After the bouncing circle, they get inside with Marina Shafir joining them for a showdown with Roderick Strong, who gives her a backbreaker. Oh he’ll be hearing about that later. The Conglomeration strikes at Pac and it’s Page/Brodido (Brody King/Bandido) in at #6. The three of them get in as Cassidy is holding onto the post to stay out of the way in a smart move. Nine people get stacked up in three corner and the champions fire off cannonballs. A bunch of people get together to toss King but it’s Page getting caught in the corner or running shots from just about everyone else.

O’Reilly and Strong seem to have been tossed at some point in there, leaving Cassidy alone. White is almost thrown out but hangs on and grabs the rope in a smart move. Cassidy is brought back in and splashed but he fights out of the corner. White is still alive with a sleeper suplex as the Cages send Cassidy…well beyond the apron actually but he gets back inside. Kidd bashes his own head into the buckle because reasons and Cassidy is back up with a string of Orange Punches.

Cassidy is the only one standing and falls down as we go off the air with about thirty seconds left in the Zero Hour. We come back to the regular show with Swerve Strickland and….the new Level (Kofi/Austin Creed in a less than stunning yet still cool enough surprise) are in at #7.

The Level and Strickland take over on Yuta but get jumped by the Demand. A springboard Doomsday Device hits Kofi but the Level is back up to strike away at Liona. That means the Gates are knocked out and Cassidy sends Yuta to the apron, where Yuta grabs him with a choke. That’s broken up and another Orange Punch gets rid of Yuta, only for Ricochet to dump Cassidy and clear some of the ring out. Strickland cuts off Bandido’s 21 Plex to Castagnoli and there’s the required Page vs. Strickland showdown.

A Buckshot Lariat off the back of Strickland hits Ricochet but the Dogs spear both of them down. Bandido gets piledriven and tossed, as does Connors. White and Finlay go over the top and to the apron, with White eliminating him but getting pulled out by Finlay to eliminate the Gang. Page gives Castagnoli the Deadeye but gets sent to the apron and is dropkicked out by Ricochet, meaning the champions are gone.

Strickland flips Ricochet out to eliminate the Demand and we’re down to Strickland, Kofi, Creed, Kidd, Castagnoli and Pac. Kofi is sent out but hangs on by his feet, with Prince Nana helping him hand walk back inside. What used to be known as Daybreak hits Kidd and he’s gone and a double clothesline eliminates the Riders to give Strickland and the Level the titles at 40:07.

Rating: B-. You know what you’re getting with a 21 man Royal Rumble and it’s not like Creed/Kofi were big surprises. Once it was confirmed that they would be involved, there was no reason to think anyone else was leaving. It’s not like these titles have any kind of a lasting legacy and losing them pretty quickly is hardly some terrible thing. Fun match, though stretching it out to be on the start of the main show was a bit tedious.

Quick note now that the show has started: it might only be about half full (which is still a ton of people) but the stadium looks great. This feels like a major show on a big stage and that’s what they’re going for by running the venue.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Brawling Birds vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

Kross and Bayne are defending. Bayne shoulders Hayter down to start but a double shoulder drops Bayne as well. Everything breaks down and they go to the floor, with the Birds actually losing the brawl. Back in and Hayter gets caught in the corner, with Bayne standing on her throat.

Kross gets the sliding German suplex for two but Hayter clotheslines her way out of trouble. Windsor chops away at Bayne and Blue Thunder Bombs Kross for two. That earns Windsor some running shots in the corner and Bayne sends her flying with a release German suplex. Everything breaks down again and the Birds grab stereo German suplexes.

They all knock each other down again and it’s Bayne up to German suplex both Birds at once. Hayter gets in a double DDT but it’s a running boot into a German suplex to drop her again. Divine Intervention gets two with Windsor breaking the cover and another German suplex drops Bayne. The Haytebreaker sets up Two Birds One Stone to finish Kross for the titles at 11:40.

Rating: B-. This was the result I had the most confidence in all night as there was no reason to believe that the Birds were losing. Kross and Bayne had held the titles long enough and the Birds winning would be the feel good moment. They didn’t overthink it (save for spamming the German suplexes) and it was pretty much exactly what it should have been.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Nigel McGuinness

Moxley is defending and this is the finals of a tournament where the champion was involved because that’s a thing we spent most of a month doing. McGuinness is coming in with a bad ankle as well so Moxley already has a target. They go with the wrist battle to start and McGuinness backs him up against the ropes for the break. Moxley gets smart by going for the leg and McGuinness uppercuts him out to the floor.

