Dynamite
Date: August 5, 2026
Location: Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re in another country and a rather important arena for the latest Grand Slam special. While you make your own Denny’s jokes, I’ll be wondering how the Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis street fight will be going in what should be the show’s main event. They have three and a half weeks to go before All In so it’s time to really get things set. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Young Bucks vs. Death Riders

Cage and Pac start things off and Yuta offers a quick knee from the apron. Everything breaks down and the Riders are cleared out to the floor rather quickly. Cage adds his big dive onto the pile at ringside and we take an early break. We come back with Matt getting caught in the wrong corner for the running clotheslines.

The Dragonslayer goes on, with Nick diving in for the save. Matt is back up to take Yuta and Garcia down with an armdrag/headscissors combination, though he realizes he’s going to the wrong corner. Eventually the tag brings in Copeland to clean house and Cage gets to choke Moxley on the middle rope.

A top rope headbutt and elbow hit Moxley, followed by Cage’s low blow. The triple superkick gets two as the Riders make the save so Copeland gives Moxley the Impaler. Marina Shafir breaks up the spear so Cage pulls her down, earning a slap. Cage kicks her low so it’s a Downward Spiral/running knee combination to put Cage down instead. The Bucks get to clear the ring a bit and Copeland spears Moxley, with the referee being distracted. Copeland runs into Matt by mistake though and Moxley grabs a rollup with tights for the pin on Copeland at 11:33.

Rating: B-. It was another wild match but they didn’t go too long and that helped a good bit here. You don’t need to have these things go on forever and they did something interesting with Copeland vs. Moxley. It’s a smart choice for an opener too and the Tag Team Title match got something out of it too.

Post match Cage/Copeland seem ok enough with the Bucks.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay, with Jon Moxley’s efforts making Omega less than trustworthy of Ospreay.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Komander vs. Andrade El Idolo

Non-title but the winner is the #1 entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match. Ciampa is in American flag gear, which goes as well as you would expect. Komander is sent outside, leaving Andrade to win a brawl but Komander breaks up the running knees in the corner. The big moonsault takes out Ciampa and Andrade but the latter is back up to drop Komander again. We pause for the photo with the woman of the week and take a break.

We come back with all three down until Andrade and Ciampa can get up slug it out. Another pause lets Andrade take off his pants, setting up the Three Amigos to Komander. Ciampa knocks both of them down and beats up Andrade’s pants. Thankfully he stops to give Komander Project Ciampa, allowing Ciampa to go up.

Andrade is right there to catch him but Komander gives Andrade a springboard poisonrana (because that’s a thing). Ciampa plants Komander with a super Air Raid Crash for two more, leaving Ciampa stunned. Andrade gives Ciampa Dia de Los Muertos, with Komander adding Cielito Lindo. That lets Andrade grab the DM to pin Komander at 11:09.

Rating: B. Some of those spots were insane and that’s why you have a match like this one. It was cool to see them all going nuts with spot after spot, including that springboard poisonrana. I’m glad to see the champion win too, as having the champions lose falls in these things is rather frustrating.

Post match Andrade says he wants the World Title so he can bring it back to Mexico. He hits the catchphrase but MJF runs in from behind for the beatdown/recovering of the ring. MJF, with the Triple B, hits Andrade with the ring to bust him open. With Andrade being taken out, MJF says he’s the real World Champion because Will Ospreay let Kenny Omega steal the belt from him. Next week, MJF is entering the Casino Gauntlet qualifying match and moving on to All In to eventually get his title back.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne/Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale/Brawling Birds

Nightingale wants Mone to start but gets Bayne instead. That means a tag off to Windsor, who starts firing off the chops against the ropes. Bayne is back with the hard shoulders in the corner so all three non-villains boot her down. Mone comes in to kick away at Nightingale and start Three Amigos. That’s reversed into a fight over a triple suplex, which goes nowhere. Nightingale and Windsor send Kross and Bayne to the floor, with Hayter adding a dive onto the two of them plus Mone as we take a break.

We come back with the Birds double teaming Kross, who gets dropped with a middle rope dropkick. A four way clothesline leaves Nightingale and Mone to come in off a double tag. That means Nightingale can grab a spinebuster but Mone is back up with a middle rope Meteora. Everything breaks down and the Babe With The Powerbomb and Mone Maker are both blocked, with Nightingale settling for a backslide and the pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. Take two feuds, put the wrestlers together and let them have a six person tag. It’s worked for years and it worked again here, though I’m worried that this is one of the consolation prizes for Nightingale before Mone wins, again, in London. Nightingale feels like she could be a star but that’s only going to go so far if she keeps having to drop titles to Mone.

International Title: Mike Bailey vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher, with Don Callis, is defending and Bailey takes a mask off, leaving Fletcher to pull out a mask and stomp on it. They trade some quick takedowns for two each until Bailey walks the ropes for a hurricanrana. A dive to the floor is pulled out of the air though and Fletcher hits a NASTY lawn dart into the barricade. Naturally Bailey is right back up with a moonsault to the floor and it’s time for the kicks back inside.

They go up top with Fletcher nailing a super Michinoku driver as we take a break. We come back with Fletcher knocking him to the floor but Bailey is up with the perfectly time springboard moonsault. Back in and Bailey rolls him up for a quick two but Fletcher grabs a hard half and half suplex. With the ring stuff getting dill, they go up to the stage with Bailey hitting a moonsault off the steps, banging himself up in the process.

They get back inside, with Fletcher grabbing a Michinoku driver for two more. Fletcher powerbombs him onto the apron and the brainbuster…gets two. They go up top where Bailey catches him with a super poisonrana. Bailey’s Ultimate Weapon (and he lands on his feet) gets two but Fletcher lawn darts him again. The turnbuckle brainbuster retains the title at 16:41.

Rating: B. This was the match you would have expected, though I was surprised by the result. Bailey getting the win was far from out of the question, though he did have his big moment at Redemption. His important singles win is still likely coming against Kevin Knight anyway, as I guess Jet Speed was that important of a deal.

Don Callis Family vs. Mistico/Chris Jericho/Darby Allin

Allin skateboards to the ring so Knight clotheslines the fire out of him to start fast. Hechicero knees Mistico down and it’s Okada taking over on Jericho (Corazon de Lion here) as we settle down a bit. Jericho fights back on Knight and hands it off to Allin, who gets to take over on Hechicero.

Instead of following up though, the ever focused Allin dives at Knight, with Okada kneeing him out of the air to cut it off. We take a break and come back with Mistico getting a tag for a springboard high crossbody. That immediately earns him a group stomping but Mistico is right back up to clear them all out.

Allin comes in to hammer on Knight and grabs the Scorpion Deathlock, with Jericho getting the Walls as well. Those are broken up so it’s a series of dives to take the Family out again. Knight is back up to tie Allin in the Tree Of Woe, with Jericho hitting a Judas Effect to cut that off. La Mistica and the Walls go on, leaving Allin to Coffin Drop Knight for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: B. There was pretty much no way Mistico was losing in Arena Mexico but it was a big time match with a stacked lineup. Allin and Knight have their issue and Jericho gets to add his own star power. That’s a fine way to use Mistico, as he’s the ultimate attraction around here and the fans went nuts for him, exactly as you probably expected. It’s a good match, and there is a strong chance that the Family won’t be happy about the loss.

We look at Kris Statlander costing Persephone a TBS Title shot last week.

Kris Statlander vs. Persephone

Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line. They take turns avoiding strikes to start until Statlander knocks her out to the floor. The dive off the apron takes Persephone down again but she’s back up with the running flip dive to the floor. The chinlock goes on back inside and we take a break. We come back with Persephone missing a Lionsault and getting pulled into a seal belt for two.

Statlander’s 450 misses though and Persephone hits a hard spear for two of her own. Persephone goes after her belt but gets in a tug of war with Thunder Rosa (in the front row). The referee gets knocked down so here is Hikaru Shida to hit Statlander with a belt. That and Persephone’s springboard splash finish Statlander at 10:09.

Rating: C+. Good enough here as Persephone gets built up a bit after a few weeks of losses. It’s clear that AEW sees something in her and she’s already a star in CMLL so this makes sense for both of them. Statlander gets to deal with Shida going forward and that should make for a nice fight.

Video on Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis.

Trios Titles: Hangman Page/Brodido vs. The Demand

Demand is defending and jump them to start fast until Page headscissors Liona down. King comes in for a springboard double wristdrag and everything breaks down, allowing Ricochet to pose on the buckle. Bandido gets backbreakered onto the top turnbuckle and we take a break. We come back with Bandido elbowing his way out of trouble but Kaun isn’t having this stuff. Ricochet comes in and goes up but gets dropkicked out of the air, meaning Page can get the tag.

Everything breaks down and the Demand hit a trio of dives to the floor. That lets Ricochet hit his running shooting star press for two but Page fights up against the Gates. Page and Ricochet knock each other down but Bandido can’t give Ricochet the 21 Plex. They go to the corner and of course Kaun Samoan drops all three of them at once (Oh come on. That’s not fair.). Back up and Kaun is knocked down, leaving Page to Buckshot Liona into a 21 Plex for the titles at 13:37.

Rating: B. I kind of like the idea of these titles changing hands so often, with another makeshift team picking up the belts. At the same time, the Demand losing so quickly is kind of fitting for them, as Ricochet’s big mouth getting shut is always worth seeing. If nothing else, at least Bandido didn’t lose for a change.

And now for the main event, as we’re already in the overrun of a show that got an extra half hour than usual.

Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis

Street fight. Davis brings a chair and takes over to start, with the chair being wedged in the corner. Ospreay fights back and sends him to the floor for the slingshot dive. They go to the floor and Ospreay finds…a tire? With that knocked away, Ospreay gets in a running flip dive to hit Davis and it’s time to go back inside. Davis’ chair is kicked back into his face but he’s fine enough to get in an apron bomb. Another powerbomb sends Ospreay crashing onto a fan and we take a break.

We come back with Ospreay kicking away at Davis, who knocks him down the entrance steps, because that’s a good idea with the top good guy with a bad neck three and a half weeks before the biggest match of his career. Back in and Ospreay is sent face first into the chair in the corner. Naturally it’s time for a fork to Ospreay’s head but Ospreay fights back and stabs Davis right back.

Davis’ over the shoulder piledriver through some chairs knocks Ospreay silly so he throws the chair at Davis’ head. They head to the apron, where Davis rakes some barbed wire over Ospreay’s back. Ospreay responds by grabbing him low and hitting a piledriver on the apron. That’s not enough of course so it’s a Hidden Blade for two, because that’s not enough either of course. Davis’ spinning piledriver gets two more so Ospreay muscles him into a Styles Clash. The Hidden Blade, with barbed wire around Davis’ head, finishes him off at 17:01.

Rating: B, Well, this was the match I was expecting, as Davis felt like the star here as he survived a bunch of stuff from the top hero. The match got silly with the fork, but the point here was about being ridiculous with the violence. Ospreay gets a win, but it could have been done in a better, and much more dominant, fashion.

Overall Rating: A-. It’s another rather good Dynamite, with the action working well and some stories getting advancement towards All In. That’s more than you can ask for from a regular episode of any show and the hot crowd made it even better. Granted I’m not sure why a show that already had an extra half hour needed a 23 minute overrun but that’s AEW for you.

Results
Death Riders b. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Young Bucks – Rollup with tights to Copeland
Andrade El Idolo b. Komander and Tommaso Ciampa – DM to Komander
Willow Nightingale/Brawling Birds b. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne/Mercedes Mone – Backslide to Mone
Kyle Fletcher b. Mike Bailey – Turnbuckle brainbuster
Mistico/Chris Jericho/Darby Allin b. Don Callis Family – Coffin Drop to Knight
Bandido/Hangman Page b. The Demand – 21 Plex to Liona
Will Ospreay b. Mark Davis – Hidden Blade with barbed wire

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: July 30, 2026
Location: Masonic Temple Theater, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the second night in a row for the live AEW events as Collision is wisely stepping to the side as WWE runs Summerslam on Saturday. We are a month away from All In and last night’s show made the Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay main event all that much more interesting. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

And we open big with the hometown Motor City Machine Guns. Yeah you knew they were coming in sooner or later. Chris Sabin asks if you thought they wouldn’t be here. This is where the best wrestle and Alex Shelley says that in more ways than one, they are home. They are officially All Elite. Simple and to the point here, with a good way to start the show off.

Trios Titles: Rascalz vs. The Demand

The Demand is defending. Ricochet and Wentz trade takedowns for an early standoff but Ricochet sends the other two outside for the big running flip dive. Back in and Xavier strikes away at Ricochet with a cutter putting Ricochet down. The series of dives have the champions in trouble and we take an early break.

We come back with Kaun striking away, only for Reed to grab a double cutter to the Gates. They’re right back up to crush Wentz in the corner, with Ricochet’s springboard splash getting two. A double electric chair is broken up and Reed is back up with his big running cutter over the ropes. Back in and Xavier’s Spiral Tap hits Ricochet’s raised knees and Open The Gates retains the titles at 11:26.

Rating: B-. This was the way to have a quick title defense for the champions and it’s nice to have the challengers be a perfectly acceptable group rather than some random names. The Rascalz work very well together so having the Demand cut them off is a good look. There aren’t many ready to go challengers so having one of them ready to go here is a good, albeit risky, start to the title reign.

The Conglomeration isn’t happy with their loss last night but they’re going to do an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with some special guests from Detroit.

