Dynamite – February 25, 2026: At Least It Makes Sense

Dynamite
Date: February 25, 2026
Location: Mission Ballroom, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re almost to Revolution and the big story this week is finding out what kind of stipulation we’ll be having for the World Title match. MJF gets to pick the stipulation for his match with Hangman Page, which could be just about anything. Other than that, we need to add some more things to the card so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

The Babes Of Wrath and Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford are ready to fight, with Lena Kross ready to help the villains.

We look back at FTR attacking the Young Bucks’ family on Collision so tonight it’s Mile High Madness.

Jon Moxley vs. El Clon

Non-title Eliminator match. They go with the grappling to start and Clon takes it to the mat, where his headscissors is quickly broken up. Back up and Clon’s running shoulder doesn’t do much so he puts Moxley down with a dropkick instead. Moxley is right back up to knock him outside for a beating against the barricade. Back in and a crash landing gives Moxley two and it’s off to something like a reverse Kofi Clutch, with Clon making the rope. Clon hammers away in the corner so Moxley rolls outside, where he gets taken out by a dive.

We take a break and come back with Moxley fighting out of a seated abdominal stretch and rolling outside again. This time Clon boots him in the face but Moxley fights back for a ram into the barricade. That and a suicide dive have Clon in more trouble and the big clothesline drops him again inside.

Clon flips over him in the corner and immediately has to escape the bulldog choke. Moxley is sent outside again, this time for a heck of a step up moonsault to the floor. Back in and Clon dives into a cutter (that looked good too) but pops up to drop Moxley again. The top rope double stomp gives Clon two but Moxley reverses into a Death Rider. The Paradigm Shift gives Moxley the pin at 16:16.

Rating: B+. It’s amazing how much easier it is to watch a Don Callis Family match when there’s no Don Callis. This was an interesting mesh of styles as Moxley would hit him really hard but Clon would pop back up to do a big dive. I got into this despite having no interest in Clon most of the time. Rather good match here and a hot opener to the show.

We look back at Swerve Strickland turning evil again on Kenny Omega last week.

Prince Nana comes in to say Swerve doesn’t care about his $100,000 fine and introduces Swerve, who stands on the announcers’ table. Swerve knows that some people don’t like what he did last week but he had to prove how dangerous he can be. He made a killing taking out the Elite over the last year and that takes him back to All In, where he talked to Hangman Page. Does he feel bad about what he’s done? Back then he said yes, but now he realizes he needs to go back to that way to get back on top.

Brody King is ready to take out Mark Davis on his path back to the World Title. Bandido approves.

Orange Cassidy vs. Gabe Kidd

Kidd stomps away in the corner to start and sends Cassidy crashing into the corner. A quick small package gives Cassidy one and he sends Kidd into a turnbuckle. Oddly enough, Kidd seems to like that and punches Cassidy out for two as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy’s tornado DDT being blocked and Kidd shoving him over the top. Cassidy starts posing a bit to mess with Kidd, which is enough for Cassidy to grab a Stundog Millionaire.

The top rope DDT gives Cassidy two and a spinning DDT puts Kidd down again. The Orange Punch is countered into a stacked up powerbomb to give Kidd two more and he blasts Cassidy with a clothesline. Back up and Cassidy goes with the lazy strikes and a Beach Break gets a quick two. Kidd hides behind the referee to avoid the Orange Punch though, allowing him to rake the eyes. A jumping piledriver finishes Cassidy at 10:14.

Rating: B-. Kidd beat him up pretty well here and beating Cassidy still feels like a big deal. Kidd is still getting established around here and he’s good enough as the slightly crazy guy who gets in violent fights. I’m not sure how much different that is than Moxley, but it’s pretty much what Kidd does.

Post match Clark Connors comes in to hammer Cassidy but Darby Allin makes the save with the skateboard.

Thunder Rosa gets a Women’s Title match next week and Kris Statlander says she’ll be in the corner. Just be careful. When asked why she cares so much, Statlander has nothing to say.

Kevin Knight vs. Mansoor

Mansoor actually takes him down to start and stomps away in the corner. An atomic drop into a spinebuster connect to let Mansoor miss a moonsault. Knight is back with a running hurricanrana and DDT, setting up the UFO Splash for the pin on Mansoor at 2:55.

Post match Knight says he knows Hangman Page will win the World Title and he’d love a shot. Makes sense.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring for the decision on the Revolution World Title match stipulation. Hangman Page and MJF come to the ring, with MJF telling the fans to keep it quiet. MJF recaps the idea of Page not being able to challenge again if he loses and references doing the same thing to Cody Rhodes. After throwing his gum into the crowd (“in the trash”), MJF suggests a coin toss to decide the stipulation. If Page wins, it’s a Texas Deathmatch, but if MJF wins, it’s a one way No DQ match, meaning MJF can do whatever he want but Page can be disqualified.

Page is on and talks about the variety of things he could do in a Texas Deathmatch. If Page can’t beat a piece of s*** like Page, he doesn’t deserve to be champion. MJF then wins the coin flip…but Page wants to see the coin. Jet Speed, Brody King and Bandido come out to cut off his escape and of course it’s a two sided coin. Therefore, according to Tony Khan, it’s a Texas Deathmatch. Fair enough here, as this made sense from all sides.

We look back at the Brawling Birds’ debut.

The Birds are happy with their win and don’t give a f*** who they have to fight.

AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Dynamite, Megabad, Lena Kross, Megan Bayne, Penelope Ford, Babes Of Wrath, Harley Cameron, Willow Nightingale

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Babes Of Wrath

The Babes are defending. Bayne and Nightingale start things off with Nightingale winning an exchange of shoulders. Ford comes in and gets clotheslined in the corner, setting up the double backsplash to give Cameron two. The champs clear the ring but Bayne gets back up for a double suicide dive. Ford goes up for a moonsault but lands between Nightingale and Cameron (who go down anyway), with Ford’s knee not looking great on the landing.

We come back with Ford nowhere to be seen and Cameron fighting out of trouble to hand it back to Nightingale. Some corner clotheslines have Bayne down on the floor and the running flip dive off the apron connects. The Babe With The Powerbomb is blocked but Lena Kross comes into hit Nightingale with a belt for the DQ at 8:07.

Rating: C+. This is a hard one to grade as the injury changed everything they had going. Hopefully Ford isn’t hurt too badly as a knee injury of any kind can be devastating. It’s kind of hard to imagine that the titles were going to change hands here, and hopefully that ending sets up a rematch where Ford can stay healthy.

Post match the beatdown ensues with Bayne getting one of the belts.

Brody King vs. Mark Davis

Don Callis is on commentary. They chop it out to start with Davis going to the eyes to take over. A slam puts Davis down but King is back as the fans are chanting “F*** DON CALLIS! F*** ICE TOO!”). King hits a Death Valley Driver but gets sent crashing out to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with King winning the exchange of forearms and sending Davis outside. The suicide dive connects and a running crossbody drives Davis into the barricade. Back in and the cannonball connects but Davis slips over his back into a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry so they trade suplexes, followed by a clothesline from Davis to leave both of them down. Back up and King hits a pair of clotheslines of his own for the pin at 10:15.

Rating: B-. This was a straight up hoss fight and that’s a good way to use both of them. They got to beat each other up for a few minutes here and that’s always going to work with stars their size. I’m not sure what is next for King, but he’s on a roll right now and AEW would be smart to follow up on what he’s doing.

Post match Bandido comes out to check on King, who says he wants to face Swerve at Revolution. Bandido wants a fight of his own there so here is Andrade El Idolo.

Kyle Fletcher dubs his title Pinkie and Kazuchika Okada comes in to say they’re both champions, unlike Konosuke Takeshita. Okada wants to team up on Collision and yes they have a team name, because that’s the most important thing in the world these days.

AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Dynamite, Mile High Mayhem, The Demand, Ricochet, FTR, Young Bucks, Jack Perry, Rascalz

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jack Perry/Young Bucks/Rascalz vs. The Demand/FTR

Anything goes and the villains jump Perry during his entrance. The Bucks and Rascalz run in and the brawl/match are on with Perry’s music still going. We go triple screen as the Rascalz hit some dives to take out the Demand, leaving FTR and the Bucks to brawl in the crowd. Stokely Hathaway is used as a weapon to knock Matt down the steps but Matt is back up to pour trash on Harwood.

Perry takes out Ricochet and Kaun on the floor but Liona Pounces him over the barricade. Matt beats up FTR in the crowd as everyone else (like you can tell) is back at ringside. The Gates throw Xavier down inside and we take a break. We come back with Myron Reed coming out with a fire extinguisher to save Xavier and clean some house. FTR catches his flip dive and drops him onto the announcers’ table but Perry is up with a vacuum.