Back in and McGuinness starts in on the arm, setting up quite the arm stretch. With that broken up, Moxley goes after the leg and McGuinness gets creative by offering his back to protect his own ankle. Moxley works on the leg and hammers away in the corner before unwrapping the tape on McGuinness’ ankle. McGuinness gets smart again by grabbing the tape and wrapping it around Moxley’s face to escape.

A missed charge in the corner lets McGuinness grab the Tower Of London for two but Moxley is right back with the LeBell Lock. That’s reversed into the same thing from McGuinness, with Danielson making sure to compare their grips. Moxley escapes again and stomps on the ankle, which just wakes McGuinness up for the exchange of forearms. A pair of lariats put Moxley down but McGuinness can’t follow up.

Moxley’s rebound lariat is cut off with a lariat from McGuinness, which of course has Moxley popping up for the bulldog choke. McGuinness drives his chin into the arm to escape and the London Dungeon goes on but Moxley rolls out into an ankle lock. McGuinness escapes again so Moxley grabs the same hold, followed by a running Stomp. Another ankle lock makes McGuinness tap at 17:13.

Rating: B. Forgive me for not getting excited about Moxley getting to be the tough submission star, again, and retain his title, again, after we had a tournament for the sake of a wrestler getting to show how awesome Moxley is, again. I know McGuinness winning here was the longest of long shots and they shouldn’t have changed the title, but dang I’m over Moxley. He’s presented as the ultimate fighter in every aspect and it gets more than a bit tiresome. Just do something else with him already. Like send him on vacation.

As for the match itself, this was McGuinness trying to think his way through the injury and survive until he could find an opening but he made the mistake of trying to brawl with Moxley. Throw in the submission game and Moxley was too much for him. Some of the stuff McGuinness was doing out there was brilliant but it just wasn’t enough in the end.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is defending and this is the Don Callis Family match, as Takeshita has been thrown out of the team while the other two are still in but don’t get along a lot of the time. Fletcher knocks Okada outside and Takeshita looks stunned in a funny opening. Okada is back up and pulls both of them outside for a double hanging DDT, followed by the running dive. Back in and Okada knocks Takeshita down and flips off the crowd, only for Fletcher to come in and flip him off from behind.

Fletcher knocks Takeshita down and then Okada gives Fletcher a brainbuster, only to walk into a Rainmaker from Takeshita. Fletcher’s Raging Fire drops Takeshita and all three are down off the stolen finishers. The screwdriver is brought in and Takeshita German suplexes Fletcher while rolling Okada up at the same time. Now Takeshita grabs the screwdriver but can’t commit a bad case of murder.

Instead he knees Fletcher for two with Okada getting up to kick at both of them. Okada gets double teamed to the floor so Takeshita and Fletcher can slug it out, only to get rid of Okada again. Fletcher hits the turnbuckle brainbuster on Takeshita….but gets Rainmakered by Okada for the pin and the title at 13:12.

Rating: B. Good enough here and I liked that it didn’t run as long. They had told their story and Okada stole the pin at the right time. Hopefully this is it for the multiway feud (it won’t be, at least not entirely) as they all need to just find something else to do. It’s a solid match and didn’t overstay its welcome, which is a perfectly acceptable result here.

Post match Fletcher reluctantly raises Okada’s hand.

Casino Gauntlet Match

There are an unknown number of entrants at unspecified intervals with the winner of the first fall getting a future World Title shot. Andrade El Idolo is in at #1 and MJF is in at #2 and since they hate each other, the brawl is on in a hurry. MJF fights up and struts a bit, setting up a crotch to the face. Andrade is back up, takes his pants off, and hits his own thrust to the face. We pause for the photo with the woman and here is Nick Wayne to poisonrana Andrade on the floor as he’s the #3 entrant.

MJF wants an alliance with Wayne but here is Mike Bailey in at #4 to start firing off the kicks. Bailey kicks Wayne down and MJF is sent outside, leaving Bailey and Andrade to hit big dives. They’re all down on the floor and it’s Tommaso Ciampa in at #5…but he takes so long posing that Chris Jericho is in at #6 to jump Ciampa on the way to the ring. Jericho fires off a bunch of right hands to clear the ring so MJF comes in to mock him. That earns him the Walls, with Mark Davis coming in at #7 to break it up.

