Collision
Date: September 12, 2026
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Paul Wight, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

So this is a different kind of show as the whole thing is a tribute to the Butcher, who passed away earlier this month at the far too early age of 48. While Butcher hadn’t wrestled here in a bit, he was certainly a part of the AEW family and deserves such an honor. I’m not sure what this is going to be but it should be emotional, so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Andy Williams.

There is a wreath and guitar in the ring. Tony Schiavone has the fans stand for a ten bell salute.

Various wrestlers and AEW personalities, including Brody King, Colt Cabana, Justin Roberts, Penelope Ford, Jeff Jarrett and Kip Sabian pay tribute to Butcher.

Commentary pays tribute as well and runs down the card.

Jon Moxley vs. Mike Bailey

Non-title Eliminator Match. They go with the grappling to start and it’s an early standoff. Bailey trips him down into a front facelock so Moxley gets in a takedown of his own to work on the arm. Bailey gets up and snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor, with Moxley already looking frustrated.

Back in and Moxley easily takes him down for a reverse chinlock and it’s time to work on Bailey’s fingers. That earns Moxley a missile dropkick but he sends Bailey flying out to the floor. Bailey is fine enough to start in on the leg, with some kicks setting up a dragon screw legwhip. A corkscrew Asai moonsault drops Moxley and we take a break.

We come back with Moxley getting in a butterfly superplex but Bailey scores with another kick. The standing moonsault knees give Bailey two and he sends Moxley to the apron to do it again. Back in and the Ultimate Weapon misses so Bailey kicks away, only for Moxley to pop up with a cutter. Moxley misses a boot in the corner and gets kicked in the back, with a shooting star giving Bailey two. Bailey gets a kneebar, with Moxley escaping and hitting a Stomp. The Death Rider finishes Bailey at 18:09.

Rating: B. This was your usual Moxley match, as he popped up after everything Bailey threw at him and survived in the end, which is hardly a surprise. At the same time, it was hard to believe that Bailey had much of a chance here as even the time limit almost expiring didn’t really build up much drama. Other than that, Paul Wight praising the continental wrestling with its lack of interference and weapons made me shake my head, as I remember that just being called a wrestling match.

Nick Wayne says youth is what matters and Chris Jericho is worried about him. If Jericho is so sure about himself, come prove it on Dynamite.

Rascalz vs. Aaron Solo/Griff Garrison/Nick Comoroto

Reed throws Garrison down to start and a double slingshot belly to back suplex does it again. Comoroto comes in and gets triple teamed to the floor and Reed cutters Solo. Reed hits a dive and the Hot Fire Flame finishes Solo at 2:01. Total squash.

Daniel Garcia, Willow Nightingale and Pac pay tribute to the Butcher.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Queen Aminata

Mercedes Mone is on commentary. Aminata grabs a quickly broken headlock to start and is taken down, allowing Shirakawa to dance. Back up and Aminata gets in a running shoulder block and we get the required Chocolate Kisses. Shirakawa knocks her down for the slingshot corkscrew dive and the big dive to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Aminata knocking her down and grabbing a snap suplex. Shirakawa grabs a quick Glamorous Driver for two so she puts on the Figure Four, with Aminata having to roll to the rope. A quick small package gives Aminata the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C+. So I guess Aminata is going to be the next victim for Mone and that’s perfectly fine for a quick Collision main event in a few weeks. That’s a weird way to go as Thekla and Willow Nightingale are already likely to come after the title, probably even at All Out. Other than that, Shirakawa loses again, because that’s all she does most of the time.

Post match respect is shown.

Pac says tonight is business as usual for the Death Riders but here are the Dogs to complain about the team stopping them from attacking Will Ospreay. Jon Moxley threatens them because he doesn’t do any favors for anyone. Tonight, the Dogs better go take care of the Bang Bang Gang.

Jay White vs. Adam Priest

They grapple to a standoff to start and White takes him down into a headlock. That’s broken up so Priest strikes away until White drops him again. A Muta Lock sends Priest over to the rope and he’s right back up with a dragon screw legwhip. Priest’s swinging neckbreaker gets two but an attempt at the half crab is reversed into the Blade Runner to give White the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C+. I was expecting this to get more time and it was nice to see White take him down with his finisher instead of going too long. White is someone who can be rather smooth in the ring and look good out there when he is given the chance. Now just let him win some matches that actually matter.

Post match White says the Bang Bang Gang is ready for the Death Riders.

Dogs/Pac vs. Bang Bang Gang

Jay White and Jon Moxley are on commentary. It’s a big brawl to start and the Gang is cleared out with Austin getting caught in the wrong corner for the running clotheslines. The Gang is right back in to do the same to Finlay and Austin loads him up in the fireman’s carry for the squats. We take a break and come back with Robinson fighting out of trouble with a side kick to Pac.

The Gunns come in to clean house with Austin’s full nelson slam getting two on Connors. Austin is in with a double missile dropkick and we get the parade of knockdowns. A German suplex/clothesline combination puts Austin down and Moxley approves. Everyone gets back up and slug it out until Austin hits a big flip dive to the floor. 3:10 To Yuma drops Connors with Finlay diving in for the save (Moxley is thrilled). Pac trips Austin and Connors hits a spear for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: B-. Gah I was getting into this and hoping to see the Gang get a bigger win but why do that when you can have the freaking Dogs get a win? For the life of me I do not get the Dogs and they just keep going with one push after another. They do nothing for me and Kidd is the weakest of them all, so of course he gets the most attention.

Chuck Taylor, Darius Martin, Roderick Strong, Christopher Daniels, Lee Moriarty and Kyle O’Reilly pay tribute to the Butcher.

The Blade has sent in a statement on Butcher’s passing.

Tommaso Ciampa wants a title and is coming to All Out.

Lethal Twist vs. Conglomeration

New Level is on commentary and the Twist’s ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Lethal and Cassidy start things off with Williams taking him up against the rope for a quick finger spin. Cassidy backs him to the floor where Lethal argues with New Level, earning himself a chop from Strong. Everything breaks down, including a barrage of chops, plus a backbreaker/middle rope knee combination to Lethal.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy fighting out of trouble and getting in a Stundog Millionaire. O’Reilly comes in to clean house and Strong throws Cassidy around as a weapon. Strong gets caught in a reverse DDT/high crossbody combination for two and Cassidy gets superkicked. He doesn’t actually fall down though as Strong shoves him back, with a double clothesline dropping the villains. O’Reilly and Cassidy hit a dive apiece, leaving Strong to hit the Sick Kick into the End Of Heartache to pin Lethal at 9:54.

Rating: B-. Yep, you knew how the match was going to go as soon as Ring Of Honor champions were involved. They were there to make the AEW stars look good and somehow this just keeps happening. I have no idea why that’s the case but for some reason Ring Of Honor is just used for jobbing. Just find someone else for this spot. It can’t be that hard with this roster.

Post match Conglomeration and New Level have a staredown.

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne are ticked off and promise to hurt the Brawling Birds.

All Out rundown.

Butcher Battle Royal

Lance Archer, Eddie Kingston, Ortiz, Claudio Castagnoli, Josh Alexander, Daniel Garcia, The Beast Mortos, Jake Doyle, Dante Martin, Darius Martin, AR Fox, Wheeler Yuta

For $100,000 to be donated to the charity of the winner’s choice in Butcher’s name. The brawl starts on the floor and the bell rings with no one actually in the ring. The Martins and Doyle come in to brawl, with Fox coming in to join the festivities. Ortiz gets tossed into a cutter and Mortos is back in to wreck various people.

Fox tries a tornado DDT but gets sent outside for the first elimination. The Death Riders get inside and Kingston and Ortiz are back in to take them out. Well down, not out, as in an elimination. A series of clotheslines against the ropes gets rid of Ortiz but Kingston backdrops Garcia out. The Martins backdrop Mortos out and we take a break.

We come back with the Martins cleaning house again and clotheslining Doyle out. Dante gets knocked out as well and Archer gets rid of Darius. Archer and Castagnoli trade clotheslines until Archer hits a crossbody. Castagnoli escapes the chokeslam and Swings Archer, setting up a clothesline for the elimination. Kingston and Castagnoli chop it out until Kingston gets the Swing as well.

Back up and Kingston is fine enough to spinning backfist Castagnoli out but gets dumped by Alexander. So I think that leaves Alexander and Garcia, with Garcia hitting a bunch of clotheslines but not being able to knock him out. A package piledriver plants Garcia, who holds onto the top rope for the save. Garcia pulls him over the top rope to the apron and gets back inside for a running dropkick and the win at 16:23.

Rating: B-. The quality of the match means absolutely nothing here as this was all about the special feelings. Garcia winning is fine as the actual result is pretty unimportant. It was a bunch of people who were friends with Butcher having a special match. Nothing wrong with that and it was nice to see.

Post match Garcia gets to hold up a Butcher sign and the guitar. The Death Riders have one more big hug.

We get a special tribute video to the Butcher and as usual, this was incredibly well done.

The roster comes to the stage/ramp for one more tribute to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show where the wrestling itself was just kind of background noise. Instead it was about paying tribute to someone who seemed to be pretty awesome and passed away way too young. The show was perfectly fine and the opener was good, but this was all about the Butcher and that is perfectly fine. Good, emotional show here and something that needed to happen.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Mike Bailey – Death Rider
Rascalz b. Aaron Solo/Griff Garrison/Nick Comoroto – Hot Fire Flame to Solo
Queen Aminata b. Mina Shirakawa – Small package
Jay White b. Adam Priest – Blade Runner
Dogs/Pac b. Bang Bang Gang – Spear to Austin
Conglomeration b. Lethal Twist – End Of Heartache to Lethal
Daniel Garcia won the Butcher Battle Royal last eliminating Josh Alexander

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

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

Dynamite
Date: September 2, 2026
Location: Credit Union Of Texas Event Center, Allen, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

Well we’re finally done with All In and to put it mildly, a lot of things happened. The biggest story is that Will Ospreay finally broke through and won the World Title, defeating Kenny Omega in a heck of a match. We also have a new Women’s Champion in Mercedes Mone and a new TNT Champion in Darby Allin, among others. Let’s get to it.

Here is All In if you need a recap.

Quick card rundown.

All In recap.

Here is new World Champion Will Ospreay for a chat and yeah the fans like him. Ospreay apologizes for looking a bit rough but gets cut off with the YOU DESERVE IT chants. He’s cried a lot this week and doesn’t want to do it anymore, but does seem touched by what he’s hearing. Sunday was amazing and if you were there from the beginning thank you, or if you’ve just gotten on, thank you as well.

As for Kenny Omega, Ospreay admits that Omega is better than him 364 days of the year, but Ospreay only had to be better one day. They’re 2-2 and Ospreay is happy with that because all he wanted to be was seen as Omega’s equal. Ospreay: “But…..”. And the fans like that one. If Omega isn’t cool with the two of them being equal, name the time and the place.

As for now though, Ospreay likes how the belt looks on himself because the previous champions are his heroes. Now his idols are his rivals (good line) and he is the new standard so if you want to take it from him, be prepared to walk through the same fire. He also thanks the United Empire, who were the only people he wanted in his corner at All In. There is a United Empire in Japan but now there is going to be a version in AEW. Ospreay goes to leave but here is the Demand to interrupt.