Since it’s been a few weeks since the last two ended, it’s tournament time! We hear about the Continental Cup, which is a sixteen person tournament with brackets randomly drawn every round. The finals, for the title and shockingly a cup, take place at All In. It’s inspired by the English FA Cup so Nigel McGuinness is in.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto powers him out to the floor to start but Ciampa is right back inside to stomp away. The running knee finishes for Ciampa at 1:16 and he’s looking fired up here.

Hangman Page says he needs something to do but Brody King and Bandido interrupt to thank him for last night. Page thinks they should challenge for the Trios Titles next week in Mexico City. Bandido dubs them the Good, The Bad And The Ugly, with the suggestion being that King is the latter.

Brawling Birds/Hazuki vs. Athena/Diamante/Billie Starkz

Hayter gets taken into the wrong corner to start as McGuinness doesn’t like the idea of British people only getting in brawls in pubs. Hazuki comes in to take over on Starkz and everything breaks down. Athena knocks Hayter down and the other four brawl on (and off) the stage.

We take a break and come back with Hazuki cleaning house until Diamante gives Windsor a Chaos Theory suplex. Diamante gets caught in the wrong corner for the running clotheslines and Hazuki hits a dive off the apron. Athena can’t powerbomb Hazuki, who drops Athena with a pump kick. A German suplex drops Athena and Two Birds, One Stone finishes Diamante off at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be as the Birds get a win on their way to an all but guaranteed Women’s Tag Team Title match at All In and Hazuki might be challenging Athena for the Ring Of Honor Women’s Title. That’s not a bad way to go with one single match, which makes for a better use than just having the Birds win a regular tag match. The Birds winning the titles in London is a great idea and hopefully they don’t make this any more complicated than it needs to be.

Post match Lena Kross and Megan Bayne run in to go after the Birds.

Ricochet and the Demand, with the Lethal Twist, are down to face Brodido/Hangman Page.

Here is the Conglomeration to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, with the Insane Clown Posse and Rhino coming out to pour the ice. The ice is poured and the fans chant for Rebel. Nothing wrong with a quick bit for charity.

Death Riders vs. Bang Bang Gang

Yuta and Austin trade wristlocks to start as the fans REALLY do not like Yuta very much. Austin comes in to double fireman’s carry Pac and Yuta at the same time (which is all the more impressive given Austin’s stature). The Samoan drop connects but Castagnoli sends Austin into the corner for the running clotheslines as we take a break.

We come back with Austin still in trouble and getting caught with a backbreaker/stomp combination on the floor. Austin fights out of trouble without much effort and it’s off to Colten to clean house. Moxley breaks up the Fameasser though and Yuta’s rollup with tights gets two.

Robinson comes back in with a high crossbody for two and it’s off to the parade of finishers. Austin kicks Moxley from the apron and hits a heck of a running dive to take him down again. Yuta bites Robinson’s head and tries a rollup, only for Robinson to reverse it into one of his own for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: B. Well dang man. That was a genuine surprise as I would have bet on the Gang to lose here but points to AEW for giving them a pretty major win. As usual, Austin felt like he was stealing the show and never stopped moving, which hopefully leads to him having some kind of a big push down the line. For now though, at least he got to be on the winning team here, which I didn’t see coming at all.

Post match the Riders jump Robinson and here are the Dogs to jump the Gang as well. The Motor City Machine Guns run in with chairs for the save.

Tommaso Ciampa wants in the Casino Gauntlet and is facing Andrade El Idolo for the #1 spot. He isn’t interested in the National Title because he wants the big belt.

Kris Statlander vs. Aurora Teves

Statlander throws her into the corner to start and there’s the rather delayed suplex. Staturday Night Fever finishes for Statlander at 1:27. Total squash.

Kyle Fletcher and Mike Bailey are ready for their title match on Dynamite but Fletcher jumps him and they go out into the arena. Fletcher’s belt shot misses and Bailey clears him out. Quick and to the point here and that’s fine.

Kevin Knight, on behalf of Kazuchika Okada and Hechicero, issues a challenge for a six man tag to any former World Champions for Dynamite.

Jay Lethal vs. Komander

Lethal works on a wristlock to start so Komander grabs a quick armdrag. A DDT is countered though and Lethal tries the Figure Four, which is broken up as well. Komander sends him outside but it’s too early for the rope walk dive. Lethal is sent outside though and Komander hits the big dive as we take a break.

We come back with Komander kicking away and getting two off a high crossbody. Komander flips away and gets kicked in the head, similar to last night with Moxley giving him a cutter. Maybe don’t try those flips again. Lethal chases him to the floor and Komander pops up to the top on the way back in for a 450 and a near fall. Cielito Lindo finishes Lethal at 9:01.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but there was only so much to be seen in the short amount of time they had with the commercial taken out. As usual, Komander can do some incredible high flying stuff and looks awesome. That quick 450 is rather impressive and this one looked better than the one he did to Moxley last night. Good enough match here, with Lethal being someone you bring in to make anyone look like a star.

Schiavone: “Komander shocks the world by beating Jay Lethal!” In case you’re wondering, Lethal’s last singles win on AEW TV was almost three years ago.

Will Ospreay vs. Daniel Garcia

Jon Moxley is on commentary. Ospreay charges at him to start and Garcia bails out to the floor. The chase is on until Garcia gets caught with a head fake and Ospreay takes over on the floor. Back in and Ospreay snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor and the slingshot dive follows. Ospreay’s dive off of the barricade is countered into a hanging DDT on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Garcia working on the leg but Ospreay is back up with a flipping kick to the head. A standing corkscrew moonsault gives Ospreay two, followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for the same. They strike it out until Garcia flips over into a guillotine choke. That and a piledriver give Garcia two so he slaps him in the face, which wakes Ospreay up.

A quick Dragontamer goes on before Garcia rolls him into a bulldog choke (Moxley approves). Ospreay’s escape doesn’t last long as he dives into a rear naked choke so he raises his fist (apparently joining the Nation Of Domination). A backflip gets him out of the hold and the Hidden Blade finishes for Ospreay at 13:21.

Rating: B. Garcia as an obstacle to give a top star like Ospreay a win is a good use of him, as he didn’t get to talk and was more of a pest for Ospreay than a real threat. It was a hard hitting match and Ospreay basically Hulking Up for the win made him look even more like a hero. Perfectly acceptable idea here and they both worked hard to make it work well.

Post match Ospreay goes to leave but gets choked by Mark Davis. The Don Callis Family comes in and beats on Ospreay, including a piledriver on the floor. They take him inside for some chair shots but Ospreay fights out and clears the ring with the chair, a mere 64 seconds after being piledriven on the floor. Ospreay wants his match with Davis to be a street fight and sits down in his chair to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was what I wanted to see out of a Collision in the better time slot as it felt like a bigger than usual edition. They set up some stuff for both Grand Slam and All In, which is a good use of this kind of show. I liked this one quite a bit and it even had a genuine surprise with the Gang winning, along with a bit less of a surprise with the Machine Guns debuting. Good stuff here and hopefully they can follow it up next week.

Results
The Demand b. Rascalz – Open The Gates to Xavier
Tommaso Ciampa b. Nick Comoroto – Running knee
Brawling Birds/Hazuki b. Athena/Diamante/Billie Starkz – Two Birds, One Stone to Diamante
Bang Bang Gang b. Death Riders – Rollup to Yuta
Kris Statlander b. Aurora Teves – Staturday Night Fever
Komander b. Jay Lethal – Cielito Lindo
Will Ospreay b. Daniel Garcia – Hidden Blade

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: July 29, 2026
Location: Masonic Temple Theater, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have Redemption out of the way and that means all roads lead to All In in about a month. Kenny Omega is still the World Champion after turning back Kevin Knight, leaving him ready to defend against Will Ospreay. As for Ospreay and Jon Moxley and the rest of the Death Riders….it’s complicated. Let’s get to it.

Here is Redemption if you need a recap.

Commentary runs down the card.

We look back at the Redemption World Title match, with Kenny Omega retaining. After the match, Will Ospreay shook Omega’s hand but Omega laid him out to end the show. Jon Moxley is NOT pleased.

A ticked off Ospreay arrives and runs into the Death Riders. Daniel Garcia goes after him and gets dropped with a single shot to the face. Pac has to be held back and Jon Moxley asks Ospreay if he really wants to do that. Ospreay gives Moxley the Death Riders patch back and they let him walk past.

He doesn’t want to talk to Renee Paquette but runs into Hangman Page, who offers his help in any way Ospreay needs. Ospreay says he can’t trust Kenny Omega so he can’t trust Page so while he appreciates the offer, he’s doing this on his own. Page stops him and says Ospreay is going to be the best at All In. He says Ospreay has this and Ospreay is appreciative before going inside.

National Title: Nick Wayne vs. Jack Perry vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade is defending and gets dropped by Perry to start fast. Wayne takes Perry down as well but Andrade is up to suplex both of them. Perry bulldogs Wayne on the floor but gets taken down by a diving Andrade. We pause for a photo with a redhead in the audience so Wayne grabs Sliced Bread off the barricade, only to bang up his knee in the process. Back in and Andrade suplexes Perry into the corner but charges into Wayne’s standing Spanish Fly.

We take a break and come back with Andrade powerbombing Wayne out of the corner. Perry snaps off a heck of a top rope hurricanrana to bring Andrade off the apron, only to get caught by Wayne’s Canadian Destroyer. Back in and Wayne’s Prodigy Plex (fisherman’s buster) gets two on Andrade, who gets up to clothesline both of them. The running Meteora in the corner gives Andrade two so he puts Perry up top.

A charging Wayne is launched up into a super hurricanrana to Perry….who spins into a tornado DDT to drop Andrade (sweet goodness). Perry is back up with a string of dives but Andrade takes Wayne down. The frog splash hits knees though and Wayne’s phoenix splash gets two, with Perry making the save. Perry charges into the Dia de los Muertos (the spinning back elbow) and the DM finishes Wayne to retain the title at 14:21.

Rating: B. That hurricanrana into the tornado DDT alone was awesome and moved the match up another notch on its own. It was a good, fast paced match that you would expect from these people, though I’m not entirely sure how this was set up. The challengers felt kind of out of nowhere, but putting Andrade out there for a successful title defense is a good idea.

Post match Andrade says he’s happy to have screwed over MJF (with the ring) and Don Callis (in general). He’s feeling tranquilo though and is ready for the Casino Gauntlet match at All In. Schiavone asks him about his qualifying match next week in his hometown of “Mexico” and Andrade hits the catchphrase.

The Brawling Birds are ready to beat up some Athena and her Minions on Collision.

Don Callis, with his Family, knows that you take losses on occasion but it’s time to move forward. This seems to include Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight teaming up, though Fletcher doesn’t seem impressed. He says the title will always stay in the Family but Kazuchika Okada comes in to agree, with Fletcher not being happy.

Don Callis Family vs. Brodido/Mike Bailey

Fletcher wants to start with King so Bailey gives him what he wants. King runs him over with a clothesline and grabs the arm so Bailey can come back in to stay on said arm. Everything breaks down and Bandido misses an Eddie frog splash, instead settling for a suplex on Fletcher. Cage pulls Bandido outside though and powerbombs him against the post as we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher slamming Bandido, who comes back with the very spinning DDT. Cage can’t get anywhere with a suplex and it’s back to King to knock Cage and Doyle into the corner. The Cannonball connects for two so Bailey comes back in, with Cage immediately giving him a buckle bomb. Everything breaks down again and Fletcher and Bailey trade rollups for two each.

Fletcher lawn darts him but gets kicked in the head to leave them both down. Bandido comes back in to forearm away at Doyle, setting up the frog splash (third Eddie tribute in two matches) but Bandido gets sent outside. Bailey gets kicked in the head but bounces back up with his springboard moonsault to take Fletcher out on the floor. Back up and Bailey gives Doyle the Ultimate Weapon into the arm trap sunset flip for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B. This got going and it was smart to give Bailey a bit more momentum into the upcoming title shot. It works well every time and they made it work again here. Other than that, Brodido can work well with anyone, even a less than regular team like Doyle and Cage. The match was more about Bailey though, with Bandido outshining him anyway.

We get a sitdown interview with Adam Copeland/Christian Cage and the Young Bucks, who are set for the All In match. The Bucks’ families are coming to England for the match and it couldn’t mean more for them. Copeland says it means that much to them too and they’re glad to see the Bucks and FTR bringing tag wrestling back.

Cage says they’re not here for a greatest hits tour and they’re still the best tag team of this generation. The Bucks talk about being the most accomplished team in AEW history but they had to fight their way back. Copeland doesn’t want this to be a comparison game because they lost a combined seventeen years of their careers and didn’t win a Tag Team Title for twenty five years.

Matt says the Bucks are going to be coming harder, faster and stronger than ever and the champs will be lucky to get on the board. The Bucks are used to being told that they’re too small and don’t do the right stuff. They’ve never had the machine behind them (uh……) so they’re ready for the title match. The champs are ready too. The idea of having the Bucks as these scrappy underdogs who are just trying to get their glory is a bit much to ask.

TBS Title: Persephone vs. Maya World

World is defending (Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line). World grabs a headlock to start and then cartwheels away before getting two off a rollup. A running wristdrag takes Persephone down again and she misses a charge out to the floor. Persephone is back up with an electric chair drop onto the apron though and we take a break.

We come back with Persephone grabbing a quickly broken ankle lock so World can get two off a rollup. Persephone fall away slams her out to the floor for the suicide dive but World uses the apron for a tornado DDT. Back in and a hammerlock lariat takes World down and we get a double breather. World is up for a moonsault so here is Hikaru Shida, only for Kris Statlander to cut her off. The tabletop suplex retains the title at 10:00.

