Dynamite
Date: February 4, 2026
Location: Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re out west this week and the big question now is who gets the next title shot against MJF. While we have something of a tournament for the title shot going on at the moment, this week will also feature Brody King vs. MJF in a Proving Ground match. Other than that, the Grand Slam Australia show needs to start coming together. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

The venue looks small but in a good way, with some cool balconies and a closer feel.

MJF, Brody King, Kenny Omega, Don Callis, the Babes Of Wrath, Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne are all ready to fight tonight. Well Callis says his goons are at least.

Death Riders vs. Don Callis Family

Garcia takes Alexander down by the leg to start and then drops him with a running shoulder. That means it’s off to Pac vs. Clon, with the former grabbing a headlock takeover but Clon breaks it up without much trouble. Takeshita and Moxley come in for the exchange of forearms and everything breaks down in a hurry.

We settle down to Takeshita being sent into the corner so the Riders can take turns striking away. A backdrop sends Pac outside though and Takeshita suplexes Moxley into the corner. That’s enough for the tag off to Clon, who is German suplexed by Pac. Everything breaks down again and we take a break.

We come back with Alexander’s northern lights suplex dropping Pac for two, followed by a Regal Roll. Pac avoids a middle rope knee though and the diving tag brings in Moxley to forearm it out with Takeshita. Moxley gets the better of things and cutters a diving Clon out of the air. Garcia Dragontamers Takeshita but it’s broken up, meaning it’s time for a dive from each team. Takeshita Blue Thunder Bombs Garcia for two and a wheelbarrow slam drops him again. Raging Fire finishes Garcia at 13:18.

Rating: B. This was the kind of wild brawl that AEW tends to do rather well and that was the situation again here. In theory this continues the road to Takeshita vs. Moxley, which is certainly a big time match. That would make for a fine main event at Grand Slam and given the timing, that very well may be where it’s going.

Swerve Strickland doesn’t want to talk about his loss last week but Prince Nana with an Embassy towel, says they aren’t going anywhere.

We run down the card.

Video on Will Ospreay, who is working to come back.

Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm vs. Jordan Oasis/Brittnie Brooks

Oasis was formerly a regular on WWE Evolve and Storm is in denim ala Cassidy. Speaking of Cassidy, he puts his hands in his pockets to start and takes over on Oasis with a flying mare. Brooks comes in and shouts a lot but gets caught with a German suplex. Everything breaks down and, after some dancing from Cassidy and Storm, it’s a tornado DDT to plant Brooks. The running hip attack hits Oasis and the Orange Punch finishes Oasis at 2:52. Total squash for the sake of showcasing the entertaining Cassidy/Storm pair.

Post match Cassidy and Storm aren’t sure if it was a good idea to accept the hair vs. hair match because they both like their hair. But it’s ok, and either Cassidy is giving Yuta a makeover or Marina Shafir will look like Mox.

Darby Allin skateboarded into the show (of course) but was attacked by the War Dogs (Clark Connors/Gabe Kidd). This involved throwing him in the trunk of a car and driving away.

Hangman Page vs. Mark Davis

Page jumps him to start but Davis fires off some chops. A missed charge sends Davis crashing over the top though and Page rams him into the announcers’ table. Page is crushed against the barricade though and we take a break. We come back with Davis blocking a sunset bomb but getting pulled off the ropes for two instead. Some triangle clotheslines don’t knock Davis off the apron and he sits on Page’s chest to block a sunset bomb.

Davis misses a charge into the barricade, allowing Page to hit a moonsault for two back inside. Davis’ Razor’s Edge is countered into a hurricanrana for two but he’s right back with a heck of a clothesline. An exchange of clotheslines goes to Davis but Page grabs the Deadeye for two more. The Buckshot Lariat is blocked so Page Tombstones him on the ramp and now the Buckshot can finish Davis at 11:24.

Rating: B-. Well, it’s kind of a shame but it seems that Davis’ run is over due to Doyle’s injury. After becoming part of a nice power team, Davis is right back to doing what he was doing before. I’m not sure what is next for him, but right now his future isn’t looking so bright. Page is on his way to Australia to fight for a title shot, which is about where he should be right now.

Post match Page says he hopes to face Kenny Omega, but he’s coming for MJF and the World Title at Revolution.

Video on Kevin Knight.

Kenny Omega vs. Andrade El Idolo

The winner faces Hangman Page in Australia for the Revolution title shot and Don Callis/Lance Archer are here with Andrade. They chop it out to start until a knee sends Andrade outside. A One Winged Angel on the floor is blocked though and Andrade suplexes him out there instead. Back in and Andrade takes his shirt off but gets caught on top for some headbutts.

Omega’s superplex gets two and the You Can’t Escape moonsault connects for the same. Andrade is right back with Three Amigos, with the third connecting on the floor. A springboard corkscrew dive to the floor drops Omega again and Andrade poses with some attractive fans as we take a break.

We come back with Andrade grabbing a Figure Four, which is turned over so the rope is grabbed for the break. They slug it out from their knees until Omega snaps off a snapdragon, followed by the V Trigger in the corner. A super One Winged Angel is countered as well and a hammerlock DDT gives Andrade two.

The running knees in the corner crush Omega for another two and it’s time to chop it out again. A quick V Trigger drops Andrade but he scores with the discus elbow. The screwdriver is thrown in but Swerve Strickland runs out to take it away. The distraction lets Andrade hit Omega low and the DM gives Andrade the pin at 16:33.

Rating: B. At first I wasn’t wild on having to see another Andrade match, but that might be more about not wanting to hear from Callis until Australia is done. I’m good with the idea of Andrade getting built up to face Page for the title shot, as there are far worse ideas. At the same time, this could set up Omega vs. Swerve, which sounds pretty intriguing. Just don’t let Callis talk as much maybe?

Post match Omega and Swerve have to be held apart, which makes sense.

Video on Brody King.

Kris Statlander gets to pick the stipulation for her rematch with Thekla next week…but she’ll tell us on Collision. That fits well as Collision’s main story tends to be “announcing things for Dynamite”.

Babes Of Wrath vs. Penelope Ford/Megan Bayne

Non-title but if Ford and Bayne win, they get a future title shot. Ford and Cameron start things off but they both tag rather than do anything. Bayne takes over until Nightingale whips the villains into each other, with Cameron being dropped onto Ford for two. It’s back to Bayne to take over on Nightingale and a super hurricanrana sends her to the floor. Bayne’s big dive connects and we take a break.

We come back with Nightingale Pouncing Bayne, allowing the tag to Cameron. House is cleaned for a big, only for Ford to knock her down again. Cameron catches Bayne up top and a double superplex brings her crashing right back down. Ford hits a double running Blockbuster and all four of them are down. Nightingale’s spinebuster gets two on Bayne, who throws Ford at Nightingale for a cutter. The Doomsday Device finishes Cameron at 9:35.

Rating: C+. I’m still not wild on seeing the champions lose, especially without cheating, but at least we have a title match set up. Ford and Bayne don’t feel like the next big bad team and I’m still not sure why Bayne isn’t going after a singles title. At least the double champion didn’t get pinned here, but that’s only so much better.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa winning the TNT Title from Mark Briscoe in a heck of a match.

Ciampa issues an open challenge for Collision and has dubbed his title Silvie.

Here’s what’s coming on Collision.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

National Title: Ricochet vs. Jack Perry

Ricochet, actually without the Gates Of Agony, is defending. Perry jumps him on the ramp before the bell and knocks him to the floor to start fast. They get inside with Perry hammering away but Ricochet is back with a shot of his own to take over. Some right hands wake Perry up a bit and he knocks Ricochet outside, where he drops Perry onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Perry knocking him outside again for a running flip dive. Back in and Ricochet suplexes him on the mat, then onto the apron, and then adds a Death Valley Driver on the floor. The belt is thrown inside so the referee takes it away, only for Ricochet’s low blow to be blocked.

A poisonrana and cutter give Perry two and it’s off to the Snare Trap. Perry has to let it go when Ricochet gets too close to the ropes but here are the Gates Of Agony to pull Ricochet to said rope. Cue the Young Bucks to cut them off, only for Perry to be sent into the belt. Vertigo retains the title at 13:26.

Rating: B-. That makes two losses in title matches to Ricochet, who got pinned to set those matches up. Unfortunately that’s dipping into the old WWE style of setting up title shots and that’s less than great. Ricochet cheating to win is a fine way to go for him, but don’t have him lose so much on the way there. It just makes him look weak, which doesn’t need to happen so often.

The War Dogs have taken over the production truck and make us watch them dragging Darby Allin behind their car in the desert. Yeah Allin gets beaten up and hurt in some wacky stunt. I absolutely do not care anymore.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Brody King

Non-title but if King wins, he gets a title shot in Australia. They stare at each other to start, Hangman Page shows up, King chokes MJF out and the Cannonball into the Ganso Bomb finishes MJF at 1:19. That’s the whole match. It’s certainly different and I do like it, though having two champions lose to set up title matches on the same show is a bit much.

Post match Andrade El Idolo comes in to drop King but Page takes Andrade out. MJF kicks Page low but walks into another Ganso Bomb to end the show. They pretty much didn’t need to include any of this post match stuff.

Overall Rating: B. It definitely wasn’t boring and it set up the main core of the Grand Slam card. That’s the most important thing they can do at the moment and they did it well enough. The show is feeling like a mini PPV and having MJF defend against King feels like a good In Your House level main event. I liked this well enough, though I’m completely over Allin’s shtick anymore. Good show which did its job.

Results
Don Callis Family b. Death Riders – Raging Fire to Garcia
Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm b. Jordan Oasis/Brittnie Brooks – Orange Punch to Oasis
Hangman Page b. Mark Davis – Buckshot Lariat
Andrade El Idolo b. Kenny Omega – DM
Penelope Ford/Megan Bayne b. Babes Of Wrath – Doomsday Device to Cameron
Ricochet b. Jack Perry – Vertigo
Brody King b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Ganso Bomb

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

Dynamite
Date: January 21, 2026
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

Things are starting to pick up again around here, as MJF is having to deal with both Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page, plus a few other challengers. That’s how the World Champion should be treated, though hopefully he gets to talk about them a bit more. Other than that, Swerve Strickland is facing Kevin Knight, which should be a good one. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings out MJF for a chat. MJF brags about his successes, including giving the Triple B a special introduction. Last week Bandido was the first one to find out that this is his year and no one is on the level of the devil. Cue Brody King to interrupt, saying he wants to hurt MJF for what he did to Bandido.

That won’t happen though, because everyone knows MJF is just a b****. What he wants is a match for the World Title and we should just make it tonight. MJF steps back before accusing King of beating a bunch of jobbers. He says King is all bark and no bite before turning down the title shot. King barks at him and MJF runs off.

We look back at Hangman Page and JetSpeed winning the Trios Titles last week.

Page and JetSpeed talk about coming up with a team name but instead opt to focus on their matches tonight.

Samoa Joe vs. Mike Bailey

Joe bails out to the floor to start but comes back in to forearm him down rather easily. Bailey is pulled outside and one heck of a chop puts him down. Joe knocks him down again as the rest of the Opps come in for the beatdown. We take a break and come back with Bailey still in trouble but avoiding a charge in the corner. Bailey kicks away and the shooting star press gets two.