Ricochet isn’t here to rain on Ospreay’s parade, as the two of them are forever intertwined in this crazy sport. They have known each other for a long time and Ospreay wouldn’t be here without Ricochet. As a result, Ricochet should get the first title shot but here are the Dogs to interrupt. Gabe Kidd is ready to take everything from Ospreay but Ricochet cuts that off, saying it’s his shot. Everyone comes to the ring but here is the United Empire to make things a lot more even. Ospreay is ready for the big tag team main event.

We look at the New Level (Day) debuting at All In and teaming with Swerve Strickland to win the Trios Titles.

Trios Titles: New Level/Swerve Strickland vs. The Rascalz

The Rascalz are challenging. Strickland and Reed start things off with Strickland snapping off an early anklescissors. Reed is sent into the corner and it’s quickly off to Xavier to face Creed. They quickly go to the mat for an exchange of near falls until Creed hits a backsplash. Kofi comes in and the fans certainly approve, including as he moonsaults off of Creed’s shoulders for two.

It’s back to Strickland, is triple teamed out to the floor, where Creed and Strickland hit moonsaults off the apron. Kofi’s dive off the top takes the Rascalz down and we take a break. We come back with Creed chopping Wentz down so Kofi and Reed can come back in. Kofi hits his bottom rope DDT and Strickland is back in with the rolling suplex. Wentz makes the save but dives into a Downward Spiral,, only to get hurricanranaed to give Xavier two.

Everything breaks down and we get a series of knockdowns, with Kofi giving Xavier the SOS (a legsweep to flip Xavier back first onto the floor) outside. That leaves Reed to hit his diving cutter on Creed off the apron, but he manages to hurricanrana Kofi at the same time. Well that was awesome. Back in and Kofi gives Reed Trouble In Paradise (spinning kick to the head) but gets kicked in the head by Xavier. Back up and Xavier tries a handspring but gets House Called out of the air. A top rope double stomp/powerslam combination plants Xavier and another House Call retains the titles at 12:58.

Rating: B+. This was a wild match and that’s exactly what it should have been, as New Level gets to show the fans what they can do on Dynamite for the first time. It was nothing but action throughout and Swerve more than held up his side. You know the Rascalz are going to be right there for all of the high flying stuff and it all worked well.

Post match the Young Bucks come out for the staredown with the New Level, with Swerve looking interested too.

We look at Mercedes Mone winning the Women’s Title at All In.

Here are the Young Bucks for a chat. They’re not going to complain about their loss but they don’t like how they lost to Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. So why not get out here right now and tell them why it had to go that way? Instead they get FTR, with Stokely Hathaway saying FTR are the only two people in the ring who matter. How are the Bucks thinking they deserve yet another title match?

They both bring up their success against the other but here are Copeland and Cage to interrupt. Cage points out that they’re the old guys and beat both teams in the ring. He’s surprised the Bucks and FTR didn’t take a 50% pay cut and go somewhere else. Copeland says it’s time to be the voice of reason so let’s do the three way rematch at All Out, involving tables, ladders and chairs. Oh joy could we really do that? With FTR and the Bucks? It’s all my dreams come true.

The United Empire has a fifth member of the team for tonight: Andrade El Idolo. Will Ospreay isn’t so sure but he goes with it.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Mark Davis

Davis is challenging and cuts off the skateboarding Allin on the way to the ring in a smart move. Davis throws him into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break before the bell rings. We come back with Allin climbing a balcony and diving off with the Coffin Drop onto Davis. A running crossbody sends both of them back to ringside, where Davis gets in a heck of a forearm.

We actually get the opening bell as they get inside, with Allin being launched into the corner. A huge running clothesline gives Davis two and we take another break. We come back again with Allin using the tag rope to tie Davis into the corner. That’s broken up and Davis hits a running forearm for two as the fans are still behind Allin.

Davis misses an enziguri but almost flip Allin onto his face off a backdrop. Back up and Allin reverses a gutwrench into a Code Red for two and they’re both down. They head outside with Allin hitting a missile dropkick as Schiavone thinks this is for the National Title. Davis barely beats the count back in and is quickly Coffin Dropped to retain the title (whichever one Tony thinks it is this week) at 9:23.

Rating: B. Now this is more what I like from Allin. It’s so annoying seeing him have to go so nuts because he absolutely does not need to go there. He can wrestle a high flying style and get the fans behind him every time. That was the case again here, with Davis being a great midcard monster to be slain. Good stuff here.

Post match RPG Vice runs in to jump Allin, with Steven Borden making the save. Josh Alexander returns to jump Borden though and the good guys are beaten down.

We look at Andrade El Idolo winning the Casino Gauntlet Match.

MJF is ticked off at losing the Casino Gauntlet Match because he’s the real World Champion. If anyone got cheated the way he did, it would be the talk of the wrestling world. Of course he was cheated though because no one is on his level. It makes people mad that he is the biggest star in the world, including Will Ospreay. Payback is coming and you won’t see it coming. This was unhinged from MJF.

Megan Bayne vs. Alex Windsor

Lena Kross and Jamie Hayter are here too. Bayne runs her over a few times to start and fires off the shoulders in the corner. Windsor is back up with some corner clotheslines but is quickly sent flying with a fall away slam. Bayne gets low bridged to the floor though and the running flip dive off the apron connects. We come back with Windsor hitting a running dropkick into a hanging DDT for two.

A nice middle rope clothesline gets two more but Bayne German suplexes her out of the corner. The running clothesline gives Bayne two, as does a Falcon Arrow. Windsor grabs a not so smooth Blue Thunder Bomb and it’s time to slug it out on the apron. Bayne is tripped face first down and they clothesline each other down on the floor. Kross and Hayter get in a brawl of their own and Bayne belts Windsor in the head. Back in and a Liger Bomb finishes Windsor at 10:47.

Rating: B-. This seems to be a way to set up a rematch between the two teams at All Out, likely in a street fight. I’m not sure I’d have the new champions lose so soon but we only have a few weeks before the likely rematch. Bayne winning a singles match certainly makes sense as she’s a monster, though seeing a champion lose never quite feels right.

Post match the beatdown is on until Hayter makes the save.

We look at Chris Jericho not quite winning the Casino Gauntlet Match.

Jericho is interrupted by Nick Wayne, who brags about having ten years of experience. Jericho points out that he had fifteen years experience the day Wayne was born, earning a slap to the face. The brawl is on, with Wayne kicking him low and leaving.

Here is new Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone for her big championship celebration. She hasn’t stopped smiling since All In but she needed to win to be here. Mone bet on herself and this is what happened when you give yourself permission to be great. We pause for a CEO chant before Mone says she had to leave Willow Nightingale behind because Nightingale is a stupid b****.

Look what she did to Mone’s face, and we see quite the black eye. What she wants for this title doesn’t even exist yet but here is Thekla (yes she has a drink) to interrupt. Mone is a legendary icon but she’s never been TOXIC. Nightingale deserved to be humiliated but Mone has been calling people “dumb b****”. If there’s one thing Thekla hates, it’s a dumb b**** calling another dumb b**** a dumb b****. Thekla “You dumb b****.” Thekla is ready to fight whenever, which allows Schiavone to tell us how great Mone is (again).

New TBS Champion Persephone and the returning Britt Baker are ready to take the title to a place it has never been before.

Jon Moxley vs. AR Fox

Non-title. They fight over a standing switch to start and Fox takes him down for a quick two off a crucifix. Moxley is sent outside for the step up moonsault and they’re right back inside. Fox gets taken down with a running dropkick and we take a break. We come back with Fox nailing a rolling cutter but Moxley gets fired up as Fox gives him clotheslines. A basement cutter puts Moxley down again but he gets his knees up to block a Swanton. Fox is right back with a swinging suplex into a 450 for two, only for Moxley to pull him into a sleeper. That and the Death Rider finish Fox off at 8:22.

Rating: C+. It had some moments, as Fox’s matches tend to do, but ultimately this was another case of Moxley getting to beat someone else. He did it throughout the tournament and he did it again here. In theory it should be followed by another challenger for the title and that could be anyone. Moxley could use someone new to destroy.

Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher argue after losing their individual titles but Don Callis has them team up on Collision. Kazuchika Okada comes in to remind Fletcher about family.

Andrade El Idolo/United Empire/Will Ospreay vs. The Dogs/The Demand

Ricochet rolls away from Ospreay to start and it’s off to Liona vs. Henare. They trade the forearms with Henare absorbing the shots and taking over. Liona runs him right back over and everything breaks down with Connors getting crushed off an elevated backsplash. Idolo hits a big dive to the floor and we get a group picture with the ringside woman. Ricochet powerbombs Akira onto the pile though and we take a break.

We come back with Akira grabbing a slingshot cutter to Connors, allowing the tag off to Newman. A running boot drops Kaun and Henare adds a spinning Samoan drop. Kidd clotheslines Andrade down and a corner dropkick into a cutter gets two. Akira tries to chop at the Gates, who growl at him, earning themselves more chops.

The Gates easily pick him up but he fires off a suicide dive. Ospreay and Ricochet chop it out until Ricochet scores with the handspring elbow. Everything breaks down again for an exchange of strikes and Akira moonsaults onto the Gates on the floor. Connors runs into Dia de los Muertos and the Hidden Blade finishes him off at 13:53.

Rating: B. It was another wild match, though I’m still trying to get myself to care about the United Empire. Their entire deal is “we’re Ospreay’s friends from Japan” which isn’t the greatest appeal. You also have the Dogs, who could be dropped from the roster without missing much. It’s kind of a weird choice for a main event, though at least Ospreay stood tall in the end.

Post match the villains jump the winners with Gabe grabbing a chair to go after Ospreay. Cue the Death Riders but Jon Moxley takes the chair away. Andrade is back in to brawl off with Kidd and Moxley hands Ospreay the title. They stare at each other….and a graphic comes up announcing the two of them are facing each other for the title at All Out. Moxley looks stunned and leaves in peace to end the show. So you have what feels like one of the biggest matches AEW could run after months of build and it’s just announced with a quick graphic? That’s certainly a way to go.

Overall Rating: B+. This show was entirely about taking the momentum that they had from All In and transitioning that to All Out. With so little time before the pay per view, they had to rush through things, which explains the rushed World Title setup. The action was very good and you can probably figure out a lot of the All Out card from here. They were flying through things here but managed to land the thing, which is quite the feat after their biggest show of the year. Good, and necessary show here.

Results
Swerve Strickland/New Level b. The Rascalz – House Call to Xavier
Darby Allin b. Mark Davis – Coffin Drop
Megan Bayne b. Alex Windsor – Liger Bomb
Jon Moxley b. AR Fox – Death Rider
Andrade El Idolo/United Empire/Will Ospreay b. The Demand/The Dogs – Hidden Blade to Connors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bryan Danielson joins commentary.

Zero Hour: Maya World vs. Persephone

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trios Titles: Roulette Royal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Nigel McGuinness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Post match Fletcher reluctantly raises Okada’s hand.

Casino Gauntlet Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Darby Allin

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

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW World Title: Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ospreay celebrates to end the show.