Rating: C+. This was a way to get World a first title defense after winning the title just a few days ago. AEW obviously sees something in World (which isn’t shocking) and it’s nice to see her getting an actual chance. We’ll have to see where it goes, but at least they’re off to a good start. Hopefully the rematch with Shida is pretty quick, as there isn’t much of a point to having that go on for a long while.

Mark Davis is mad about his title loss and wants to get back on top by beating Will Ospreay next week.

It’s Shark Week so a dancing shark joins commentary.

Here is Willow Nightingale for her big celebration as champion. We pause for the YOU DESERVE IT chants and Nightingale is moved to tears. She’s not just living her dream but she’s living THE dream. People look at a girl like her and see someone who doesn’t quite fit because she’s quirky or chubby but the fans seem to appreciate her.

After saying the makeup artist worked very hard and it’s being ruined by her tears, she talks about how much she has accomplished this year, but she got hurt. Her mom told her to keep fighting so here she is, having gotten into the Casino Gauntlet and then beaten a toxic champion. She’s ready to go to All In but here is Mercedes Mone, with the contract, to interrupt. They both quickly sign and Nightingale talks about how Mone must be upset that she wasn’t getting attention for five seconds.

Or maybe it’s that Nightingale has the one title that Mone can’t get. Mone is sick of Nightingale always having her name on Mone’s story. The fans do NOT want to hear it but Mone keeps going, saying she made Nightingale. Cue Megan Bayne and Lena Kross and Mone takes out Nightingale’s knee. This brings out the Brawling Birds and the villains run. Mone taking the title would be totally deflating but Nightingale retaining would be a heck of a moment. Please don’t do this the wrong way again.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Komander

Moxley is defending against another rather random challenger. Komander takes him down by the arm to start and they pop up for a standoff. Moxley gets in a knockdown of his own but a quick small package leaves Moxley frustrated. Back up and a headscissors sends Moxley down and he’s smart enough to roll away from the rope die. That’s fine with Komander, who hits a running dive as we take a break.

We come back with Moxley holding a headscissors and pulling on the legs at the same time. That’s broken up and Komander strikes away, including a superkick to the back. Komander tries some flips and is immediately cuttered back down. Back up and Komander drapes him over the top for a guillotine legdrop to the back of the head. Moxley misses a charge and gets caught with a quick springboard 450 for a rather near fall. Now the rope walk flip dive connects but Moxley avoids Cielito Lindo and scores with a Stomp. The Death Rider into the bulldog choke retains the title at 13:04.

Rating: B. This got better once Komander was able to throw everything he could out there and it made for a good match in the end. The idea here was Moxley finally catching Komander when he was going a bit too hard and it wound up working out. Again, it’s not a match that was about a realistic title defense, but in this case just getting Moxley on the show. As always.

Mick Foley is with the Bang Bang Gang (minus Jay White), who want the Death Riders on Collision. Foley gets in a cheap pop as only he can.

Trios Titles: Conglomeration vs. The Demand

The Demand is challenging and jump them to start fast. That’s broken up and Cassidy drops an elbow (after taking his time getting down) on Liona. We get the bell and Kaun rams his own head into the buckle. Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets so Kaun grabs the hands and lifts him up for quite the visual. Strong comes in to strike away but Kaun picks Cassidy up to cut Strong off.

We take a break and come back with Strong giving Ricochet a half nelson backbreaker, allowing the tag off to O’Reilly. That means an ankle lock to Kaun, with Ricochet making the save. O’Reilly and Ricochet clothesline each other down but Ricochet gets up top, where Cassidy rakes his head.

Kaun gives Strong a top rope superplex before missing a diving headbutt. O’Reilly and Strong strike Kaun down and the High/Low gets two, with Ricochet making the save. Cue the Lethal Twist to offer a distraction, with Christian hitting a springboard belt shot to Cassidy. The Spirit Gun gives Ricochet the pin and the titles at 10:55.

Rating: B-. With all of the title matches they had on this show, they pretty much had to have at least one title change. The good thing is that the Demand is another regular team and it makes sense for them to get the belts. The Conglomeration did their thing long enough and it’s fine to switch the titles, as there are options to come after them.

Post match the double beatdown is on, with Brody King running in for a failed save attempt. Hangman Page comes out with a barbed wire steel chair for the real save.

The Death Riders are ready for Will Ospreay, who always tries to leave when things get hard. Jon Moxley is ready for the Continental Cup. Is that the Continental Classic under the wrong name or something new?

We’re a mere seventeen minutes into the overrun so here is Kenny Omega for a chat. Before he can get more than a few words out though, here is Will Ospreay to interrupt. Omega says what he has to say really doesn’t need to be heard by the people because it’s personal and just for Ospreay. It’s time for show and tell, because at Redemption, Omega showed Ospreay how he felt with the One Winged Angel.

Now it’s time for the tell part, because they had a promise to give it their best. That’s why Omega let Ospreay enter the Owen Hart Cup on his own but then Ospreay started hanging out with the Death Riders. Ospreay talks about coming back from the injury too soon and all he cared about was revenge. So who was he supposed to turn to? The only one was Jon Moxley, because he was the person who could get him to the World Title.

Ospreay liked the feeling of being a Death Rider because it was like being in Japan, but he doesn’t share their philosophy. That’s where it ends with the Death Riders, but Omega talks about how he was ready to be destroyed at Redemption. He got up and saw Ospreay holding the belt and the torn plastic bag. It took Ospreay so long because he was thinking about doing it and Omega slaps him in the face.

Omega says he thought Ospreay was his friend and Ospreay says he was. Omega accuses him of always crumbling under pressure and the fight is on, with Omega bailing from the threat of the Hidden Blade. With Omega gone, Ospreay talks about how this is what he has wanted the whole time and it’s so close that it’s time for the penalties.

If you know anything about England, you know they’re not great at them but he has the entire country on his back. Ospreay is going to pull the trigger and Omega is going to see it coming. They’re doing a nice job of turning this into a personal issue, which is impressive as they kind of had to throw everything together after MJF’s injury. I’m not sure how much sense the whole thing makes, but they’re certainly trying and this worked.

Overall Rating: B-. Well, on one hand, it was an effective show with good action and some rather strong pushes towards All In. You can see most of the card from here and we should be in for a big night in London. At the same time, my goodness they have got to get these shows lengths under control.

This was over two and a half hours long and it’s another case where it could easily be fixed by cutting out a match (Moxley vs. Komander didn’t need to be there). AEW/ROH is in the middle of a stretch where they have shows on six out of seven nights. If they absolutely have to have this many shows (they don’t), at least don’t have them go this long.

This was a good show, but after so much of AEW/ROH in recent days, I could go for a break from them. That’s not a good sign about a month before their biggest show of the year and we’re nowhere near done with this week. Anyway, good followup show to the pay per view and a nice build towards All In, but just trim things down a bit.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Nick Wayne and Jack Perry – DM to Wayne
Brodido/Mike Bailey b. Don Callis Family – Arm trap sunset flip to Doyle
Maya World b. Persephone – Tabletop suplex
Jon Moxley b. Komander – Bulldog choke
The Demand b. Conglomeration – Spirit Gun to Cassidy

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: July 1, 2026
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Forbidden Door (thank goodness) and it’s time to get ready for Redemption, the pit stop in July, on the way to London for All In. Will Ospreay and Mercedes Mone are in line for title shots, but first up is Mark Briscoe challenging MJF for the World Title tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

We get a clip from after Forbidden Door with Will Ospreay being rather happy with his win. Ospreay then ran into Jon Moxley and asked what Moxley meant about seeing something in him. If Moxley could explain it in words, he would explain it to anyone. This place could be something special but if Ospreay wants the Death Riders’ patch, he has to ride with them

Ospreay went on to see Kenny Omega, who praised him for his win but not being wild on the Death Riders tease. MJF came in to mock them both, with Omega threatening to come after the title and MJF not really caring. With MJF gone, Omega seemed to suggest that everything was fine with Ospreay.

AEW World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and insists on being announced from the Best Coast, the east coast. Briscoe knocks him down to start but MJF is right back up to rip the bandage off of Briscoe’s head. MJF bites at the cut but Briscoe flips out of a backdrop, meaning it’s time for Red Neck Kung Fu.

Briscoe gets crotched on top but knocks MJF down, with the Froggy Bow getting two. Another shot sends MJF outside for the dive, followed by the chair step up flip dive for a bonus. The table is set up on the floor but Briscoe takes too long and knocks him off the top. That lets him return the table under the ring and we take a break. We come back with Briscoe winning a slugout and knocking him out to the floor, with Briscoe pulling the pads back.

MJF is able to backdrop him onto the concrete but can’t hit a Tombstone, instead getting slammed on the concrete. The Bang Bang Elbow on the floor and a Cutthroat Driver connect for two back inside, allowing Briscoe to set up the table again. Once again it takes too long but once again Briscoe cuts MJF and gives him a Blockbuster on the floor.

The Froggy Bow puts MJF through the table for two, as the foot on the rope saves the title. MJF goes to the eye but gets clotheslined for a double down. Another Froggy Bow connects and the Jay Driller gets a rather near fall. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Briscoe so he tries another Jay Driller, which is countered into an Alabama Slam. The Heatseeker retains the title at 18:23.

Rating: B. Well, that was quite the use of Briscoe’s title shot after building it up for a good while. I was expecting this to be at Beach Break but I guess they want to clear the way for Ospreay for the next month and a half. The match wasn’t an instant classic but it was physical and hard hitting, with Briscoe being so easy to cheer for to make it better.

Post match MJF loads up the Diamond Ring and knocks him silly. He loads up another shot but Kenny Omega runs in for the save. Omega wants a title shot tonight but MJF shoots that down, saying he’s beaten Omega before. MJF will face Omega next week, but if MJF wins, Omega can never challenge for the World Title again (note that MJF did not say Omega had to win the title). Omega has until the end of the night to decide.

Post break, MJF promises that payback is coming for Andrade El Idolo. With that out of the way, he lists off all of the names he has beaten, including Cody Rhodes, with Kenny Omega being 0-2 against him. He knows Omega won’t agree because MJF is gutless. Will Ospreay comes in to ask why the stipulation, with MJF saying it’s because he’s the champion. MJF will see Ospreay at Wembley.

He is Andrade El Idolo for a chat. He is done with the Don Callis Family and wants the World Back Title. How you know? Cue the Family to jump him from behind and the big beatdown is on. Don Callis wants Andrade out of here for Kevin Knight’s match.

Mercedes Mone brags about winning the Women’s Owen Hart Cup because she is the conversation no matter where she was going.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Lio Rush

Only Knight is defending. Rush scares him to start and throws Knight a backpack, containing…a black version of the ROH TV Title. Knight is freaked out so Rush sends him into the ropes, with Knight bailing to the floor. Rush does his run around the ring for the suicide dive and we take a break.

We come back with Knight hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but banging up his knee on a springboard attempt. Rush grabs a weird choke (as in Rush looks like he’s trying a cutter but just holds on when they’re on the mat) until Jake Doyle pulls Knight outside. Back in and Knight hits a sitout spinebuster, followed by a Rock Bottom to retain at 8:45.

Rating: B-. The match was fine, but did they really need to have Rush lose here? Rush is A, on fire with his new gimmick and B, a champion in ROH. Bandido and Athena have already lost recently and it would be nice for the ROH champions to be something other than jobbers to the main roster stars. I get that they’re beneath the AEW stars, but there are so many people in AEW/ROH who aren’t champions who could lose just as well.

Post match Darby Allin comes out to say he wants the TNT Title shot or the same things are going to keep happening to Knight. That has Knight ready to agree but Callis cuts him off because Allin was a criminal at Forbidden Door. Allin says that’s Knight digging his own grave.

We look at Chris Jericho beating up JD Drake and mocking Tommaso Ciampa.

Ciampa calls Jericho a bully but Jericho jumps him from behind. They go outside, where Ciampa rolls a shopping cart at him and then tries to stab Jericho in the head with a drill. Security tries to break it up but Jericho dives out of a truck to take out both Ciampa and some guards. The drill was dumb but I want to see these two fight.

Kenny Omega talks to the Young Bucks about the stipulation but Omega hasn’t made a decision just yet. He didn’t like what he had to do to win the title in the first place and wants to do it on his own. The Bucks have his back no matter what but Omega still hasn’t decided.

Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley vs. The Swirl

The Swirl jumps Moxley to start fast and seem to hurt his knee. Moxley fights back like he’s Jon Moxley and they’re the Swirl, allowing him to roll over for the tag to Ospreay. A running hurricanrana sends Christian outside and there’s the running flip dive to take the Swirl out again.

We take a break and come back with the Swirl’s Death Valley Driver/top rope double stomp combination getting two on Moxley. Marina Shafir beats up Jay Lethal on the floor and Moxley makes the comeback, allowing Ospreay to come back in. Johnson gets beaten up in the corner and Christian springboards into a cutter. The Paradigm Shift into the Hidden Blade finishes Johnson at 9:15.

Rating: C+. On one hand, I get the idea of Ospreay and Moxley as the unlikely super team, but at the same time, I’m still not sure why they’re together in the first place. In theory Ospreay got the help that he needed and now wants to see how far they can take him and Moxley is happy with getting the new member of the team. I guess that’s the story and while it makes sense, I’m not sure I buy Ospreay just suddenly being cool with the Death Riders. Or Moxley being cool with him for that matter.

After retaining their Tag Team Titles, Christian Cage and Adam Copeland weren’t sure about Jay White. Cage still doesn’t like him and Copeland isn’t sure what to think.

Here is the Bang Bang Gang for a chat. Jay White says they have waiting for well over a year to do this and he’s glad to get to say the catchphrase again. He remembered people not liking the Death Riders but now they’re hanging with the biggest fraud in wrestling. That aside, he wants to talk about the Dogs, who he doesn’t like because of things that happened in New Japan.