Bailey misses the moonsault knees on the apron though and Katsuyori Shibata snaps off some suplexes onto various hard objects. Back in and Joe smashes the knee down and grabs a kneebar. A heel hook keeps Bailey in trouble but he gets to the rope for the break. Joe kicks the knee out again so Bailey goes with a crane kick.

The moonsault knees (oh here we go) connect for Bailey but he misses the tornado kick in the corner. Hook’s distraction breaks up the Ultimate Weapon and Bailey has to climb the corner to flip away from the Koquina Clutch. Shibata gets in a cheap shot though and the MuscleBuster finishes Bailey at 15:14.

Rating: B-. Bailey was doing his usual lack of selling of the knee near the end and I can’t even get mad at it anymore. Joe smashing through him in the end was nice to see, though they’re already teasing running the title match back. It’s not like the titles are likely to feel important for long so get the title match in while you can.

We run down the rest of the card.

Death Riders vs. Don Callis Family

Street fight and it’s a brawl to start fast, as you probably expected. The fights go around the arena, with Moxley and Archer fighting in the crowd while Garcia makes Hechicero tap to an ankle lock on the ramp. Back in and Archer gets triple teamed in the corner before he falls out to the floor. That’s fine with Archer, who chokeslams a diving Yuta onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Moxley surrounded but trying to fight everyone off anyway. Archer crossbodies Moxley down though and it’s time to bring in a table. Marina Shafir comes in to triangle choke Archer, which is broken up just as quickly. Archer sends Moxley through a table in the corner, leaving Garcia and Yuta to get tied in some abdominal stretches.

Moxley is back up with a double DDT and it’s time for a barbed wire/broken glass table. Romero escapes a suplex though and it’s a chokeslam to send Moxley onto the board for two. Cue the rest of the Death Riders with a crutch to take Archer out and Shafir low blows Hechicero. Garcia’s piledriver and the Dragontamer, with a stomp from Moxley, finishes Romero at 15:34.

Rating: B-. This is about what you would expect from this kind of a match, with the barbed wire/glass board feeling rather out of place. The match came off more like something that was late in a feud rather than close to the beginning, though you can almost guarantee we see this again. The Riders as good guys is still weird, but hopefully they tone it down a bit. It would help a lot.

Post match Moxley comes up to Don Callis and says Callis’ boy (presumably Konosuke Takeshita) knows where to find him.

Thekla, with the rest of the Triangle Of Madness, wants to face Kris Statlander next week. As for this week, Julia Hart wants the TBS Title on Collision.

FTR vs. Alec Price/Jordan Oliver

Non-title. Oliver locks up with Wheeler to start with Wheeler running him down, A small package gives Wheeler two but everything breaks down, with FTR being sent outside for the stereo dives. Back in and a top rope double stomp gets two on Wheeler, who is right back with a big clothesline. Price is right back up to bring in Oliver for the house cleaning. Harwood catches him in the corner but the PowerPlex is broken up. Price tries to fight back but walks into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 5:14.

Rating: B-. This was the “hi, you’re new here so you get to lose to a big name” match for Price and Oliver. They got to lose before they were signed to the roster and now they get to lose as official wrestlers. I’m sure they’ll be fine but having someone new get some wins sounds like an idea that just might work.

Kris Statlander is down with Thekla’s challenge and issues an open challenge for an eliminator match on Collision. Willow Nightingale will face Julia Hart as well, which leaves Harley Cameron to hit the catchphrase.

Kenny Omega vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander jumps him from behind to start the brawl before the bell. Omega blocks a ram into the barricade and hits a moonsault before they go inside for the opening bell. A running forearm gives Omega two but he charges into a World’s Strongest Slam onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Alexander kneeing him in the face again. They go up top with Alexander hitting a super Regal Roll for two before heading outside.

The floor pads are peeled back and Omega grabs the Snapdragon, followed by the running flip dive to take Alexander down again. They get back inside with Omega’s brainbuster onto the knee getting two. Alexander is back up with a suplex and they crash out to the floor for a double breather.

They slug it out until Omega goes after Don Callis, allowing Alexander to grab the ankle lock. That’s broken up so Alexander hits the running crossbody to knock Omega off the apron. Back in and Omega hits a V Trigger out of nowhere, followed by another running knee. The One Winged Angel finishes Alexander at 11:51.

Rating: B-. Omega is nowhere near what he used to be but at least he’s still able to do something like this. They didn’t give this as much time as some matches and that’s ok, as the idea of less is more being a good concept to learn. Also, Alexander getting to lose again is almost amusing, as he’s just the designated big name jobber of the Family.

Post match Omega says he’s feeling great and living in Orlando, so he’s coming for MJF and the World Title.

We get one of Taz’s always awesome breakdowns, as he looks at the physics behind MJF’s Salt Of The Earth armbar on Bandido from last week.

Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Timeless Love Bombs

The villains take over to start but of course the Bombs use a do-see-do to escape. Storm drops Shirakawa onto Ford but Bayne is back up to wreck both of them. Bayne throws Shirakawa onto Storm on the floor and then throws Ford onto the two of them for a big crash as we take a break.

We come back with Shirakawa trying to roll over for the tag but getting caught with the release German suplex. Shirakawa manages to get up top for a high crossbody though and it’s off to Storm to clean house. Stereo hip attacks send the villains outside for a pair of dives, followed by a top rope sling blade for two on Ford. All four get back inside until Shirakawa backfists Ford down. Bayne breaks it up again though and it’s a Doomsday Device to finish Shirakawa at 10:51.

Rating: C+. The Bombs losing is an interesting way to go, but Bayne is certainly feeling like a monster again. Maybe she isn’t ready to be the face of the women’s division, but I could go for her doing something other than being the monster in a tag team. The Bombs still have the charm and chemistry, but the team loses some of its luster when Storm isn’t talking. That might not be a great sign.

Post match Marina Shafir cuts off Storm with the Mother’s Milk.

We look at Roderick Strong becoming #1 contender for the CMLL World Title.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows, with Excalibur bringing back his rapid fire delivery.

Swerve Strickland vs. Kevin Knight

Knight tries to take him down to start but gets sent flying as a result. Back up and Knight works on an armbar before sending Strickland outside. Strickland is back in to knock Knight off the top and out to the floor. A piledriver onto the steps is broken up though and Knight grabs a hurricanrana off the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Strickland hitting a kneeling backbreaker. Knight fights out of a half crab attempt and Strickland is getting frustrated. They forearm it out until Knight gets in a neckbreaker to leave them both down. Knight’s jumping clothesline connects, as does Strickland’s rolling Downward Spiral, but the House Call isn’t quite the same.

Strickland puts him on top, where Knight manages to come back with a sunset bomb. They head to the apron, where Strickland grabs a Death Valley Driver. Strickland isn’t done as he hits a Texas piledriver on the barricade. Back in and a 450 to the back sets up Strickland’s dragon sleeper.

Knight fights up so Strickland sends him into the corner, where Knight hurricanranas him down for the Coast To Coast. A UFO Splash gets two and Strickland smiles at him, earning a House Call from Knight for two. They trade pump kicks until Strickland House Calls him out of the air. The Vertebreaker into the JML Driver finishes Knight at 17:20.

Rating: B. This was about showing that Knight belongs on this level and while he might not be all the way there yet, he certainly took a nice step forward here. Hanging in there with someone as good as Strickland is a big deal and Strickland had to work to win the thing. Knight will get a chance and it’s clear that AEW sees something in him.

An annoyed MJF looks down from a box to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They focused on the wrestling side of things here and that worked well for the week. The main event is worth a look and you can see some of the matches starting to be set up for Revolution. The show is still a long way off but the stories are coming together, which is a great thing to see. I’ll take a night with this much solid action, so it’s a rather good show as a result.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Mike Bailey – MuscleBuster
Death Riders b. Don Callis Family – Dragontamer to Romero
FTR b. Alec Price/Jordan Oliver – Shatter Machine to Price
Kenny Omega b. Josh Alexander – One Winged Angel
Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford b. Timeless Love Bombs – Doomsday Device to Shirakawa
Swerve Strickland b. Kevin Knight – JML Driver

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: January 17, 2026
Location: Arizona Financial Theater, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re taped this week as the Arlington residency continues. There is at least a title match this week though as the Opps are actually defending the Trios Titles against Hangman Page and JetSpeed. Sure that might seem like a random combination, but they had one match together five months ago and that’s good enough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Angelico vs. Andrade El Idolo

Don Callis is here with Andrade, who takes Angelico into the corner rather quickly. Some chops have Angelico in trouble and they go to the mat with Andrade in control. Andrade chops away in the corner again before charging into a boot to the face. Three Amigos put Angelico right back down but Andrade pulls him up at two. A twisting neckbreaker (the DM) finishes Angelico at 3:54.

Rating: C. Total squash here and yeah it’s about the same as always from Andrade. I just do not get the appeal of the guy, as while he’s fine, he’s just kind of there with nothing that makes him stand out. Having him be another member of the Don Callis Family doesn’t help either, but that has been the case with a lot of people.

The Rascalz come out of a smoky room and introduce the team: Zachary Wentz, Myron Reed and Dezmond Xavier. They want to be where the best wrestle, but like to smoke as well.

We recap the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz. Kingston has been having troubles with them, so Ortiz is back to help him out.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

Ortiz takes over on Drake to start and hits a spinning high crossbody to put him down. Drake gets taken into the corner and we actually get some alternating arm cranking. Kingston gets caught in the Veterans’ corner though and a leg lariat puts him down. That’s broken up and it’s back to Ortiz, who gets taken outside for some yelling and a suicide dive.

We take a break and come back with Ortiz still in trouble but managing to strike his way out. Kingston comes back in for the chops to both Veterans, allowing Ortiz to hit a sitout powerbomb for two on Drake. Kingston and Gibson argue a lot until Gibson goes after Ortiz, leaving Kingston to grab….the scarf. Gibson hits a middle rope Codebreaker and Drake grabs the Koji Clutch on Kingston. That’s good for two arm drops but Kingston raises a middle finger and survives. Ortiz takes out Gibson and the DDT finishes Drake at 12:45.

Rating: C-. So Kingston beat up the Veterans on his own and then beat them up again when he had a partner. There’s only so much you can get out of a story like this and it didn’t help that Ortiz didn’t quite look great. He hasn’t been around in a long time and I’m not sure how many people were begging to have him back.

The Babes Of Wrath and Kris Statlander are upset after their loss, with Statlander saying she would take a bullet for them to be out there with her best friends. As for Thekla, Statlander will give her a title shot because that’s what a champion does. She likes the taste of toxic.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Here is FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, for a chat. Hathaway congratulates Davis And Doyle for becoming the #1 contenders, who have all kinds of potential. Wheeler says the team (“Jake…something….Doyle”) is good but they’re not FTR good. Harwood, after greeting Nigel McGuinness, doesn’t like the people here because they live in a fantasy world. He doesn’t have an issue with Doyle And Davis but FTR is the team who built this division. They grew up in North Carolina and beat up guys like Davis And Doyle over and over. Now it’s time for Davis And Doyle to find that out the hard way. This was rather long.

Cru wants to welcome the Rascalz in a way they’ll never forget.

Video on Zayda Steel, who was made to do this.