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

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

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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We have arrived. This is the biggest AEW show of the year and once again we are over in England at Wembley Stadium where tens of thousands of fans are going to be in the house. As big as the stadium may be and how high the capacity may be, that is absolutely nothing to sneeze at and AEW deserves credit for drawing that many people. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Trios Titles: Royal Roulette

From what I can tell, this is a gauntlet match for the titles, with basically every trio in AEW at the moment, plus a wild card entry. Now I don’t think there’s much of a secret as to who is going to be in the wild card spot, but that has never stopped AEW before. As usual, this would be better off as a one off six man tag, but why do that when you can have another twelve people in a match instead?

I’ll go with the wild card team winning the titles here, in the form of Swerve Strickland and whatever New Day will be called in AEW. Assuming they’re the wild cards, there is almost no reason to not have them win the titles. I’m still not sure why they need to be involved in a trio (it worked so well with Odyssey Jones) but I guess the Bucks have the tag match sewn up so here we are.

Kickoff Show: TBS Title: Maya World(c) vs. Persephone

Champion needs challenger, challenger pins champion in tag match, title match ensues. It’s a story that has worked for the better part of ever in wrestling and it should work fine here. World has done well enough as champion but is feeling a bit like Rocky Maivia in his first reign, in that she is just kind of there with the title and having random matches. This might not help things, but at least she’s on the show.

I don’t see any reason to think that the title reign is already ending so I’ll go with World to retain here. It’s the most logical choice of the two and while Persephone feels like someone AEW wants to feature, she already has the CMLL Women’s Title and I don’t think I can take another double champion at the moment. World retains here and hopefully moves on to something more important.

Kickoff Show: The Opps vs. The Rascalz/Lio Rush

Here we have the first “does this really need to be here” match of the card, as the Opps continue to be a thing that exists for whatever reason. I’m not sure why Tony Khan insists on keeping the team around when Samoa Joe isn’t there to lift them up but how else will Hook fail to get over? This is also fallout from Rush losing the ROH TV Title to Action Andretti thanks to the Opps, because that’s a thing that happened.

I’ll take Rush and company to win here, even if there isn’t much for any of them to do. It’s probably a way to set up Rush’s rematch against Andretti for the title, which doesn’t really need to happen but how else are we getting eight more people on the show? There isn’t much of a need for this to be one of five pre-show matches but how else can Ring Of Honor be included here?

Kickoff Show: Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron vs. Sisters Of Sin

I’ll take more Cameron and Statlander so this is hardly a terrible thing, but it feels like filler on Collision rather than a match that needs to be happening here. Statlander and Cameron aren’t exactly a regular team but Cameron could get fans cheering for her in a coffin and the Sisters are a ready made heel act. It’s not exactly a complicated idea here and it should be fine.

Uh we’ll go with…..eh the Sisters I guess. It’s such a nothing match that it doesn’t really matter which way you go and that’s not the best feeling. Cameron tends to lose more often than win on the big stage but this is about all she can do at the moment. I still don’t see how AEW couldn’t find something better for her to do but that’s a list that we absolutely don’t have time to cover. I’ll take the Sisters here in a “someone has to win” situation.

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

And where would we be without the Costco Guys? It feels like these guys were a big deal for about five minutes and that was well over a year ago but here they are again. It’s another case of putting people on the show for the sake of getting them on there and now that we’re having as many matches on the Kickoff Show as we had on this week’s Dynamite, it’s kind of hard to get enthusiastic about another one.

Of course I’ll take the good guys to win, with the Syndicate getting some more momentum before a big showdown with the Promotions. There’s nothing to get excited about with this one, but I’m sure the Rizzler will be there to do his oh so funny face. That really does feel like the only thing this match has going for it and that’s hardly enough to get my interest up. But then again, something something celebrity star power I guess.

Women’s Title: Willow Nightingale(c) vs. Mercedes Mone

I wanted to get this one out of the way first because it has the potential to make me the angriest. I’ve made no secret about the fact that I’m not a fan of Mone. She’s incredibly talented and feels like a star, but she’s often presented as being light years ahead of the rest of the division. Nightingale already put Mone over to end a short title reign and it does not need to happen again.

While I don’t believe that it’s happening, I’ll take Nightingale to retain here. I know she’s injured and Mone is likely winning anyway, but Nightingale has made a connection with the fans and it would be a shame to see her lose again so Mone can get yet another accolade that won’t make her feel any bigger. Nightingale needs to win here and would benefit a lot more and I’ll say she will, though I won’t be surprised if/when Mone gets another big moment.

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

So there is going to be a theme to this show as there is a good chance that a lot of British wrestlers will pick up titles. That very well may start here, as the Birds are more than good enough to be the first team to stop Kross and Bayne. The only guaranteed thing here is that it’s going to be a heck of a fight and that is exactly what it should be with the British team involved.

There is no reason to think that the champions will retain here so I’ll go with the Birds taking the titles. Kross and Bayne are the monster champions and that means it is going to take a special team to stop them. A very British team in the most famous stadium in England is about as perfect as it can get. That’s exactly what should happen here and I’ll go with that, as the titles change hands.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight(c) vs. Darby Allin

This is Falls Count Anywhere and Knight has gone the extra mile with Allin, attempting to murder/injure him multiple times in the same segment. I know Allin gets attacked a lot but this was extreme even for him. Therefore we’re doing a match for revenge, and to allow Allin to do some kind of insane thing at the stadium. You know, as he does pretty much every time he’s around.

I’m actually going to go with Knight retaining here, as Allin is as made of a man as you can get in AEW and Knight could get a lot more out of retaining over a former World Champion. It is far from a guarantee as Allin needs to get revenge and such, but he can do that without taking the title. The TNT Title doesn’t mean anything to Allin here so let Knight keep it and get more out of the thing.

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

This is the dream match of the show and it falls firmly into the “yeah I guess” category that a lot of so called dream matches hit these days. That’s just the way it goes as I’m not sure how many people were clamoring for this in the first place. That being said, it should work out well as the Bucks can be very entertaining and the champs know how to do the old person version of their match.

As sick as I am of the Bucks, there isn’t much of a reason to believe that they’re going to lose here, so I’ll say new champions. Copeland and Cage winning the titles was a big moment but they haven’t exactly done much with the belts. That’s what happens with a lot of these title reigns, and now they can put the Bucks over so the Bucks can continue to be the biggest, most amazing team in AEW history because of course they are.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Nigel McGuinness

So here we have the finals of a tournament, which has taken almost an entire month, and ended up with Moxley defending the title against a British challenger. In short, why have one match to set up a title defense when you can have fourteen of them? That’s where we are now and it leads to an interesting final, which should go one way but will probably go another.

In theory, this should be McGuinness winning the title but that would imply Moxley has to lose, which won’t happen, so I’ll say Moxley wins to retain. He has to you see because he needs to be in the next tournament for this belt later on in the year. I’m still not sure why this tournament, or title for that matter, needs to exist, but at least Moxley can get a big win that he hasn’t had in at least a week.

Casino Gauntlet

Remember when this was the most fun that AEW had? So much of that was due to the surprise entrants that you would see, but lately it has just been the regular midcard group and that’s not the most thrilling. Anyway the winner here gets a World Title shot at some point, but since we don’t know who all is involved, I’m kind of limited in the guesses that I can make.

The one entrant announced who makes the most sense here is MJF so I’ll go with him, though it would be rather hilarious if the match ended while he was on the way to the ring or something like that. Andrade El Idolo is an option, but he needs to continue his rather unnecessary National Title reign. There is always the chance that it’s someone we don’t know yet winning the thing, but I’ll go with MJF of the entrants involved.

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

This is the most Don Callis focused match on the card and thankfully it’s pretty much the only thing they’re doing here. The feud has been going on in some form for the better part of a year now and somehow this still doesn’t feel like the blowoff. The idea is that Fletcher and Okada are both part of the Family and want to keep the title between them but they might not trust each other, which gives Takeshita an opening.

I think I’ll go with Fletcher retaining, as he hasn’t been the champion for very long and while Takeshita thwarting the team’s plans makes more sense, odds are the feud isn’t even close to over with anyway. Fletcher feels like someone AEW wants to make into one of their bigger names and that could go well, though I don’t think he loses here. There is a good chance he does lose, but I’d call that much uncertainty a good sign.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Will Ospreay

I do these things for every pay per view and occasionally, there are times where I have no idea what is going on with one of the matches. In this case though, I’m getting a little bit of a break. I’m not bothering to try and build up suspense for this match, as, at least in theory, it should be the biggest layup in the history of AEW, as even their screwiness shouldn’t be able to get in the way.

It doesn’t matter if Ospreay loses all of his limbs and nose. His deformed face and torso with the bleeding stumps will be put on top of Omega for the pin and the title to the roar of the British crowd. There is no reason to think that anything else is going to happen here and there is nothing else that should happen here. The match has been built up and Omega has gotten his big title reign to show he’s still go tit. Now make Ospreay champion already.

Overall Thoughts

I’m really not sure what else to say about this show. It’s AEW’s Wrestlemania and there will be tens of thousands of fans in a massive stadium eating up everything thrown at them. AEW has done a great job of turning this into a spectacle and this year they have the card to back it up. If they can make this work, they’re going to be fine and it should be a massive success, as long as Ospreay ends the show holding the title. Now don’t screw it up.

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

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Collision
Date: August 29, 2026
Location: OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re still in Scotland on the eve of tomorrow’s All In extravaganza, meaning tonight is likely going to be a hold the fort show. The main event is a twelve man tag, which should be a lot of stories getting their final push at once. Throw in a lot of promos and this could be a bit of a different kind of Collision. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We start with an All In rundown.

Mercedes Mone vs. Isla Dawn

Dawn is the hometown star. Mone backs her into the corner to start and yells a lot but has to duck a running shot to the face. The Backstabber hits Dawn and Mone starts in on the arm. A hammerlock has Dawn fighting back so Mone quickly knocks her down. Dawn gets up for the running clotheslines and a suplex puts Mone down for two. A sunset bomb sends Dawn crashing into the corner and the Mone Maker and Statement Maker finish Dawn at 4:08.

Rating: C. This was a quick match to get Mone more ready for her big showdown against Nightingale tomorrow and it certainly took some of the energy away from the Glasgow crowd. That’s fine enough for this spot, though I’m still hoping that Mone doesn’t win tomorrow. Nightingale deserves a chance to win on the big stage and run with the title for a bit, while Mone is already treated as the biggest star in the world.

Post match here is Nightingale to chase Mone off and say that Mone is obsessed with Nightingale’s smile. The reality is Nightingale is the champion and she’s leaving All In with both the smile and the title.

Jon Moxley says Nigel McGuinness has lightning in a bottle but what is he going to do with it? This is the kind of thing that they make movies about and Moxley would watch that movie. In the real world though, Moxley is going to rip the leg off in front of McGuinness’ family and feed it to their dog. It’s the fourth quarter or third period or whatever and Moxley’s hand isn’t the one that’s shaking.

Tommaso Ciampa/Mark Davis/Nick Wayne vs. Chris Jericho/Mike Bailey/Komander

Ciampa bails away from Jericho to start, with Jericho pointing at Don Callis on commentary. Back in and everything breaks down with the good guys connecting with the big dives. We take a break and come back with Jericho fighting out of Wayne’s chinlock. Bailey gets the tag and comes in with a double missile dropkick as everything breaks down again.

The villains get pummeled in the corners and it’s a trio of super hurricanranas to bring them back down. Bailey’s shooting star press gets two on Wayne, who hammers away on Bailey to take over again. Ciampa starts in on the leg and we take another break. We come back again with Bailey hitting a dropkick and rolling over for the tag off to Komander.