White remembers joining the New Japan Dojo with David Finlay, who is a fourth generation wrestler and raising a fifth generation star. Finlay has wrestling in his blood but he’s still a whiny little boy. White is still the catalyst of wrestling and this is still his era. If the Dogs, or anyone, has a problem with that, Guns Up. I still like White a lot and he can talk very well, but he has to prove that he can go more than a few months without a major injury.

Shane Taylor Promotions want the Bang Bang Gang in an eight man tag on Collision.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Maika vs. Harley Cameron vs. Persephone vs. Queen Aminata vs. Hikaru Shida

Survival Of The Fittest (six way elimination match) for the vacant title. It’s a brawl to start with Persephone standing tall but Shida takes her down with a rollup for two. Cameron is back in with a Shining Wizard to Maika before hammering on Aminata in the corner. Persephone sneaks up on Cameron for a Razor’s Edge and the elimination at 2:33. Well there goes the crowd favorite. Statlander Angle Slams Persephone and we take a break

We come back with Maika and Statlander slugging it out until Shida comes in with the kendo stick. Maika drops Shida with a discus clothesline but Statlander takes away the kendo stick. Shida hides behind the referee and rolls Maika up for the elimination at 7:52. We’re down to four and it’s Aminata coming back in to slug it out with Shida. Aminata’s fisherman’s neckbreaker gets two but she misses a top rope double stomp. The big headbutt sends Shida into the ropes for the running knee, only for Persephone to roll Aminata up for the pin at 9:49.

Persephone actually does the L on her forehead to mock Aminata as we take another break. We come back again with Statlander’s Blue Thunder Bomb getting two on Persephone. A bridging German suplex drops Statlander for two but Shida is back in, only for Statlander to chop Shida and Persephone. Staturday Night Fever is broken up but Statlander cradles Persephone for the pin at 15:30.

Shida kicks Statlander in the head, only for Statlander to grab the Falcon Arrow for two more. They fight over a rollup until Shida gets the ankle lock, with Persephone getting in a belt shot (fine with the referee). Shida grabs the leg and adds a choke to the out cold Statlander for the title at 17:27.

Rating: B-. This was kind of a strange match as there wasn’t a heavy betting favorite coming and a few different people could win the thing. Shida certainly fits the description, as she has a long history of winning titles so this is a nice fit. She might not be champion for a long time (though it wouldn’t be crazy), but beating her means enough that it could be a big moment.

Here’s what’s coming on Collision and next week at Beach Break.

Will Ospreay tries to talk Kenny Omega out of making a bad decision but Omega says if he’s going out, it’s with guns blazing.

Here is Omega for his big decision. Omega talks about how he has been doing this for over half of his life and he always gives this everything he has. He has a career that he could hang his hat on and be proud about but there is a part of him that believes he still has it. If the Elite can believe and the people can believe, then he knows he can be a champion AEW can be proud of one more time. At Wembley, against Will Ospreay.

All he has to do is put everything on the line against MJF, but Cody Rhodes and Hangman Page have done the same thing. He is still the best bout machine and yes the match is on and he’ll be ready for whatever MJF has for him. MJF runs in for the brawl but Omega fights back, with security breaking it up to end the show. That’s a huge match and they’re throwing it out there pretty quickly, but the result feels far from certain, which helps a lot.

Overall Rating: B. There was a lot on this show but the best part about it is that the show flew by. Nothing felt like it was dragging here and I had a good time with the show. It set up something big for next week and gave us the MJF vs. Briscoe match, even if it came and went rather quickly. There’s a new TBS Champion as well so that gap is covered, making this a pretty eventful night for the Forbidden Door follow up. See how nice it is when AEW can focus on AEW?

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Mark Briscoe – Heatseeker
Kevin Knight b. Lio Rush – Rock Bottom
Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley b. The Swirl – Hidden Blade to Johnson
Hikaru Shida won Survival Of The Fittest last eliminating Kris Statlander

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: June 20, 2026
Location: Smart Financial Center, Sugar Land, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

We’re eight days away from Forbidden Door and this week we get another match officially set for the show. In this case it’s the semifinals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup with Athena facing Maya World. Other than than we should have the usual big Collision attraction, meaning the announcements of stuff for Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Young Bucks/Jack Perry vs. Lethal Twists

Christian jumps Nick to start fast and everything breaks down in a hurry. Perry hits a suicide dive onto Johnson but misses a moonsault and gets superkicked by Christian. The Bucks make the save and it’s Christian getting kneed in the corner. Perry gets tied up in the Tree Of Woe though and Christian adds a moonsault as we take a break.

We come back with the Twists going after Perry’s knee but the leg is fine enough to snap off a hurricanrana to the floor. Matt gets the tag to clean house and the Bucks do their top rope double stomp on the rope into the sitout powerbomb. Stereo powerbombs out of the corner set up stereo Scorpion Deathlocks with Perry getting Lethal in the Snare Trap.

Everyone makes the ropes and it’s Perry slugging it out with Lethal. Johnson and Lethal are back with cutters as commentary points out that the referee is just watching and enjoying the match. The Death Valley Driver into Hail To The King gets two on Perry and we hit the parade of everyone kicking everyone. Perry gets in a double poisonrana and the Meltzer Driver finishes Johnson (McGuinness: “Five stars.”) at 14:20.

Rating: B. As usual, starting with the Bucks is a good way to get the crowd going as the AEW fans absolutely love these guys. It makes a lot of sense to go this way and the Lethal Twists are a good choice for their victims. Yes it feels like a match we’ve seen about a million times, but that’s kind of a feature with the Bucks.

Kris Statlander and Mina Shirakawa seem to respect each other but they’re ready to fight tonight. Harley Cameron will be on commentary and tells them to shake, though they shake hands while she shakes her….yeah you get the idea.

Hikaru Shida doesn’t care who she’s going to be facing in Survival Of The Fittest because TBS will stand for THE BEST IS SHIDA!

Survival Of The Fittest: Mina Shirakawa vs. Kris Statlander

Harley Cameron is on commentary. Shirakawa’s headlock has Statlander down early on until she sends Shirakawa hard into the corner. A Stunner over the top rope drops Statlander but she catches Shirakawa with something like a Big Ending onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Shirakawa hitting La Mistica before knocking Statlander outside. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Shirakawa two but Statlander is back with the Falcon Arrow for two of her own. Shirakawa comes back with another La Mistica but Statlander rolls her up for the fast pin at 9:09.

Rating: C+. Statlander winning clean is good to see as she’s kind of been all over the place lately. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title, but at least she has something to do at the moment. On the other hand you have Shirakawa, who has felt like she’s in the middle of nowhere for months and that doesn’t seem to be changing.

Post match match respect is shown, with Harley Cameron joining in.

We get a commercial for the Bang Bang Gang’s spay and neuter center.

Jack Perry talks about Zack Sabre Jr. welcoming him to Japan in an act of kindness. He would love another act of kindness in the form of a match on Dynamite. After they can hit the bar again, with Perry picking up the tab, because the winner should always pay.

Hurt Syndicate vs. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason

Lashley gets annoyed at a chop and it’s off to Mason, with Lashley shoving both of them down. It’s off to Benjamin for a nasty German suplex, followed by a running knee. Lashley hits the spear on Johnson and Benjamin gets the pin at 1:52.

Post match MVP says that the Hurt Syndicate doesn’t want titles, but they are more than willing to hurt people for money. If anyone is interested, come find them.

Skyflight is ready for Dante Martin to face Mistico. In addition, Matt Sydal is back and Skyflight has his back. I’m really not sure if this team needs another warm body.

Nigel McGuinness introduces Tommaso Ciampa and Chris Jericho for a face to face chat. Jericho praises Ciampa and knows that he’s wanted to face him for a reason. The question is which version of Jericho Ciampa will face, but it won’t matter because all of them will take him out. Ciampa likes the sound of that and he wants to face Jericho on July 8 in Clearwater, Florida at Beach Break.

Jericho is in for some wrestling that night, but tonight they’re fighting. The brawl is on but Ciampa quickly cuts him down with a low blow. Ciampa beats him down and busts him open, with the running knee leaving Jericho laying. This was simple and to the point but I definitely like setting it up for a show other than Forbidden Door. That show is going to have enough and I want to see this match get some focus, which it wouldn’t receive at the pay per view.

Pac vs. Shota Umino for the latter’s IWGP Global Title is set for Forbidden Door.

Dante Martin vs. Mistico

Christopher Daniels is here with Martin. Mistico flips away from a headlock to start but gets elbowed in the chin. Martin sends him outside for a suicide dive but Mistico fights back and hits a suicide dive of his own. Back in and Martin runs the corner for a superplex and two, leaving Mistico’s knee banged up as we take a break.

We come back with Mistico’s knee being fine enough to hit a springboard high crossbody to send Martin outside. There’s the slingshot dive and they go back inside to trade groggy right hands. They kick each other down and we get a double breather. Mistico is up first and his moonsault hits a raised boot, allowing Martin to get two off a rollup. Mistico’s powerslam gets two, as does Martin’s package powerbomb. Martin heads up top, only for Mistico to plant him with a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B-. Yeah this was fine, as they weren’t pretending that this was anything more than “here’s Mistico in a match”. They weren’t hiding that or trying to make it anything else and that’s a fine way to go. Mistico has such a following and is such a big deal that getting him on the show makes sense, especially on a show so close to Mexico.

Ricochet wants Konosuke Takeshita and the International Title but first he wants to beat up the returning Matt Sydal.

The Dogs don’t think much of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage being around for thirty years. They want the Tag Team Titles at Forbidden Door and they’ll put those b****** down.

Pac vs. Jay Alexander

Jon Moxley is on commentary and doesn’t think this is going to take long. Pac backs the rather muscular Alexander into the corner and then drops him with a running clothesline. Marina Shafir gets in a cheap shot and Pac adds a missile dropkick. The Brutalizer finishes Alexander at 3:11.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point as Pac gets to run through someone with quite the size and power. Pac has an intensity to him that could make him look good against anyone and that’s a nice asset to have. At the same time, Moxley put him over rather strong on commentary, saying Pac could win any title in the world on any given night, including Moxley’s. There are a lot of things to criticize about Moxley, but he knows how to make people sound strong on commentary.

Thunder Rosa wants to team with someone from CMLL and challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Adam Priest

Schiavone: “We haven’t seen Zack Sabre Jr. in an AEW ring since a year ago at Forbidden Door!” Forbidden Door was in late August last year, so no, it hasn’t been a year ago. Sabre works on the arm to start, including a nasty snap with his legs. Priest is right back with a snap suplex but Sabre is right back to the arm.

The arm is bent over the top rope and Priest is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with a double clothesline leaving both of them down before Priest knocks him down again. Priest starts in on Sabre’s leg but Sabre pulls the bad arm back in and twists it around. A double arm crank makes Priest give up at 10:36.

Rating: C+. This was the “here is Sabre’s warm-up match for his warm up match for Omega at the pay per view match”. As usual, it went on longer than it needed to and did more for Priest than Sabre. While Sabre was more or less toying with him the whole time, Priest looked tough in his comebacks, which doesn’t really do much for Sabre, as is often the case in matches like this.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are in for whatever Thunder Rosa wants to do.

A bloody Chris Jericho thanks Tommaso Ciampa, but Ciampa won’t thank him later. Serious Jericho is a nice thing to see.

Owen Hart Cup Semifinals: Maya World vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Athena takes her down in the corner for a pat on the head to start but gets dropped with a running shoulder. A rather rolling crucifix gives World two as we’re told that Thunder Rosa will team with Olimpia to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. If that’s how they’re going to announce it, why bother with the mystery in the promos earlier? Just tell us then so that it’s not an afterthought in the main event.

Anyway they both try dropkicks at the same time and flip up for a staredown. World cartwheels into a basement dropkick and they go to the apron to slug it out. Athena catches a roll and flips her into a faceplant on the floor as we take a break. We come back with World hitting a superplex and stomping Athena in the ribs. World’s moonsault gets two, as does Athena’s sitout powerbomb. Athena stomps her down and gets two more off a rollup, which has Athena frustrated.

The O Face misses and World gets two off a tabletop suplex. They fight outside, with Athena hitting a Rock Bottom onto the barricade. World is mostly done but Athena breaks the count to bring her back in. Athena yells a lot, which just wakes World up. The big comeback doesn’t last long though as Athena hits the O Face for….two, giving us a well deserved stunned kickout face. Some superkicks put World down and Athena loads up the big right hand, only to get rolled up for the out of nowhere pin at 14:10.

Rating: B. Well World pretty much has to win the tournament now or this is a heck of a way to use Athena. As usual, Athena comes up to the AEW roster and loses but I’m sure she’ll get to continue her nearly four year reign as ROH Women’s Champion. As for World…well, it’s certainly a way to make someone look bigger, but it doesn’t mean nearly as much if she just loses to Mone. I like making a bigger star, though good grief just let Athena be a regular in AEW already.

Post match respect is shown but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt and hug World, who is then jumped by Athena. The Statement Maker goes on and Athena mocks World to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the “let’s get a lot of stuff together for Forbidden Door as fast as we can show” and….yeah it mostly worked. The action was good enough and the PPV card feels a lot more complete. At the same time, it was a show that felt rather packed and didn’t leave much time for anything to have an impact. That’s something AEW has had issues with for a long time and while it would be nice to see that change, it isn’t likely to happen. Either way, good show here, and it did a lot of the work that AEW needed.