Zayda Steel vs. Marina Shafir

Christopher Daniels is here with Steel while Jon Moxley is here with Shafir. Steel jumps on her to slug away to start and gets sent to the floor. Back in and Steel misses something off the top so Shafir takes her into the corner as we take a break. We come back with Steel hitting a Codebreaker into a running knee in the corner. Shafir gives her a release Rock Bottom and puts on a seated full nelson but Steel fights up. That’s cut off in a hurry and it’s Mother’s Milk for the tap at 5:40. Not enough shown but it’s another loss for the newcomer because that’s how you get someone over.

Don Callis Family vs. SkyFlight

Moxley stays on commentary and Don Callis joins in to bicker with Moxley, who isn’t impressed. Eventually Moxley chases him off, saying Konosuke Takeshita can come find him before leaving as well. Cue the rest of the Family (because there are multiple lineups of the team) to jump Moxley so the Death Riders run in for the save. SkyFlight comes in to go after the Family as well and we take a break before the bell.

We’re joined in progress with Darius working on Fletcher’s arm before it’s off to Sky. Fletcher takes him into the corner and Clon comes in to stay on said arm. That’s broken up and Sky gets over for the tag back to Darius. A springboard swinging Downward Spiral gives Darius two and he (eventually) gets Alexander up for a powerbomb. Alexander breaks out and German suplexes before Clon’s elbow gets two. Fletcher elbows Darius down as well and we take a break.

We come back again with Darius still in trouble as Alexander grabs the ankle lock. That’s broken up with an enziguri and a suplex allows Dante to come in for the comeback. The swinging full nelson slam is blocked and Clon kicks Dante in the head, allowing Fletcher to come back in. Everything breaks down and Fletcher is sent into the corner for the double DDT. Alexander World’s Strongest Slams Darius onto the apron and Clon gives Dante a step up Asai moonsault on the apron. Darius gets caught in the ankle lock and the torture rack bomb sets up an arm trap piledriver for the pin at 13:07.

Rating: C. This wasn’t event that long of a match but my goodness it felt like it went on forever. I like SkyFlight but they have been beaten into the ground so much that they mean nothing anymore. On the other side you have a pretty weak Family lineup, which says a lot as they are only so interesting in the first place.

Post match Konosuke Takeshita comes out to…hug Fletcher and then pose with the team.

Roderick Strong is ready to win the CMLL World Title but he doesn’t want the Conglomeration around him. Mark Briscoe wants to face El Clon next week. You know the old saying: If you’re ready to conglomerate, be ready to share your plate, and whether it’s English or Espanol, you best be ready to share your roll. Yeah Cassidy doesn’t know it either.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Danielle Kamela/Viva Van

Bayne clotheslines Kamela to start and then sends both of them flying. A Doomsday Device finishes Kamela at 1:35.

Post match the Timeless Love Bombs come out to promise revenge and remind us that God doesn’t wear lipstick.

Swerve Strickland’s plan to get back to the World Title: win. Kevin Knight comes in to remind Swerve about his advice. Knight thinks he is the current and seemingly wants to fight Swerve. That’s fine with Swerve, who tells him to go win the Trios Titles and then come see him about being a main eventer.

Jack Perry vs. Anthony Bowens

For a future shot against Ricochet, on commentary, for the National Title. We get a handshake to start and they go technical, with Perry getting the better of things. Bowens grabs a headlock and takes over, earning an offering of scissoring. That won’t be happening as Perry goes up, only to get crotched down, allowing Bowens to get in some scissoring. They go outside with Perry winding up on his shoulders, only to come down with a bulldog as we take a break.

We come back with Perry hitting a running DDT for two, meaning it’s time to be frustrated. Bowens ties him up with a rollup for two, followed by a clothesline. Perry is back with a jumping knee, though Bowens blocked a bit of it. A second running knee finishes Bowens at 10:13.

Rating: B-. The match was good enough and Perry winning is the more logical choice of the two, but we’ve already seen Perry vs. Ricochet for the title. It doesn’t help that the championship doesn’t exactly feel important in the first place and now the champion is already trading wins with Perry. Bowens getting a few serious matches is nice, but it’s hard to imagine him really going anywhere on his own.

Post match Perry chases Ricochet to the back.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe.

The Death Riders aren’t happy with the Don Callis Family. Pac: “Who the f*** do you think you are?” Daniel Garcia talks about what it means to be a family and Jon Moxley says he’s the worst thing anyone has ever seen in wrestling.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Trios Titles: JetSpeed/Hangman Page vs. Opps

The Opps are defending. Shibata and Bailey shake hands to start, with Shibata jumping him as a villain should. Hobbs comes in to take over on Knight, who slips out of a slam and brings Page in. The rapid fire forearms have Hobbs rocked but he runs Page over without much trouble. Bailey comes back in and gets suplexed onto the apron, followed by another on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Knight getting out of trouble and handing it back to Page. House is quickly cleaned, including the moonsault to the floor to drop Hobbs and Joe. Hobbs powers out of a Deadeye attempt but gets his leg swept out by Bailey. Knight springboards into a release Rock Bottom and Joe comes in for the snap powerslam. A backsplash gets two on Knight and Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch on Page…but Knight rolls Hobbs up for the pin and the titles at 11:15.

Rating: B-. This was dragging a bit in the middle, but the titles going to a fresh team should help them a bit. The Opps had already held the titles longer than any team in history and they hadn’t done anything with them in months. I can’t imagine Page and JetSpeed hold them for very long, but at least it’s something new.

Swerve Strickland comes out to watch to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The show picked up in the last thirty minutes or so but the first stretch dragged things way down. It felt like a show built around the lowest level stories taking place in the company and that is hard to watch. Things did get better with the title match and setting up things for Dynamite, which is the main focus of Collision most of the time. It’s far from an awful show, but dang there were some dull stretches this week.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Angelico – DM
Eddie Kingston/Ortiz b. Grizzled Young Veterans – DDT to Drake
Marina Shafir b. Zayda Steel – Mother’s Milk
Don Callis Family b. SkyFlight – Arm trap piledriver to Darius
Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford b. Danielle Kamela/Viva Van – Doomsday Device to Kamela
Hangman Page/JetSpeed b. Opps – Rollup to Hobbs

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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Dynamite
Date: January 15, 2026
Location: Arizona Financial Theater, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson

It’s Maximum Carnage, which…really doesn’t seem to mean much, other than we have Bandido challenging MJF for the World Title. There is still a long time to go before Revolution, but these special named shows do tend to do pretty well for AEW, as they know what they’re doing with them. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Samoa Joe wants to deal with Hangman Page, but he needs to get ready to defend the Trios Titles. Therefore, he’s putting a bounty out on Page, with Bryan Keith here to collect it. That would be the second bounty of the year thus far.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Pac vs. Darby Allin

Allin jumps Pac from behind during the entrances and they quickly fight into the crowd. Pac gets staggered with some shots to the face, setting up the Coffin Drop off a balcony. They head back to ringside, where Pac gets in a suplex on the floor. An overhead belly to belly sends Allin crashing into the steps and they get inside for the opening bell. A very hard clothesline gives Pac two and he drops Allin onto the ropes as we take a break.

We come back with Allin hitting a missile dropkick but charging into a belly to belly into the corner. A release belly to belly superplex sets up a Razor’s Edge over the ropes and onto the ramp to drop Allin again. Back in and Allin flips Pac off and knocks him to the floor, setting up another Coffin Drop. A third Coffin Drop, this time onto the apron, connects but the referee gets bumped back inside. The Scorpion Deathlock goes on so here are the Death Riders to save Pac. A chair is wrapped around Pac’s ankle and another Coffin Drop is good for the Pillmanization. The Scorpion Deathlock finishes Pac at 11:05.

Rating: B-. It was a hard hitting match, but I’m losing interest more in Allin every time he does his “I do stupid stuff and get hurt a lot”. It’s been his thing since he got here and it is rapidly losing its charm. Allin is talented enough that he doesn’t need to do that all the time and it would be nice to see it happen a lot less frequently.

Hangman Page vs. Bryan Keith

Big Bill is here with Keith, who chops away to start but gets kicked away. Page fires off forearms in the corner and knocks him outside to keep up the hammering. Bill offers a distraction though, allowing Keith to take over in the corner and we take a break. We come back with Page slugging away, setting up a fall away slam. Bill offers a distraction to break up the Buckshot Lariat, which brings out Swerve Strickland to cut Bill off with the chain. Now the Buckshot Lariat can finish Keith at 9:27.

Rating: C+. This felt like little more than an extended workout for Page and that’s fine. He’s one of the biggest stars in AEW so it’s hard to find someone who is going to give him a real challenge. Sometimes you just need to get him in the ring and he dispatched Keith with an assist from Bill. That could have been worse so I’ll take it.

Post match Page rants about Samoa Joe not being man enough to fight him. Strickland says they’re coming for MJF too because they want to be back on top. Cue Kenny Omega to interrupt, saying three of the greatest challengers for the World Title are in the ring right now. Omega took pride in being called the god of professional wrestling and he knows he has to win some matches to get the World Title shot. He looks at Page and Swerve and says he’s going for the title, with Page saying if they cross paths, may the best man win. Page and Omega shake hands, but Swerve glares at Omega.

Swerve and Page leave and here is the Don Callis Family to interrupt. Callis says if Omega needs to win matches, he should face Josh Alexander. That’s fine with Omega, who is ready to go tonight. Alexander is ready too but Callis says not so fast. We’ll do it next week, with Omega hitting the catchphrase to wrap it up.

Brody King runs into Jon Cruz, who says don’t let Bandido punch him in the face anymore. That’s fine with King, because it’s his turn in their standby match.

Brody King vs. Jon Cruz

King punches him out of the air and finishes with the Ganso Bomb at 38 seconds. About as expected.

Post match King tells Bandido to win the World Title and then it would be his honor to get a title shot.

Video on MJF vs. Bandido.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Davis And Doyle vs. Gates Of Agony vs. JetSpeed vs. Young Bucks

Tornado tag and for a future Tag Team Title shot. The Bucks and JetSpeed start fast with dives to the floor before getting back inside for the staredown. The Bucks get in stereo slams but all four miss elbows, allowing the Gates to come in and take over. Davis And Doyle are right there for the power slugout until the four good guys are back in.

The powerhouses are sent outside for some dives, which are pulled out of the air. Nick dives onto everyone for the big knockdown and the Bucks get to pose. Davis And Doyle collide back inside and then get superkicked down. Liona is up with a moonsault from the apron to the floor and the Gates are in control as we take a break.

We come back with Matt sending Davis And Doyle into each other, allowing the Bucks to clear the ring. All eight get back in for a quadruple superkick and quadruple dives off the top. A wheelbarrow cutter drops Matt and it’s Open The Gates for two on Nick, with Knight making the save. Liona pulls both Bucks into a fireman’s carry but Bailey is in with the Ultimate Weapon to break it up. The Bucks and JetSpeed trade rollups for two each until the BTE Trigger connects. Ricochet pulls the referee but here is Jack Perry to take Ricochet out. Doyle powerbombs Bailey onto a pile at ringside and Davis’ piledriver finishes Knight at 14:51.

Rating: B-. This was your AEW match of the week, as they might as well have had an introduction saying that they scripted this down to the letter. It felt like a performance rather than a match and that took me way out of the whole thing. It’s definitely entertaining and they’re very athletic, but egads going with a wrestling match instead of insanity sounds nice.