House is quickly cleaned and everything breaks down with a springboard splash getting two on Ciampa. The Walls have Davis in trouble and we get a triple Walls until the other two villains break out and make the save. Bailey comes back in to clean house again and Ciampa hits Wayne by mistake. We get the parade of shots to the face until Bailey gives Wayne a flipping powerslam for the pin at 19:44.

Rating: B. This was rather fun and it was nice to see some unique combinations out there. The good thing is that the result here is something that could happen in the Casino Gauntlet match so it’s hardly some waste of time. I’m not sure I’d believe that Bailey is a favorite to win tomorrow, but that’s part of the appeal of such a match.

Video on the Brawling Birds vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne for the latter’s Women’s Tag Team Titles.

The Dogs vs. Ronan King/Landon Riley/Judas Grey

The Dogs jump them fast and the beating is on outside. Back in and King is caught with a spear, piledriver and knee to the face for the pin at 2:56. It was even more lopsided than it sounds.

Video on Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Mone.

Nigel McGuinness says it’s coming home because he’s coming to Wembley. He’s been against the odds over and over and he wants to do it again.

Lethal Twist/The Demand vs. Bang Bang Gang/Brodido/Hangman Page

The villains go with a jump start but gets cleared out to the floor, leaving Bandido to slug it out with Johnson. Bandido gets in a superkick and hands it off to Page, with White tagging himself in immediately. The Gang takes over on Johnson, with a DDT giving Austin two. Christian comes in to take over on Austin, with Lethal grabbing a cutter. That doesn’t last long as Austin jumps over Lethal and dives for the tag to King.

That means house can be cleaned, with Austin being dropped onto Lethal. White breaks up the five way Macarena before opting to join in, with the villains breaking up the six way version. Ricochet and Christian hit stereo dives to the floor and we take a break. We come back with King in trouble and Christian mocking the good guys, as he tends to do. Kaun grabs the chinlock as Ricochet is yelling at various people, including commentary.

King fights up and hits a clothesline, allowing Page to come in and wreck everyone. The dive and moonsault to the floor connect with the Twist and a Liger Bomb gets two on Christian. Back up and the villains take over with a rather nifty string of combinations, capped off by a springboard 450 to Page. Brodido is back up with their own dives and Page Buckshots Lethal into the Blade Runner for the pin at 13:40.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted and I can go for getting as many trios onto this show as possible before they overrun the pre-show. I’m still not sure how necessary it is to have that many people involved in a single match but that has never stopped AEW before. Otherwise, good action here, which you probably expected given all of the people involved.

Post match the Dogs run in to beat the winners down, with a bunch of other trios getting involved with the brawl.

Skye Blue vs. Harley Cameron

Blue pulls her down by the hair to start and hammers away while mocking the crowd. That earns Blue a running clothesline, which is enough for Schiavone to say that Cameron is looking “spectacular”. That’s quite the reaction to a single clothesline but Schiavone is easily impressed. Blue is knocked outside for a dropkick through the ropes but sends Cameron into the steps to cut her off again.

We take a break and come back with Cameron joining her on top but getting powerbombed out for two. Blue: “WHAT DO YOU MEAN TWO???” A superkick catches Cameron and Blue gets in a running knee. Cue Julia Hart to throw in a belt, which the referee throws out. Another belt is thrown in and Blue knocks Cameron silly for the pin at 8:18.

Rating: C. Odds are that ending was designed to set up a Kickoff Show match, or one that was already announced but it was barely mentioned. Cameron continues to be one of the most entertaining and underutilized stars around here, so at least she is getting a chance. Then again it comes after another loss, so it might only mean so much.

Maya World is mad about Persephone pinning her on Dynamite and their title match is set for the Kickoff Show.

Here is Don Callis to give Kevin Knight a rather nice introduction. Knight talks about how far he is willing to go to beat Darby Allin and wonders where Allin is right now. Cue a masked man to go after Knight but the Don Callis Family cuts him off. It’s Steven Borden, who has had Callis’ interest.

Callis lists off some of Borden’s football stats and talks about his success with young stars like Borden. The offer is made but Borden says he’s looking forward to seeing Allin take the title. That earns him a beating and the villains stand tall. As the Family leaves, Kyle Fletcher comes out for commentary on the next match but Knight doesn’t seem happy.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. The Beast Mortos

Kyle Fletcher is on commentary. They trade shoulders to start until Takeshita hits a jumping elbow to take Mortos down. Mortos comes back with a reverse Sling Blade and headbutts him to the floor for the corkscrew suicide dive. A big backbreaker drops Takeshita inside and we take a break.

We come back with Takeshita hitting a running flip dive to the floor and glaring at Fletcher. They get back inside and slug it out with Takeshita getting the better of things. Mortos gets in a spear but runs into a knee to the face to leave them both down. A running crucifix bomb drops Takeshita but he gets in one of his own, setting up Raging Fire to pin Mortos at 10:11.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to have Takeshita back and hopefully he is able to get in one of his outstanding performances at All In. Takeshita can do just about anything with anyone and it was good to have Mortos back to have a good match with him. It was a good main event to help set up what could be a show stealer on Sunday and that’s a smart way to wrap up the show.

Post match Fletcher comes in and lays Takeshita out, including the brainbuster to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where they had to just get through two hours with a few minor adjustments before the pay per view. That’s all it should have been as the All In card is already set up. It had the usual good action and while nothing was must see, it did exactly its job before the biggest show of the year.

Results
Mercedes Mone b. Isla Dawn – Statement Maker
Mike Bailey/Chris Jericho/Komander b. Mark Davis/Nick Wayne/Tommaso Ciampa – Flipping powerslam to Wayne
The Dogs b. Ronan King/Landon Riley/Judas Grey – Knee to the face to King
Bang Bang Gang/Brodido/Hangman Page b. Lethal Twist/The Demand – Blade Runner to Lethal
Skye Blue b. Harley Cameron – Belt shot
Konosuke Takeshita b. The Beast Mortos – Raging Fire

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 26, 2026
Location: OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight

It’s the last Dynamite before the biggest show of the year at All In and we’re already over in the UK. There are still things that need to be set up for Sunday though, including finding the finalists for the Continental Challenge Cup. Hopefully we get the most interesting option out of the bunch so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Will Ospreay to quite the reception. He’s been gone for awhile after his surgery and he wasn’t sure if he could ever get back here. There is a lot of pressure on him to be the British wrestler who wins the big one. He started in this country working through the weekend and then going to construction sites Monday through Friday. That’s why he loves seeing people who are trying to do the same thing he’s doing.

We get a quick tribute to the British wrestling legends, both still with us and those who aren’t. Then he gets to Kenny Omega, who isn’t here tonight, but until last week, Ospreay still respected him. That all changed when Omega brought up Ospreay’s son, who will not need a new hero after All In.

There is a debt that needs to be paid to the people who have stood by him from the start and it is time to bring it home. Omega is going to help Ospreay show that heroes are ordinary people who do amazing things. He’s bringing it home. Good stuff here, as Ospreay laid things out perfectly well and anyone can get the idea of wanting to stand up for your son.

Continental Challenge Cup Semifinals: Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli takes him to the math off of a test of strength but Moxley is right back up with the chops. They’re already off to the exchange of forearms, with Castagnoli getting the better of things and grabbing a quickly broken chinlock. Moxley gets out to the floor, where he grabs a Figure Four of all things.

That’s broken up and reversed into a Swing into the barricade, leaving Moxley looking rather stunned in a funny visual as we take a break. We come back with Moxley fighting out of an armbar but getting blasted with some uppercuts. The Neutralizer is blocked and Moxley sends him outside for the suicide dive, leaving Castagnoli’s arm banged up as well. They get back inside and knock each other down with Castagnoli firing off the uppercuts.

Moxley cutters him down but gets caught in a sleeper, with Castagnoli even swinging it down to the mat. That’s reversed into a failed cross armbreaker attempt so Castagnoli pulls him into the Swing. Castagnoli uppercuts him to the floor and Moxley barely beats the count, where a Paradigm Shift and Death Rider aren’t enough to put Castagnoli away. Instead Moxley grabs the bulldog choke for the win at 15:53.

Rating: B. They were beating the fire out of each other here and that’s what you would have expected from these two. The idea was that they both knew each other so well and neither could really get an advantage until Moxley survived a bit longer to win. In other words, Moxley is tough and amazing and that’s pretty normal for him.

Adam Copeland/Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family

Copeland and Doyle start things off with Copeland grabbing a headlock, which doesn’t last very long. The Bucks come in and clean house with Matt hitting his slingshot X Factor, only to have a moonsault to the floor pulled out of the air. We take a break and come back with Nick’s super hurricanrana taking Cage down.

Copeland tags himself in (Nick was aiming for Matt) and tries a spear, which is cut off by Doyle. Copeland gets caught in the wrong corner and crushed by all three Family members, allowing Romero to give him a Sliced Bread for two. The Bucks are back in to cut Cage off but Romero hurricanranas both of them. Naturally that means he gets to pose, earning himself a spear from Copeland for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B-. The lack of Cage out there was kind of weird but the fans are going to go nuts for anything Copeland is doing so it makes perfect sense. The ending was funny with the overly cocky Romero going too far and being punished as a result. I liked this well enough, but the big stuff is likely happening after the match.

Post match here is Christian Cage to interrupt, saying that it’s time to conduct some business now that the love fest is over. He wasn’t about to be out here working with people beneath him and says that the Bucks aren’t the kinds of team having matches and pay per views named after them. Matt: “Have they ever named a company after you?” Last week Cage got superkicked by accident, but if he keeps talking, this week won’t be an accident. The brawl is on and the champions clear the ring, with Copeland not looking happy that it came to this.

Here is Willow Nightingale…..’s music, as we see Mercedes Mone attacking her in the back and injuring Nightingale’s hand.

Don Callis is back from Croatia and announces that Mark Davis is in the Casino Gauntlet Match.

Andrade El Idolo’s music plays but here is MJF instead. He says we’re here in Ireland and says it makes no difference anyway. Apparently he paid someone off to beat Andrade (“Andrew”) up and mocks everything Andrade does. This includes taking a picture with a woman, who he says would be a 4 in the US but is a 10 here. Naturally Andrade pops up from behind and jumps him to send MJF scurrying.

Chris Jericho is in the Casino Gauntlet Match too but first, he’s in a six man tag on Collision.

Continental Challenge Cup Semifinals: Nigel McGuinness vs. Kyle O’Reilly

McGuinness still has a bad leg/ankle and can’t get very far on a drop toehold attempt. O’Reilly tries one of his own and McGuinness just walks away for a nice reception. Back up and McGuinness actually sends the referee into a chinlock on O’Reilly but the ensuing rollup doesn’t get him very far. O’Reilly knocks him outside for a running knee off the apron and we take a break.

We come back with O’Reilly working on the leg but McGuinness kicks his way out. Instead McGuinness tries a failed London Dungeon attempt and has to block a cross armbreaker. O’Reilly goes for the ankle lock and stomps on the leg, followed by a chop block. A sleeper is countered so O’Reilly grabs a European Clutch for another near fall. O’Reilly wrestles him down into something like a LeBell Lock without the facelock, which is reversed into a pinfall reversal sequence. Another leglock sends McGuinness over to the rope and he gets in a heck of a clothesline for two. The London Dungeon goes on and O’Reilly taps at 11:54.