A top rope DDT gives Perry two on Liona with Kaun making the save. The Bucks are back in with a trashcan for the save and the Swanton onto the trashcan onto Harwood connects. FTR bails away from the threat of superkicks and it’s time to set up a table. Liona’s double fall away slam is broken up with some dropkicks to the knees and Xavier shooting stars onto a bunch of people on the floor. Perry is backdropped over the top and through the table at ringside, leaving Wentz to get dropped with a headbutt.

A double powerplex into a springboard 450 gets two with most of the good guys making a save. FTR and the Bucks trade DDTs until the Rascalz give Ricochet a double Spanish Fly through another table. Some superkicks and a sunset bomb put Liona through another table and FTR is tossed through yet another. The BTE Trigger and an assisted running knee from Perry finish Ricochet at 18:59.

Rating: B. I enjoyed this about as much as I was going to as I’m not interested in any of the feuds in the match and I’m over these wild matches that feel more like big brawling segments. They did live up to the madness concept and that was fun, but dang I feel like I’ve seen a match like this every few weeks.

Overall Rating: B. The opener and main event were good and I rather liked the coin flip deal, just for the sake of it making sense. It’s a rather solid show this week with a fun main event and some matches being set up for Revolution. While it didn’t feel like the biggest Dynamite, the show flew by (a shorter overrun compared to previous weeks helped) and it was a nice use of two hours.

Results
Jon Moxley b. El Clon – Paradigm Shift
Gabe Kidd b. Orange Cassidy – Jumping piledriver
Kevin Knight b. Mansoor – UFO Splash
Babes Of Wrath b. Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford via DQ when Lena Kross interfered
Brody King b. Mark Davis – Lariat
Jack Perry/Young Bucks/Rascalz b. The Demand/FTR – Assisted running knee to Ricochet

 

 

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AEW Collision – February 14, 2026 (Grand Slam): Worthy Of Candy And Flowers

Collision
Date: February 14, 2026
Location: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the Grand Slam show as we’re down in Australia for a change. The card is absolutely stacked here too, with the Continental Title on the line, a tag team hair vs. hair match, a ladder match for the TNT Title, and MJF defending the World Title against Brody King. And somehow that’s not all. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Moxley is defending. They both try their finishers to start fast and the escapes give us a staredown. Moxley pulls him down by the arm, which is quickly reversed into a headlock. Back up and Moxley sends him outside for the suicide dive but Takeshita is back up with a boot against the barricade. That’s shrugged off and it’s a piledriver to drop Takeshita back inside.

A running dropkick sends Takeshita to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Takeshita fighting out of a chinlock and kicking Moxley in the chest. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two and a powerbomb out of the corner gets the same. Back up and Moxley sends him to the apron for a stomp but Takeshita beat the count back in. That’s fine with Moxley, who hits another stomp for two at the five minute call.

The choke and cross armbreaker are broken up and Takeshita hits some exploders, followed by a running knee for two. Moxley gets in a Death Rider for two more so they grab hands and trade headbutts with a minute to go. They pull themselves out of the corners and Moxley’s big clothesline gets two with thirty seconds left. Takeshita’s running knee gets two and we’re out of time at 20:00.

Rating: B. I was expecting a big showdown here but only got something good instead. They didn’t do the best job of building up the drama and the clock just popped up as a thing near the end. In theory this sets up another showdown at Revolution with special non-Continental (yes non-Continental) rules or something, but for now, it was a good match with two guys beating each other up.

Post match Takeshita lays him out with a Raging Fire.

We run down the rest of the card.

Video on Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe.

Kris Statlander isn’t done with Thekla, who is thrilled with winning the Women’s Title.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Penelope Ford/Megan Bayne vs. Babes Of Wrath

The Babes are defending. Bayne and Cameron start things off but all four are in for an early brawl. Nightingale drops Cameron onto raised knees and it’s Cameron getting caught in the wrong corner. That’s broken up and it’s back to Nightingale to clean house, including sending them both into the same corner. A double middle rope dropkick connects for Nightingale and we take a break.

We come back with Cameron hammering on Ford, followed by a double high crossbody. Ford finally kicks Cameron in the face and hands it off to Bayne, who gets victory rolled for two. Cameron grabs a half crab, with Ford making a quick save. All four are in for a double slugout with the champions getting the better of things. That means a double backsplash for two on Bayne but Nightingale misses a charge out to the floor. Bayne dives onto her but Ford’s moonsault misses, allowing Cameron to grab a backslide to retain at 12:04.

Rating: C+. They felt like they were flying through this one and the ending felt like it was out of nowhere, but the fans were more than into it and that’s always going to help. Cameron getting the win in her home country is a good way to go and the crowd went nuts. Nice match here, though I could have gone for the champs being in a bit more trouble.

Post match Australian wrestler Lena Kross runs in to help Ford and Bayne lay out the champs. So I guess the feud isn’t done, which isn’t a great idea when the champs just won clean.

Ricochet tells Jack Perry to know when to fold them. He’s already beaten Perry twice. Why would the story continue?

Video on Hangman Page vs. Andrade El Idolo.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Hangman Page

For the World Title shot at Revolution and Don Callis is on commentary. Andrade tries a backflip to start but gets dropkicked down. The Tranquilo pose is kicked out to the floor but Andrade fights back. We pause for the photo with the woman until Page knocks Andrade down again…and takes the photo instead. Back in and Page moonsaults into a failed tombstone attempt but Andrade is up with a springboard reverse Spanish Fly.

We take a break and come back with Page fighting out of a headlock but getting kicked in the face. A discus lariat works a bit better for Page and a sitout powerbomb gives him two. They head to the apron where the Deadeye is blocked so Page goes with a sliding lariat instead. Back in and a top rope clothesline gives Page two but Andrade grabs Three Amigos. Complete with the Eddie Dance, to make the fans cheer him, despite him being a villain, because of course.

Page is able to send him to the apron for a triangle clothesline but they quickly change places. That’s fine with Page, who counters a dive into a fall away slam into the barricade. The Deadeye gives Page two, which is enough to bring Callis to the ring. Page chases him off and hits a quick Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 16:29.

Rating: B. Another good but not great match here, with Page moving on to Revolution, which is the right call out of the two options they had. If nothing else, Page gets points for causing Callis to get off commentary for a few moments. Andrade is going to be pretty much fine, as he can wrestle his way back to the top of the ladder without much trouble.

Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm vs. Death Riders

Tornado tag and the person who takes the fall gets their head shaved. It’s a brawl in the crowd to start with the pairs splitting off, and Shafir sitting on Storm’s back. That doesn’t last long but Yuta piledrives Storm onto a platform to knock her silly. Cassidy is taken inside and we take a break.

We come back with Storm, uh, storming down the aisle and getting inside to clean house with German suplexes. The dancing offense and a Beach Break put Shafir down so Yuta gets back inside. A Stundog Millionaire and a tornado DDT plant Yuta so Shafir is back up to go after Cassidy’s leg. Storm is back in to chickenwing Yuta before the women drop their holds to forearm it out. Yuta is up with a running knee for two on Storm but another hits Shafir by mistake. Cassidy takes her down with a dive and it’s the running hip attack, an Orange Punch and the Storm Zero to pin Yuta at 11:29.

Rating: C+. As much as I criticize AEW, they’re far too smart to have Storm come to her home region and lose in a humiliating fashion. Shafir losing her hair wouldn’t mean much, so going with the annoying heel losing his long hair is the right move. They did this exactly as it should have gone and that’s very nice to see, as Yuta taking the fall is the only thing that needed to happen.

Post match Mina Shirakawa brings out the stool so Yuta can be shaved, despite his massive objections. Yuta tries to leave but Jon Moxley comes out to say oh yes you will. Yuta gets back inside (now with Luther appearing as an old school barber) so Shirakawa can do a lot of the cutting. The electric clippers are brought out to pick up the pace, with Cassidy and Storm getting in the expected verbal jabs. Yuta, with most of his hair cut off, eventually leaves in shame. Classic old school wrestling segment here.

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe

Fletcher is defending in a ladder match and Don Callis is on commentary (again). Briscoe knocks him to the floor to start and there’s the running flip dive to put him down. Fletcher snaps off a suplex but Briscoe is back up to drop him with a ladder. Said ladder is set up on the floor and Briscoe climbs, allowing Fletcher to toss him onto the apron.

The ladder is put on the top rope and Fletcher lawn darts Briscoe into it for a really painful looking crash. That’s already enough to draw some blood but he’s able to grab a Russian legsweep to bring Fletcher off the ladder. We take a break and come back with Briscoe knocking him onto a ladder bridged between the ring and a standing ladder on the floor. Naturally that means a Froggy Bow rather than going for the title and they’re both down.

Briscoe is up first and goes up, where Fletcher powerbombs him down through a ladder. Another ladder is bridged into the standing one, with the fans requesting that the two of them don’t die. A Jay Driller through the ladder knocks Fletcher silly but he’s able to catch Briscoe climbing. That means a super brainbuster from the ladder but they’re both up on a ladder each. Fletcher shoves him down and pulls the title to retain at 16:02.