Post match FTR comes in for the brawl with Davis And Doyle.

We get a quick tribute to Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead guitarist who recently passed away.

SkyFlight is ready for the Don Callis Family.

Babes Of Wrath/Kris Statlander vs. Triangle Of Madness

Statlander and Thekla start things off…or not as we’ll go with Hart instead. Cameron comes in to take Hart down and a running Sling Blade gets two. Some basement clotheslines and a backsplash crush Blue but she’s able to grab a springboard neckbreaker on Cameron. We take a break and come back with Cameron still in trouble, with her partners being pulled off the apron.

As usual, the tag goes through a few seconds later, with Statlander getting to come in and clean house. Hart and Blue are rammed into each other and Nightingale is in with a spinebuster. Hart helps plant Nightingale with the assisted swinging Rock Bottom and Thekla knocks her into the corner. Thekla spears Statlander (who shoved Nightingale out of the way), setting up the stomp for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: C+. This should set up at least one title match and that’s not a bad way to go. Thekla vs. Statlander has been built up for more than a little while now and it would make sense to do it in the next few weeks. Nice enough match too, as it only got wild near the end, which is a good change of pace.

Swerve Strickland gives JetSpeed a pep talk. With Swerve gone, Hangman Page comes in and decides he’s teaming with them to go after the Trios Titles on Collision. So less than an hour after Omega’s statement that “you don’t just get handed title shots”, Page just decided that he and JetSpeed are getting a title shot.

The Rascalz are coming. That’s either a perfect fit or more people who wrestle a similar style in this company.

We look back at the one time Hangman Page and JetSpeed team together (back in August), which is enough for them to get a title shot. Kenny Omega should want a word about this.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Bandido

Bandido is challenging (and his ROH World Title is not on the line). MJF shoulders him down to start and does an Eddie Dance, only for Bandido to come back with an armdrag. Back up and MJF yells at him, only to get his legs swept out for two. The gorilla press sends MJF outside and there’s the required dive to take him out again. Back in and MJF bails out to the apron, where a cheap shot lets him grab an armbar on Bandido.

MJF knocks him down and does a quick Macarena, allowing Bandido to roll him up for two. A flip of the bad arm sends Bandido into the corner and we take a break. We come back with Bandido breaking up the Three Amigos and hitting a suplex of his own. The one armed gorilla press has MJF in more trouble and he goes outside, with Bandido hitting a big dive. MJF heads into the crowd so Bandido hits an even bigger dive to take him down again.

Back in and MJF hits a Codebreaker onto the arm to cut him off for a breather. Bandido gets two off a Code Red but the 21 Plex is blocked. MJF pulls him into a slingshot cutter for two more and they trade rollups for twos, and then ones, each. Bandido hits the X Knee into the 21 Plex but he can’t bridge, giving MJF enough of a breather to kick out. That’s enough for MJF to pull him into the Salt Of The Earth and then the LeBell Lock. Bandido fights but passes out to retain MJF’s title at 19:43.

Rating: B. They worked hard and had a good match, as MJF can more than hang in the ring to go with his abilities on the mic. That makes him a rare combination and it makes sense that he’s one of the top stars in the company as a result. On the other hand, Bandido continues to have one great match after another and it’s awesome to see.

Post match MJF agrees that Bandido will be a World Champion sometimes. Oh in AEW that is. That means he has to do this, and the beatdown is on, with Brody King making the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good show overall here, with the main event being a good way to wrap things up. At the same time, there were some less than steady storytelling, mainly involving what it takes to get a title shot. That stuff aside, it was another good night inside the ring and that’s where AEW tends to stay. Nice job here, as we should be able to move on to Revolution in the near future.

Results
Darby Allin b. Pac – Scorpion Deathlock
Hangman Page b. Bryan Keith – Buckshot Lariat
Brody King b. Jon Cruz – Ganso Bomb
Davis And Doyle b. Young Bucks, JetSpeed and Gates Of Agony – Piledriver to Knight
Triangle Of Madness b. Babes Of Wrath/Kris Statlander – Stomp to Nightingale
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Bandido – LeBell Lock

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: January 10, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

The Arlington residency continues as we are on the way to next week’s Maximum Carnage Dynamite. That is something that will likely get a lot of attention this week and it should make for a nice show. Collision tends to do well when it comes to advancing things for later so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Death Riders vs. SkyFlight

Jon Moxley is on commentary and SkyFlight’s newest member, Zayda Steel, is here as well. Yuta takes Sky down into a chinlock to start but Sky spins around into an armbar. Garcia comes in to chop away on Darius but Dante is in with a bulldog to send Garcia into Darius’ knee. Pac isn’t having that and comes in to stomp away but Dante makes the save. That’s cut off and the Riders kick him down in the corner as we take a break.

We come back with Dante fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a top rope Hart Attack for two. Dante’s dropkick allows the tag off to Yuta and a springboard Downward Spiral drops him again (Moxley: “Where do they come up with this offense?”). Yuta gets slingshotted into a cutter for two, with Garcia having to make a save. Darius gets caught in the corner for some rapid fire elbows. The Brutalizer makes him give up at 13:24.

Rating: B. Fun tag match to start things off here, which isn’t surprising as SkyFlight tends to do rather well. It was far from a squash and it got a lot more entertaining when things broke down near the end, which is where both teams tend to shine. Also of note: Moxley is rather good on commentary, as he is very energetic in the booth.

Post match Steel gets in a staredown with Marina Shafir…and gets laid out by a Megan Bayne Liger Bomb. So she gets pinned in her first match as part of SkyFlight and then gets laid out two days later. Why would I want to cheer for her?

The Conglomeration (and Roderick Strong) is ready for either bad guy faction that wants to come out of them. Mark Briscoe goes a bit nuts about being ready for Hechicero.

Brody King vs. Barrett Brown

This is billed as a standby match because the opener went short. Yeah apparently about thirteen and a half minutes is short. The Ganso Bomb finishes Brown at 26 seconds.

The Don Callis Family beat up more people in the back, with Don Callis himself apparently still in Tokyo celebrating Kazuchika Okada’s win at Wrestle Kingdom.

El Clon vs. Komander

They go technical with some rather spinning rollups to start with Clon getting the better of things. Clon knocks him down again and hits a quick moonsault for two. A rather springboardy wristdrag has Clon in trouble and a twisting top rope hurricanrana takes him down again. They go outside with Clon dropping him on the ramp as we take a break. We come back with Komander (whose knee was banged up during the break) going after the knee and hitting a DDT. Komander flips around a bit to show that the knee is ok and grabs a poisonrana for two.

Clon’s tilt-a-whirl is broken up and Komander runs to the top for a nice moonsault. Komander sends him outside for a dive but Cielito Lindo misses. Now the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker works for Clon but his spinning torture rack bomb is countered into a Canadian Destroyer (that was slick) for two. A leg trap powerbomb gives Clon two, followed by the torture rack bomb (McGuinness: “Now he’s dead.”) for the pin at 12:07.

Rating: B+. That might be a bit high but I was having a great time with this. They stopped trying to do anything but do one cool spot after another and that was quite the success. I had a good time with this match and Clon got to showcase himself, which is what he needs to be doing since he’s still establishing himself.

We look at the Don Callis Family’s night at Wrestle Kingdom.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Mina Shirakawa vs. Lady Frost

Shirakawa gets a bouquet of flowers at the bell and Frost kicks her in the face (naturally the referee is fine with starting the match as this happens). Frost stomps away in the corner but Shirakawa fights out, only to get caught in the corner again. A front flip Cannonball connects for Frost but Shirakawa strikes her in the head a few times. The Figure Four makes Frost tap at 2:48. They packed a lot into that time.

Post match Shirakawa gets the flowers but isn’t sure who sent them.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s downfall. She’s taking a break from AEW but is coming back to take more than just titles.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Hechicero vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending and they look at each other to start until Hechicero takes him down by the leg. Back up and Briscoe takes him down by the arm to little avail so he sticks the landing off Hechicero’s backdrop. Hechicero grabs the hammerlock into a spinning backbreaker for two and they go outside with Briscoe hammering away.

The Blockbuster off the apron drops Hechicero again but he breaks up Briscoe’s step up dive off the chair. A cross armbreaker on the floor has Briscoe in trouble and we take a break. We come back with Briscoe’s arm in trouble and another cross armbreaker sending him to the ropes. Hechicero grabs a rather impressive flip into the cross armbreaker again, with Briscoe needing the rope one more time.

They crash out to the floor, with Briscoe getting caught in a choke until he drops Hechicero onto the ramp. Back in and Briscoe hits the step up flip dive to drop him again and they both get back inside. The arm gives out on a Jay Driller attempt though and the running hurricanrana driver gives Hechicero two. Hechicero’s facebuster into another armbar doesn’t last long so they go up top, with Briscoe biting his way to freedom. The Froggy Bow gets two and the Jay Driller retains at 14:57.

Rating: B+. Another awesome match here as this show is on a roll. Briscoe fighting through the injury and managing to hit the two big finishers to retain was a good story, especially against someone as impressive as Hechicero. There are certain people who can just do things differently than everyone else and Hechicero certainly fits that description. Heck of a match here.

Post match the Conglomeration comes out to celebrate.

The Grizzled Young Veterans mock Eddie Kingston, who is going to take Ortiz down with him this time. Kingston says you reap what you sow, but they only reap.

Video on FTR, including their issues with Adam Copeland.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Babes Of Wrath/Kris Statlander vs. Hyan/Maya World/Vert Vixen

World rolls Statlander up for an early two but Statlander powers her down. Cameron comes in and gets dropped onto World for two, followed by a double side slam for two on Vixen. A series of running strikes take Vixen down and we take a break. We come back with Cameron getting thrown into the wrong corner for some running shots.

A shotgun dropkick gives Vixen two, with Nightingale actually having to make a save. Cameron tries to come back but gets kneed in the face…and she makes the tag without much difficulty anyway. Nightingale cleans house and hands it back to Statlander, with Cameron coming back in with a double high crossbody. Staturday Night Fever finishes Vixen at 8:57.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced, though I’m not sure how successful this was. The match was designed to set up the Babes and Statlander against the Triangle Of Madness but they had a pretty good bit of trouble here. I’d expect a bit more of a dominant performance from three champions, but at least they won.

Post match the winners are glad with the result but Thekla pops in to say she and her sisters will take care of them on Dynamite. Statlander promises to make them call her Big Stat Daddy.

Don Callis joins us from Tokyo (having gone back after showing up on Dynamite) and is thrilled with Kazuchika Okada’s win. Kyle Fletcher comes in to say they need to talk about Okada. Callis is confused but Fletcher talks about how Okada took his screwdriver at Worlds End. Callis kind of blows him off and says focus on getting the TNT Title back.

Video on Bandido vs. MJF.

Demand vs. JetSpeed/Anthony Bowens

JetSpeed runs in to start before Bowens even shows up. That goes well enough until Bowens gets in there to even the odds. The villains are quickly cleared out to the floor, where Knight is tossed into the post. Bowens gets triple teamed in the corner but rolls away for the tag off to Bailey. Everything breaks down and a UFO Splash gives Knight two on Kaun. Liona gets in a backsplash on the apron to crush Knight though and we take a break.