Davis starts snapping off the piledrivers, including one to MJF, with commentary being surprised at the kickout. Komander (or Mistico according to Justin Roberts) is in at #8 for his rope walk flip dive. NOW Roberts gets the name right and Komander hits the Cielito Lindo for two on Ciampa. Mistico is in at #9 (Roberts: “You guessed it!”) but Daniel Garcia is in at #10 to jump Mistico on the ramp.

Mistico is back up and gets to clean house before staring it down with Komander. A quick La Mistica has Komander in trouble but MJF makes the save. MJF blocks Garcia’s piledriver and Bailey is back in for the save. Ciampa knees Bailey for two and Jack Perry is in at #11. Perry gets to clean house and Snare Traps Ciampa until Wayne makes a save of his own.

Davis is back in and Perry actually gives him a piledriver before Jericho is back in with the Judas Effect to MJF. Wayne’s Phoenix splash lands on Davis’ face so MJF shakes Wayne’s hand…and then kicks him low. The Heatseeker plants Wayne but Andrade is back in with Dia de los Muertos to MJF and pins Wayne at 21:07.

Rating: B. On one hand, it was a lot of the same people you would have expected in this match with pretty much nothing in the way of surprises. At the same time, the right person won and that should make things more interesting for whomever leaves as World Champion. Andrade is on a roll right now and putting him in a title match is a good idea. Just don’t have him have to defend the shot or something as that’s rarely interesting.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage

Copeland and Cage are defending in what is a battle of the best teams of their generations (that uh, might be up for debate). Cage and Nick start things off and everything breaks down in a hurry, with Nick getting stomped down in the corner. The Bucks are right back up with the running bulldogs, completely with high fives. That means Cage gets caught in the wrong corner with the Bucks starting in on the arm.

That doesn’t last long as it’s already back to Copeland, who is superkicked down just as fast. Copeland is fine enough to piledrive Matt on the apron (Taz: “That’s a game changer.” Not in AEW it isn’t.). Cage neckbreakers Nick for two and chokes on the ropes but misses the right hand. That’s enough for Matt to get in a kick from the apron and Copeland’s spear is sent into the buckle. Matt gives Copeland a jumping stomp to the back and Backstabbers Cage out of the corner, setting up Risky Business for two.

Copeland is right back up with a half crab but Matt gets out and heads to the apron. Another spear is loaded up but Nick flips away and grabs a Stunner on Cage on the floor in a slick counter. Back in and Matt suplexes both of them at once but Nick’s leg gives out on the Meltzer Driver. Cage is back up with a Twist Of Fate to Matt, setting up a 3D for two more. A double superplex drops Matt but Nick 450s onto both of them for the big crash. The Bucks try the BTE Trigger but Copeland spears Cage by mistake for the failed save attempt.

Now the BTE Trigger hits Cage for two, with the kickout freaking Matt out. Another Meltzer Driver is speared out of the air and the Killswitch into a pop up spear gets two more on Nick. Cage: “F***!” The belt is brought in but the referee takes it away, allowing Cage to pull out what looks like a wrench. A shot to the leg keeps Nick in trouble but Matt rolls Cage up for two. The wrist brace to the head knocks Matt silly and another spear retains the titles at 20:07.

Rating: B+. This was another rather great match and I’ll take the Bucks losing another shot at the titles. I’m not sure how much of a dream match this was (though that term is horribly overused) but it did wind up being pay per view worthy with Cage and Copeland still having incredible chemistry. Rather good match here and I’m not sure who is next for the champions. Just not a ladder rematch. Please.

Post match the Motor City Machine Guns come out for the staredown. Yeah that works. Then FTR comes out to join everyone. Yeah that’s not as interesting. Then it’s New Level, because only having a belt each isn’t enough.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Darby Allin

Knight is defending in a falls count anywhere match after attacking Allin after he lost the World Title and then attempting to murder Allin (a few times). After skateboarding down to the ring, Allin dropkicks Knight into the corner but gets choked back down. Knight takes too long loading up a table (of course) and is knocked down with a suicide dive. Allin has to dive over the steps but gets taken down, allowing Knight to put him on the announcers’ table.