Rating: B. There were a lot of big spots here, but they didn’t seem overly interested in selling much of anything. In other words, it was the usual ladder match stuff of “here’s a big spot, here’s another big spot, then someone wins”. That’s about what I was expecting as soon as the match was announced, but again it was about giving the fans a win from their hometown star, which is fine. Granted they might have been better off by just having win him the title there in the first place, but then we wouldn’t have had a ladder match. Which we just had to have.

Video on MJF vs. Brody King for the World Title. King won a non-title match and this is the result.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Brody King

King is challenging and the fans do not seem thrilled with ice. Fair enough as it’s summer in Australia right now. MJF bails out to the floor before coming back in for a boot to the ribs and some barking. King’s chops have MJF in trouble and a gorilla press (MJF: “OH S***!”) has him down again, but King seems to hurt his knee. Naturally the knee is wrapped around the post and MJF cranks on the leg back inside.

We actually get the Kangaroo Kick, complete with MJF flipping off the fans, but he can’t get a sunset flip. Instead he pulls King into a legbar until a rope is reached. We take a break and come back with King fighting out of an ankle lock and hitting a suicide dive. The leg is banged up so King mostly stands still and chops away, but MJF cuts off the sleeper with a bite to the arm.

Not to be outdone, King bites the head and sends MJF outside for a running crossbody against the barricade. Back in and King hits a Cannonball for two but the leg is really banged up. MJF grabs a sleeper and the leg goes out, putting them both on the mat. Cue Bandido to give King a pep talk, which is enough for him to break free. MJF drops him across the middle rope for a break but King is able to Death Valley Driver him into an open chair.

They barely beat the count so MJF loads up the diamond ring, which is quickly taken away. The sleeper knocks MJF out and the Ganso Bomb connects for two and that’s pretty much King’s last big chance. Another Ganso Bomb on the apron is broken up by some shots to the leg and MJF tombstone slams him onto the apron. The Heatseeker retains the title at 21:39.

Rating: B+. This was good stuff, with King showing that he can do more than just run through people. He sold the leg well here, as it slowed him down enough to keep MJF in there against the monster. MJF winning is hardly a big surprise, but it was more a case of how he would get around the big challenger, which isn’t a bad way to go. Rather solid match here and they did very well.

Post match Hangman Page comes out to sign the contract and scare MJF down to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. They had a big time feel here and they more than delivered, as this felt like a mini pay per view. You had the big World Title match and all of the matches were at worst good or at best, borderline great. AEW has long since established a reputation of doing well with their big shows and they continued that trend here.

Results
Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita went to a time limit draw
Babes Of Wrath b. Penelope Ford/Megan Bayne – Backslide to Ford
Hangman Page b. Andrade El Idolo – Buckshot Lariat
Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm b. Death Riders – Storm Zero to Yuta
Kyle Fletcher b. Mark Briscoe – Fletcher pulled down the title
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Brody King – Heatseeker

 

 

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Dynamite – February 11, 2026: Dang They Can Be Great

Dynamite
Date: February 11, 2026
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s time to get ready to head down to Australia for Grand Slam later this weekend and that should make for an interesting show. This week is quite the warmup as we have a pair of title matches, with both the TNT and Women’s Title on the line. Other than that, we have more build towards Revolution so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring and brings out Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland for a chat. Strickland says Omega was on top of his game five years ago and everyone wanted to face him, including Strickland himself. It took him two years to get to the top of AEW but then Omega was nowhere to be found. Omega was either in the hospital bed or suspended and in his absence, AEW needed someone else to step up into that role.

Then everyone was shouting SWERVE’S HOUSE, but now Omega wants back in this spot. It sounds like he’s using his EVP powers and Strickland is ready to knock another one of them down. Omega said the people called him the god of professional wrestling and that’s in the eye of the beholder, but he takes that as a personal responsibility. Now the fans want Omega back so while it may be Swerve’s house, there might not be any lights on in the house.

Omega knows someone who can burn down a house and he’s ready to face Swerve if that’s where this is going. Swerve offers to put Omega back in the hospital bed so Omega slaps him, which Swerve says is Omega making a choice. The fight is on and they go up to the stage, with Swerve escaping the One Winged Angel and spearing him down through a table. This was two big names having a clear issue and arguing about it to set up a top level match. That’s always going to work.

We run down the card.

Kyle Fletcher is ready to regain the TNT Title and Don Callis can sit back and watch. This is different than anything else he does how?

AEW, Death Riders, AEW Dynamite, Don Callis Family

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Death Riders vs. Don Callis Family

Davis powers Pac down to start a few times before it’s off to Moxley. That goes a bit better as Davis is driven into the corner for some chops, followed by Castagnoli for the uppercuts. Davis fires off some chops of his own and a running shoulder actually puts Castagnoli down. Back up and Castagnoli grabs a big suplex before Takeshita comes in and goes right after (the illegal) Moxley.

Everything breaks down and the fight heads to the floor, leaving Castagnoli to tilt-a-whirl backbreaker Takeshita back inside. Pac gets pulled down onto the apron though and the Riders are in trouble as we take an early break. We come back with Pac hiptossing his way out of a neck crank and handing it off to Castagnoli. That means the running uppercuts in the corner until Davis hits a hard running clothesline.

Takeshita and Moxley come back in for an exchange of failed finisher attempts and Takeshita is taken into the corner. The Riders fire off some running uppercuts but the Family is back in to roll German suplexes on Moxley. Back in and the Riders clear out most of the Family, leaving Moxley to choke Alexander. The Death Rider finishes Alexander at 15:06.

Rating: B+. This was a fast paced, hard hitting match and it was a heck of an opening match. The match was a way to help set up the Takeshita vs. Moxley showdown and that’s the real main event of the whole thing. At the same time, Alexander is just the jobber to the stars of the team and that’s all he was pretty much ever going to be.

AEW, AEW Dynamite, Tommaso Ciampa, Don Callis, Kyle Fletcher

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Fletcher is challenging and Don Callis is on commentary. Fletcher backs out to the floor to start before coming back in (as invited by Ciampa) for a running shoulder. A boot to the face drops Ciampa again but he snaps off a DDT for a knockdown of his own. Back up and Fletcher hits a quick full nelson slam so Ciampa gives him a jumping clothesline. The running knee sends Fletcher outside for a ram into the barricade and yes Ciampa will applaud himself. Fletcher snaps off a half and half suplex on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher missing a running knee in the corner but avoiding a running knee into the steps. Ciampa’s knee is fine enough to hold Fletcher up for an Air Raid Crash onto the steps, followed by a running knee for two back inside. A reverse DDT gets the same and Ciampa takes him up top, where Fletcher reverses into a spinning belly to back superplex.

The sitout Last Ride gives Fletcher two and he powerbombs Ciampa onto the apron. Fletcher’s brainbuster gets two and both of them look stunned on the kickout. Ciampa is able to get in a superplex of his own and a running knee gets two more. Fletcher spits at him and manages a lawn dart into the corner. Ciampa is right back with a running knee into a brainbuster for two but Fletcher blasts him with a clothesline. The brainbuster gives Fletcher the title back at 16:34.

Rating: A-. Yep that worked, as they just beat the daylights out of each other and it was even better than expected. While I could have gone with Ciampa holding the title longer, this was about getting the belt on Fletcher before he goes back home to Australia. Either way, awesome match here with both guys looking outstanding.

Post match Fletcher is proud of his title win and he’s ready for his hero’s welcome in Australia. He’ll even defend the title against anyone so here is Mark Briscoe to interrupt. He’s proud of Fletcher for winning again but brings up that they’re 3-3 so he’s willing to give Fletcher home field advantage. Fletcher is sick of Briscoe but wants it to be bigger than ever, so we’ll make it a ladder match. Deal. Of course it is.

Video on the Babes Of Wrath defending the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne on Saturday.

Daniel Garcia/Clark Connors vs. Roderick Strong/Orange Cassidy

Strong whips Connors into the corner to start fast and hits the big dropkick. Connors knocks him down into the corner and hammers away, allowing Strong to come in and fire off the chops. Cassidy comes in with the Stundog Millionaire but the tornado DDT is countered into a sleeper from Garcia. That’s broken up and we take a break, coming back with Cassidy escaping a full nelson.

Strong walks out on a tag attempt though and that means Cassidy gets double stomped down in the corner with no one around to help. Connors hits a spear on the apron but misses a charge into the barricade. Cue a man in the crowd (clearly Darby Allin) to take out Connors, leaving Cassidy to small package Garcia for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C+. Now this was a better use of Allin, as he’s someone who can sneak up on people and take them out rather than getting beaten up every week. Cassidy and Allin as a potential team is….I guess intriguing? It’s either amazing or not so good and I’m not sure which. Strong walking out on Cassidy makes sense and hopefully it lets him go off and do his own thing.