We come back with Knight fighting his way out of trouble but not being able to make the tag. Kaun and Knight hit stereo crossbodies for a double down and it’s Bowens coming in to clean house. Ricochet hits a big flip dive to the floor, followed by a springboard moonsault for two on Bowens.

Everything breaks down again and Bowens gives Ricochet a wind up DDT. Some dives to the floor put the Gates Of Agony down and a running kick to the face gets two on Ricochet. The Mollywop is broken up though and Kaun gives JetSpeed a double Big Ending. Bowens superkicks Ricochet and they trade rollups for two each. The Mollywop hits Ricochet but he makes a blind tag to Kaun. Open The Gates finishes Bowens at 13:42.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much, as it was like they just wanted to do the wild brawling with all of the flips and such rather than an actual match. That’s how it started and ended, with only a bit of something different in the middle. Bowens was kind of a random partner for JetSpeed and him taking the fall isn’t a surprise, but I didn’t get into this one as much as the rest of the show.

Post match Max caster comes out for a distraction so JetSpeed can make the save. Caster comes in as well, followed by the Don Callis Family and the Conglomeration to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. For a random Saturday night show, you can’t ask for much more than this. You had some rather entertaining action and things were advanced before next week’s big Dynamite. This worked well and was better than I was expecting, so we’ll certainly call this one quite the success all things considered.

Results
Death Riders b. SkyFlight – Brutalizer to Darius
Brody King b. Barrett Brown – Ganso Bomb
El Clon b. Komander – Torture rack bomb
Mina Shirakawa b. Lady Frost – Figure Four
Mark Briscoe b. Hechicero – Jay Driller
Kris Statlander/Babes Of Wrath b. Vert Vixen/Hyan/Maya World – Staturday Night Fever to Vixen

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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Dynamite
Date: January 7, 2026
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re in a new year and we have quite a long way to go before we get to Revolution in March. That’s why tonight is focused on something other than the World Title, as Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland team up to face the Opps in a Lights Out match. Other than that, Jon Moxley is facing Shelton Benjamin so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jim Ross comes back, which is a great thing to see. Hopefully it’s a great

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

ley in trouble, including a German suplex. A second attempt is countered into a ram into the steps though and Moxley takes over on the arm back inside.

We take a break and come back with Benjamin running the ropes for a butterfly superplex. They forearm it out until Moxley goes to the eye but the bulldog choke is blocked. A big clothesline drops Benjamin but Moxley needs a breather as well. Benjamin snaps off some German suplexes until Moxley gets in a cutter. Moxley hammers away in the corner until something like a standing STF cuts him off.

Benjamin is sent outside for a dive from Moxley and they head back inside, where Moxley charges into Paydirt for two. Back up and Moxley blocks a kick and grabs the Paradigm Shift for two more. We have a minute left as Moxley gets the bulldog choke. That’s broken up and Benjamin hits a running knee, followed by a triangle choke. Moxley is in trouble but drives forward to stack Benjamin up for the pin at 19:54.

Rating: B+. These guys having a good match isn’t a surprise, though I could have gone with something other than Benjamin losing clean in his first big singles match. It makes sense for Moxley to get another tough win under his (Continental) belt, but dang Benjamin losing is a bit frustrating. Hopefully he gets to do something on his own, as he has earned it.

Darby Allin is looking for Pac.

We look at Hiroshi Tanahashi losing to Kazuchika Okada in Tanahashi’s retirement match.

Video on Kenny Omega wanting a shot at MJF.

Jack Perry/??? vs. The Demand

This was supposed to be JetSpeed, but Perry has replacements in the form of….the Young Bucks. It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent outside for a dive from Nick. Perry adds a moonsault from the top to the floor, followed by a spear to Ricochet. Back in and the Bucks take over on Ricochet, with Matt’s triangle choke over the ropes setting up Perry’s diving DDT.

Kaun grabs Perry’s foot though and Ricochet adds a jumping knee to the back to send him outside. Perry gets Pounced into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. We come back with Perry clotheslining his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Nick. Everything breaks down and the Bucks clean house with superkicks, plus a slingshot Canadian Destroyer to Ricochet.

The top rope double stomp to the back flips Ricochet into a sitout powerbomb for two but Liona is back in with a triple Samoan drop (ok not bad). Ricochet’s springboard 450 gets two on Perry, who flips over him and hits a German suplex. An assisted wheelbarrow cutter drops Perry for two but the Spirit Gun misses. A bunch of superkicks put Liona down and a BTE Trigger into the running knee gives Perry the pin on Ricochet at 13:11.

Rating: B. Are we sure being the National Champion is a good thing? That’s another loss for the champ since he won the belt and I’m really not sure how much sense it makes. At the very least, he still might have to deal with Bandido, who beat him a few weeks ago. Odds are this sets up Perry for another title shot, even though we covered that last week.

Post match the Don Callis Family runs in to lay out the Bucks. The banged up JetSpeed run in for the save but the lights go out…and Andrade El Idolo is back. FTR comes out for a staredown as well. So Doyle debuts under a new name, attacks JetSpeed off camera, and isn’t even the only member of the team introduced in the first hour? Nice job guys.

Here is Willow Nightingale for her championship celebration, with Harley Cameron and Kris Statlander joining her. Nightingale says this is the first step in the double champ tour (as the lights go out and they get a spotlight) and is proud to be back with her title and friends. She’ll face any challenger for any title, but she knows that since this is wrestling, someone is going to interrupt sooner or later.

Nightingale invites Mercedes Mone out here so cue Mone, apparently in mourning. She lists off Mone’s accomplishments in 2025, which made beating her that much better. Nightingale offers cake but Mone wrecks everything, eventually going into and onto the cake. That’s a classic and it still works.

Mark Briscoe has been sitting on the sidelines too long and he’s ready to face Hechicero for the title. His crystal ball is telling him that the title isn’t going anywhere, just like Willow Nightingale’s titles.

The Triangle Of Madness want Kris Statlander and the Babes Of Wrath, even if they know the alliance isn’t lasting long.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Sammy Guevara vs. Bandido

Non-title. Guevara works on the arm to start before a kick to the face sends Bandido to the ropes. The charge misses though and Guevara falls out to the floor. It’s too early for a dive though as Bandido kicks him in the head from the apron. Guevara spits something into Bandido’s eyes though and a tornado DDT on the floor takes us to a break.

We come back with Bandido firing off some chops before they trade running clotheslines in the corner. A spinning high crossbody puts Guevara down and the one armed gorilla press does it again. Guevara is sent outside for the big running flip dive but he’s able to monkey flip Bandido into the ropes back inside. The shooting star to the floor hits Bandido again but the GTH is blocked. The 21 Plex is cut off with a springboard cutter and they trade shots to the face. Guevara’s flipping DDT gets two but Bandido knees him in the face again. The 21 Plex gives Bandido the pin at 11:46.

Rating: B-. Fun match as expected, though I still have no idea why this needed to be a reigning Ring Of Honor champion taking the loss. Bandido has now beaten both champions in the spin of a week and I don’t get why. There are so many other options available but this is what we get because…reasons.

Post match MJF comes in to interrupt and says he knows more about lucha libre than anyone else. He’s even brought out a translator (Jon Cruz) to explain things so there is nothing missed. Cruz gets in Bandido’s face and yells about MJF’s accomplishments before MJF brings up being a six time winner of the Dynamite Diamond Ring.

He wants the ring back from Bandido and they can just skip the World Title match next week, which isn’t in doubt anyway. Bandido says he can speak English and calls MJF a stupid son of a b****. MJF kicks him low and takes the ring back but the big shot hits Cruz. Bandido gets the ring back and hits a pair of 21 Plexes.

Video on Brody King.

Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm

They go with the grappling to start until Storm gets taken down for a leglock. Some hair mares drop Shafir though and a running hip attack sends her outside. Storm stops to yell at the Death Riders though and gets caught in a triangle choke. We take a break and come back with Shafir knocking her down again, followed by the mock dancing.

A forearm to the back keeps Storm in trouble and another dance sets up a forearm to the face. Storm kicks her down and loads up the hip attack in the corner, only to get kicked down again. A headbutt staggers Shafir again though and Storm grabs a small package, only for the Death Riders to pull the referee for the DQ at 7:57.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time to do anything here, with the break in the middle eating up a bunch of the match. The ending was a smart move too, as you don’t want either of these two taking a fall. This probably isn’t over, likely with Orange Cassidy getting involved on Storm’s side.

Post match Storm gets laid out again, with Mina Shirakawa running in and getting dropped as well. Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong come in for the save, with Cassidy grabbing both women (he’s hardcore).

Pac has already beaten Darby Allin twice but Allin comes in to say he wants to do this one more time. That’s a no, so Allin sprays him with a fire extinguisher and teases breaking Pac’s ankle, which is enough to get him to accept the match.

Swerve Strickland/Hangman Page vs. Opps

Lights Out, so anything goes and the fight starts with the lights rather dim. The Opps take over early with Hobbs grabbing a chair. The big shot misses though and Swerve gets in a kick from the apron, leaving Hook alone. Page moonsaults off the top onto Hobbs and Swerve Death Valley Drivers Hook onto the apron. Thankfully the lights come up so we can actually see, with Page grabbing the chain but getting taken down by Hobbs. Hook catches Swerve with a suplex off the apron and we take a break (two minutes into the overrun).

We come back with Page getting suplexed through a table in the corner for two and Hook wedged a chair in the corner. Hobbs goes into it (of course) and it’s time to staple Hook’s torso. A short powerbomb drops Hook again and Swerve staples his way out of Hobbs’ suplex. It’s time to bust out the cinder blocks, which takes way too long so Hobbs is back with some chair shots. Prince Nana saves Swerve from a Conchairto and Swerve tries a guillotine.

That’s reversed into a World’s Strongest Slam onto the blocks but cue the Opps Dojo to jump Page. The good guys get tied together with the chain but Nana throws his coffee into Hobbs’ eyes. Page and Swerve flip out of the chain and Hobbs hits Hook by mistake. The Buckshot Lariat is cut off with a spinebuster but Swerve gives Hobbs the House Call.

A Swerve Stomp to the floor drops the Dojo and another Stomp into the Deadeye drops Hobbs onto the blocks. That leaves Hook to get dropped with a headbutt, followed by a rolling elbow with a chain. There’s the House Call (JR: “Now get it over with will ya?”) into a Buckshot Lariat into the choke over the ropes for the tap at 19:50.

Rating: B. This was the standard AEW hardcore based match and that went well enough. It came at the end of an even longer than usual show, but there was pretty much no way the Opps were going to be a serious threat. As usual, Hook was there to take the fall and Hobbs looked like a monster. Now maybe, I don’t know, do something with Hobbs already.

Overall Rating: B+. The opener and main event were both good, though dang this show felt every bit of its length, plus the eighteen minute overrun. That’s just something you have to expect from AEW though, so it’s not even worth getting mad about anymore. Next week’s show should be worth a look with Bandido vs. MJF, and then we’ll get to see where things are heading for Revolution. Good show here, but cut the time down a bit.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Shelton Benjamin – Rollup
Young Bucks/Jack Perry b. The Demand – Running knee to Ricochet
Bandido b. Sammy Guevara – 21 Plex
Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir via DQ when the Death Riders interfered
Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland b. Opps – Choke with a chain over the ropes to Hook

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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Dynamite
Date: December 31, 2025
Location: Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Ralston, Nebraska
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Worlds End and we’re wrapping up the new year with MJF back on top of the mountain. MJF won the World Title again at the pay per view, marking what I’m sure will be a humble title reign. Other than that, we also have a new Continental Champion in Jon Moxley, whose losing ways were completely erased with a pair of huge wins on Saturday. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We get a recap of the bigger events of Worlds End.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

MJF arrives and it’s time for a championship celebration. On Saturday, he beat the franchise (Swerve), the Samoan Submission Machine (the Samoan) and the main character (Page) at once and that makes him the top man. The World Title is thrown down and the Triple B is back. He loves the idea that anyone thinks they can catch him, because he’s a stallion and he’s tired of walking around so everyone can keep up.