Results
Young Bucks/Jack Perry b. Lethal Twists – Meltzer Driver to Johnson
Kris Statlander b. Mina Shirakawa – Rollup
Hurt Syndicate b. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason – Spear to Johnson
Mistico b. Dante Martin – Super Spanish Fly
Pac b. Jay Alexander – Brutalizer
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Adam Priest – Double arm crank
Maya World b. Athena – 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:

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

Collision
Date: May 27, 2026
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the third of three hours this week as we’re still coming off of Double Or Nothing. This time around we have a pretty big main event in the form of a street fight between Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida. Other than that, it’s likely your usual Collision, but at half the size. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Mark Davis throwing Jack Perry (who Davis just beat in the Dynamite main event) out of the ring. Don Callis threatens Will Ospreay, who is Davis’ second round opponent. With that out of the way, Callis insults Konosuke Takeshita, who was never anything compared to Kyle Fletcher.

Cue Fletcher, who gets a big hug from Fletcher and brags about being back from a serious injury so soon. He’s a genetic freak and officially medically cleared to return to the ring. He wanted to get back to cut away the dead weight of the Don Callis Family, which means Takeshita himself. Cue Takeshita…and the Conglomeration, to quickly clear the ring. Takeshita is glad to have his title back and wants Fletcher, who seems interested.

Will Ospreay is fired up for a six man. Marina Shafir and Jon Moxley are cool with Ospreay, but Pac isn’t so thrilled.

Death Riders/Will Ospreay vs. Rascalz

Xavier snaps off some headscissors to take Ospreay down to start but gets kicked in the chest. The annoyed Pac comes in to cravate Xavier but it’s off to Wentz, who is chopped back into the corner. The Rascalz fight back and hit the dives to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Ospreay hitting a double handspring Pele kick, allowing the tag back to Pac. House is quickly cleaned and Reed is suplexed into the corner for two. The Riders hit the running clotheslines in the corner and Pac and Ospreay hit stereo running clip dives. Back in and Reed ducks Moxley’s clothesline and hits a jumping cutter. Ospreay and Pac are back in to beat on the Rascalz, setting up a triple submission for the tap (Ospreay making Reed tap to the cross armbreaker is what seems to count) at 10:22.

Rating: B-. The ending was never really in doubt but at least it wasn’t a straight up squash. Instead this was more the Death Riders reining the Rascalz in like fish and eventually catching them in some holds. That’s a fine way to go, even if it continues to make the Rascalz look that much less important week after week.

The Opps say that even though things haven’t been going well, the mission doesn’t change. That being said, Samoa Joe is stepping away for a few months for another movie/TV role. Sweet goodness just disband the team already if the lineup keeps changing this often.

Video on Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida, with both of them talking about how sick they are of each other.

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne have laid out Tay Melo and Anna Jay.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Ace Austin

Andrade’s headlock is broken up to start so he snaps off a hurricanrana. Austin sends him into the ropes for the pose and we take a break. We come back with Andrade knocking Austin down and Andrade poses with a woman on the floor. Said woman is pulled over the barricade for a better picture, allowing Austin to get in a shot of his own.

A standing legdrop hits Andrade, who is sat on top for a running anklescissors. The Death Valley Driver gives Austin two but Andrade knocks him into the corner. The running knees miss for Andrade though and Austin is back with a springboard kick to the face. Andrade isn’t having that and hits the spinning elbow, followed by the DM for the pin at 8:09.

Rating: B-. It’s another good performance from Austin, who loses while looking impressive in the process. I know that’s AEW’s standard practice but it would be nice to see him win something over a more impressive name for once. Or just not lose for a change, though I can’t really imagine either happening anytime soon.

Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida

Anything goes street fight. They slug it out to start and Statlander kicks her out to the floor. Statlander grabs a chair but takes too long, allowing Shida to sit it on the top rope. They go outside together with Statlander being sent into the barricade for a hard beating. That just earns Shida a hard powerbomb onto the floor and they go up towards the entrance. Make that into the back, with the fans not approving. Shida suplexes her onto a piece of barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Statlander superplexing her onto a pile of chairs and a chair/kendo stick duel breaking out. Statlander’s moonsault hits chairs and Shida nails a top rope Meteora for two. Shida hits a Falcon Arrow, with Statlander nipping up to escape in a cool moment. Statlander fires a chair at her head and it’s time to set up a table on one side of the floor and chairs on the other.

Shida is Death Valley Drivered onto the open chairs but Statlander can’t bring herself to swinging some light tubes. Instead Shida kicks her down and breaks the tubes over her back, cutting Statlander open. They fight to the apron, where Statlander hits a Tombstone to put Shida through the table. Cue Harley Cameron to cheer Statlander on, with Staturday Night Fever finishing Shida at 15:56.

Rating: C+. Well they did indeed have a street fight because they were in Philadelphia, making it a requirement. Ignore that it was their first singles match against each other but you have to keep the ECW fans happy. This was more violence for the sake of violence, with the light tubes doing their usual job of dimming any interest I had in the thing.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a totally fine Collision, even if it came a good bit later than the usual show. The main event felt enough like a main event to warrant that spot, even if we have another hour for the “real” main event on Saturday. It’s not the best feeling to have a three hour block so soon after a five hour pay per view, but it’s both not AEW’s fault and the action was good enough.

Results
Death Riders b. Rascalz – Cross armbreaker to Reed
Andrade El Idolo b. Ace Austin – DM
Kris Statlander b. Hikaru Shida – Staturday Night Fever

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

Double Or Nothing 2026
Date: May 24, 2026
Location: Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back with another big time pay per view and that means the card is stacked. That’s a good thing as the card does look appealing, though there is always the chance that it is going to go all the way into tomorrow. The main event if MJF challenging Darby Allin for the World Title in a hair vs. title match. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Zayda Steel/Viva Van

Non-title match with a five minute time limit. Steel gets smart and bails outside to run away from Bayne and burn some clock. Back in and Bayne reverses a DDT attempt but Steel bails outside as we’re already over a minute in. Van scores with a springboard spinwheel kick and knocks Bayne outside, followed by a throat snap across the top. Kross isn’t having that and superkicks Van, allowing Bayne to unload in the corner.

It’s off to Kross for a basement clothesline and the alternating elbows in the corner. An enziguri gets Van out of trouble though and it’s off to Steel, who snaps off a headscissors. A pump kick misses for Kross and Steel tornado DDTs her with less than a minute to go. Bayne comes in for a kick to the face and German suplex, followed by the Divine Intervention to pin Steel at 4:46.

Rating: C. This was pretty much in the vein of “what else were you expecting” as it was the dominant team against a makeshift pair of opponents. The match was more about Steel trying to stall, which isn’t a bad way to go. It just would have made more sense for her to do it again later in the match rather than going for a pin, as it’s the same result. Either way though, having Bayne wreck Steel at the end was fine.

Post match Bayne lays out Christopher Daniels and give Van a Divine Intervention of her own. Anna Jay and Tay Melo run in armed for the save.

Kickoff Show: Opps vs. Death Riders

Always nice to throw in a six man tag. Yuta slips out of Bowens’ armbar to start and gets him into a backslide. Bowens gets the same off a small package but gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face. Yuta insists that HE HAS TIL FIVE and gets hit in the face for his efforts.

Hook and Garcia come in with Hook sending him flying off a suplex. Shibata and Castagnoli come in to trade some rapid fire forearms, with Shibata knocking him into the corner for a running dropkick. Hook comes back in and has his suplex blocked, allowing Castagnoli to send him into the corner. Yuta gets atomic dropped but the Riders get together for a triple boot to Shibata.

Garcia tries to come in and hammer away, which just isn’t working for Shibata, who grabs an STO. It’s Hook coming in and getting caught in the wrong corner for some running elbows and a two count. A missed charge lets Hook snap off some suplexes though and he rolls underneath a double clothesline to bring Bowens in. That means house can be cleaned but Castagnoli makes a save and Bowens is left on his own. A faceplant puts him down and a running uppercut gives Castagnoli the pin at 10:34.

Rating: B-. This is exactly what you would have expected from what would likely be on Collision most of the time. They had a pretty fast paced match, but I’m not sure why you would have had Bowens take the fall when Hook is around. Is Hook really still supposed to be that important? Are we still pretending that’s the case?

Kickoff Show: Boom & Doom/Conglomeration vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

The good guys have Harley Cameron, Big Justice and the Rizzler with them. Marshall handspring kicks Bravo in the face to start and it’s off to AJ for some right hands in the corner. The good guys get to keep alternating for right hands to Bravo in the corner. Well right hand from Cassidy. Everything breaks down and Cassidy gets caught in the wrong corner for a running Bronco Buster from Dean.

Cassidy fights back but gets punched down, leaving him to grab a Stundog Millionaire on Moriarty. The tag brings in AJ to clean house as Cameron has to save Rizzler from Christyan XO. Briscoe comes in to wreck the Promotions, including using the chair for the big step up flip dive. The Tower Of Doom brings Bravo down for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C. Yeah fine. As usual, you’re only going to be able to get so much out of a match like this one with so many people involved but it was hardly bad. The idea here was to get some popular stars on the show and they did just that, along with Marshall. I don’t get the appeal of AJ and company these days, but I can only get so annoyed about him being in a six and a half minute wacky tag match.

Post match Eddie Kingston, Ortiz and Mance Warner come in to chase off the Promotions, who they’ve been fighting a bit in Ring Of Honor.

Mick Foley and Renee Paquette are in the ring to hype up the main event when MJF interrupts. MJF doesn’t want to hear from someone whose entire career was built on failing. He mocks the New York Knicks and Darby Allin before saying Foley would always lose when the chips are down. Foley thanks MJF for letting him have this moment one last time and agrees that yes, he did lose a lot of matches. Granted he did beat the Rock a few times, but none of those losses were in 2:15.

Unless MJF wants his matches to be compared to how long it takes to fry an egg, he better get ready for Allin. Foley sees a lot of himself in Allin, but it’s a more athletic Allin who wants to be World Champion. Foley says MJF has wavy hair and tonight it’s waving goodbye. MJF kicks him low but here is Allin to chase MJF off. Foley talks about how he inspired Allin’s career and how he saw Allin at a small show and knew there was something there. Tonight, Foley wants Allin to win one for the weird ones. To quote one of Foley’s friends, BANG BANG!

And now, the show proper.  Also: points for lightening up on the Kickoff Show.  21ish minutes of wrestling and a big promo in an hour is fine and nowhere near as crammed as usual.

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

FTR, with Stokely, is defending in an I Quit match and if they win, Copeland and Cage can never team together again. They stare each other down to start and the double brawl is on, with Cage and Harwood being left in the ring. Cage hits a clothesline but it’s way too early for the Killswitch. Stokely slips Harwood some barbed wire, which Cage takes away just as fast. The wire is wrapped around the middle rope so Cage can send him throat/face first into it, followed by standing on his back.

Back in and Copeland whips the champs with the barbed wire before Cage hangs Harwood over the rope. Wheeler makes the save but Copeland is back up with a ladder. Harwood is suplexed onto said ladder so of course it’s time for a table. That’s enough of a delay for FTR to fight back but Cage uses pliers on Harwood’s I believe nose and Wheeler’s…well the front of his trunks.

That’s broken up and Copeland is sent outside for a spike piledriver onto the announcers’ table (dang). A cinder block to Cage’s bad arm misses so the arm is put inside the block. Cage: “I….I….I BANGED YOUR MOTHER!” The chair crushes the block on the arm on the steps but Cage is back up to bite Harwood’s head. A Killswitch drops Wheeler so Stokely starts unhooking the turnbuckle.

The buckle is unhooked and Cage gets choked into a Shatter Machine, only for Copeland to come back with a pair of spears. Copeland unloads with chair shots to both champions and Harwood begs for mercy, but doesn’t quit. Wheeler asks him to stop but Stokely is up with a wrench to knock Copeland into a Shatter Machine. Cue Beth Copeland, who is immediately sent into the steps.

Harwood is back up with lighter fluid and the table is set on fire. Wheeler misses Beth though and spears Stokely through the fire instead (as the tributes are on). Beth is up to save her husband from a Conchairto (six months off a piledriver, a minute off being rammed into the steps) and Adam hits a piledriver. Cage gets a Sharpshooter and Cage adds the Grindhouse with Spike to make Harwood quit for the titles at 19:34.

Rating: B. They hit most of the notes here, though I’m not sure how much they needed to draw this one out for an extra month. What matters the most is that the titles are off of FTR, who were ready to lose the things already. It’s a big nostalgia moment, but Cage and Copeland are still able to have a good match and this was a nice win in the end.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita challenging Kazuchika Okada for the International Title. They’re both part of the Don Callis Family but have been having issues for months. Okada beat him back in December in the Continental Classic but this is more personal.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita is challenging (and not defending his New Japan TV Title) and dang the fans certainly like him. They stare each other down to start and trade forearms until Takeshita charges into a boot to the face. Raging Fire is broken up though and it’s an early standoff. The fans get all over Callis as the two of them get into a shove off, with Takeshita hitting a jumping shoulder.

Okada is right back with a dropkick out to the floor, where Takeshita is driven into the barricade a few times. Back in and Okada suplexes him for a cocky one, followed by a neckbreaker for the same. Takeshita manages an exploder suplex but the middle rope backsplash hits raised knees. Okada charges into a jumping knee to send him outside, where Takeshita is right there with the big running flip dive.

Back in and Okada drops him down as well, setting up the top rope elbow. The build to the Rainmaker takes too long though and they fight over a Tombstone, with Takeshita planting him. A wheelbarrow suplex is shrugged off and Okada pops up with a dropkick into the Rainmaker and they’re both down. They slug it out on the apron until Okada hits another Rainmaker and Takeshita is down on the floor. Okada DDTs him on the floor but Callis calls off a Tombstone.