Post match Toni Storm pops up on the platform to say if Marina Shafir can knock her out, she can shave her head bald, but Storm will be the most beautiful bald woman in the world. On the other hand though, Storm plans to shave her so bald that they’ll sell Shafir’s head at Spirit Halloween. Cue Wheeler Yuta, who says “bring her out”. Cue Shafir, holding Mina Shirakawa in Mother’s Milk and cutting off some of her hair. Ok that was a nice touch.

Last week, Don Callis (yes again) praised Andrade El Idolo for his win, with Andrade threatening Hangman Page.

Page wanted to face Kenny Omega again and threatens Andrade’s….pants?

Jet Speed is looking for challengers to the Trios Titles but want singles titles. Why are these two part of the Trios Champions? It feels like they’re almost never even around Page.

AEW, Dynamite, Young Bucks, Rascalz, Private Party

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Young Bucks vs. Rascalz vs. ???

For a future Tag Team Title shot and the wild card team is…the returning Private Party, for their first AEW match in over a year. Quen headlocks Xavier to start and the Rascalz are quickly cleared out. That leaves the Bucks to take out Private Party and then drop the Rascalz as well.

Reed is back in with a big dive to the floor, followed by another one from Kassidy. Xavier’s shooting star takes out the pile at ringside and we take a break. We come back with the Bucks cleaning house again, including a bulldog/running clothesline to Private Party. A stereo top rope elbow and 450 get two on Private Party as Hook is watching.

Silly String (not named) drops Xavier and a bunch of superkicks leave everyone down. The Bucks fire off superkicks and Reed’s big diving cutter over the top (that always looks great) takes out Private Party on the floor. We mix it up a bit with the Bucks firing off even more superkicks until the TK Driver finishes Reed to give the Bucks the win at 13:17.

Rating: B. The result isn’t a big surprise, as Reed was debuting and therefore he had to lose the match. I guess I’ll take that over Private Party returning and losing the fall, but what matters the most here is that it was another fast paced match. At the same time, it sets up the Bucks vs. FTR 97 or so, because I guess Australia needs to see it as well.

Post match FTR comes out for the staredown. Dax Harwood says they’re both great teams but FTR are ahead. The Bucks needed to make their own company to become the top stars and….superkicks drop FTR. The Bucks scare Stokely Hathaway before leaving him alone.

Video on Will Ospreay.

Video on MJF vs. Brody King for the World Title on Saturday.

Women’s Title: Kris Statlander vs. Thekla

Statlander is defending in a strap match. They pull on each other to start and Statlander drops her with a clothesline. Statlander knocks her to the floor but Thekla WHIPS HER IN THE FACE with the strap. That’s a violent enough one so Statlander is back with a big boot. Thekla pulls her into the steps and flips her off, which is enough to bust Statlander open.

We take a break (the match started after 10pm EST) and come back with Thekla grabbing the upside down leg choke in the ropes. Thekla does her spider pose, which allows Statlander to pull her into a superkick. Statlander goes up top and gets pulled down with a Spider superplex. A discus lariat drops Thekla again and Statlander (bleeding quite a bit now) unloads with the whip. Statlander hits a Tombstone but here are the Sisters Of Sin for a distraction, allowing Thekla to hit the spear. A Stomp gives Thekla the pin and the title at 14:03.

Rating: B-. It was violent, but the ending was kind of flat, with the villains coming in and Thekla just getting the win. At the same time, it’s the result that should have happened in their first title match. Thekla is on a roll right now and it makes more sense for her to win the title, though I’m not sure why they needed the delay. Either way, the end result is the right one.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Brawling Birds make the save (commentary does make it clear that the Babes Of Wrath are already in Australia) to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Those opening matches are more than enough to carry the show and anything else on the night was just going to be gravy. While I’m not wild on having Ciampa be a really short transitional champion, it’s going well if that’s the low point of the show. Other than that, you had the big title change at the end and the show was quite a hit. Heck of a show here and I’d be rather pleased if AEW can keep this up.

Results
Death Riders b. Don Callis Family – Death Rider to Alexander
Kyle Fletcher b. Tommaso Ciampa – Brainbuster
Roderick Strong/Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia/Clark Connors – Small package to Garcia
Young Bucks b. Rascalz and Private Party – TK Driver to Reed
Thekla b. Kris Statlander – Stomp

 

 

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

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AEW Collision – January 31, 2026: Psycho: The Beginning

Collision
Date: January 31, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

I believe this is the last show of the Arlington residency and hopefully that means we’re going out with a good one. Last week’s Collision was quite good and it would be great to see them match that here. Mark Briscoe is defending the TNT Title against Tommaso Ciampa, which should be interesting. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. Clark Connors

Connors jumps him from behind to start fast and it’s a powerslam for an early two. Allin strikes back and grabs a Code Red for two but gets knocked outside in a crash. The big whip sends Allin into the barricade and a running knee knocks him off the apron. Clark drops him onto the barricade and apron as we take a break.

We come back with Clark dropping an elbow for two and hitting a spear through the ropes to send him into the apron again. The steps are loaded up but Allin rakes the eyes and hits a running dropkick off of said steps. The suicide dive connects for Allin but Clark sunset bombs him into a spear for two of his own. A crossarm choke has Allin down again and something like a powerbomb gets two more. Allin is able to flip him forward into the Scorpion Death Drop, setting up the Scorpion Deathlock for the win at 11:51.

Rating: C+. This is where Allin loses me, as his matches are turning into “he gets beaten up a lot and should be broken in half but wins anyway”. I like him doing the Sting finishers as they fit him well and it’s one less big bump to not have the Coffin Drop, but I’ve kind of seen enough of him getting destroyed. That’s been done for years now and the charm is pretty lost.

Post match Allin talks about beating the Death Riders and now he wants to be atop AEW. Cue Gabe Kidd to jump him from behind and the big beating ensues. Allin is dropped onto the steps and the steps are then dropped onto him. Kidd says this isn’t Death Riders business and he’ll follow Allin to the ends of the earth to destroy him.

Video on the Babes Of Wrath vs. the Sisters Of Sin.

Jet Speed is ready to fight the Don Callis Family. They are officially dubbed Jet Set Rodeo, because Jet Speed And Hangman Page isn’t good enough.

Cru vs. Rascalz

That would be Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz for the Rascalz with Xavier and Rush fighting over a headlock to start. That goes nowhere as Xavier takes him down without much trouble, with Rush staggering into the wrong corner. Wentz comes in and hits a Bronco Buster so Andretti comes in for a double springboard armdrag. The spinning crossbody gets Wentz out of trouble and the big running dive takes Cru down as we take a break.

We come back with Xavier getting forearmed and kicked down for two as we get a countdown to the TNT Title match. Wentz kicks his way out and it’s off to Wentz for a German suplex to Andretti. Everything breaks down and Cru kicks them outside for the stereo suicide dives. Wentz is back in to clean house, followed by some running elbows to keep Cru in the corners. Hot Fire Flame (Wentz does a standing moonsault and Xavier shoves him through the air onto Andretti) for the pin at 11:46.

Rating: B-. It was nice to see the Rascalz win a match rather than losing their first several outings. That being said, maybe it’s not a great idea to have them out there against a team who wrestles a similar style. Cru being similar doesn’t make the Rascalz stand out but rather make the teams seem interchangeable. Maybe come up with something better?

Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor think they can be a great team together.

Jon Moxley wants the best competition and he wants to beat Konosuke Takeshita to get his win back after Takeshita beat him in the Continental Classic. He doesn’t seem to like the Don Callis Family either.

Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm vs. Gino Medina/Lady Bird Monroe

The men start things off with Cassidy rolling backwards and putting his hands into his pockets. Monroe comes in and Cassidy does the lazy kicks until Storm comes in for the running dropkick. Storm beats Medina up too and the Orange Punch finishes him off at 1:47. Yeah that worked.

Post match Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir run in and beat down Cassidy and Storm. Yuta grabs the mic and interviews Cassidy, who Shafir has in a full nelson. Cassidy mocks Yuta’s hair and gets beaten down again. Yuta goes for some scissors to cut Cassidy’s hair but Storm makes the save. Storm wants hair vs. hair in two weeks.

Eddie Kingston/Ortiz and the Grizzled Young Veterans have another face to face meeting in the back and Kingston wants a parking lot fight. Big Bill and Bryan Keith run in to beat down Kingston and Ortiz, with the Veterans paying them off. The match is on, because Kingston beating them three times isn’t enough.

Video on Mark Briscoe vs. Tommaso Ciampa.

TNT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending and we do get an intense handshake to start. Briscoe backs him into the corner to start and Ciampa does the same (with the roles reversed that is) so they can go to a test of strength. That doesn’t go anywhere so they trade shoulders and forearms. Briscoe knocks him outside for the running flip dive before they head to the apron for a chop off. An Air Raid Crash knocks Briscoe hard onto the apron and Ciampa applauds himself as we take a break.