It’s time to sprint….but Kenny Omega pops up on screen. Omega knows his time is coming to an end, but what if he becomes World Champion again? He isn’t collecting belts anymore, because he’s collecting one belt. There are a lot of people coming for the belt and his name is on the list. MJF says Omega wouldn’t say that to his face but here are Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland in (different parts of) the crowd.

Security runs out to cut him off and says they need to earn a title shot by getting some wins. Page and Swerve get in the ring so MJF bails, leaving security to get beaten up. The two of them say they’re coming for the title but the Opps appear on screen. Samoa Joe says he should be the #1 contender but he’s sick of hearing about these two. He wants to wrap this up next week so it’s a lights out match.

The Conglomeration is ready for tonight when Toni Storm comes up next to Orange Cassidy (“Citrus Boy”). Mina Shirakawa comes up and is NOT happy but Storm insists it’s not like that. Storm does have Luther produce an orange for a big bite, but Shirakawa pulls her away. Mark Briscoe asks for a bite and Roderick Strong wants no part of this.

Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm/Roderick Strong vs. Death Riders

Tornado match. The men go to the floor to start, leaving Storm to hammer on Shafir inside. Castagnoli knocks Storm outside but gets dropkicked by Strong, who gets hammered in the corner by Garcia. Cassidy is back in for the save and puts his hands in his pockets to escape Shafir’s full nelson. The Riders beat the fire out of Cassidy and we take a break. We come back with Strong chopping his way out of trouble and giving Castagnoli an Angle Slam.

Cassidy and Storm get back inside for the dancing offense, plus a double hiptoss to Castagnoli. Storm teases her own Swing on Castagnoli, which is broken up due to avoiding the battle against the laws of physics. Strong has to save Cassidy from Mother’s Milk and it’s a Stundog Millionaire to Castagnoli. Storm gives him the hip attack but Wheeler Yuta shows up for a distraction, allowing Castagnoli to uppercut Cassidy for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure why this was a tornado match, but the match seemed to be more about having an excuse to do the Storm/Cassidy stuff. Now granted, there’s nothing bad about that as those two have some great chemistry, though I’m not sure if that’s going to be anything more than a funny bit. The match itself was nothing out of the ordinary for everyone else, with the Death Riders being up to their old shenanigans.

Post match Mina Shirakawa comes in to yell at Cassidy, with Storm calming her down.

Video on Mercedes Mone and her very long TBS Title reign.

Bandido vs. The Beast Mortos

Non-title. Bandido flips around to start and does the bullfighting deal, likely in a tribute to Tito Santana. Mortos knocks him outside for the running flip dive but Bandido is back with a leg sweep into the gun pose inside. This time it’s Mortos being sent outside so Bandido can put on the cape and dive.

We take a break and come back with Bandido snapping off a very spinny headscissors into a frog splash for two. Mortos is right back with his big backbreaker into the discus lariat for two, followed by another lariat for zero. The moonsault misses though and Bandido is up with an impressive X Knee, followed by the 21 Plex for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: B-. I’m hardly surprised that these two worked well together as Bandido can work against anyone and Mortos is a great choice to face a fast moving star. It’s also a good way to build up Bandido before his title match against MJF in two weeks. That being said, I could go for having champions lose less often, as there are more than enough wrestlers on the roster to find someone for this spot who doesn’t have a title.

Post break Bandido and Brody King are in the back, with Bandido saying he’s ready to be the World Champion. Er, the AEW World Champion. King loves the idea, and says he’s first in line for the new champ. Works for King.

Brody King vs. Lee Johnson

Johnson jumps him to start but gets chopped down hard on the floor. The bell rings and Johnson gets a foot up, only to be blasted with a lariat. The cannonball and the piledriver finish for King at 52 seconds. Note that Johnson is set for a big match tomorrow on Ring Of Honor. This certainly makes me want to see more of him. They finally hype up a match for Ring Of Honor with some weeks of build and hype: the Swirl vs. Jay Lethal/Bandido. Instead though, here is one half of the Swirl getting squashed in less than a minute. Either make ROH seem important or get rid of it already.

And then the night before on Dynamite, half of the Swirl gets squashed in less than a minute. Because of course he does.

Darby Allin talks about how pain gives him peace. He wants the World Title, but first he needs to beat Pac to end this with the Death Riders.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Josh Alexander vs. Jon Moxley

Non-title contenders match, as Alexander, with his two singles wins in eight and a half months in AEW, gets a chance to earn a title shot. Alexander hammers him in the back to start but Moxley is back up for the exchange of forearms. Moxley pounds him down in the corner before hitting the big big forearm. Back up and Alexander knocks him outside for a crash, with Moxley coming up holding his knee. Some shots in the Tree Of Woe have Moxley in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Alexander still working on the knee and they trade their signature holds. Moxley makes the rope rather than tapping to the ankle lock and they go to the apron. Neither can hit a piledriver so they strike it out until Alexander hits a World’s Strongest Slam. Back in and Alexander misses the moonsault so they trade more forearms.

The running cutter gives Moxley two and a hard clothesline turns Alexander inside out. Moxley knocks him outside for a dive, though the knee is banged up again. Alexander wraps the knee around the post and grabs the Hartbreaker. They get back inside with Moxley grabbing the bulldog choke, followed by the elbows to the face and another choke for the pin at 15:33.

Rating: B-. So I guess Moxley is just awesome again. After a few months of having troubles where he kept giving up and going against everything he spoke about, he’s just….back? Like he just woke up one day, decided he was done losing, and is unbeatable again? And we’re supposed to cheer him? Hopefully that isn’t where we’re going (and it very, very well may not be, as it’s still early in the new turn) because that’s a lot to take.

Post match Shelton Benjamin and MVP come out to stare Moxley down and he seems to be fine.

The Triangle Of Madness liked seeing Kris Statlander drop Jamie Hayter on her head. Let them take her place and make it really toxic.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

National Title: Jack Perry vs. Ricochet

Perry, with Luchasaurus (whose shoulder is banged up), is challenging and the Gates Of Agony are here with Ricochet. Perry backs him up against the ropes to start so Ricochet grabs a wristlock. After some glaring between the big guys on the floor, Perry and Ricochet trade some flips until Ricochet is sent outside. Perry’s dive sends him into the barricade but Luchasaurus gets beaten down, allowing Ricochet to hit a dive of his own as we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet rolling some suplexes into a running shooting star press for two. A big running clothesline gives Perry two but the threat of the running knee sends Ricochet out to the apron. Perry follows him to the floor for a sitout bulldog, only to get crotched on top. He’s fine enough to give Ricochet a top rope tornado DDT but the Gates offer a distraction, meaning the Spirit Gun can retain the title at 10:15.

Rating: B-. I still have almost no idea why this title needs to exist but Ricochet cheating like a weasel to win is a fine way to go. It’s nice that they set this up on Saturday and then did the title match here, though there is still only so much to get out of Ricochet having the title. In theory they’ll have something better going forward, but this was about as basic as you can get (which isn’t a terrible thing).

Post match Luchasaurus gets beaten down, which might be a way to write him off to heal up that shoulder.

Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, are fine with fighting Shelton Benjamin. As for Darby Allin, if he wants to face Pac, he…has to face Wheeler Yuta first.

Willow Nightingale is ready to get her title back.

MJF is ready to make his previous title run look like nothing but Bandido and Brody King interrupt. King says MJF needs to worry about Bandido, rather than Kenny Omega and company.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is challenging and gets knocked outside to start fast, with Mone sending her into the barricade. Mone’s running knees only hit the barricade and Nightingale absolutely smashes her with a clothesline back inside. A middle rope dropkick knocks Mone outside again, with the apron cannonball dropping her again. Mone is able to send her into the steps though and the running knees connect as we take a break.

We come back with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver and they’re both down. Nightingale hits a Pounce into another Death Valley Driver for two. The Babe With The Powerbomb gets the same as Mone gets over to the ropes. Nightingale misses a moonsault but she gets her knees up to block a frog splash.

An AA onto the apron drops Mone again but another cannonball misses. Mone can’t get the Three Amigos so Nightingale clears off the announcers’ table, where Mone hits the third suplex. Back in and Mone elbows her into the Statement Maker but Nightingale powers out rather quickly. The Babe With The Powerbomb is blocked so they trade rollups, only for Nightingale to hit the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin and the title at 15:24.

Rating: B. This was a match where it felt like they were building up to something special and then they paid it off with the big title change. Mone has been losing a lot lately, but at least she finally lost the big title. I’m not sure what is going on with Mone next, but at least Nightingale got her big singles win. Nightingale has been having some success lately and that is great after seeing her come up short so many times. Nice ending here, which is a good way to close out the year.

Various stars, including Kris Statlander, come out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The ending was more than good enough to make the show a success, though there were a few things that got on my nerves here. That’s the usual for AEW, as they have quite a few good things and some less than appealing ones, though also as usual, the good outweighed the bad. MJF as World Champion again is good, but I’m going to need some more time with the new Moxley. Good show here, with a great finale.

Results
Death Riders b. Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm/Roderick Strong – Swiss Death to Cassidy
Bandido b. The Beast Mortos – 21 Plex
Jon Moxley b. Josh Alexander – Bulldog choke
Ricochet b. Jack Perry – Spirit Gun
Willow Nightingale b. Mercedes Mone – Babe With The Powerbomb

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: December 30, 2025
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

For reasons I don’t quite understand, we have a special edition of the show here from New York City. That’s in addition to this week’s regular show and it should be interesting to see what kind of thing we get here, with what should be in front of a bigger audience. Well in theory at least as that has not always been the case with these things. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Alec Price/Jordan Oliver vs. Death Riders

Yes it’s Yuta and Garcia, because they’re around a lot. The Riders jump them to start fast but Price snaps off a running hurricanrana. The villains are sent outside and Price hits a running dive to take both of them out. Oliver gets shoved off the top for a big crash to the floor though and he’s in trouble back inside.

A suplex gets Oliver out of trouble but it’s not enough for the tag to Price. Instead Oliver is sent into the corner and the Boston crab has him in more trouble. That’s broken up though and Yuta gets kicked away, allowing the diving tag off to Price. The pace picks up, including a moonsault over the Riders, who are right back with a double faceplant. Price gets double teamed and a running knee gives Yuta the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. Price and Oliver have done well in their recent appearances, which shouldn’t be a surprise as they have more than a bit of experience together. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them around a bit more often and it would be nice to have some more teams around here. Other than that, the Death Riders were the same thing they’ve been every time they’re together.

Mark Davis is 2-0 in ROH this year, with one of those wins being in February. This is vital information that you absolutely needed to know.