Rating: B. This was the technical exchange that you would have expected and it went very well, with the two of them getting to showcase just how good they are at this stuff. At the same time, McGuinness was the obvious choice, even with the ankle situation. I liked the match a good bit, even if it is the thirteenth match in this tournament which served the sole purpose of setting up what could have been a regular title defense for Moxley.

Post match respect is show.

Don Callis, with Kyle Fletcher, expects the Family to run the play as he calls. Fletcher agrees, but he’s not sure if Kazuchika Okada is going in that direction. Okada comes in to say it’s all about Family, with the tensions rising.

Persephone/Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Brawling Birds/Maya World

Bayne and World start things off with Bayne easily powering her down. World is sent flying with an overhead belly to belly and the villains take turns stomping away in the corner. It’s off to Hayter for the sunset flip/boot to the head combination and Persephone gets double suplexed. World’s moonsault gives Hayter two and we take a break.

We come back with Hayter still in trouble, including a release German suplex to give Bayne two. Hayter fights out of trouble and it’s a double clothesline to put herself and Bayne down. World is back in to clean house, with a middle rope leg lariat getting two. Everything breaks down and we get the parade of knockdowns, with the Divine Intervention being broken up. A springboard Stunner gives World two on Persephone and the other four brawl up the aisle. Persephone knocks World down and hits a frog splash for the pin at 10:22.

Rating: C+. They tied a couple of stories up into one match here and that is always appreciated. World vs. Persephone is a fine way to go to give World a one on one title defense and it wouldn’t stun me to see it added to the All In card. The women’s tag match is already set so a little preview isn’t a bad thing at all.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight, with Allin being broken apart twice last week.

Swerve Strickland vs. Jack Perry

Strickland offers his chin to Perry, who grabs a headlock for an early escape. Back up and Perry shoulders him down, earning a running clothesline to even things out. Perry sends him to the apron, where Strickland pulls a hurricanrana out of the air to swing Perry into the steps. That means a painful looking crash down onto the steps and we take a break.

We come back with Strickland hitting the top rope elbow to the back and yes he does dance. Something like a Gory Stretch has Perry in more trouble but he finally flips Strickland to the floor. Perry hits a pair of suicide dives, followed by a running flip dive and a moonsault to add in some variety.

Back in and Perry overshoots a moonsault but is right back with a DDT in a nice save. Strickland knocks him down again and tries the Swerve Stomp, which is pulled into the Snare Trap for quite the counter. That’s broken up as well so Perry gives him a hurricanrana for two. Perry tries another rollup but gets reversed into Big Pressure for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: B. They had a good match here, with that Stomp into the Snare Trap counter being very nice. Perry can work well with anyone but Strickland can turn it up like few others in AEW. The ending did come a bit out of nowhere but that wasn’t a bad thing, as it felt like Perry got caught by a quick finish.

One more video on Omega vs. Ospreay wraps us up. This goes on for a few minutes and does make the match feel that much bigger.

Overall Rating: B+. The show did its job to make me care more about All In and that’s the only thing that really matters. Most of the show is already set up and I do want to see what happens on Sunday. The good thing is they had the wrestling to back it up here and it wasn’t just a big commercial. It made for a rather interesting combination and I liked the show well, with the lack of a big overrun making it even better.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Claudio Castagnoli – Bulldog choke
Adam Copeland/Young Bucks b. Don Callis Family – Spear to Romero
Persephone/Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Maya World/Brawling Birds – Frog splash to World
Swerve Strickland b. Jack Perry – Big Pressure

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

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Collision
Date: August 22, 2026
Location: Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Tony Schiavone

The Continental Challenge Cup continues here with some more quarterfinal action. That’s in addition to Willow Nightingale vs. Maya World in a champion vs. champion match, which is happening due to reasons I don’t quite understand. Yes Nightingale promised World the title match, but do you really want one of them losing? Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay’s issues from Dynamite.

Continental Challenge Cup Quarterfinals: Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Cassidy gives him the sunglasses to start and gets headscissored as a result. That’s broken up and Cassidy is already looking tired, even as he rolls over into a headlock on O’Reilly. A belly to back suplex can’t get O’Reilly out so he goes after the arm for a change. Cassidy kicks him outside and rolls around a bit, giving us a less than serious standoff.

O’Reilly offers to hold the ropes so Cassidy rolls underneath them, which I guess counts as a mind game here. Cassidy gets in a suplex back inside and we take a break. We come back with O’Reilly getting in a suplex of his own and more suplexes leaving them in the corners. O’Reilly wins an exchange of strikes to knock Cassidy down and they get a double breather.

Back up and Cassidy Falcon Arrows him out of the corner for two but the Beach Break is countered. Instead Cassidy goes with a PK into the Beach Break but O’Reilly is right back with the ankle lock. O’Reilly can’t bring himself to stomp the ankle and gets small packaged, which means a grapevined ankle lock makes Cassidy tap at 14:32.

Rating: B-. This was a basic formula of O’Reilly picking Cassidy apart to make for a good story. As luck would have it, O’Reilly is probably on the way to facing Nigel McGuinness and his bad ankle, which is about as simple as it should go. If nothing else, it’s nice to see O’Reilly actually getting some singles wins, which only happens on occasion.

Post match respect is shown.

After Dynamite, Nigel McGuinness’ ankle was banged up but Will Ospreay joined him in the trainer’s room. Ospreay talks about what an inspiration McGuinness is to him but McGuinness wants Ospreay to go win the big one.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Erica Leigh/Tiana James

Non-title with a five minute time limit. Bayne wastes no time in German suplexing them at the same time and a double clothesline puts them down again. We pause for Bayne and Kross to mock the Brawling Birds. Something like Two Birds One Stone connects, but instead it’s Divine Intervention to finish James at 2:33. Exactly what you would have expected.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Jack Perry, with the match set for Dynamite.

We look at Darby Allin being blown up by pyro at the hands of Kevin Knight. This was of course followed by a Coast To Coast, because blowing someone up isn’t enough these days.

Continental Challenge Cup Quarterfinals: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia is replacing Eddie Kingston after winning at match at last night’s Ring Of Honor show. Castagnoli wrestles him down to start and gets a quick two, with Garcia bailing over to the rope. A rollup gives Garcia two and he starts striking away, setting up a dragon screw legwhip over the rope. Garcia’s running dropkick hits Castagnoli against the barricade but he avoids a charge to send Garcia into the crowd.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli firing off uppercuts in the corner. Garcia pulls himself up for the dance and hammers away as well, setting up the Dragontamer. That’s quickly escaped so Garcia flips over into a sleeper. The dazed Castagnoli finally reverses into a giant swing so Garcia is up with a running knee. Castagnoli blocks a Neutralizer and goes after the leg, including a kick to said leg in the corner.

Garcia is right back with another sleeper to bring Castagnoli down followed by a Neutralizer for two. Castagnoli twists the knee around though and the Sharpshooter (Schiavone: “Dragontamer, whatever you want to call it.” It’s a Sharpshooter you buffoon.). That’s broken up so Castagnoli powerbombs him into the Sharpshooter for the tap at 15:38.

Rating: B. Garcia gave it his all here and it felt like he was trying as hard as he could to hang in there with the monster Castagnoli. I’m not sure how realistic it was to believe that Garcia was going to move on, but I’ll take a better match than I was expecting along the way. Castagnoli isn’t winning the whole thing but he’s a good midcard monster for someone to overcome on the way to the finals.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale.

The blind draw took place during the break and the semifinals are:

Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Nigel McGuinness vs. Kyle O’Reilly

So if Moxley wins, and he probably will, did we just spend a month and 14 matches setting up what could have been a regular Continental Title defense?

Video on the Dogs, now with Gabe Kidd again.

Hurt Syndicate/Lee Moriarty vs. Matt Mako/Nic Nolan/Ryan O’Neil

Benjamin and Mako start things off with the latter being launched into the corner. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Benjamin unloads on O’Neil on the floor. Lashley comes in and immediately tags out to Moriarty, with the Syndicate leaving. The Border City Stret finishes Mako (making him look sleepy in the process) at 2:37.

Post match Shane Taylor and his Promotions get in the ring to say he wants the Trios Titles. Therefore, it’s open challenge time.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Austin takes Bravo into the corner to start and it’s Colten coming in to work on the arm. Bravo takes him into the corner but that’s broken up, allowing Austin to come in and hammer on Dean. We take a break and come back with a middle rope fist drop getting two on Austin, followed by the Bronco Buster. Austin is right back up for the diving tag back to Colten. Taylor comes in and absorbs a bunch of chops before missing the Vader Bomb. Everything breaks down and White hits a quick Blade Runner for the pin at 9:46.

Rating: C+. And so much for the Promotions’ latest run, as they lose yet again. That’s their trademark result most of the time and I’m not even surprised anymore. I’m not sure how that ties in with the Hurt Syndicate but they’re still more interesting than the Promotions in the first place.

Post match White says he isn’t done with the Dogs, but they want the Trios Titles back.

The Conglomeration is ready to win at All In.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay, looking back at their history over the last several years. It’s rather extensive, though I’m not sure they need to go that far back with this match.

Nick Wayne/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Komander/Mike Bailey

They’re all in the Casino Gauntlet so we’re having a match in advance. Ciampa takes Bailey down to start and gets in a quick shot to put him in more trouble. Bailey is back up and it’s off to Wayne, who stomps Bailey into the corner. Everything breaks down and the good guys hit dives to take out Wayne and Ciampa as we take a break.

We come back with Komander diving over for a tag to Bailey, who misses kicks at Wayne. Ciampa is back in to roll Bailey up for two but Bailey gives him the moonsault knees for two of his own. Komander gets the tag and starts spinning around a lot, at least until Ciampa cuts him off with a running knee. Komander’s Destroyer gets two on Wayne but it’s too early for Cielito Lindo. Ciampa goes for Komander’s mask and the ProdigyPlex gives Wayne the pin at 9:49.

Rating: B-. They went nuts for a bit here and it wound up being a fun match. I can go for having a match like this, as Wayne getting a pin on Komander is a potential result of the Casino Gauntlet. The match is going to be insane so having something a little less chaotic is a good thing to see.

Video on the International Title triple threat at All In,

Jon Moxley is happy to face Claudio Castagnoli in the semifinals. Well, maybe not in so many words.

Women’s Title: Maya World vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale (and only Nightingale) is defending. World is taken down off of a lockup to start so she tries to sweep the leg, earning a happy pose from Nightingale. A sunset flip gives World Two and we take a break. We come back with Nightingale striking away in the corner but World drops her with a running dropkick for two.

World gets in a 619 but gets knocked over with a rather hard charge as Nightingale is starting to pick up some steam. Nightingale’s middle rope dropkick sets up a cannonball for two but World is right back with the tabletop suplex for two of her own. That’s enough for Nightingale, who grabs a backslide to retain at 11:28.