We come back with Briscoe knocking him to the floor for the running Blockbuster off the apron. Back in and the Willow’s Bell (hanging elbow) gives Ciampa two but Briscoe knocks him right back down. The Froggy Bow gets two so Briscoe goes up again, with Ciampa hitting a super Air Raid Crash for two of his own.

Ciampa knees him out to the floor, where Briscoe loads up the table. Ciampa’s posing on the table takes too long and Briscoe gets up top for a Froggy Bow to a standing Ciampa through the table. Back in and Briscoe gets the better of the strike off, setting up another Froggy Bow. The Jay Driller is countered into a German suplex though and Ciampa hits the running knee for the pin and the title at 18:41.

Rating: B+. Well dang they actually did it. This was one of the better matches Collision has had in awhile and it made Ciampa feel like an instant star, which is the right idea. I was worried that he would lose and get lost in the midcard shuffle right off the bat. These guys beat the heck out of each other and it worked rather well. Heck of a match here and a great start for Ciampa.

Post match respect is shown again and Kyle Fletcher comes out to slowly applaud.

The Don Callis Family beats up more people while Josh Alexander talks about the team wanting various titles.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Priest

Okada is defending and Rocky Romero is on commentary. A neckbreaker and slam put Priest down and he misses a charge in the corner. Okada follows him in but seems to hurt his knee, which is only a ruse so Romero can get in a cheap shot. We take a break and come back with Okada missing a charge and Priest striking away in the corner.

A neckbreaker gives Priest two and a German suplex out of the corner drops Okada again. Priest’s top rope legdrop gets two more and he grabs the Figure Four. Okada makes the rope and hits the dropkick and, after Priest grabs a rollup, hits the Rainmaker to retain at 10:16.

Rating: C+. Here’s the thing: it’s not a bad match, but I absolutely could not bring myself to believe that Priest was giving Okada this much trouble. Okada is one of the most successful stars in AEW history and he has trouble beating Adam Priest? I’m fine with Priest getting a better spot, but this was way too much of a leap. Cut the time down and let Priest get in some offense here and there, or give him a better opponent and it’s that much better.

The Rascalz think they should help Eddie Kingston in the parking lot. Kingston comes in and apparently it’s now an eight man parking lot fight. Sure.

We look at the World Title situation.

Tommaso Ciampa is happy to be here and respects Mark Briscoe. Now he’s ready to do something special as TNT Champion.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Sisters Of Sin vs. Babes Of Wrath

The Babes are defending. Hart and Cameron start things off with Hart knocking her to the floor early on. That means it’s off to Blue, who is knocked down for a double splash. Hart comes back in and gets rolled up for two before it’s back to Cameron for the rapid fire kicks. We take a break and come back with Cameron rolling Blue up for two. Nightingale comes in to clean house, including a big Pounce to Blue.

Hart is back in for an attempted Old School hurricanrana, with Nightingale falling down while trying to catch her (fair enough). The Babe With The Powerbomb is countered into an X Factor and the double superkick gets two, with Cameron making a save. More superkicks have the champions in trouble but Cameron is back with a DDT for two on Blue. Eat Defeat sends Blue into something like the Paige Turner to retain the titles at 11:23.

Rating: B-. It was a fine way to give the champions a title defense and that’s about all it needed to be. What mattered here was getting the Babes in the ring as the fans certainly seem to love them. That worked well enough and the Sisters can now get out of the way for Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford. Perfectly acceptable main event.

Post match the brawl stays on, with Thekla and Kris Statlander coming in. Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford run in and the champs are left laying.

Overall Rating: B-. Yeah it was ok, with the Ciampa vs. Briscoe match absolutely stealing the show. As usual, Collision only feels so important, with most of its appeal being setting up things for later. The closing segment is interesting, but Allin vs. Kidd doesn’t exactly do much for me, as it feels like just more of Allin vs. the Death Riders. Check out Briscoe vs. Ciampa, but the rest was the usual just ok Collision fare.

Results
Darby Allin b. Clark Connors – Scorpion Deathlock
Rascalz b. Cru – Hot Fire Flame to Andretti
Orange Cassidy/Toni Storm/Gino Medina/Lady Bird Monroe – Orange Punch to Medina
Tommaso Ciampa b. Mark Briscoe – Running knee
Kazuchika Okada b. Adam Priest – Rainmaker
Babes Of Wrath b. Sisters Of Sin – Paige Turner to Blue

 

 

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

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AEW Dynamite – January 28, 2026: They’re In A Good Place

Dynamite
Date: January 28, 2026
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re continuing the march towards Revolution and the question is who will be challenging MJF for the World Title. Kenny Omega has thrown his hat into the ring and that means it is time to start getting him ready for his chance. It might take some time to get there, but there is still more than a month remaining before the show. Let’s get to it.

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

AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Dynamite, Kenny Omega, Rocky Romero

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Kenny Omega vs. Rocky Romero

They’re starting fast and this is described as “massive”. Rocky Romero is not in a massive match. There is no way around this. Romero jumps him to start fast but gets elbowed in the corner right back. A slingshot dive to the floor drops Romero again as we’re told that Samoa Joe has suffered an injury during training.

Omega hits the Kitaro Crusher but it’s too early for the V Trigger, with Romero bailing out to the floor. Back in and a running Sliced Bread drops Omega, who kicks Romero in the face. Romero stops to dance and is promptly kneed in the back of the head for a great comeback. The V Trigger into the One Winged Angel finishes Romero at 3:48.

Rating: C. This worked and it worked well, with Omega just running through Romero, including that awesome running knee to the head. It’s also nice to see a match just come and go without stretching out too long. That was the situation here and it went exactly as it should have. Nice job, and Romero getting beaten up was a nice bonus.

Post match Tony Schiavone (in neon yellow shoes) comes in to announce that Omega one of the four top contenders to the World Title. Omega says he hasn’t felt this good in years and he’ll beat anyone in his way to get there. Cue Hangman Page to say he’d rather be fighting beside Omega rather than against him, but he made the mistake of looking ahead.

Page is going to be the next champion, which brings out Swerve Strickland to say he’s here for the World Title. He hasn’t been pinned since he came back and it doesn’t matter who he has to beat to get the title back. Omega says it sounds like Swerve is looking for a fight, which Swerve says is truer than Omega knows. Cue Don Callis, who says Swerve’s undefeated streak ends tonight against Andrade El Idolo. Then Andrade is coming for Omega, because the Don Callis Family runs this show. Omega says Callis is the one who should worry and the chase is on.

Video on Thekla vs. Kris Statlander.

AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Dynamite, Jon Moxley, Ace Austin

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jon Moxley vs. Ace Austin

Non-title. Moxley jumps him to start and hammers away in the corner before glaring at the referee. Austin takes it to the mat for a rather spinning rollup, followed by a springboard (from the bottom rope) armdrag. Moxley is sent outside and we take an early break. We come back with Moxley getting out of a headscissors on the mat and taking him to the top for a back rake.

A superplex brings Austin down with a crash but he’s back with a Russian legsweep. That doesn’t work for Moxley, who blasts him with a clothesline and they go to the pinfall reversal sequence. One heck of a spinning kick to the head gives Austin two and a springboard spinning kick to the head gets the same. Moxley isn’t having this as it’s a cutter into the Death Rider for the sudden pin at 10:05.

Rating: B. Austin was trying his best here and some of those kicks looked rather good. Losing to Moxley is one thing but hopefully they don’t do the same thing of “here’s someone new, watch them lose over and over” for a few weeks. It was a nice start for Austin though as Moxley seems set for an eventual showdown with Konosuke Takeshita.

Post match here is Konosuke Takeshita for a staredown with Moxley. Davis And Doyle run in from behind and Moxley gets taken out. No Death Riders make the save for some reason.

TNT Title: El Clon vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending and Don Callis is on commentary because this has been his show thus far. Clon actually knocks Briscoe down to start but Briscoe Red Neck Kung Fus his way out of trouble. With Clon sent outside, Briscoe loads up the chair but Clon starts flipping around. That just earns him a clothesline, followed by the dive off the apron. Clon manages to tie him up in the ring skirt though and a running dropkick sends us to a break.

We come back with Briscoe knocking him outside for the running flip dive. The snap jabs have Clon in trouble but he gets in a kick to the head. A brainbuster drops Clon again and the Froggy Bow connects for two. The Jay Driller is loaded up but Clon bounces out of it (I’m not sure if that was a no sell or a counter but it looked cool. Illogical but cool.) and knocks him outside. Back in and Briscoe rolls him up to retain at 11:18.

Rating: B-. Clon is fun to watch with his flips and such, but it feels like we’re just waiting around for Hologram to come back for their one big match. Otherwise, Clon feels like just another warm body for the Don Callis Family. That’s not exactly a great place to be, but at least he got to do something here.