Mark Davis vs. Matt Mako

Mako, a former MMA fighter, kicks at Davis’ knee to start but charges into a slam. Davis hammers him down and we hit the chinlock. A suplex toss sends Mako flying but he’s back with a kick to the head. Davis sends him into the corner, only to get caught in a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and it’s a big running clothesline to finish Mako at 3:22.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why we needed to have a video explaining that Davis had won a pair of matches here this year when one of them was only two weeks ago but oh well. At the same time, Davis isn’t someone who has done much either in AEW or ROH so this is at least something for him. I’ve liked the stuff I’ve seen from Mako so hopefully he’s around a bit more often.

We look at Athena not being happy with Billie Starkz.

Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Dark Order

Keith headlocks Silver to start but gets shouldered down, allowing the Order to hit a double basement dropkick. Reynolds is knocked outside and Bill hits a running clothesline to take him down again. Keith comes back in to knock Reynolds down and grabs a front facelock. That’s broken up though and it’s back to Silver for the rapid fire kicks to Keith. Silver tries the Spin Doctor on Bill but can’t keep him up, meaning it’s a big boot to knock Silver silly for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: C. Bill and Keith work well together, though I still have no idea why they’re stuck on this show. They wear at least established in AEW and it’s not like the tag division is overflowing with talent. Hopefully they get a chance to do something else, even if it’s around here, though there is a chance that it’s just to have Bill wrestling in New York.

Blake Christian wants a World Title shot against Bandido but instead it’s going to be Jay Lethal/Bandido vs. the Swirl on Thursday.

Satnam Singh vs. Charles Mason

Mason bites Singh’s hand to start and gets gorilla pressed for his efforts. A running crossbody and chokeslam finish for Singh at 1:42.

Back at Worlds End, Ace Austin said he wants a World Title shot at Bandido. Rocky Romero came in and a match was set up between the two of them.

Ace Austin vs. Rocky Romero

They go with the grappling to start until Austin armdrags him into a dropkick. Back up and Romero sends him outside, where Austin is back with a dropkick. They get back inside with Romero grabbing a quickly released ankle lock but the Forever Lariats are broken up. Austin is back with some clotheslines in the corner into a super anklescissors for two.

Romero kicks him in the head and they trade rollups for two each. A rather spinning leg trap roll up gets two on Romero, who is right back up with Sliced Bread for two. Austin gives him a suplex but the Fold misses. Instead Austin kicks him in the face and now the Fold finishes Romero off at 7:51.

Rating: C+. I still like Austin quite a bit and it’s nice to see him getting a bit of a showcase like this. He got in there and they even had something set up with the quick story before the match. At the same time, Romero losing isn’t going to hurt him because he’ll pop back up next time like nothing has changed, which is ok in a case like his.

Red Velvet vs. Janai Kai

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Kai can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Kai takes her down by the arm to start and some hard kicks connect. Velvet is back up to send her into the corner and stomps away, only to dive into a superkick. A hard kick to the back gives Kai two and her armbar sends Velvet over to the ropes.

Kai’s slam is countered into a small package for two and something like a hammerlock dragon sleeper has the arm in more trouble. That’s broken up and Velvet hits a DDT but Kai cuts her off again. Some running kicks to the head stagger Velvet and a question mark kick drops Velvet. Back up and Velvet hits a heck of a slap for the pin at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was much more about Kai taking it to Velvet, which is hardly out of the norm for her. Velvet got in a bit of offense here but it was mainly about her surviving against Kai with the kicking stuff. It’s good to see Velvet getting in the ring more often though, as she’s still doing the best stuff of her career so far.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It was a fine show, though I have no idea why this was some kind of a special bonus edition. There was nothing on here that really stood out and hopefully they have something a bit better/bigger for the week’s regular show. It wasn’t awful, but unless you’re a die hard Ring Of Honor fan, there wasn’t anything here worth going out of your way to see.

Results
Death Riders b. Alec Price/Jordan Oliver – Running knee to Price
Mark Davis b. Matt Mako – Running clothesline
Big Bill/Bryan Keith b. Dark Order – Big boot to Silver
Satnam Singh b. Charles Mason – Chokeslam
Ace Austin b. Rocky Romero – The Fold
Red Velvet b. Janai Kai – Slap

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: December 25, 2025
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the last night of the Continental Classic, or at least the league stage, and that means we should be in for something interesting. There is a six way tie in the Gold League so something is going to have to give as we move on to Saturday. We also have an extended show this week, because AEW loves content. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the Continental Classic, as you probably expected.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher (6 points) vs. Jack Perry (6 points)

They circle each other a bit to start with Fletcher avoiding a dropkick but not being able to get anywhere with a grab of the (previously injured) leg. Instead Fletcher stomps on the leg and grabs a half crab. That’s broken up and Perry avoids a charge in the corner to send Fletcher outside. Fletcher cuts off a hurricanrana and powerbombs him onto the apron before slamming Perry into the corner.

With Perry down, Fletcher starts taking off Perry’s boot. Referee: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Fletcher: “I’M TAKING HIS BOOT OFF!” A big stomp onto the apron onto the step has Perry in more trouble as we take a break. We come back with Perry hitting a dropkick but hurting his ankle again. Perry knocks him outside and hits a sitout bulldog on the floor. Fletcher is able to hit a brainbuster on the floor, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two. Perry fights out of trouble on top and hits a super sunset bomb.

The running knee is countered into another half crab, but Perry reverses that into the Snare Trap, leaving Fletcher panicking. One finger on the rope gets Fletcher out of trouble and he knocks Perry back again. The sitout powerbomb is countered into a Code Red, setting up a piledriver for two. Perry knocks him off the top but gets caught with a running boot to the face. The brainbuster finishes Perry at 19:20.

Rating: B+. Heck of a match here with Perry trying to fight from underneath with the leg injury. It made Fletcher look like that much more of a killer as he was going after the damaged Perry, who managed to make it more than interesting. I liked this more than I was expecting as Fletcher likely moves on to the next round.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kevin Knight – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Pac – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Jack Perry – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Kyle O’Reilly tries to tell Roderick Strong to lean on the Conglomeration and to never give up. Strong seems encouraged.

Continental Classic Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (10 points) vs. Mascara Dorada (6 points)

Dorada works on the arm to start before grabbing a rollup for two. Takeshita stomps him down in the corner and knees him in the face but Dorada is back with a springboard wristdrag. The big dive to the floor only hits barricade though and we’re back with Dorada grabbing a rather spinning headscissors.

Another springboard is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb to give Takeshita two. Dorada’s charge is cut off with a clothesline but he’s able to grab a super hurricanrana. They trade rollups for two each before Dorada’s running shooting star press gets two more. Takeshita is back with a running knee and the Raging Fire finishes Dorada off at 11:39.

Rating: B-. It was hard to imagine Dorada being a major threat to Takeshita here, which is kind of a shame as Dorada has been showcasing himself rather well in recent months. He’s someone who could be quite the star if he’s given a chance, but Takeshita is going to be a favorite to win the whole tournament. Let him look strong going into the semifinals this weekend.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 13 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (1 match remaining)
Jon Moxley – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (1 match remaining)

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli (7 points) vs. Roderick Strong (0 points)

Castagnoli hits a running uppercut for an early two and Strong rolls him up for the same. Another uppercut sends Strong outside and Castagnoli dumps him over the barricade. Back in and Strong grabs an Angle Slam, followed by some jumping knees for the VERY quick pin at 3:22.

Rating: B-. Well ok. During this match I was thinking that I really didn’t need to see a long match between two people who have no realistic chance to win the tournament and they didn’t give me one. Well done on throwing in a curve ball there, as you do not see short matches like this in the tournament at all.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 13 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 3 points (0 matches remaining)

Post match the Death Riders run in to beat down Strong but Mark Briscoe runs in for the save. Toni Storm comes in to go after Marina Shafir and gets a kiss on the hand from Briscoe, leaving Storm with the vapors.

The Bang Bang Gang wants a rematch from FTR, with Stokley Hathaway accepting for Worlds End.

Worlds End rundown.

Video on Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kevin Knight (6 points) vs. Pac (6 points)

Pac takes him up against the ropes to start so Knight grabs a wristlock. A running shoulder puts Knight down but he sends Pac outside for a breather. Back in and they chop it out until Knight sends him outside again. Knight hurricanranas him on the floor, setting up a springboard clothesline. A sliding forearm gives Knight two and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher charging into an overhead belly to belly suplex to send him crashing over the top for a scary landing. An overhead belly to belly superplex gives Pac two but Knight is back up with a missile dropkick. Pac German suplexes him on the floor though and, after flipping off the crowd, wants the countout.

Knight beats the count back inside and jumps to the top for a top rope superplex. They forearm it out and Knight dropkicks him down, setting up the Coast To Coast. Knight’s UFO Splash hits raised knees though and Pac rolls him up. The Black Arrow hits raised knees and Knight rolls him up a few times, only to get pulled into the Brutalizer…as time expires for the draw at 20:00.

Rating: B. They have something with Knight who is athletic, has some size, and has momentum right now. That is worth a look, and hopefully it happens rather than seeing more with Mike Bailey. Pac getting aggressive (ok more aggressive) as time ran out was great, but Knight survived in a cool moment,. Nice job here.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Pac – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Jack Perry – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Here is Gabe Kidd, who talks about hearing Darby Allin’s body bouncing down the steps. He said Allin isn’t indestructible and now Allin is in the ICU. Cue Allin (of course) with a baseball bat to chase Kidd off. The match is set for Worlds End.

Video on Mercedes Mone/Athena challenging the Babes Of Wrath for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Babes Of Wrath vs. Maya World/Hyan

Non-title. Hyan gets elbowed and side slammed for two to start. Nightingale drops Cameron onto Hyan for two more and everything breaks down. The running flip dive off the apron drops Hyan and World as we take a break. We come back with Nightingale suplexing both of them down and giving World a backbreaker. Everything breaks down and Soul Food into a swinging neckbreaker finishes Hyan at 7:01.

Rating: C. This was just a long squash and odds are that was the case due to the extended run time this week. Thankfully the Babes didn’t have any trouble here, which is a good way to go before they have their big title defense on Saturday. The team is still relatively new and they need some more reps so this wasn’t a bad idea.

Post match the Babes talk about being in New York, including going to Eddie Kingston’s mother’s house. They met Santa Claus and talked about wanting peace, except for in Chicago, because they’re going to hurt Mercedes Mone and Athena.

Continental Classic Blue League: Orange Cassidy (6 points) vs. Jon Moxley (6 points)

They fight over a piledriver/Beach Break to start before crashing out to the floor. Moxley wins a slugout but gets hammered in the corner back inside. Cassidy gets knocked outside and his elbow is banged into the barricade. Moxley is right on him with a whip into the steps but a Stundog Millionaire gives Cassidy a breather back inside. A top rope DDT drops Moxley back inside and we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy actually winning an exchange of forearms, setting up the Orange Punch. Moxley is sent outside for a suicide dive and they go onto the barricade, where Cassidy DDTs him through a table. They barely beat the count and Cassidy nails an Orange Punch. Moxley grabs the Gotch style piledriver for two but he comes up favoring his leg. Cassidy grabs a half crab but Moxley is quickly out, only to get caught with a running DDT. The Beach Break gets two and Cassidy goes for the leg, which is reversed into a small package to give Moxley the pin at 17:06.