Rating: C+. Why? Why did they do this? World is someone who often feels like she’s in over her head as champion and was presented as an underdog getting this far. Why in the world would you put her in a match where she has to lose clean? Sure Nightingale promised her the match. Just find a way to avoid that from happening and this result doesn’t have to happen. Totally fine match with a rather stupid result that didn’t need to happen.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show well enough, though dang I’m tired of the Continental Classic stuff. As usual, it’s a tournament of long matches to get us to a match for one of the many one off the many midcard titles. Seeing Moxley vs. Castagnoli isn’t very interesting but here we are getting to hear what a big deal it is. The rest of the show had a bunch of videos for All In, which is fine, but nothing on here felt like it was worth going out of your way to see. In other words, a normal Collision.

Results
Kyle O’Reilly b. Orange Cassidy – Ankle lock
Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Erica Leigh/Tiana James – Divine Intervention to James
Claudio Castagnoli b. Daniel Garcia – Sharpshooter
Hurt Syndicate/Lee Moriarty b. Matt Mako/Nic Nolan/Ryan O’Neil – Border City Stretch to Mako
Bang Bang Gang b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Blade Runner to Bravo
Nick Wayne/Tommaso Ciampa b. Komander/Mike Bailey – ProdigyPlex to Komander
Willow Nightingale b. Maya World – Backslide

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 19, 2026
Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

With less than two weeks to go before All In, it’s time for a pair of six man tags, both involving the Don Callis Family. You can tell it’s a special time of year when you get the same stable twice, but we also have the Continental Challenge Cup advancing into the next round. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

Will Ospreay/Henare/Francesco Akira vs. Don Callis Family

Ospreay and Cage start things off with Ospreay’s hurricanrana being countered into a powerbomb, which is escaped as well. Henare comes in to yell at Archer before the big exchange of forearms. Archer misses a charge into the corner and Henare hammers away as everything breaks down.

Some triple teaming has Archer down but Romero gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Akira is sent crashing out to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Akira fighting out of trouble to bring Henare back in. Cage strikes away at Henare to limited success but Archer’s Blackout is countered into a German suplex.

Ospreay comes back in to strike away at Romero, with Henare and Akira getting in on said strikes. Archer is back in and gets Samoan dropped, leaving Akira to grab a slingshot cutter on Romero. For some reason Romero does his sliding pose, leaving Ospreay to Hidden Blade him for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: B-. Well there was pretty much no way that Ospreay and company were going to lose to the Don Callis Family B Team. Ospreay gets through another week without having to do a ton, which is a smart way to go on the way to All In. This was about all it needed to be, hopefully with the Family being dispatched from the World Title story as they’re not needed.

Kazuchika Okada says it doesn’t matter who wins the International Title at All In, as long as it stays in the Don Callis Family. So if he wins the title, that’s perfectly fine! If he wins, Kyle Fletcher better raise his hand.

Here is Kyle Fletcher for a chat as this show is rather Don Callis Family heavy thus far. When asked about Okada’s comments, Fletcher isn’t sure why we need to move on from the greatest International Title reign of all time. He’s willing to go along with the plan, but Okada needs to know his role in this. The only thing that matters is that they all hate Konosuke Takeshita because he is a selfish, narcissistic jerk. Cue the returning Takeshita to interrupt and the brawl is on with Takeshita easily laying him out. Okada doesn’t appear for the save.

Earlier today, we had a sitdown interview with Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega. Renee Paquette brings up their time meeting quite a few years ago in PWG, with Ospreay saying Omega was a huge star and how honored he was to face Omega. On the other hand, Omega said that he was trying to keep track of the flavors of the month and while he wasn’t blown away at the time, he knew Ospreay had potential. We flash forward to the two meeting at New Japan Wrestle Kingdom, with Omega saying Ospreay was a totally different wrestler.

The idea was that Omega was coming back to face the new face of New Japan, but it was also a case of Ospreay not being able to sell the tickets without a star like Omega. Ospreay jumps back in, saying that Omega was a success off the backs of other stars and talks about how much he (Ospreay) had to do for New Japan during the pandemic. He had to wrestle in front of silent crowds and sit in hotel rooms alone, which Omega wouldn’t have been able to handle. Omega says they had the same situations here, and would fans have really cheered for Ospreay anyway?

Then it’s on to Forbidden Door 2023, where Ospreay had joined the Don Callis Family. Omega talks about how he was screwed over by Don Callis but Ospreay couldn’t learn from him and had to join up too. Ospreay talks about how all of his success was credited to Callis so beating Omega at Forbidden Door didn’t mean anything. Omega says that makes him feel like he’s beaten Ospreay twice already but Paquette brings up the diverticulitis.

That sends Omega into a bit of a rant as he’s tired of hearing about it as it has made him think more in the ring. What about Ospreay’s neck though? Is he ready for this kind of a match? Ospreay talks about how he kept trying to be nice to Omega but Omega kept leaving for weeks on end.

Omega says Ospreay wanted to face an injured version of Omega because it was easier. That sends Ospreay over the edge because he has to be better than Omega on his own to prove that he is the better man. Omega says Ospreay is going to fail again and brings up Ospreay’s mother, which has Ospreay on his feet. Win, lose, or draw, Omega will respect Ospreay. Omega brings up Ospreay’s son and that’s enough for Ospreay to chase Omega off.

There’s a lot here, as this ran about twelve minutes, but it did sell the story they’re trying to tell. While I could have done with a lot less about PWG and New Japan, as the story could have started with Forbidden Door 2023, they did a very good job of selling the story. That’s all the more impressive when you consider neither of these two are exactly known for their promo skills. It wasn’t an all time exchange, but it did what it needed to do rather well.

TBS Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Persephone vs. Maya World

Only World is defending (as Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line). World goes for an early rollup but gets broken up, leaving Shida to kick Statlander out to the floor. That leaves World to elbow Persephone in the corner but Statlander is back up to cut World off. Persephone takes over on the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Persephone German suplexing Statlander for two but the Tower Of Doom is broken up. Statlander gets World in a fireman’s carry, with Shida missile dropkicking them for the save. Back up and Statlander sends Shida flying with a toss Razor’s Edge but World reverses Staturday Night Fever into a cradle to retain at 9:39.

Rating: C+. This one could have gone either way as World has been a nice story as champion but I wasn’t sure if the reign was going to continue. Going with her is certainly an acceptable choice as she’s doing well with everything she’s doing thus far. Beating Statlander is certainly a big deal, and I’m curious to see who is coming for the belt next.

The Brawling Birds talk about going after Lena Kross/Megan Bayne on Collision and they’re ready to win the titles in front of a bunch of drunken Brits.

Continental Challenge Cup Quarterfinals: Jay White vs. Jon Moxley

They take their time circling each other and it’s an early standoff with Taz talking about both of them going for wrist control and how important that can be. AEW commentary gets a lot of flack, but Taz is excellent with that kind of stuff and always has been. Moxley takes him down with a hammerlock and sends White outside as we take an early break.

We come back with White slugging away and getting in a DDT. White strikes him down in the corner and a middle rope hurricanrana puts Moxley on the floor. Back in and the Blade Runner and Death Rider are both blocked so White suplexes him into the corner. A quick Rings Of Saturn has Moxley rolling over to the ropes and we take another break.

We come back again with Moxley winning a strike off and sending him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and White grabs his own snapdragon, followed by the swinging Rock Bottom for two. A rather hard top rope superplex gives White the same but Moxley is back with the choke. That’s reversed with a flip into a cover, setting up the Blade Runner to send Moxley outside. Back in and Moxley gets the bulldog choke into a Death Rider for a rather near fall. A rear naked choke makes White pass out for the win at 19:20.

Rating: B. Moxley is pretty much guaranteed at least a spot in the finals so this was a bit more about how we got to the result rather than the result itself. Moxley shrugged off a good bit of offense to win in the end, which is pretty much par for his course. It’s nice to see White having a long match like this and it was good overall, despite being longer than it needed to be.

Post match respect is teased but here are the Dogs, with the returning Gabe Kidd, to take White out. The Conglomeration, Hangman Page and Brodido run in for the save. The Demand comes in to say…that Page and Brodido can say whatever they want. Page says anyone who wants a Trios Title shot, come get it at All In.

Willow Nightingale interrupts Maya World, saying she can have a title shot on Collision. Works for World.

Here is Jonathan Cruz, better known as MJF’s Spanish translator. He’s here to explain MJF’s hatred of Andrade El Idolo, who isn’t a real man and not even as guapo as Cruz. If Andrade was here, Cruz would beat him in a match and I think you know where this is going.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Jonathan Cruz

Non-title I’m assuming. Dia de Los Muertos and the DM finish at 9 seconds. Cruz lost in case you’re new at this.

Post match Andrade rants in Spanish and calls out MJF, who answers rather quickly. Well on the Titantron that is, where he is shown in a hot tub in Long Island. MJF wasn’t about to come to a town like Baltimore because he’s going to beat up “Andrew” in London like the true World Champion. Andrade beats up Cruz some more. I’m still not sure how much MJF is getting out of this real World Champion thing but it doesn’t seem to be that helpful.

We get a split screen interview with Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone. Nightingale says Mone is jealous of the affection that Nightingale has from the fans. Mone rants about Nightingale doing all kinds of things to her and smiling at her. She’s taking Nightingale’s smile at All In, which is enough for Nightingale to storm off and find Mone for the brawl into the arena. Security can’t break them up until Mone is pulled outside.

Swerve Strickland is intrigued by the Trios Titles being an option for All In.

Continental Challenge Cup Quarterfinals: Nigel McGuinness vs. Hechicero

Hechicero’s CMLL World Title isn’t on the line and McGuinness has a bad ankle coming in (it’s so bad that he put his boot on and then taped it up). McGuinness threatens to go for the mask if Hechicero goes for the ankle, which is exactly what winds up happening. They get back up with Hechicero going for a front facelock before sending McGuinness into the ropes. That has McGuinness coming up holding the leg and a top rope clothesline drops him for two as we take a break.

We come back with McGuinness getting fired up and chopping away, only to get knocked into the corner. The very swinging backbreaker puts McGuinness down again and we’re off to the chinlock. McGuinness breaks out of that and tries the London Dungeon, only for Hechicero to reverse into a leglock. That’s broken up again and McGuinness gets in a knee, followed by a front chancery to actually put Hechicero out at 10:13.

Rating: B-. While I’d like to see the official medical records for McGuinness’ injury, they’ve got something with him trying to make it to Wembley injured but in one last quest for a win. It’s a good story, whether the injury is real or not, and that’s all you need. McGuinness is a likable guy and he’s getting to show what he can do, even with the horrible limping.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight.

Here is Knight for a chat. He’s not in the mood for questions from Tony Schiavone and calls out Allin, only to say cut off the music. Knight wants proof that Allin doesn’t have any weapons (like an exploding backpack) and says we’re not having a match tonight. Then the pyro goes off and Allin is blinded/burned, so it’s a Coast To Coast with a chair to make it even worse. Because blowing him up with pyro wasn’t enough. Allin is taken out on a stretcher.

Post break Allin is taken away on a stretcher when Knight comes in to gloat, with Sting’s son Steven Borden teasing going after him.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family

Will Ospreay gets in Omega’s face in the back before the entrances. And as the bell rings 17 minutes into the overrun, Clon and Matt start things off. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Family are cleared out to the floor but they’re right back in. This time the good guys are beaten down so the Family can pose as we take a break.