There’s the springboard dive onto Allin onto the table for two and it’s time to throw in some chairs. That takes too long as well though and Allin sunset bombs him onto the chairs for the crash. Cue the Don Callis Family to take Allin out though and load up a ladder. Knight is dropped onto the chairs and let’s tape his hands together. Steven Borden runs in for the save with a good dropkick but gets powerbombed through the table. Allin is back up with a top rope hurricanrana, even with his hands still taped back.

Cage superplexes him though and ties him in the Tree Of Woe…and the lights go out. The fans go nuts as Sting is back for the save and Allin bats Knight into the Scorpion Death Drop. Borden loads up a ladder and climbs at the same time as Sting, with Borden telling his dad that he has this. Borden’s big dive takes the Family out and then brawls to the back, with Sting joining them. Allin and Knight go to the stage and Allin climbs the set for a huge Coffin Drop through Knight and through the floor. Knight is put on a stretcher but gets crushed with another Coffin Drop to give Allin the title at 15:47.

Rating: B-. Ok so this was a weird one, as the people who weren’t involved were the stars. The deal with Borden doing the dive so his father didn’t have to was a great moment and it’s cool to see Sting getting to do that with his son rather than Allin. At the same time, I am so utterly over Allin trying to find another way to do his insane dives or whatever ideas he has that day. He does them so often and it is just not interesting for me anymore but he got his revenge here and can move on to get blown up another day.

We recap Willow Nightingale defending the Women’s Title against Mercedes Mone. Basically Mone seems to blame Nightingale for all of the bad things that have happened in her career so it’s time for her to get revenge and the title.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale, with a broken hand, is defending and Mone comes out with a bunch of ballet dancers. On the other hand, Nightingale has a storybook theme of a knight who kept getting knocked down but kept getting up and smiling. As a bonus, Nightingale has chest cannons (exactly what they sound like) which are likely a Dolly Parton reference. Mone is sat on the top to start and gets slapped out to the floor, with Nightingale taking her out with a dive.

Nightingale is getting a bit confident so Mone goes after the hand, only to be sent crashing into the barricade. Back in and Mone pulls a turnbuckle pad off and sends Nightingale into the steel for two as things slow down. Mone takes her down by the arm and cranks away a bit, setting up a camel clutch. That’s broken up so Mone grabs the Three Amigos, with the third seeing them to go the apron.

Nightingale suplexes her down to the floor for the big crash though and they both have to beat the count. The slugout goes to Nightingale as Mone seems to have a broken nose. A missile dropkick gives Nightingale two and Mone’s Backstabber gets the same. Mone grabs a wristlock to really crank up the pain but Nightingale takes her up top for a super Spanish Fly. The Cannonball misses though and Mone powerbombs her into the corner. The Meteora is broken up as well and Nightingale forearms her down.

A moonsault gives Nightingale two more but she gets caught in the Mone Maker, with Mone driving her into the exposed buckle before slamming her down. Nightingale kicks out again and Mone’s face is just covered in blood. Back up and Nightingale knocks her into the referee so Mone sends the bad wrist into the announcers’ table. Mone takes the glove off and bends the fingers back but stops to pick up the belt.

That’s enough for Nightingale to send her into the steps and get in a belt shot of her own. The Babe With The Powerbomb connects for a rather delayed near fall so Nightingale hits an (exposed) buckle bomb. A superbomb is countered into a hurricanrana but Mone reverses another Babe With The Powerbomb into a Statement Maker, with the arm trapped, for the tap and the title at 21:53.

Rating: B. Yeah of course Mone won. I’m not sure why I thought she was ever in danger because Mone has to win because otherwise we might forget that she is a million times better than everyone else. As usual, Mone is the biggest star in the division and we have to remember it, no matter how popular Nightingale was getting. Thank goodness Mone got another big accomplishment, as she just doesn’t have enough to get the point across.

We recap Will Ospreay challenging Kenny Omega for the World Title. Ospreay is back from a broken neck and wants to win the big one in his home country. The idea was that they were fighting to see who was best but then Omega started messing with Ospreay’s mind by bringing up their past and Ospreay’s family, which sent Ospreay over the edge. Omega went a bit nuts as well and feels like a villain coming into this.