Post match Briscoe says it’s an Open Challenge for Collision, but he’s tired of the Don Callis Family so no one from them. The lights go out and a beating heart is on screen. And it’s Tommaso Ciampa making his debut to quite the reception. We get the big staredown and the match is apparently set for Collision. Ciampa even kisses him on the cheek.

Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada have a meeting in the back, with Okada saying he wasn’t thinking when he took the screwdriver at World’s End. It was just about winning and he wasn’t trying to hurt Fletcher. That’s acceptable to Fletcher and they shake hands in peace.

AEW, All Elite Wrestling, MJF, Brody King, Maxwell Jacob Friedman

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Here is MJF for a chat. After asking Taz why they’re working in a dump like this, MJF gets cut off by Brody King. For some reason MJF calls him dumb and stupid before saying King needs to win something to get the title shot. MJF accuses King of following people around, such as Malachi Black with their spooky light tricks. Or Buddy Matthews with his scary name and his bad ankle.

Maybe King should follow MJF, who can use a big scary man, even if MJF has, quote, “never in my life have I met a liberal man who looks more like a nazi”, unquote. The reality is that to be World Champion, you need to be a leader rather than a follower, but he needs to beat someone. King agrees, which is why he has gotten an eliminator match against MJF for next week. If he wins, he gets a title shot in Australia.

Video on the Young Bucks’ issues and their rise back up, with their return next week. They were gone?

Women’s Title: Thekla vs. Kris Statlander

Thekla is challenging and slaps her in the face to start. That earns her a glare out to the floor and some chops back inside. Thekla hangs in the ropes to avoid a charge but Statlander knocks her outside without much trouble. A delayed vertical suplex drops Thekla on the floor and a catapult sends her into the steps. Statlander takes too long getting up though and is knocked outside, followed by a double stomp to the back as we take a break.

We come back with Thekla grabbing the headscissors choke in the ropes, which is countered with a reverse Alabama slam. A Falcon Arrow gives Statlander two and a running clothesline knocks Thekla silly again. The 450 is broken up and a spider suplex (Taz: “Black Widow Jones.”) sends Statlander crashing down.

She heads outside so Thekla can hit her with a big dive, only for Statlander to come back with a spear. Thekla spits in her face and pulls her into a Black Widow, which is broken up just as fast. A Stomp give Thekla two but she charges into a superkick. Thekla’s quick rollup gets two but Statlander gives her a gutwrench powerbomb and Staturday Night Fever to retain at 11:45.

Rating: B. This was an interesting case of the powerhouse having to figure Thekla out and get the win to retain. It worked well with Thekla being weird enough to offer Statlander a challenge but not being able to trip her up. I’m not sure who is next for the title but there should be a solid group of challengers available.

Post match the Babes Of Wrath come out to celebrate but Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford are there for the staredown.

Don Callis wants the Family to bring him some gold. However, he does want Konosuke Takeshita to apologize to Kazuchika Okada. With Callis gone, Takeshita is not pleased with Fletcher forgiving Okada and walks away, leaving Fletcher worried.

Video on Jack Perry vs. Ricochet.

Earlier today, the Demand beat Perry up, with Ricochet trying to interview Perry at the same time.

Tag Team Titles: Davis And Doyle vs. FTR

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is defending. Doyle shoves Wheeler into the corner to start and then runs him over with some shoulders. Wheeler is able to send Davis into the corner for some clubberin but he’s right back with some chops. Davis and Doyle are sent outside, where Wheeler’s dive is easily cut off and we take a break.

We come back with Harwood and Davis chopping each other out until everything breaks down. FTR gets splashed in the corner until Doyle gets DDTed onto the apron. That leaves Davis to get belly to back superplexed into a top rope splash to give Wheeler two. Wheeler is knocked outside and Davis grabs a sleeper…but here are the Death Riders to clock Davis with a belt. The Shatter Machine retains the titles at 9:28.

Rating: B-. I’m worried about Doyle, who just disappeared after that DDT on the apron. Hopefully he’s not injured. Either way, this was another nice defense from FTR as they turned back a different kind of challengers. Again I’m not sure who is next for the titles, but in this case there aren’t as many ready to go challengers.

Orange Cassidy talks about dealing with Wheeler Yuta for five years now and even mocks Yuta’s beard. Yuta, with Marina Shafir, comes in to get in Cassidy’s face but Toni Storm evens things out. A mixed tag seems ready, with Cassidy and Storm tangoing away.

AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Andrade El Idolo, Swerve Strickland

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Swerve Strickland vs. Andrade El Idolo

Don Callis (of course) is on commentary (of course) and the winner faces Kenny Omega next week. Andrade grabs a headlock, which doesn’t last long, as Swerve is up for the forearm off. They both trade flips away from headscissors and the fans approve. Swerve takes him down and Andrade begs him to come off the ropes, with Swerve sending him outside instead.

Back up and Swerve gets whipped into the steps and we pause for Andrade to hit on….well it’s supposed to be a fan but that would be independent wrestler Jazmin Allure. We take a break and come back with Andrade cutting off a comeback, followed by the double moonsault for two. Swerve pulls him off the top though and it’s a Death Valley Driver onto the apron. They fight onto the barricade, with Swerve getting backdropped hard onto the edge, which has the fans feeling his pain.

Both of them dive back in at nine and Andrade fires off some forearms but the DM is blocked. The spinning back elbow drops Swerve (Callis: “We worked on that one all week.” Schiavone: “Oh for crying out loud.”) but the double knees are countered with the House Call for a rather near fall. A super poisonrana sends Swerve into the corner for the running knees, followed by the hammerlock DDT for two. Big Pressure is countered so Swerve hits the House Call, only to get pulled into the DM to give Andrade the pin at 14:51.

Rating: B. Giving Swerve’s first pinfall loss since his return to Andrade is certainly a way to go, though egads it means having to hear from Callis even more. Swerve will be around the World Title picture sooner than later as he pretty much has to be, though he might have to work to get back there for awhile. I’m assuming Omega beats Andrade next week, as the idea of putting any kind of long term faith in Andrade sounds a bit misguided.

MJF is ready for Brody King next week but Kenny Omega comes up to say it’s one more win and then they’ll see each other at Revolution. MJF walks off and runs into Andrade, who wants the title. That’s enough to send MJF outside, where Hangman Page is waiting on him. MJF gets in his car and has the driver speed off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I liked the show and they did a nice job of not making this feel like a skippable show on the way to the bigger shows. Having so many people come after the World Title is a good way to go, assuming it doesn’t set up some multiman match. There are some openings for the title pictures and that’s a nice place to be on the way to the next pay per view. Good show here, and hopefully they keep it up for the next few weeks.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Rocky Romero – One Winged Angel
Jon Moxley b. Ace Austin – Death Rider
Mark Briscoe b. El Clon – Rollup
Kris Statlander b. Thekla – Staturday Night Fever
FTR b. Davis And Doyle – Shatter Machine to Davis
Andrade El Idolo b. Swerve Strickland – DM

 

 

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

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Collision – January 10, 2026: Dang That Was Awesome

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Death Riders vs. SkyFlight

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

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

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

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

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

Brody King vs. Barrett Brown

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

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

El Clon vs. Komander

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

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

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

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

AEW, Collision, Mina Shirakawa, Lady Frost

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Mina Shirakawa vs. Lady Frost

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

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

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

AEW, Collision, TNT Title, Mark Briscoe, Hechicero

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Hechicero vs. Mark Briscoe

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

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

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

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

Post match the Conglomeration comes out to celebrate.

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

Video on FTR, including their issues with Adam Copeland.

AEW, Collision, Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, Harley Cameron, Babes Of Wrath

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Bandido vs. MJF.

Demand vs. JetSpeed/Anthony Bowens

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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AEW Worlds End 2025 Preview

So we wrap up the AEW year with this one, which is more or less the end of the Continental Classic, the World Title match, and a bunch of other stuff that happens to be taking place on the show. The tournament has taken over the company (as it always does) and while it has gone well (as it always does), it has made quite a bit around here feel a lot less important. For now though, we should be in for some solid action so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Zack Gibson vs. Eddie Kingston

This was added on this week’s Ring Of Honor as the Grizzled Young Veterans attacked Kingston. I’m not sure how much of a build this match really needs, but at least it’s something that gets Kingston in the ring. The fans are going to respond to him rather well and it helps him get back into the groove of things, which he has been needing since his return from injury.

There’s no reason to believe that Kingston is going to lose here so I’ll take the obvious with Kingston getting the win. He’s fighting half of a low level tag team in a match that shouldn’t go much longer than about five minutes. In this case, AEW might even stick to the time frame, as Kingston has mainly been wrestling shorter matches. He’ll get another win here, as he should.

Zero Hour: Sisters Of Sin vs. Hyan/Maya World

Here we have another match where it doesn’t feel like there is much to doubt as the Zero Hour continues to feel like a glorified episode of Rampage. I’m still not sure why we need to have the Sisters get a featured match here, but maybe they’re next in line to come after the Women’s Tag Team Titles. If nothing else, they’re already an established team so there are far worse ideas out there.