We come back with Matt managing to fight off Doyle and Davis, allowing Omega to get the tag. Omega beats up Clon and everything breaks down, with Omega and the Bucks hitting stereo dives. A snapdragon and triple superkick drop Doyle again and the One Winged Angel finishes him off at 10:17.

Rating: B-. They kept this one moving and there really wasn’t any reason for the match to go long. Ultimately, this was similar to the opener, with a main event star and tag team against three people who just aren’t on that level. Throw in the match starting so late and this was all it needed to be.

Post match the rest of the Don Callis Family runs in for the beatdown but Adam Copeland runs in for the save. Christian Cage….well he eventually gets there too. The Bucks accidentally superkick Copeland and Cage, allowing the Family to get back up and brawl with the four of them to the back. Omega grabs the mic but here is Will Ospreay to interrupt.

Ospreay says Omega has all the charm of a parking ticket and asks what Omega is going to do after bringing up his seven year old. Omega has security get rid of Ospreay (For what?) but Ospreay sprints in and the brawl is on. Security gets involved again and Omega hits Ospreay with a v Trigger. A One Winged Angel off the apron puts Omega through a table as Omega seems to be full on evil again on the way to All In. If one of them has to be, and they should, that’s the best choice as Ospreay is going to be over like free beer in a frat house over there.

Overall Rating: B. Insane amount of Don Callis Family stuff involved (the first non-Callis involved segment was 45 minutes in), this did some good stuff for All In, with the big focus being on Omega vs. Ospreay. That stuff went well, and while I could go for getting to the finals of the Continental Cup already, it made for some perfectly good, if not better, matches. This was the kind of show that the All In main event needed and that stuff worked.

Results
Will Ospreay/Francesco Akira/Henare b. Don Callis Family – Hidden Blade to Romero
Maya World b. Kris Statlander, Persephone and Hikaru Shida – Rollup to Statlander
Jon Moxley b. Jay White – Rear naked choke
Andrade El Idolo b. Jonathan Cruz – DM
Nigel McGuinness b. Hechicero – Front chancery
Kenny Omega/Young Bucks b. Don Callis Family – One Winged Angel to Doyle

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

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

Collision
Date: August 15, 2026
Location: Pearl Theater At Palms Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Paul Wight

We are just over two weeks away from the biggest show of the year and that means it’s time to focus on the Continental Classic Cup, with a couple more first round matches. Hopefully the rest of the show gets some more attention, as it could use a bit more of a spark. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

Trios Titles: Brodido/Hangman Page vs. Lethal Twist

The Twist is challenging. Page shoulders Christian down to start but is quickly cut off with a headscissors. Lethal tries to come in but only winds up helping Page moonsault onto Johnson. King drops a backsplash onto Johnson so Lethal makes a save before it’s off to Bandido. That earns Christian a handspring into the gun to the head pose so Johnson comes in to tie Bandido in the Tree Of Woe. The 619 and running dropkick hit Bandido and a moonsault takes Page down as we take a break.

We come back with Bandido’s corkscrew crossbody getting him out of trouble so King can come in to swat at the Twists like King Kong swatting at planes. The double Cannonball gives King two and Page is back in to clean house, including the slingshot dive to the floor (he looks pleased). King crushes Christian and Johnson against the barricade so Page can moonsault onto both of them.

We hit the parade of strikes so Christian can moonsault (popular move in this match) to King on the floor. Johnson adds a splash from the apron and a frog splash into a 450 gets two, with the kickout stunning Christian. Page is back in with the Buckshot though and an X Knee sets up a Ganso Bomb to pin Johnson and retain at 12:17.

Rating: B. These titles are a good choice to open a show and let the people go nuts and it helps that the champs are all rather popular. Bandido doing this is better than losing all the time in singles matches and that’s a relief after the absurd number of losses he’s had. Page needs something to do since he can’t go after the World Title so why not do this for a bit?

Post match Ricochet interrupts and here are the Gates Of Agony to jump the champs from behind. The Twist gets back up and the beatdown is even worse.

Don Callis is ready for Hechicero and Brian Cage to face off in the Continental Challenge Cup. Callis offers an interesting translation for Hechicero’s words of friendliness.

Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly say may the best man win in their match.

Continental Challenge Cup First Round: Hechicero vs. Brian Cage

Hechicero’s CMLL World Title isn’t on the line. Hechicero takes him down to start but gets chopped and forearmed in the corner. Back up and Hechicero’s running should doesn’t work so he kicks Cage’s leg out for a bit more success. Cage sends him hard into the corner though and it’s the apron superplex as we take a break.

We come back with Hechicero tying Cage’s arms up in the ropes until Cage swings him into a DDT for two of his own. The Drill Claw is broken up and a leglock sends Cage over to the ropes. A discus lariat gives Cage two so Hechicero is right back with the headscissor driver. Hechicero rolls him around and ties up the arms for the pin at 13:22.

Rating: B-. This was the power vs. technical match and they’re both good enough at their styles to make it work. At the same time, it’s also a heel vs. heel match between two of the lower stars in the massive Don Callis Family. It was only going to be so interesting, which is part of the problem with a lot of this tournament.

Darby Allin talks about how Sting taught him that he didn’t have to change a thing. Kevin Knight has changed everything to be a champion. What kind of a family is the Don Callis Family though? Allin gives Knight his word that he won’t jump him or attack him before All In, because Allin wants to beat him at his best. Was Allin next to a train for this? It wasn’t clear but that’s what it appeared to be.

The Rascalz are in a rather smoky room but Lio Rush pops in to talk about how everyone needs friends. That’s enough to scare the Rascalz away.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Rachelle Riveter/Mazzerati

Non-title. Kross shoves Mazzerati around to start and cuts off a headscissors with a side slam. Riveter comes in for a few shots to Bayne, who drops her hard with a clothesline. Double suplexes set up the Divine Intervention to finish Mazzerati at 2:19. As expected.

Post match the Brawling Birds come in for a fight but Kross and Bayne bail.

Zayda Steel has been waiting to face Mercedes Mone, who comes in to interrupt. Steel says she has lost respect for Mone, who doesn’t care and knocks her down.

Continental Challenge Cup First Round: Nigel McGuinness vs. Katsuyori Shibata

We get a tentative handshake to start and we’re ready to go. They go technical to start and keep trading escapes on the mat with Shibata getting the better of things and working on the arm. McGuinness kicks the rope into Shibata’s face to escape and Shibata gets more serious, meaning it’s a bunch of kicks to put McGuinness down. A snapmare sends Shibata’s ankle into the ropes though and we take a break.

We come back with Shibata getting a guillotine and then a sleeper, with McGuinness leaning down onto the banged up ankle for a brilliant escape. The Tower Of London is broken up but Shibata’s PK is countered with a kick to the leg. An ankle lock goes on but Shibata gets out and connects with the PK for a delayed two. Shibata grabs a sleeper so McGuinness drops back and flips over for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B. This was the technical off match and some of the stuff McGuinness was doing came off as so incredibly smart. It’s such a shame that he lost so much of his career due to injuries, as he was just so good at what he did. Him getting a Cinderella run to Wembley wouldn’t be crazy, but he’s a long way off from there.

Will Ospreay is going to call some friends in Japan to help him against the Don Callis Family.

Video on Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. the Young Bucks.

Rascalz/Lio Rush vs. Jeaux Braxton/Frescomatic/Watson/Ice Williams

The Rascalz are of course scared of Rush so he dives onto all four of the opponents before the bell. Williams gets clotheslined down to start and it’s off to Wentz to knee Braxton in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Rascalz still aren’t sure what to make of Rush. The Rascalz hit dives to the floor and a string of top rope dives hit Watson. Rush’s cravate choke makes him tap at 2:30.

Post match the Hurt Syndicate comes out and has a weird staredown with Rush.

Hurt Syndicate/Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Sonico/Jake Redondo/Ro Montana/Juli Montana

The Syndicate wreck the other team on their own to start and MVP uses his cane to conduct the WE HURT PEOPLE chants. Apparently the Syndicate’s retainer is up though and they leave, with Taylor’s Marcus Garvey Driver finishing Redondo at 2:10. Well that was different.

Tommaso Ciampa is in the Casino Gauntlet and warns everyone else involved. Simple and to the point here.

Mercedes Mone vs. Zayda Steel

Mone fires off the forearms to start but gets taken down with a springboard wristdrag. Steel’s Codebreaker through the ropes gets two so Mone flips her up into a gutbuster. The chinlock goes on and we take a break. We come back with Steel Stunnering her way out of a double arm choke. Steel strikes away and gets two off a high crossbody but Mone is back with a Backstabber. The Mone Maker into the Statement Maker (with Mone pulling at the jaws) makes Steel tap at 8:09.

Rating: C+. Well thank goodness Mone got to beat her up this badly after knocking her down in the back. There was a full half hour or so where Mone didn’t look like the biggest star in the world. I’m holding out hope that Willow Nightingale gets to keep the title at Wembley but history would suggest that isn’t going to happen.

Post match Mone beats up both Steel and Christopher Daniels until Willow Nightingale runs in to chase her off.

At Dynamite, a rather bloody Jack Perry was ready to become World Champion and he knows what he has to do to get there. He wants to face former World Champions so here is Swerve Strickland to say Perry can’t beat him. Perry disagrees.

Video on Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega.

Omega can’t stand the Don Callis Family so he and the Young Bucks want to face three of them next week. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage come in to talk to the Bucks, with Omega leaving. The Bucks say Copeland and Cage are old enough to be their father. Cage: “Who says I’m not?” And the Bucks have nothing.

Continental Challenge Cup First Round: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong

They go to the mat to start with Strong bailing away as we’re told that Nigel McGuinness is hurt and may be out of the tournament. O’Reilly’s seated abdominal stretch is broken up so O’Reilly starts in on the arm. Strong’s backbreaker cuts that off in a hurry but he gets sent to the floor. That’s fine with Strong, who counters O’Reilly’s suicide dive into a drop onto the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Strong hitting another backbreaker but banging up his own ankle in the process. They trade kicks to the chest until O’Reilly ankle locks him to the ropes. Another backbreaker onto the turnbuckle gives Strong two so O’Reilly suplexes him down. The cross armbreaker is blocked and they strike it out, with Strong’s knee getting two. Back up and O’Reilly quickly pulls him into a small package for the pin at 13:00.

Rating: B. This was pretty much exactly the match I was expecting, with a heavy technical aspect that wasn’t as entertaining as Shibata vs. McGuinness. Both guys are rather technically sound so the match was far from boring, but having good guy partners face each other is only so interesting. It was kind of an odd choice for a main event, though I’m not sure if there was a great choice on the entire card.

Post match a frustrated Strong shoves him down but pulls him back up for the hug.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, Collision is a tricky show to watch. The action was good as always, with McGuinness vs. Shibata being a lot of fun. At the same time though, AEW doesn’t really try to hide the fact that this show is almost strictly for the midcard. Between the multiple long Continental Cup matches and the two eight man tags, it definitely felt like they were just putting as many things out there as they could. In other words, a perfectly good show and rather worthwhile if you’re more into the in-ring side of things, but not so thrilling if you want some storyline spice.