AEW World Title: Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega

Ospreay is challenging with a video narrated by his mother, talking about how far Ospreay has come and never gave up. Ospreay walks through the back and finds Henare, Akira Francesca and Callum Newman, but stops to get the Union Jack from Jon Moxley. On the other hand, Omega has a video about his career, plus the Young Bucks, Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa with him, which goes nicely with the Assassins Creed (or so I’m told) entrance.

They take their time staring at each other before locking up and trading chops against the ropes. Ospreay pops up from a shoulder and grabs a hurricanrana, followed by a running knee out to the floor. The required dive puts Omega down again and the fans rather approve of Ospreay. Back in and a Phenomenal Forearm is countered into a gorilla press slam, allowing Omega to crank on the neck.

Omega chokes in the corner and hits a backbreaker to move on to the other end of the spine. A nasty neckbreaker lets Omega take the pad off of the turnbuckle bar, with the neck being crushed against the steel again. Ospreay is fine enough to hit the Phenomenal Forearm and a pair of enziguris gets two. The standing corkscrew moonsault hits raised knees but Omega is sent outside for a dive. They fight out to ringside and Omega loads up a table, which can’t possibly end well.

Ospreay fights back and shoves the referee down, allowing Omega to get in a monitor shot to the head. The bleeding Ospreay is sitout powerbombed onto the table, which is good for a nine, with Omega smashing him with a V Trigger on the way back inside. A dragon suplex drops Ospreay onto the apron and Omega yells at the camera. Omega knocks him silly again and it’s a missile dropkick to the back of the head back inside.

A V Trigger in the corner looks to set up a super One Winged Angel but Omega has to settle for a German superplex. Omega fires off some hard knees to the head and some snapdragons have Ospreay in more trouble. Another V Trigger is loaded up but Ospreay scores with a much needed Hidden Blade. Back up and Omega starts firing off some boxing style punches, earning himself a hard headbutt. Ospreay hits a heck of a punt to the head and a hard elbow to the back of the head.

Omega has to get up at nine, where a Hidden Blade connects to give Ospreay two more. Back up and Ospreay rolls him into the Styles Clash for another near fall but Omega knees him out of the air. They get up and slug it out until Omega hits a poisonrana, with Ospreay popping back up to his feet. Omega grabs a Tiger Driver 91 and the fans go rather quiet. The One Winged Angel connects….for two in quite the moment. Well at least he didn’t kick out at one.

Omega sits next to him on the ropes and hits another big running knee, only to get Tiger Driver 91’d to leave them both down again. Ospreay can’t stand up so Omega knees him in the head again but a running version is blocked. Ospreay’s own One Winged Angel gets one, as do a Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker. Another Hidden Blade gives Ospreay the pin and the title at 34:47.

Rating: A-. The fans going silent at the Tiger Driver 91 was a great moment and while this took some time to get going, it turned into an awesome back and forth match by the end. I never quite bought Omega having a realistic chance to retain the title but they had enough hard hitting violence that it worked. Heck of a main event here, with AEW doing exactly what they should have in crowning Ospreay on his home soil.

Ospreay celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah it’s a rather good if not great AEW show. Film at 11 and all that. The stadium looked very nice and the crowd was huge, but I’m not sure if it got up to that epic level that some AEW events reach. The main event was great and there were some very good parts throughout, but this didn’t so much feel like an all time major show as much as a really good show taking place in a big stadium. Certainly good, but not in their upper tier of shows.

Results
Lio Rush/The Rascalz b. The Opps – Final Hour to Bowens
Harley Cameron/Kris Statlander b. Sisters Of Sin – Staturday Night Fever to Hart
Hurt Syndicate/Boom & Doom b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Dominator to Bravo
Persephone b. Maya World – Razor’s Edge
Swerve Strickland/New Level won Roulette Royal last eliminating the Death Riders
Brawling Birds b. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne – Two Birds One Stone to Kross
Jon Moxley b. Nigel McGuinness – Ankle lock
Kazuchika Okada b. Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita – Rainmaker to Fletcher
Andrade El Idolo won the Casino Gauntlet match – Heatseeker to Wayne
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage b. Young Bucks – Spear to Matt
Darby Allin b. Kevin Knight – Coffin Drop onto a stretcher
Mercedes Mone b. Willow Nightingale – Arm trap Statement Maker
Will Ospreay b. Kenny Omega – Hidden Blade

 

 

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