Of course I’ll take the Sisters to win, as while the division needs some fresh blood, there is no reason to think that the Sisters should lose here. They’re a fairly featured team and it would make sense for them to get a win here, especially if they might be coming for the titles soon. Hyan and Worlds continue to get time in the ring and I’ve heard worse ideas, even if there is a chance that it’s just to spite Miranda Alize and Nixon Newell.

Death Riders vs. Conglomeration/Roderick Strong/Toni Storm

So this is a thing and yes it is indeed called the Mixed Nuts Mayhem match, because if there’s one thing that you need for a Death Riders match, it’s a funny moniker. It’s likely going to be a wild brawl with some interesting bits, though I’m still completely good with not seeing Daniel Garcia and/or Wheeler Yuta for a long time. Throw in Claudio Castagnoli going from a dark horse to win the Continental Classic to this and it’s a bit of a downgrade.

I’ll take the heroes to win here, just for the sake of not having Storm lose again. Mark Briscoe could use a win of his own and the fans will always respond to Orange Cassidy, so it makes a bit of sense to get them on the card. Hopefully the match winds up being more goofy fun than anything else, as that’s probably the best way to feature most of them. Either that or Yuta and/or Garcia being beaten up rather badly.

Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd

This is kind of a weird story, as Allin was gone for most of the tournament but he’s able to be back to face Kidd in this match. I’m not sure how much I need to see Allin get beaten up again, but it’s pretty much his standard operating procedure. That’s probably what we’re going to be seeing in this one, though it’s a bit weird as Kidd just showed up again after being gone for months and is facing Allin again.

I’m not sure where to go here, though I’ll take Allin, as he could use a win after quite a long stretch of nothing good. Granted it also depends on if Kidd is sticking around, as he could use a nice victory of his own. Given what we know at the moment though, I’ll take Allin to get the come from behind win, as it’s easy to get behind him fighting a bully and that’s what we’re getting here.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath(c) vs. Athena/Mercedes Mone

This one has me intrigued, as the Babes are the new team and the inaugural champions, though it’s almost hard to imagine Mone or Athena losing again. Mone is already on a losing streak but there isn’t much value in beating her without a title on the line. At the same time you have Athena, who hasn’t done much in Ring Of Honor as of late but doesn’t have the best history in AEW.

I’ll go with the champions to retain here, as it would be something of a stretch to have them lose the titles so soon after they started. Hopefully it winds up being a good match, as the Babes have gone from newly formed to a rather nice team in short order. They need some time to establish themselves a bit better before dropping the titles though and that can be done when they win here.

AEW, Worlds End, FTR, Bang Bang Gang, Stokely Hathaway, Austin Gunn, Juice Robinson

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Bang Bang Gang

It’s a street fight and a rematch from a few weeks ago when FTR beat the Gang to retain the titles. That doesn’t make for the best reason to do the match again, but it isn’t like FTR has anything else to do at the moment. With so many people involved in the tournament, there are some tag teams who are more than a bit busy. Hopefully that changes shortly after the tournament, but this is what we have for now.

Much like when they fought a few weeks ago, I see no reason to believe that FTR is going to lose to the leftovers of the Bang Bang Gang so we’ll go with FTR retaining. I like the Gang for the most part, but they’re only going to get so far with one of the Gunns and Juice Robinson going for the titles. FTR wins here, in what should at least be an entertaining match.

AEW, Worlds End, Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

The title is on the line here, but it only feels so important. The Women’s Title hasn’t felt overly important in a good while, which is at least partially due to how much else is going on in the women’s division. Statlander is still going well, but she needs to do something that makes her stand out a bit more. I’m just not sure that’s what we’re going to be seeing here.

While I’m not sure it’s going to work out, I’ll take Statlander to retain here. As much as she doesn’t seem to be doing much at the moment, Hayter is hardly doing that much better. Either of them could be fine as champion, but they’re going to need to step up it up. The tag division, plus whatever Toni Storm is doing, both feel more important and that needs to change. For now though, I’ll take Statlander in a coin flip.

Kazuchika Okada, AEW, Worlds End, Konosuke Takeshita, Continental Classic

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Continental Classic Semifinals: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada

I’m not even going to begin to try to make sense of the title situation here, if nothing else due to how ridiculous it’s been. This has been built up as a big time match for a good while now and that should make things all the more interesting. It’s nice to have a match that feels like it’s taking place more due to people having issues rather than a schedule saying they’re fighting. Or at least it’s close enough.

I’ll take….geez I guess Okada here, as all of the hype about him being the GREATEST TOURNAMENT WRESTLER OF ALL TIME all but guarantees him a spot in the finals. At the same time, it’s hard to fathom the IWGP World Champion being allowed to lose, especially around a week before Wrestle Kingdom. I’ll go with Okada winning here, though it doesn’t feel like anything close to a lock.

Continental Classic Semifinals: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher

This is the kind of thing that could go either way, but it feels more like a way to get Moxley back on track. He’s been having all kinds of issues as of late and it would be nice to see him at least get to the finals. At the same time, Fletcher is in a place where it wouldn’t be insane to see him beat Moxley. That’s quite the accomplishment, and it’s nice to have a match which could go either way.

I think I’ll go with Moxley winning here, as his attempts to get back on track feel like a better story at the moment. At the same time, it’s a bit hard to fathom an all Don Callis Family final, as it would feel fairly cold outside of Okada vs. Takeshita. Moxley wins here and sets up a pretty big final, though we’ll get to that later, as it should probably headline the show.

 

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

I’m not sure what it means that I keep forgetting Joe is the World Champion but that has happened multiple times in a fairly short reign. Joe is already a two time World Champion and he still feels like something of a forgotten part of the match. Maybe it’s due to being part of the Trios Champions or facing a two man team of heroes or maybe it’s MJF feeling like such a big deal, but it might be time to get the title off of Joe.

At the end of the day, it’s almost hard to fathom anyone but MJF leaving as champion here. He returned a few weeks ago and immediately stood out and it would make sense to put the title back on him (assuming he’s sticking around full time). MJF hasn’t been champion in a good while now and he’s already feeling like one of the top names in AEW. Give him the title back and see what he can do with it.

Continental Classic Finals: Jon Moxley vs. Kazuchika Okada

Again, I’m not even going to try to figure out how the title situation works (and for the love of all things good and holy, please don’t explain it to me), but it seems that Okada leaves with a title one way or another. That gives him quite the out in possibly losing here and it’s not like him losing the Continental Title is going to hurt in any meaningful way. He’s been champion pretty much forever so it’s time to get it off of him.

As you can probably guess, I’m going with Moxley winning here, as it splits up some titles and hopefully clarifies things a bit. If nothing else, I could go for getting rid of the whole Unified Title or whatever happens here, as there are FAR too many titles in AEW already. Moxley needs the win anyway and it could be a big step in what feels like the start of a face turn for him anyway, because that’s what the world is waiting to see.

Overall Thoughts

It’s pretty clear that the Continental Classic has been carrying the show for the last month or so, if nothing else due to the amount of talent involved. At the same time, it hasn’t exactly done much good for everything else in the company. The top of the card feels big enough, but they’re going to need someone to step up to bolster the undercard. Thankfully that’s where AEW tends to thrive so I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

 

 

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AEW Collision – December 25, 2025: Unwrapping A Good One

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue League Standings

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

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

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

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

Blue League Standings

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

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

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

Worlds End rundown.

Video on Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter.

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

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

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

Babes Of Wrath vs. Maya World/Hyan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue League Standings

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

Video on the World Title match at Worlds End.

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

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

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

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

 

 

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Dynamite – December 17, 2025: Are You In Or Out?

Dynamite
Date: December 17, 2025
Location: Co-op Live, Manchester, England
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re in England again and that should make for a big night. The last few weeks have gone rather well, with the Continental Classic being more than enough to carry the shows. The matches have been rather good and hopefully we get to see something on the same level this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Continental Classic, Death Riders, Roderick Strong, Jon Moxley

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley (3 points) vs. Roderick Strong (o points)

No entrances here and Moxley starts in on the arm but has to bail to the ropes to escape an ankle lock. A headlock takeover drops Strong but he’s back up with a dragon screw legwhip. Strong stomps the leg in the corner and backdrops Moxley out to the floor. The brawl in the crowd goes to Strong, who is back with a suicide dive against the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Strong slipping out of a crossface before countering a cradle piledriver. Strong slams him down and goes after the legs again, which sends Moxley bailing to the floor. A backbreaker onto the steps has Moxley in more trouble and a top rope suplex makes it worse.

They forearm it out until Moxley hits a hard lariat. We have five minutes left as Moxley hits a cutter for two. A piledriver gets two more and Moxley grabs a crossface chinlock, sending Strong rolling over to the rope. Strong’s jumping knee gets two and the Stronghold goes on, but Strong switches up his grip. Moxley kicks him away and hits a Paradigm Shift for a delayed two. The Death Rider finishes Strong at 18:11.