That’s enough for Okada to take a breather, allowing Takeshita to hit the brainbuster on the floor. Callis freaks out and Takeshita flips him off, followed by something like a very high German suplex for two. Okada’s Tombstone gets two but Takeshita gets all fired up and wins a slugout.

The Blue Thunder Bomb looks to set up the running knee, which is countered into a Rainmaker attempt, which is countered into a rollup for two. The Rainmaker connects but Okada holds onto the arm, only for Takeshita to hit his own Rainmaker. Takeshita’s running knee gets one and Raging Fire gives him the pin and the title at 19:04.

Rating: B+. I’m hardly surprised this was intense, with the result being the best way it could go. What matters the most is that Takeshita seems to be done with Callis for good, as there is no need for someone that talented and popular to be stuck with Callis for so much longer. They beat each other up and it felt like a showdown, with Takeshita dropping Okada on his head outside being quite the violent moment. Some of the quick kickouts got a bit annoying but they got the result absolutely right.

Post match the Don Callis Family comes in and Takeshita stares Okada down…as Kyle Fletcher returns. Fletcher stands with Takeshita and gives him a hug as the Family leaves. And of course Fletcher lays Takeshita out, then does it again with the brainbuster. Okada hands Fletcher the title and Takeshita is knocked colder.

We look at the Women’s Owen Hart Cup, which starts here with Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa. They’ve had some issues in Ring Of Honor to set things up a bit.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mina Shirakawa vs. Athena

Athena’s Ring Of Honor Women’s Title isn’t on the line and she backs Shirakawa into the corner to start. Shirakawa ducks a charge and gets in her shake but Athena knees her off the top. They go outside, with Athena’s running knee hitting the steps. A running dropkick against the barricade knocks out a video screen has Shirakawa in trouble but she’s right back as they go inside again.

Shirakawa starts in on the leg but dives into a Wasteland for two. Back up and Shirakawa hits a Sling Blade before knocking her out to the floor. The slingshot corkscrew dive connects and it’s an electric chair drop back inside. The Figure Four is broken up though and Athena sweeps the leg (it works in No Mercy and it works here) but a middle rope O Face is broken up. Shirakawa’s seatbelt gets two and she gets the Figure Four, sending Athena over to the rope. Athena pumphandles her into a Tombstone and now the O Face finishes Shirakawa at 10:46.

Rating: B-. This was another Collision level match and Athena gets her latest win that isn’t likely to result in her finally breaking through on the main roster. She’s been such a star in Ring Of Honor for so long now and there is no reason, at least in front of the scenes, for her to not jump up. Hopefully it happens here, but I have no reason to believe that is the case, as we’ve been here for years now.

We recap Jon Moxley defending the Continental Title against Kyle O’Reilly. They went to a time limit draw on Dynamite and now it’s a no time limit rematch for the title. O’Reilly has made him tap a few times before so Moxley might be in danger.

The Conglomeration gives O’Reilly a pep talk.

Continental Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and there is no time limit. They go with the grappling to start and O’Reilly’s armbar doesn’t go anywhere. Moxley knocks him down and grabs a snapmare for a kick to the back, with O’Reilly popping right back up. O’Reilly strikes away and grabs a guillotine choke, with Moxley firing off right hands. That doesn’t work for Moxley as he gets sent outside for a running knee from the apron.

Some kicks to the chest and rams into the steps have Moxley in more trouble but O’Reilly’s big kick hits the post. Back in and they trade forearms until O’Reilly tries a kick, which hurts him even more. The leg is wrapped around the rope for a dropkick to the knee and Moxley grabs a leglock. O’Reilly grabs the rope so Moxley bites him in the head. They go to the corner, where O’Reilly snaps the arm over the top and hits a middle rope knee to said arm.

The cross armbreaker is reversed into a half crab, with Moxley shifting it into a leglock. O’Reilly gets out and grabs an ankle lock, with Moxley escaping but getting kicked out to the floor. Back in and Moxley shrugs off a Curb Stomp and hits a cutter for a double down. A double clothesline gives us the same result and they punch it out from their knees. Moxley clotheslines him into the Death Rider into a bulldog choke but O’Reilly reverses into an ankle lock. That’s reversed into a grapevined ankle lock and O’Reilly taps at 18:44.

Rating: B. I saw them do this for twenty minutes earlier in the week so I was only so interested in seeing them to it for another eighteen minutes here. Some of the two of them popping up made my eyes roll, but you have to expect that on occasion. It was incredibly physical and a way for the two of them to show off their skills, but doing it twice in a week was too much.

Post match their teams come out and we get a big handshake.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe in the first round of the Owen Hart Tournament. Ospreay is back from his neck surgery and picked to train with the Death Riders over the Opps. That doesn’t work for Joe and that’s just not a good idea.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay Oscutters him at the bell and hammers away in the corner but Joe hits a heck of an elbow. Ospreay’s drop down into the dropkick sends Joe outside and there’s a suicide dive. Back in and a 450 looks to set up a cross armbreaker, with Joe going straight to the rope. Joe bails to the floor and is ready for a moonsault, instead choking Ospreay and sending him into the steps.

Back in and Joe goes after the neck before winning an exchange of forearms. Ospreay tries to chop back but gets knocked down again, this time for a backsplash. The MuscleBuster is broken up though and Ospreay stomps on Joe’s arm. A handspring kick to the head gets two but Joe walks away from the Oscutter. Joe goes into his string of holds, followed by a hard kick to the chest.

Ospreay Hulks Up and strikes away, with a Styles Clash connecting for two. The Hidden Blade gets two more but another Hidden Blade is cut off with a powerslam. The Koquina Clutch is countered but Joe plants him down and grabs it again, with the third arm drop seeing Ospreay grab the rope. Another MuscleBuster is countered into another Hidden Blade for one, followed by another Hidden Blade for the pin at 13:53.

Rating: B. As much as I can’t stand that “kick out at one off a finisher, then the same thing finishes you” stuff that we’ve seen twice now, this was a hard hitting fight. Joe is always just enough of a threat to beat anyone, though Ospreay going forward was by far the better way to go. He’s on the road to Wembley (in theory) and Joe was a heck of a first step there.

Post match Joe shows some respect before leaving.

We recap Bandido vs. Swerve Strickland in another Owen Tournament match. Strickland has attacked him a few times and Bandido is ready to fight back.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido

Bandido’s Ring Of Honor World Title isn’t on the line (of course) and Prince Nana is here with Strickland. Bandido goes right at him to start and dropkicks the knee but Strickland is right back up to take over. A big boot misses though and Bandido flips up into an Eddie Dance. Strickland is sent outside for a running dropkick and a superkick.

With Strickland sat in a chair, Bandido hits a running dive to knock him back out of it in a big crash. Back in and Strickland suplexes him into the corner before cranking on the neck. Bandido fights up but his leg is twitching. That’s shrugged off and Bandido kicks him out of the corner into a nifty German suplex.

The frog splash gets two but Strickland gives him a House Call into a Swerve Stomp for two more. They go to the apron where Bandido somehow poisonranas him out to the floor for the big crash. Back in and the 21 Plex connects but Bandido’s neck gives out, meaning we get more twitching. Bandido is able to try a Code Red but backflips up into a hurricanrana. The 21 Plex is loaded up again, only to be reversed into a Vertebreaker. The House Call finishes Bandido at 15:17.

Rating: A-. Yeah this was rather awesome and I don’t think that’s much of a surprise. Bandido is more or less guaranteed to have a great match no matter what he’s doing and that was certainly the case here. They beat the fire out of each other but it always felt like Strickland was playing from ahead. That allowed Bandido to fight from underneath and that is where he works best. Outstanding match here from two of AEW’s most exciting stars.

We recap the Women’s Title match. A bunch of women want the title and Thekla isn’t worried. Well she might be but you can’t tell as she’s kind of nuts.

Women’s Title: Thekla vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter

Thekla is defending. Hayter cleans house to start and hits a double clothesline but Thekla fights back in a hurry. Statlander and Hayter have the big power standoff, which is broken up by Shida. With everyone else on the floor, Thekla hits a big dive onto the pile to put everyone down.

Back in and Statlander bites the hand to get out of Thekla’s Rings Of Saturn and Alabama Slams her into the corner to escape the Upside Down. Thekla knocks her down again but spends too much time posing, allowing Shida to get in a shot of her own. Shida and Statlander grab a suplex each and all four are down. They slug it out from their knees until Statlander and Hayter crossbody each other.

Back up and Thekla shoves Statlander into a suplex from Hayter, who Haytebreakers Thekla. That’s reversed into a Black Widow to Hayter, who reverses into the Hayterade. Shida breaks it up at two and there’s the Falcon Arrow. Shida tries to grab Hayter’s leg but Statlander cuts that off in a hurry. Staturday Night Fever hits Hayter but Shida is in with a kendo stick for a save of her own. Thekla knocks Shida outside and Stomps Statlander to retain at 14:03.

Rating: B. They went from bell to bell with pretty much non-stop action as they beat each other up. Shida and Statlander have their issues to build things up even more and it made for a good mini feud. Thekla needed to keep the title at the moment as she’s on fire and I could go for seeing whatever else she can do.

The villains in Stadium Stampede arrive. The idea here is pretty simple: Chris Jericho was feuding with Ricochet and the Demand. It’s Double Or Nothing so we have Stadium Stampede so they both built up teams of seven people for a wild fight.

The good guys all get together in the back, complete with music and graphics which are likely out of a movie I haven’t seen.

Chris Jericho/Elite/Hurt Syndicate vs. Don Callis Family/The Demand/The Dogs

Stadium Stampede, meaning anything goes and they’re going to go nuts everywhere. It’s a huge brawl to start and we go to a quick quadruple screen to keep track of everyone. Ricochet gets caught in the wrong corner for some running knees and then Lashley spinebusters him onto the pile on the floor. Back in and Andrade rolls some suplexes to Perry but gets kneed out to the floor by Benjamin.

Perry hits a piledriver to drop Benjamin on the chair and Liona Samoan drops both Bucks at once. Ricochet is up with a dive and the Demand stands tall. Liona grabs an abdominal stretch on Omega and all six of his partners pull together. Believe it or not, it’s a bad idea to leave all of Omega’s partners free and it’s broken up pretty quickly. Finlay is backdropped onto the pile at ringside and Omega is fine enough for his own flip dive. Benjamin’s dive makes it even worse and there’s Jericho with a dive of his own.

Back in and the good guys hit a string of four super hurricanranas, followed by a quadruple submission attempt. Perry hits Davis with something that leaves a lot of smoke near the ring and the holds are broken. The Bucks set up tables on the floor as the Hurt Syndicate and Gates Of Agony brawl to the back.

They fight up an aisle and Lio Rush pops in to freak Lashley out. Rush jumps on Liona’s back and they go through a door as we come back to the arena. Omega and Jericho beat up Andrade as the Bucks and the Dogs are brawling in the concourse. Andrade fights back and takes a photo with a woman, only for Luchasaurus to pop in and go after him instead. Back in the ring and Jericho pours out a bag of tennis balls for a suplex to Ricochet but the Walls are broken up.

Davis and Perry brawl near catering with Davis being went eye first into a table. Andrade joins them but has to run from Satnam Singh, triggering a food fight. The Dogs and the Bucks fight on the stage, with Connors being put in a trashcan and in a shopping cart for a ride down the aisle. Liona is back in to clean house and hits Benjamin in the head with some kind of a stick or baton.

Connors spears Lashley and we cut to the back, where Ricochet beats Jericho up with a tennis racket. Cue Luther to give Jericho a BIG tennis racket and Jericho beats on Ricochet before throwing tennis balls at him. Back in the ring and Nick and Benjamin roll different kinds of suplexes before the Bucks superkick a variety of people.

We cut to the back where Davis, with his eye taped up, finds a golf cart with a knife and a note. Cue Perry to drive his bus through the cart (and another car) with Davis running off. Back inside and Omega V Triggers Andrade and Benjamin suplexes Kaun through a table. Omega One Wing Angels Andrade off the apron through a table and it’s Ricochet left alone inside. The parade of finishers is on until Kaun makes the save, earning himself a septuple (yes septuple) superkick. The Lionsault gives Jericho the pin at 31:12.

Rating: B+. This was a nice balance of insanity, brawling, fun moments and goofiness, mainly because it didn’t feel like a lot of it was scripted. Now of course it was, but it felt naturally enough that you could believe it was made up on the fly. Heck of a spectacle here and better than I was expecting, which is a nice relief.

Post match the Syndicate joins Jericho for the big thumbs up. Then Jericho puts himself through a table, seemingly in a tribute to Sabu. Nothing wrong with that.

We recap Darby Allin defending the World Title against MJF. After MJF ran his mouth about how awesome he was as champion, Allin got his title shot and won the belt in about two minutes. MJF demanded a rematch and finally put his hair on the line to get a shot. Allin has been defending all over the place and is wearing down fast though.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending, title vs. hair. We get a video of a guy getting in a cab to try to make it to the show for the main event. The camera pans below the street and Allin is skateboarding through the sewers. Well there’s nothing wrong with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tribute. We get the Big Match Intros and MJF insists on being introduced from “a mansion none of you can afford” and not from “one of the bulls*** boroughs”.

Some early headlock takeovers give Allin two each and he dropkicks MJF through the ropes. The suicide dive gets caught in the ropes though and Allin crashes out to the floor. Back in and the Heatseeker is broken up so MJF slingshots him in for a cutter instead. The chinlock is broken up but MJF forearms him out of the air. MJF tries a super Tombstone but gets reversed into the Diamond Dust to leave them both down.