Rating: B. These two do have chemistry together and it feels like something of an accomplishment for Moxley to beat Cassidy in a bigger match. At the same time, it’s interesting to see Cassidy just kind of floating around lately. He hasn’t had much to do in recent months and I’m not sure what changes that.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 13 points (0 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 3 points (0 matches remaining)

Video on the World Title match at Worlds End.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kazuchika Okada (6 points) vs. Mike Bailey (6 points)

They take turns backing each other up against the ropes and Okada has to avoid a tornado kick. Bailey sends him to the floor and hits a triangle moonsault, only to charge into a flapjack back inside. Instead a missile dropkick connects for Bailey, who walks into the neckbreaker onto the knee. Okada’s top rope elbow connects and he flips off the fans and they strike it out until we take a break.

We come back with Bailey winning a strike off (doesn’t seem too bright for Okada) but getting sunset flipped for two. The moonsault knees miss for Bailey but he avoids a charge and hits a springboard corkscrew moonsault to the floor. They go to the ramp where Bailey hits the moonsault knees to the chest and a kick to the face gets two back inside.

The Ultimate Weapon connects but Okada rolls outside before the cover. Back in and Okada hits a Rainmaker but another is cut off with a superkick. The Ultimate Weapon gets two so Bailey loads up the Flamingo Driver. That’s reversed as well but Okada misses the Rainmaker, only to grab the rollup for the pin at 16:08.

Rating: B. They had another good match here with Bailey feeling like a long shot at best to win the thing. Okada gets to move on to the next stage, because he is THE BEST TOURNAMENT WRESTLER EVER and since that is apparently a thing, he can survive to fight another day. It wraps up a pretty awesome group stage of the tournament and it worked well with a good match.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Pac – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (0 match remaining)
Jack Perry – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Konosuke Takeshita comes out to stare Okada (his opponent at Worlds End) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a rather good show with a bunch of solid wrestling and a bit of drama as there were a few options for who might advance. This show was almost all about the Continental Classic, which makes sense as it has dominated the last month or so. They were focusing on the wrestling here and that is one of the best things AEW can do, though I’m almost scared of what comes next for them.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Jack Perry – Brainbuster
Konosuke Takeshita b. Mascara Dorada – Raging Fire
Roderick Strong b. Claudio Castagnoli – Jumping knee
Kevin Knight vs. Pac went to a time limit draw
Babes Of Wrath b. Hyan/Maya World – Swinging neckbreaker to Hyan
Jon Moxley b. Orange Cassidy – Small package
Kazuchika Okada b. Mike Bailey – Rollup

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: December 13, 2025
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re overseas for this one as Collision is on earlier in the day, likely due to Saturday Night’s Main Event. That should make for an interesting situation as we’re also getting more of the Continental Classic. The tournament is off to a good start with an awesome match taking place earlier this week on Dynamite. It would be great if they could keep up their momentum so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

We look at Hangman Page’s comments on Dynamite, saying he wants the World Title.

Swerve Strickland vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is described as being “red hot” lately. No. Don Callis sits in on commentary as they fight over a lockup to start. Alexander’s kick to the ribs is countered into a backbreaker and a knee drop keeps him down. Prince Nana yells at Callis as Strickland is pulled off the apron and dropped knees first onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with an exchange of forearms until Alexander goes after the knee some more.

Strickland is back by loading up a powerbomb but he whips Alexander over into a powerslam (that was slick) for two. Alexander is taken up top for a super Angle Slam and another near fall but he has to reverse a Figure Four attempt. A half crab goes back to Strickland’s knee so he goes to the ropes for the quick break. Alexander misses a top rope knee though and Strickland is up with the rolling Downward Spiral. The House Call…gets two, so it’s the JML Driver to finish Alexander at 13:24.

Rating: B. Well so much for the, ahem, red hot Alexander with his…let’s see…ah yes, one singles win (via countout, when Kota Ibushi broke his leg) since May. Anyway, it’s nice to see Swerve fight through the injury and get a win as he’s back to being one of the top good guys in the company. He has the ability and crowd reception to make that work so go with what works.

Post match Swerve says he’s back for the World Title and wants to take the belt from Samoa Joe.

Video on the Elite vs. the Don Callis Family for the million dollars.

The Timeless Love Bombs are going to be at the Babes Of Wrath’s championship toast.

Kris Statlander/Jamie Hayter vs. Sisters Of Sin

Thekla comes to the stage for a distraction and the Sisters run in from behind for a cheap shot. Blue gets taken down though and the other team takes turns slamming each other onto her. Hart comes in for a rope walk hurricanrana but Hayter crushes her in the corner. A quick Blue distraction lets Hart take Hayter down though and a standing moonsault gets two.

We take a break and come back with Statlander cleaning house, including a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Blue. The double superkick drops Statlander for two and Hayter has to clothesline Blue for a save. We get the four way slugout but Hayter and Statlander clothesline each other by mistake. Back up and Blue hits Hart by mistake, allowing Hayter to give Blue a German suplex. The Hayterade finishes Hart at 10:14.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced match with Statlander and Hayter pretty definitively taking care of the Sisters, which should hopefully wrap up their feud. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Hayter get the next shot at the title at World’s End. That would be a nice announcement to make so close to her home and they even set it up a bit with the misfire in the match.

Thekla is watching from a sky box.

Post match Hayter challenges Statlander for World’s End and the match seems to be on.

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli (6 points) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (6 points)

Non-title. They fight of a lockup to start with Castagnoli backing him up against the ropes for an early standoff. Takeshita backs him against the ropes and shoves him in the chest before getting in a hard knockdown. Back up and Castagnoli drops him face first onto the turnbuckle for the break and it’s time to trade the forearms. Castagnoli knocks him outside with a hard shot and then drops him face first. They go to the ramp where Takeshita hits a DDT, only to charge into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

We take a break and come back with Takeshita snapping off a middle rope hurricanrana to send Castagnoli outside. The big flip dive takes Castagnoli down again and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two back inside. Castagnoli’s uppercut gets two more and he taunts Takeshita with some boots to the head. They slug it out again until Takeshita’s kneeling tombstone plants him into a wheelbarrow suplex for two.

A Hidden Blade drops Castagnoli again but he’s back with Swiss Death for two with five minutes left. Castagnoli’s springboard uppercut connects and they knock each other down again. Another forearm exchange takes them both to the apron, where Takeshita kicks him in the head. They slug it out on the floor until Castagnoli boots him down. A big forearm drops Castagnoli, who beats the count back inside at nine. Takeshita knees him down but the Raging Fire is countered into the Neutralizer for two…and time expires at 20:00.

Rating: B+. This was about taking two big men and having them beat the fire out of each other for a good while. That’s a fine way to go and it worked well here, as even if the draw felt pretty clear (they weren’t going to have one company’s World Champion beat another), the match was still a heck of a fight. I had a good time with this and it’s nice to see two champions survive like this.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 7 points (2 matches left)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (1 match left)
Mascara Dorada – 3 points (3 matches left)
Orange Cassidy – 3 points (3 matches left)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (2 matches left)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (3 matches left)

Post match they keep slugging it out until referees have to break it up. The Death Riders and Don Callis Family have to really split them apart.

Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey are ready to fight and want the other to bring it. Deal.

Here are the Babes Of Wrath to talk about their history together. They met early in Cameron’s time in the company but here are the Timeless Love Bombs to interrupt. They’re happy to have given the Babes a fight to remember but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt. Mina Shirakawa tells her to shut up but Mone doesn’t want to fight tonight. She’ll have friends this week in Manchester for Dynamite. Storm: “We will raise a glass and we will wax your a**!” Mone uh, covers up, and leaves.

Ricochet is entering the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal and going on to win the World Title.

Video on the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal, with various people entering. Bobby Lashley is injured though and Shelton Benjamin will take his place.

Continental Classic: Kevin Knight (3 points) vs. Mike Bailey (3 points)

I do like the little background/factoids that Renee Young throws in during the entrances. That’s a very nice touch. They take turns dodging big shots to start until Bailey gets backed into the corner. A high angle springboard armdrag sends Knight outside for a triangle moonsault and we take a break.

We come back with Knight hitting a springboard clothesline to the floor. Back in and the Flamingo Driver is blocked and Knight grabs a running DDT for two. Bailey kicks him out to the apron though and hits the moonsault knees to the ribs. They get back inside with Knight hitting a superplex but Bailey ties up the legs in a small package for two more. They trade rollups for two each until Knight hits a hard dropkick.

Another springboard is kicked out of the air though and we’re ten minutes in. Knight sends him into the corner and hits that great Coast To Coast but the UFO Splash hits raised knees. The tornado kick gives Bailey two but the Ultimate Weapon misses. They trade more rollups until Bailey kicks him in the head. The Flamingo Driver finishes Knight at 12:57.

Rating: B. Another solid performance here as Bailey’s tournament run continues. Knight still feels like a great prospect though and has done some rather good stuff in the tournament thus far. It would be nice to see what he can do as a singles star, though odds are the Jet Speed stuff is going to keep going for a good while.

Gold League Standings

Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches to go)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (2 matches to go)
Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (2 matches to go)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches to go)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (2 matches to go)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches to go)

Kyle Fletcher is ready for Pac and promises to get his momentum back.

Pac says he’s a different breed and Fletcher will soon learn that.

TNT Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia, with Wheeler Yuta, is challenging. They go to the mat to start fast with Garcia slapping him in the back of the head a few times. Briscoe is right back up but Garcia slips out of a suplex. One heck of a right hand sends Garcia outside and there’s a dropkick through the ropes. A running knee knocks Briscoe off the apron but he’s right back to knock Garcia off the apron as well. The Bang Bang Elbow is broken up though and Briscoe gets tied into the ring skirt for a beating.

We take a break and come back with Garcia yelling at him, which brings Briscoe back up with a running forearm. Briscoe strikes away and a high collar suplex gets two. Garcia’s suplex is shrugged off but Shafir breaks up the Froggy Bow. The referee didn’t see it so the fans tell him and he…does nothing.

Instead Garcia hits a top rope superplex, which he rolls into two more, with Briscoe bouncing up from the third. A brainbuster drops Garcia for a change and they’re all down. Back up and they strike it out until Briscoe hits a hard clothesline. The Jay Driller is cut off by Shafir and this time it’s enough for an ejection. Wheeler Yuta comes in for a cheap shot but Briscoe is right back up with the Jay Driller to retain at 14:46.

Rating: B. Solid stuff here, even if I’m rather sick of seeing Garcia and Yuta no matter where they are. They’re all over AEW/ROH programming these days and Garcia still isn’t interesting in the slightest. At the same time, Briscoe is finally getting some recognition with a title that feels somewhat important and that is LONG overdue. Hopefully he gets to face someone else soon, as there is quite the crop of potential opponents.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show, with more good action as the Continental Classic continues to do what it’s designed to do. What mattered the most is that this show felt more important than most Collisions, with the tournament going a long way in making that happen. AEW has had a good week with a second pretty awesome show and that is nice to see.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Josh Alexander – JML Driver
Kris Statlander/Jamie Hayter b. Sisters Of Sin – Hayterade to Hart
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita went to a time limit draw
Mike Bailey b. Kevin Knight – Flamingo Driver
Mark Briscoe b. Daniel Garcia – Jay Driller

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