Rating: B-. Moxley needed the win to stay alive and there was almost no way he was going to be eliminated so soon. Moxley is still one of the biggest names in AEW and having him make a comeback like this is a fine way to go. Strong is still someone who can have a good match with anyone, and this worked well for a longer opening match.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 7 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (1 match remaining)
Jon Moxley – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Eddie Kingston talks about learning from his loss to Samoa Joe and that’s going to be a problem for everyone he faces after that match. An open challenge is implied for Collision.

Elite, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, Don Callis Family, Konosuke Takeshita, Hechicero, Kazuchika Okada

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Don Callis Family vs. Elite

For $1 million. Omega and Takeshita start things off and the fans are already singing for the former. They run the ropes until Omega grabs an armdrag into an armbar. The Bucks come in to clean house, including a triple team shot to the head to a cornered Takeshita. We take a break and come back with Nick rolling away from Hechicero to make the tag off to Omega. Hechicero goes to the eyes to cut him off but Okada and Takeshita almost get into it again.

Omega manages a suplex to Okada and (after slipping) hits You Can’t Escape to Hechicero. Okada comes back in but gets sent outside by the Bucks. That means a triple dive from the Elite, only for Hechicero to hit the hammerlock backbreaker on Matt. We take a break and come back with Matt fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a flipping Stunner off the apron. Okada gets faceplanted back inside and it’s back to Nick to clean house with his usual array.

Risky Business gets two on Takeshita and a Canadian Destroyer drops Hechicero, meaning it’s time for the big Omega vs. Okada showdown. They chop it out for a bit until the other four come back in to break it up. Omega knees Okada down and brings Nick back in to face Takeshita. Everything breaks down and the Meltzer Driver is broken up by Okada.

A running knee gets two on Matt but Takeshita and Okada get in another argument. Hechicero tries to calm it down, only for Nick to fire off some superkicks. Omega is back in with the snapdragons and a triple superkick hits Hechicero. A spike One Winged Angel gives Omega the pin at 22:32.

Rating: B. It was the good match you would have expected from these guys and I’m sure the UK fans were happy to get to see the Elite in the ring. That’s not the worst idea in the world and it’s at least a match with some history. The money stuff doesn’t feel overly important but it’s probably worth more than the Trios Titles at this point.

Post match Okada and Takeshita lay out the Bucks but get into it again. Omega makes the save with a broom.

Samoa Joe, World's End, AEW, Hangman Page, Swerve Strickland

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tony Schiavone brings out Hangman Page, Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe (with the Opps) to sign the contract for World’s End. Joe knows Strickland and Page will destruct in the match so he signs. Swerve talks about how he has some mutual respect with Page, but there is a mutual hatred with Joe. He promises to leave a boot print on Joe’s face that was uglier than his fake tattoo in 2007.

Swerve signs and that leaves just Page, who talks about how they all worked together to get the World Title off of Jon Moxley. Any of them could have done it but Page wound up pulling it off. Then Page gave both of them title shots and Joe chose to side with the Opps. Page doesn’t want Joe to be remembered as what he is today. He was ready to defend the title against anyone who helped him, including Joe. Now he isn’t sure who is going to leave World’s End with the title, but it’s going to be someone new. And then the lights go out…and MJF is back.

MJF wastes no time and cashes in his contract, making the match a four way. After throwing Schiavone out, MJF talks about how he’s been working to prove that he’s not a coward. Joe gets in MJF’s face but actually gets cut off. MJF wants to prove to Joe and these people that he really is great and promises to end Joe’s title reign at the same place where Joe ended MJF’s reign.

That brings MJF to Swerve, who he compares to P Diddy. The fans know him as Swerve but MJF has known him for years as Shane. He remembers Swerve going to WWE (the fans don’t like it) and he remembers Swerve twerking for Top Dolla. Then Swerve came here and has done rather well, though not as well as MJF. It’s his house and the rent is due at World’s End. He hits the catchphrase and we’re out, with MJF not saying much out of the ordinary, though it’s nice to have him back.

Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight fire each other up for their upcoming matches.

Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne/Athena/Mercedes Mone vs. Babes Of Wrath/Timeless Love Bombs

Athena drops Cameron to start but gets taken down with Soul Food. Shafir comes in and gets legsweeped down, allowing Shirakawa to come in with a slingshot twisting splash. Shirakawa takes over on Shafir’s leg and DDTs Bayne at the same time. Everything breaks down and we take an early break.

We come back with Cameron managing a spinning DDT on Bayne, allowing the tag off to Storm. The running hip attack hits Shafir in the corner and they slug it out until Storm nails a headbutt. Nightingale comes in to but Bayne’s spine for two but the Babe With The Powerbomb is broken up. A super hurricanrana drops Nightingale and Shirakawa hits a dive to the floor. Mone’s dive is cut off by a Pounce from Nightingale and there’s a flip dive to drop Bayne outside. Back in and a quick O Face finishes Nightingale at 9:25.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have a ton of time with so many people involved but they did what they could. Athena getting the pin is a nice surprise as she has some hit and miss results on AEW. I’m not sure if I would have had one of the new champions take the fall here, but there were only so many options if Storm and Shirakawa can’t lose either.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac (3 points) vs. Kyle Fletcher (6 points)

Pac grabs an armdrag into an armbar to start and it works so well that he does it again. A running hurricanrana sends Fletcher outside, where he hits a clothesline, allowing posing to ensue. Back in and Pac breaks up a quick chinlock by sending Fletcher outside for a running hurricanrana. Fletcher gets back inside and goes up top, where Pac runs the corner for a belly to belly superplex and we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of forearms until Fletcher grabs the Michinoku Driver for two. Pac kicks him in the face so Fletcher rolls outside, where Pac scores with a big dive. Back in and a tiger suplex gives Pac two, followed by a poisonrana. Fletcher pops up with a kick to the face and a powerbomb for two. Pac escapes the brainbuster though and gets the Brutalizer, only for a foot to make the rope. One heck of a running clothesline gives Pac two but Fletcher kicks him into the corner. The brainbuster gives Fletcher two and they go to the corner, where a super poisonrana plants Fletcher. The Black Arrow gives Pac the pin at 14:57.

Rating: B+. This was the hard hitting, back and forth fight that you would have expected from these two. That made for a pretty awesome match and it’s nice to see Pac getting a win as he seems to put a lot of people over. It made for the best match of the show thus far and makes the tournament that much more interesting.

Gold League Standings

Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Pac – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal

Luchasaurus, Ace Austin, Shelton Benjamin, Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, Josh Alexander, Mark Davis, Brody King, Bandido, Bishop Kaun, Toa Liona, Ricochet

The last two face off for the ring next week. It’s a big brawl on the floor to start until Benjamin and Luchasaurus trade clotheslines. That’s broken up and the former Acclaimed tease working together before splitting off. We do however get a Scissor Me Timbers to Liona but the scissoring reunion is broken up as Ricochet eliminates Caster. Benjamin is back in to knock all of the Demand outside for no eliminations as people keep coming in and out.

Bowens neckbreakers Ricochet but gets eliminated instead as we take a break. We come back with Austin out as well, leaving Davis and King to forearm it out. Benjamin throws Ricochet to Luchasaurus for a chokeslam but Benjamin, Davis and Luchasaurus are all eliminated in a row. King has to fight out of the corner and Death Valley Drivers Ricochet into Kaun in the corner. A bunch of the people head outside until Liona grabs Bandido by the throat. King hits a running charge, eliminating himself and Liona at the same time. Bandido dumps Kaun and Ricochet gets back in, meaning they’re the last two for the win at 11:07.

Rating: C. The action was fine but it’s a bad sign when I have almost no idea who is still in or out of the match because so many people are on the floor. It doesn’t help that it’s for yet another prize rather than one of the far too many titles. This wasn’t much to see, though Ricochet vs. Bandido should be awesome.

Overall Rating: B. Not so great main event aside, this went well with the Continental Classic carrying things as usual. The MJF return was the big story of the show and it went well, though he didn’t quite hit his full on ceiling. Other than that, the show worked well, with the wrestling working well and the fans being hot throughout. Solid show here, as tends to be the case with the Continental Classic editions.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Roderick Strong – Death Rider
Elite b. Don Callis Family – Spike One Winged Angel to Hechicero
Marina Shafir/Mercedes Mone/Athena/Megan Bayne b. Timeless Love Bombs/Babes Of Wrath – O Face to Nightingale
Bandido and Ricochet won the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal

 

 

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Collision – December 13, 2025: It’s Working

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

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

Swerve Strickland vs. Josh Alexander

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kris Statlander/Jamie Hayter vs. Sisters Of Sin

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

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

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

Thekla is watching from a sky box.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue League Standings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

TNT Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Daniel Garcia

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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