It’s too early for the Coffin Drop though and MJF crawls outside, where Allin hits the suicide dive. The Coffin Drop only hits apron though and believe it or not, Allin is in big trouble on the floor. A package piledriver on the side of the steps knocks Allin sillier, but he’s right back with a low blow into a headlock takeover for two back inside. The Scorpion Deathlock goes on but MJF makes the rope, followed by raising his knees to block another Coffin Drop.

Another slingshot cutter is countered into a Scorpion Death Drop and they’re both down. They trade the headlock take for two each before trading rollups for one each. A Code Red gives Allin two more and they’re both down again. They pull themselves up and MJF is sent outside, where he pulls the cameraman in the way of Allin’s dive. MJF drags him up to the stage and tries to give Allin a hair cut but Allin reverses into a choke.

Allin puts him on a well placed table and climbs the scaffolding for the Coffin Drop to leave both of them down. Back in and another Coffin Drop gets two so Allin, who is bleeding from the back of the head, grabs the Scorpion Deathlock. Allin collapses again but is fine enough to grab the Scorpion Death Drop. Another Coffin Drop is broken up though and the super Tombstone into the headlock takeover finishes Allin to give MJF the title back at 24:02.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a match that could have gone either way. They had something with the idea of Allin fighting with everything he could and finally coming up short. I’m not sure about MJF getting the title back so soon but Allin couldn’t hold it that long given what he was doing as champion.

Post match Allin is stretchered out so MJF goes after him. Kevin Knight runs in for the save…and attacks Allin as MJF gives an “I’ll take it” look from the stage to end the show. If this gets Knight away from Mike Bailey, I’ll take that too.

Overall Rating: A. Yeah this was pretty outstanding, with one awesome match after another. It’s a good example of a show where you can pick multiple matches as your match of the night and be fine with any of them, from the Tag Team Titles to the International Title to the Continental Title to Stadium Stampede to Bandido vs. Strickland. That’s a heck of a lineup and watching it over two days helped. This was rather awesome stuff, as AEW gets back to its top level pay per view offerings. I have no idea if it lasts going into Dynamite, but I’ll absolutely take this here.

Results
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Zayda Steel/Viva Van – Divine Intervention to Steel
Death Riders b. Opps – Running uppercut to Bowens
Boom & Doom/Conglomeration b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Tower Of Doom to Bravo
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage b. FTR – Sharpshooter/Grindhouse with Spike to Harwood
Konosuke Takeshita b. Kazuchika Okada – Raging Fire
Athena b. Mina Shirakawa – O Face
Jon Moxley b. Kyle O’Reilly – Ankle lock
Will Ospreay b. Samoa Joe – Hidden Blade
Thekla b. Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter – Stomp to Statlander
Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate/Elite b. The Dogs/The Demand/Don Callis Family – Lionsault to Kaun
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Darby Allin – Headlock takeover

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

We’re back to what might be the signature AEW pay per view and the card is certainly big enough. As usual there are a lot of matches and people on this show, with quite a few of them involving high stakes. That includes the main event, which is the rare mask vs. title match. We also have some wacky gimmickery on the docket so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Zayda Steel/Viva Van

This is one of the non-title five minute deals as Bayne and Kross get to toy with the two of them for a bit before destroying them. That doesn’t make for the most interesting matches, but it does help when the match is guaranteed to be relatively short. Van and Steel could be any two breathing humans here and it wouldn’t make much of a difference, which is kind of the point.

Of course I’ll take Bayne and Kross to win, as there is no reason to suggest that a makeshit pair, including Van with her one win ever in Ring Of Honor, is going to score the upset. Kross and Bayne are waiting on real challengers to show up and there is a good chance that won’t be until we get to Wembley with the Brawling Birds. For now, they run through another thrown together team in short order.

Kickoff Show: Death Riders vs. Opps

This is a fine example of the “let’s get everyone on the show” match, as there is little reason for the match to be happening other than to fill in time on a pre-show. At least the teams have been having some issues, but it is a little difficult to get excited over a match involving Wheeler Yuta and Hook. It’s a match that feels like it could open any given edition of Collision and that only means so much.

We’ll flip a coin and say the Opps win here, as they could use the victory. This is especially true of Anthony Bowens, who is still new to the team and would benefit from picking up a win. It’s not like Yuta or Daniel Garcia are going to be hurt by taking a loss and Claudio Castagnoli will be there to keep things from getting too dull. The match should be ok, though it’s something that could easily be dropped.

Kickoff Show: Boom & Doom/Conglomeration vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

And we’ll wrap up the pre-show with ten more people in a match, including a way to get QT Marshall of all people on the card. I’m really not sure how much value there is to have Big Boom AJ on the show again but he’s here one more time, likely with his son again as well. Other than that we have the Promotions, who might as well be AEW’s version of the Job Squad given their success rate.

Naturally I’ll take the good guys to win here, as there is really no reason to suggest something else is going to happen. Hopefully they keep this quick, as it’s a match that doesn’t serve much of a purpose on an already crowded show. I’m not sure what the appeal is if having AJ around anymore, but at least it’s mainly just once in awhile and rarely outside of something like this.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay

So here we have one of the first matches of the tournament and as usual, the two of them have been doing something to set up the match. Joe wanted Ospreay to join the Opps but Ospreay has been training with the Death Riders instead. That’s a fine enough way to go and hopefully they have enough of a story to make this work. Ok to be fair, there is almost no way that Ospreay vs. Joe won’t work in the first place.

I’ll go with Ospreay to win here, as he is fresh off the new training with the Death Riders and is going to be doing some fresh things in the ring. Joe is someone who can work with anyone and it should be a blast to see these two wreck each other for a good while. I can’t imagine Ospreay losing in a tournament with the right to challenge for the World Title in his home country on the line so I’ll go with Ospreay winning here.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bandido vs. Swerve Strickland

We might as well do the other first round match as well and as usual, the Ring Of Honor World Title hasn’t been mentioned in the slightest. That’s hardly a surprise, as Bandido’s match at Dynasty didn’t see it mentioned whatsoever either. Hopefully the title either moves on or becomes a thing people actually want. Anyway, this is about moving forward towards All In and that should be going in one way.

I can’t imagine this goes anywhere other than Strickland going over, as he’s that much of a bigger star in AEW. Bandido can do just about anything in the ring with anyone but Strickland is someone who should be going forward. It’s going to be a rather awesome match either way due to their impressive talent, though it winds up with Strickland beating Bandido and moving on.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa

These two have had some recent interactions in Ring Of Honor, which is better than nothing. This is one of the trickier matches, as both of them tend to lose their bigger matches in AEW. That leaves this as a more of a sad tossup than anything else, as I could see either moving on to lose in the next round. They both need a win of their own though and one stands out more than the other.

I’ll take Athena to win here, as she has the crazy long title reign to make her seem important. Unfortunately that tends to mean absolutely nothing in the long run, but at the moment she’s higher up than Shirakawa. Neither is going to win the whole thing, but Athena going over makes a lot more sense. Now just find a way for Athena to get up to the main roster already because GOOD GRIEF ALREADY!

Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter

Ah yeah we have title matches on this show too. This is kind of a weird way to go but there is something about having so many challengers trying to take the title. Thekla has done rather well for herself in recent months and become one of the best things in all of AEW. I could go for seeing her keep the title for a good bit longer, though I’m not entirely sure that’s going to happen.

While I could see one of the other three taking the belt here, I’ll go with Thekla retaining. If nothing else, that’s partially due to wanting to see her do her insane yet entertaining promotions from week to week. She’ll have to lose the title one day and that might not be until All In, so for now we’ll go with her stealing the win to retain, possibly with an assist from the rest of the Triangle Of Madness.

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

This is an I Quit match after FTR beat Copeland and Cage in Canada earlier this year. Since it’s a rematch, Copeland and Cage are putting up their careers (as a team) and that should make it a bit more interesting. In theory it should guarantee how the result goes, though that isn’t always the way AEW goes. I’m kind of curious to see how it goes, which is more than I could say about their first match.

I’ll go with the sake of sanity here and say that Copeland and Cage win the titles and get their big moment. If nothing else, FTR has held the titles for a very long time now and there isn’t much for them to do at the moment. It’s time for someone new to get in the title picture and naturally that means giving the titles to a team who are almost a hundred years old combined. The Canadians win here after things get rather violent.

Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate/Elite vs. Demand/Don Callis Family/The Dogs

Oh boy here we go. We have fourteen people in this version of Stadium Stampede and I’m not exactly looking forward to this. These matches wind up being fun, but at the same time it might as well be a short film. This is AEW’s version of a cinematic match as it’s all about doing whatever insanity they get together and think of this time around. Hopefully they don’t go insane with the time, but it’s an AEW pay per view.

I’ll go with the good guys winning here, even if it’s a total guess as to who is going to win this thing. The match is designed to be a big spectacle and nothing more, so hopefully they don’t go too far (ok you know better) and then we move on. If nothing else, Jericho can actually get a win without having to get the win himself. It could be fun, though I’m more than a bit uninterested.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is one of the longer built matches on the card, as it has been teased for the better part of ever. They had a match back in the Continental Classic, about five months ago, though that was part of a tournament rather than the grudge match they’ve both been wanting. I’m curious to see how it goes, as Okada is capable of having a rather good match if he’s trying. If that’s the case, it should work here.

I’m expecting one of them to be kicked out of the Don Callis Family and that person is going to leave without the title. In this case, I’ll take with Okada retaining the title here, likely with Don Callis turning on Takeshita and setting up a third match down the line. Okada has already held the title for way too long and ultimately Takeshita will take it from him, but I’ll go with AEW waiting a bit longer to pull the trigger.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Here we have another AEW trope: a rematch from a long match from less than a week ago with possibilities of the rematch going even longer. That’s the case here, as we’re just waving the title’s time limit rule (again) after the two of them went to a twenty minute time limit draw on Dynamite. That’s not the most promising thing, though I’d bet on seeing a lot of forearms exchanged, which must be good right?

I’ll go with Moxley retaining here, as the solution for Moxley seems to be “he can have long matches and wins because he’s awesome”. Last year Moxley kept tapping out to O’Reilly but not he even better so he won’t do that again. That seems to be the story here and odds are Moxley needs to get his win back. It should be hard hitting, but you kind of know what you’re getting with Moxley most of the time.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin(c) vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Title vs. hair and…I have no idea where to go here. The idea seems to be that Allin is wearing himself out with the title defenses, though I’m still not sure I can imagine MJF getting the title back so soon. That’s one of the things that makes a match that much more interesting, though Allin’s title reign has already worn me down on him. The matches have been fun, but I don’t really need to see him going crazy long again. So who wins here?

Geez where does this go? The logical way to go would see to be MJF but I’ll go with the twist of Allin retaining and MJF losing his hair. Maybe Allin loses the title soon after, but him losing here seems so simple. MJF losing his hair has some great potential and I could see him going there, but I’m not sure I need to see him get the title back. I’ll take Allin retaining here, though with a grant total of no confidence.

Overall Thoughts

This is a heck of a card and there could be some rather good matches on it, though as usual the idea of how long these matches are going to go is just draining. I’m interested in some of them though and Double Or Nothing does tend to be one of the better shows on AEW’s calendar. The wrestlers will definitely put in the work though, and that’s going to help this go a long way.

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: May 20, 2026
Location: Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, Maine
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re getting another three hour block this week as Collision is taking place tonight in a one hour version due to this weekend’s Double Or Nothing event. As has been the case with recent shows, Darby Allin is defending the World Title again, this time against Mike Bailey. That could be quite the showdown so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Earlier today, Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks were outside near a lighthouse to talk about tonight’s six man tag match and the biggest Stadium Stampede of all time this weekend. They imply having a special team name too. It’s going to be Bucks Of Jericho isn’t it?

Chris Jericho/Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family/Ricochet

Yeah it’s Bucks Of Jericho. On the other side you have Andrade El Idolo/Mark Davis for the Family. Ricochet tags out immediately (that has been done WAY too often lately and it could use a long break) so it’s Andrade vs. Jericho to start things off. Naturally Andrade bails out to the floor for a photo with some women, earning chops from Jericho. Back in and Andrade gets taken into the corner, setting up a Risky Business/fish drop combination.

Matt gets driven into the corner as well but fights out rather quickly, allowing Nick to come in and clean house. The Bucks hit stereo dives and Jericho hits a top rope version of his own and we take a break. We come back with Nick fighting out of trouble and bringing in Jericho, meaning Ricochet bails again. Everything breaks down and Jericho and the Bucks hit a bunch of right hands on top, setting up three straight super hurricanranas.

Ricochet runs in to make a save so the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. Andrade is back up but gets low blowed into a step up Canadian Destroyer. Jericho knocks Ricochet to the floor for a baseball slide and they crash through some tables. Back in and More Bang From Your Buck is broken up by Davis. The Bucks take out Andrade but here are the Dogs to take Nick out. A foreign object shot knocks Matt cold for the pin at 13:58.

Rating: B-. This was the usual “here’s everything going nuts and people doing all kinds of stuff”, meaning it was entertaining but little more than a preview for Stadium Stampede. That makes sense and thankfully they didn’t go too long or have too many people involved. I’m not wild on Stadium Stampede, but the preview version went well enough.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jack Perry makes the save with…a bag of onions. Yeah of course. Anyway the Hurt Syndicate comes in to help clear the bad guys out with some of the brawls going into the crowd. Jericho and company stand tall.

Video on Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Darby Allin says he keeps taking these title matches because he feels it. He basically says he can’t wait to get to Double Or Nothing, more or less treating Mike Bailey as the nothing challenger that he really is.

Video on MJF vs. Darby Allin.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mark Briscoe

Anything goes. Briscoe throws in a trashcan full of weapons to start but Ciampa gets in a shot to the back to put him down. Ciampa goes under the ring to find his own trashcan full of weapons…including a mousetrap, which catches his own hand. A chair is sat up at ringside, with Ciampa being sat down for a Blockbuster. The Froggy Bow through the table is broken up and Ciampa sends him through the table instead. The cheese grater slices open Briscoe’s head (ignore that his head seemed to be bleeding first) and we take a break

We come back with Ciampa covering a stuffed chicken but Briscoe pulls the referee out. Briscoe whips out a fire extinguisher to spray Ciampa (and the air around him) and then staples barbed wire to a table. Believe it or not, that takes WAY too long and Ciampa is back up to staple a piece of paper to Briscoe’s head. Loading up a kneepad covered in thumbtacks takes way too long as well as Briscoe sends him into the ladder in the corner.

Briscoe uses a screwdriver for some stabbing but Ciampa suplexes him through the ladder for two. Back up and they slug it out, with the rather bloody Ciampa getting the better of things again. The super Air Raid Crash through some open chairs is broken up so Briscoe puts them back to back for an Iconoclasm onto their edges. A Jay Driller through the barbed wire table and the Froggy Bow finish Ciampa at 14:16.

Rating: C+. Yeah ok. This was just carnage for the sake of carnage and they lost me a few minutes into it. Much like what I’m expecting from Stadium Stampede, you could pretty much picture the two of them mapping out the stunts. It was violent and intense, but it didn’t feel like they were really fighting, which isn’t a good sign.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to talk about the Owen Hart Tournament but Prince Nana interrupts and says he has this. He brings out Swerve Strickland but here is Bandido to jump Strickland. Bandido goes after Nana though and Strickland gets in a shot to the knee. The Vertebreaker on the chair is broken up and Bandido gorilla presses him instead. Strickland bails from the threat of said chair.

Willow Nightingale talks about some of her great moments, including a recent title defense against Red Velvet. Unfortunately she injured her shoulder and is out of the Owen Hart Cup and has to vacate the TBS Title. GAH that’s a bad one as she was having the run of her career. She doesn’t know when she’ll be back but she’ll be back on top.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Non-title eliminator match. O’Reilly goes after the arm to start and gets reversed into a headlock takeover. This lets Taz talk about leverage and control, which is what he does best. They get up and grapple again, with Moxley getting him into the corner to take him down. Moxley starts stomping on the fingers but wins another strike off. O’Reilly kicks away in the corner, followed by a snap suplex.

They strike it out again with Moxley getting in a body shot to put O’Reilly down. Moxley puts him against the ropes and hammers away but gets backdropped out to the floor instead. O’Reilly’s ribs/body won’t let him dive though and Moxley knocks him down again as we take a break. We come back with Moxley holding a bodyscissors until O’Reilly goes for the eyes to break it up. O’Reilly kicks the leg out and they trade some running shots against the ropes.

Some knees to the face let O’Reilly flip him over and a running boot puts Moxley on the floor. They go outside and trade a bunch of kicks to the chest until O’Reilly goes up top. Moxley bites the head and rakes the back, setting up a superplex to leave them both down again. O’Reilly escapes a choke and grabs the ankle lock, which is reversed into the bulldog choke. The rope is reached for the break and O’Reilly gets to the apron to twist the arm down.

A running dropkick has Moxley in more trouble but Moxley is back with a cutter gets two. O’Reilly grabs a choke of his own, setting up a t-bone suplex. One heck of a PK drops Moxley again but he pops up and, say it with me, they trade forearms. We have less than a minute to go as Moxley misses a Stomp and gets ankle locked again. The grapevine goes on but Moxley manages to make it through the time for the draw at 20:00.

Rating: B. That’s our Moxley. He’s tapped to O’Reilly before but he won’t do it again because he’s this awesome tough guy who doesn’t tap anymore because now he’s just too tough. This is a rather basic way to set up a rematch at the pay per view and while I’m not sure why I’d want to see them do it again so soon after a twenty minute draw, it does make sense and I’ll take that. Just imagine how many times they can trade forearms in a rematch!

Hold on though as O’Reilly says Moxley survived him so he wants a no time limit title match.

Kris Statlander is upset over Willow Nightingale but Hikaru Shida interrupts, saying they’re here to watch and want the women to fight hard in their upcoming match.

Rush wants Darby Allin next week if he survives his next title defenses.

Athena/Triangle Of Madness vs. Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa/Brawling Birds

Athena wins a wrestle off with Rosa to start and shakes a bit before handing it off to Blue. Windsor comes in and gets caught in a headlock but Hayter tags herself in and, after accidentally kicking Windsor, boots Blue down for one instead. Shirakawa comes in to take over on Thekla and hits a slingshot spinning splash.

We take a break and come back with Blue pulling Shirakawa down by the hair and a Tarantula in the corner. Hayter tries to make a save and gets caught in an Upside Down, leaving Shirakawa to get beaten up even more. Shirakawa fights out of the corner and brings in Rosa to clean house, including a running shot to Blue in the corner. Everything breaks down and Athena gets to clean house until she is the only one left standing. Shirakawa tornado DDTs Athena on the floor and Blue kicks Rosa down inside. Thekla’s belt shot is cut off but Hart mists Rosa, allowing Thekla to roll her up for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and there is only so much you can do with that many people and a somewhat limited amount of time. Athena got to showcase herself while she could but as usual, she feels like someone who AEW tolerates rather than wants to push. Hopefully she gets to do something in the tournament, but I wouldn’t bet on it. The match was pretty good as a preview for Sunday and the tournament, so at least it accomplished its goals.

Kevin Knight gives Mike Bailey a pep talk and wants a shot at the World Title. Works for Bailey.

The Death Riders do group pushups and he’s ready for Kyle O’Reilly in their no time limit match at Double Or Nothing. Moxley thanks O’Reilly for giving him a chance to practice what he preached. O’Reilly survived tonight and on Sunday he gets to try his odds and see if he can go double or nothing (thankfully Moxley does acknowledge that it’s kind of a lame line).

AEW World Title: Mike Bailey vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and before the bell, here is MJF to join commentary. Bailey hits…I think a kick but the camera was on MJF as we start. The Tornado Kick connects less than fifteen seconds in and Allin has to go to the apron to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. The triangle moonsault hits Allin on the floor and Bailey slams him outside as well. That means a double knee drop off the steps but Allin crotches him on the barricade. The Scorpion Death Drop plants Bailey onto the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with the two of them still on the floor and Allin using the steps to crush Bailey’s foot. They get back inside with Bailey knocking him down again but missing the Ultimate Weapon. The Coffin Drop connects but MJF puts the foot on the rope. Cue Kevin Knight to yell at MJF, who backs off and sits back down. Bailey kicks Allin the head a few times for two before the moonsault knees connect as well. The Flamenco Driver is countered into a Scorpion Death Drop but the Scorpion Deathlock sends Bailey to the rope. A Coffin Drop sets up another Deathlock to retain the title at 11:00.

Rating: B. The best thing here is they didn’t go as insane with Allin surviving stuff. That has been an issue with some of his title defenses and thankfully it wasn’t quite so badly. Bailey never felt like he was a real threat to win the title and they didn’t spend nearly as much time on a match that didn’t need it. Allin got beaten up, made a comeback and retained. Simple, yet effective here.

MJF storms off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good example of a show where my bigger issues were more around the style being presented. The main portion of this show felt like it was all about the insanity or violence and more the people just getting to do what they liked. That being said, the last two matches were better and Moxley vs. O’Reilly had some moments. I can accept that some of the things they did accomplished what they were trying but I’m just not a fan, as that’s not the same thing as being bad. I didn’t have a great time for a lot of this, but it did get better by the end.

Results
Don Callis Family/Ricochet b. Young Bucks/Chris Jericho – Foreign object shot to Matt
Mark Briscoe b. Tommaso Ciampa – Froggy Bow
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly went to a time limit draw
Athena/Triangle Of Madness b. Brawling Birds/Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa – Mist to Rosa
Darby Allin b. Mike Bailey – Scorpion Deathlock

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: May 9, 2026
Location: SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a live with a golf theme, which is certainly a way to go. The show is also only an hour long this week as the first half took place after Dynamite. Much like Dynamite, the World Title is on the line here, with Darby Allin defending against Pac this week on his way to Double Or Nothing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wednesday’s Collision if you need a recap.

Well the venue is unique, with most of the arena taken up by a golf hole, complete with bunker.

National Title: Jack Perry vs. Mark Davis

Perry is defending and gets thrown out of the corner for daring to fire off some chops. Davis gets sent outside though and there’s the moonsault to take him down. That just earns Perry a toss onto the apron and a big clothesline drops him right back. They get back inside with Davis throwing him around as the golf green behind the ring is throwing me off. Davis knocks him outside again for a big crash and we take a break.

We come back with Perry’s running forearm staggering Davis and a sunset bomb getting two. They go to the apron, where Perry escapes a suplex attempt and snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor. A top rope elbow to the back gives Perry two and a running hurricanrana gets the same. Davis’ discus lariat into the piledriver gets two more so he takes Perry up top. The super piledriver is countered into a super hurricanrana. Don Callis gets on the apron so here is Ricochet with a golf club to Perry’s back. The piledriver gives Davis the pin and the title at 14:18.

Rating: B. It was a messy finish but what mattered the most here was Davis getting a win. He has turned into one of the more consistent stars in AEW and I can go with seeing him get some success. I’m not expecting him to be some all time champion, but he won it once and that’s all that matters at the moment. At the same time, how is Perry vs. Ricochet still going? It feels like it was long past done and yet here we seem to be again.

Nick Wayne will be in the Best Of The Super Juniors in New Japan for the second consecutive year.

Jack Perry is on the phone after his loss and wants to get his hands on Ricochet. Like say in Stadium Stampede, with the rest of the Elite. As in the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Assuming the Hurt Syndicate stay in, we could be in for a fourteen man match.

Don Callis is thrilled and of course the Family is in for Stadium Stampede. Ricochet approves.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Ruthie Slay/Rachel Ley

Non-title with a five minute time limit. Kross shrugs off some kicks to the head and plants Ley down. It’s off to Bayne for the German suplex, followed by one from Kross and another from Bayne. A double German suplex sends both of them flying and the double chokeslam finishes Ley at 2:17.

We look at the Women’s Title picture in recent weeks, with the result being Thekla defending against Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter at Double Or Nothing. That’s a bit of a surprise.

The Owen Hart Tournament brackets will be announced on Dynamite.

Don Callis says the winner of tonight’s World Title shot will be facing Konosuke Takeshita on Dynamite. That’s different from the announced Kazuchika Okada match, with Callis saying Okada had to go back to Japan on personal business. Takeshita comes in to say he’ll win.

We look at Kyle O’Reilly’s recent successes. Well kind of recent.

Mike Bailey vs. Kiran Grey

Grey shoves him before the bell to start so Bailey kicks Grey out to the floor. That means the middle rope moonsault to the floor can connect and Bailey goes up again. Grey tries to cut him off but gets knocked down, setting up the Ultimate Weapon to give Bailey the pin at 1:49.

Post match Kevin Knight gets in to say he and Bailey should go to the top of the company together.

Video on Pac vs. Darby Allin.

AEW World Title: Pac vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and there are no countouts. The bell rings and Allin bails to the floor to head up to the golf hole. Pac follows him and they slug it out with Allin blocking a suplex. Instead it’s a sunset bomb into the sand trap, followed by a running dropkick into another sand trap. Back up and Pac suplexes him into the sand trap and grabs the Brutalizer, with the referee breaking it up due to the lack of value. Or he just wants to get out of the sand. A gorilla press slam sends Allin into the sand again as we take a break.

We come back with Allin tied in the corner so Pac can kick him in the face a few times. Allin is right back up with a Scorpion Death Drop for two but Pac crotches him on top. A top rope Falcon Arrow gives Pac two and Allin rolls outside. Naturally that means it’s time for a table but the shooting star press misses, with Pac crashing hard. Back in and the Scorpion Deathlock goes on, with Pac crawling over to the rope. Pac knocks him down again and here are more Death Riders to load up a table.

A tombstone plants Allin onto the steps as the Death Riders are stacking up even more tables. Pac carries him towards the 2×2 tables and we take a break (already in the overrun). We come back with Allin fighting back in the balcony but getting thrown off through the pile of tables. That’s only good for two back inside and the Death Riders are stunned. The referee takes a chair away from Pac so he grabs the belt. That’s enough for Allin to get up, kick him low, and hit a belt shot. The Coffin Drop retains the title at 20:23.

Rating: B-. That was quite the long match, but the bigger issue here is how much Allin is surviving. It’s one thing to be a tough fighting champion, but someone kicking out of not only a tombstone onto the steps but also being thrown off a balcony and through four tables is a bit much. It reaches the point of I’m not buying Allin being in danger and that kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing. The match was more good than bad, but it felt like a few matches tied together into one, with the sand stuff feeling like it was from something totally different.

Overall Rating: B. For what was basically a two match card, this worked out rather well, with a surprise title change to start and a good (albeit too long) main event. The venue was also very unique and that’s nice to see, as you can only have so many shows in the same kind of arenas. Trim the main event down a bit and the show is that much better, but what we got was solid enough.

Results
Mark Davis b. Jack Perry – Piledriver
Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Ruthie Slay/Rachel Ley – Double chokeslam to Ley
Mike Bailey b. Kiran Grey – Ultimate Weapon
Darby Allin b. Pac – Coffin Drop

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