Results
Brodido/Hangman Page b. Lethal Twist – Ganso Bomb to Johnson
Hechicero b. Brian Cage – Arm trap crucifix
Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Rachelle Riveter/Mazzerati – Divine Intervention to Mazzerati
Nigel McGuinness b. Katsuyori Shibata – Flipping cradle
Rascalz/Lio Rush b. Jeaux Braxton/Frescomatic/Watson/Ice Williams – Cravate choke to Watson
Hurt Syndicate/Shane Taylor Promotions b. Sonico/Jake Redondo/Ro Montana/Juli Montana – Marcus Garvey Driver to Redondo
Mercedes Mone b. Zayda Steel – Statement Maker
Kyle O’Reilly b. Roderick Strong – Small package

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 12, 2026
Location: The Pearl Theater At The Palms, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight

We’re getting closer to All In and the card has been getting a nice boost in the last few weeks. Last week was Grand Slam, with MJF returning and he wants in the Casino Gauntlet Match later this month. Other than that, we have the continuing saga of Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay, which will likely get a lot of focus here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Will Ospreay to get things going. He was so glad to be back in Arena Mexico last week because the last time he was there, he found out that his grandfather had passed away. Ospreay wanted him to be there for some great moments of his life but that wasn’t going to happen. What he has learned though is that he has to do some things to be the biggest star in AEW. He is here to set an example and that’s why he was in a street fight last week.

One person was watching at home on his sofa and that was World Champion Kenny Omega. Last week, Omega probably said “oh s*** hes going to pull the trigger” and since Omega is actually here this week, why not grace us with your presence? Instead cue Don Callis, who talks about how he and Omega won the World Title in December 2020. Then Omega decided that he could do this on his own so Callis stabbed him in the head.

The reality is Ospreay owes him everything and the reality is the road to Wembley is paved in Ospreay’s blood. Cue the Don Callis Family for the beatdown but Omega makes the save with a pipe. Omega teases hitting Ospreay with the pipe but stops to say that Ospreay never thinks. Omega warned him about Callis and Jon Moxley and look what happened.

That’s why Ospreay will lose at All In, but that’s not the man Omega wants to face there. Omega helps him up but says that he can’t do this again. From now on, it’s the two of them. Ospreay appreciates the help, though he didn’t ask for it and he won’t need it. Please don’t have Callis be involved in this. It doesn’t seem like he will be, but please just leave him out of the thing.

We recap the Continental Challenge Cup.

We run down the card.

We look at MJF returning last week and attacking Andrade El Idolo.

Nick Wayne vs. MJF vs. Mike Bailey

For the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet match and MJF grabs Justin Roberts by the throat, insisting that he be introduced as “the one true champion”. MJF, with his heavily taped leg, drops to the floor to start and rants on commentary a bit before going to ringside. Wayne and Bailey trade missed kicks until Wayne knocks him outside for the big running flip dive. Bailey kicks him off the apron for the triangle moonsault, allowing MJF to run the ropes and flip the fans off.

MJF pulls Bailey off the ropes for a crash onto the turnbuckle but stops to yell at Wayne. That earns him a superkick but Bailey is back up to kick Wayne in the face. Bailey knocks both of them to the floor for a springboard moonsault and we take a break. We come back with Bailey missing the Ultimate Weapon but giving Wayne a Falcon Arrow instead. That means a shooting star press can give Bailey two before he has to save MJF Wayne. Now the Ultimate Weapon can hit Wayne, but MJF runs in to give Wayne the Salt Of The Earth for the tap at 12:02.

Rating: B-. As soon as Wayne, the #1 contender to the Ring Of Honor World Title, was announced for this match, it wasn’t a question of would he take the fall but rather how he would take the fall. This comes after his loss last month in his most recent AEW match and I don’t even know why I bother getting annoyed anymore. MJF winning in this way is right on note for him, with Bailey being there to make it a three way.

Post match MJF brags about his win but here is Andrade El Idolo……’s music, because he’s not here after MJF gave him a beating last week. Andrade is scared of him, just like Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, who will find out that he is the one true champion.

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne are at the Brawling Birds bar and knock some beers over while making threats. That place is no Friendly Tap.

Mick Foley is with the Bang Bang Gang, with Jay White welcoming him to the team. Anyway, White threatens David Finlay about tonight’s Continental Challenge Cup match. Foley can’t quite get the pose right.

Continental Challenge Cup First Round: David Finlay vs. Jay White

They go outside to start fast with the brawling until Finlay takes over inside. Finlay stomps him down in the corner but gets clotheslined to the floor for the slingshot dive. Back in and Finlay’s neckbreaker gets him out of trouble and we take a break. We come back with White fighting up to chop away in the corner.

The Blade Runner is countered into a rollup for two but White grabs a German suplex…and we pause as White seems a bit shaken up. Finlay is right in with a DDT for two so White gives him a running double underhook facebuster. The Blade Runner is countered again, this time into a brainbuster onto Finlay’s knee for two more. White slips out of a suplex though and the Blade Runner connects for the pin at 13:20.

Rating: B-. This was treated as a big grudge match though I’m still not really caring about a feud that happened in Japan years ago. Since then, the Dogs vs. the Gang hasn’t exactly lit the place on fire and this didn’t make it better. At least White is back in the ring and not injured again, which you never can really bet on with him.

Here are Hangman Page and Brodido for a chat. Brodido get to be happy about their win but here is the returning Swerve Strickland to cut Page off. Prince Nana throws Tony Schiavone out, leaving Strickland to say these three have all had issues with him but now they’re friends. Strickland goes over his issues with Brodido and it all leaves him coming back to Page. Now Page can’t even challenge for the World Title, so he’s here with these two?

Page points out that Strickland has nothing to show for everything he’s done this year but here are the Demand/Lethal Twist to interrupt. Ricochet talks about how this is trio business and mocks Strickland for dropping the Gates Of Agony. Last week, Toa Liona’s shoulders weren’t down so the titles still belong to the Demand, so Strickland needs to get out of here. Strickland goes to leave but does stop to call Ricochet a b****. Ricochet turns down Page’s challenge and that’s it. I really could have gone with more of the Strickland stuff and less of the six people interrupting.

Earlier today, Willow Nightingale was sitting down for an interview but Mercedes Mone jumped her and called her a dumb b****.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Chris Jericho

Knight is defending and jumps him to start, only to get planted with a brainbuster. A backbreaker gives Jericho two and he sends Knight outside. The dive connects and Jericho stops to sit on Paul Wight’s lap. Knight gets in a knockdown of his own though and we take a break. We come back with Knight’s Lionsault hitting raised knees but being able to backdrop Jericho onto the ramp.

Jericho shrugs off some stomps and grabs an AA of all things before going after Don Callis. A diving Knight misses for a crash to the floor and they go back inside. An exchange of rollups gets two each and they trade rollups with feet on the ropes for the same so Knight gives him a running DDT. Knight’s super hurricanrana is countered into a superbomb and then the Walls in the middle of the ring.

That sounds good for Jericho, but he keeps nodding his head at Callis, who comes into the ring, but runs away as Jericho drags Knight from the middle to near the ropes….so Callis can stab Jericho with the screwdriver. Sweet goodness that was horrible. Knight goes up for a Coast To Coast, which somehow only gets two. Jericho Codebreakers him out of the air so Knight kicks him low, setting up the Crash Landing for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: C. Geez. Between the ridiculous botch from Jericho and Callis (the latter of whom at least tried to make it work by coming inside) and the usual nonsense of AEW not knowing when to end a match (there was zero reason to keep it going after the Coast To Coast), this was just a mess. I don’t know if it’s Jericho not having it any more or trying to do too much, but this didn’t work for the most part. Knight can do some good things in there, but this was a mess.

Claudio Castagnoli is ready for anyone in the Continental Cup Classic. Jon Moxley appears to be the same, with the grappling taking place while Castagnoli was talking apparently firing him up.

Kris Statlander vs. Viva Van

Van actually snaps off a hurricanrana to start and Statlander thinks about it for a second. That just earns her a spinwheel kick, plus a faceplant off the top into a missile dropkick. Statlander is back up with a superkick and discus lariat, setting up Staturday Night Fever for the pin at 3:09.

Rating: C. This was a weird match with Statlander getting beaten up for a good chunk of the thing, with Van getting in some snazzy offense. Van continues to be someone who feels like a potential project but it hasn’t really taken off yet. I’m not sure why Statlander got beaten up that much to start but it was an odd setup.

Post match here is Mick Foley, who announces a four way for the TBS Title, with Statlander, Hikaru Shida and Persephone challenging Maya World. Statlander is ready for some revenge but here are Shida and Persephone for their scheduled match.

Hikaru Shida/Persephone vs. Maya World/Thunder Rosa

World headlocks Persephone to start, sending her outside to escape. Rosa comes in for a running headscissors to Shida, plus a running clothesline. Rosa headscissors and headlocks them both down at once but gets sent throat first into the rope as we take a break. We come back with Rosa still in trouble but reversing a double suplex into a double DDT.

World is back in with a missile dropkick into a fall away slam to send Persephone outside. Shida kicks World outside but gets high crossbodied by Rosa. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets two more with World making the save and getting jumped by Persephone. Rosa takes Persephone out and it’s the tabletop suplex to give World the pin on Shida at 10:34.

Rating: C+. World getting the pin was the right call here as she is still getting established as a real threat around here. At the same time, having her beat one of her challengers for next week might not have been the best way to get ready for the title match. Persephone is still getting better around here and it’s good to see her getting a chance to show what she can do. On the other hand you have Rosa and I have no idea what she has going on at the moment, but it doesn’t exactly feel like much.

Darby Allin talks about how he has no regrets from the World Title reign because he gambled and lost. Then he was attacked by Kevin Knight, so now Allin wants him in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Kyle Fletcher wants to defend the International Title at All In. He wants to defend against Konosuke Takeshita but Don Callis suggests adding Kazuchika Okada so the Family keeps the title. Fletcher leaves without saying yes. It feels like these people have been doing this “we don’t like each other but have to work together because we all hate Takeshita” forever. Wrap it up already.

Continental Challenge Cup First Round: Jon Moxley vs. Jack Perry

Moxley wrestles him down to start but Perry gets up for an actual clean break at the rope. Perry knocks him outside but the suicide dive is knocked out of the air. With his eye cut open, Perry tries to fight back but gets sent into the timekeeper’s area as we take a break. We come back with Moxley pounding on the cut and rubbing Perry’s face on the mat to make it worse.

Moxley ties up the leg and neck at the same time, with Perry having to make the rope. Perry finally manages to send him outside for a bunch of dives, including a moonsault out to the floor. Back in and Moxley hits a quick clothesline and piledriver for two, plus another two off another clothesline.

Moxley goes off with shots to the face, to the point where the referee stops him to check on Perry. That’s enough for Perry to get back up for the exchange of forearms (a Moxley signature) until Perry pulls him into the Snare Trap. Moxley rolls out of that and slaps on the bulldog choke for the win at 15:42.

Rating: B-. So Moxley beats him up to start, beats him up some more, shrugs off Perry’s offense, escapes Perry’s submission, and then chokes him out. What a great way to make Perry look like he’s in over his head as Moxley, again, gets to look like the most awesome thing ever. Hopefully he at least doesn’t win the tournament again, though it certainly wouldn’t surprise me.

Post match Moxley shakes Perry’s hand, because that saves some of Perry’s face I guess?

Overall Rating: C+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as much as I do most Dynamites, as it had a lot of stuff that felt like it was setting stuff up for the future rather than doing much here. That’s something you need at times, but between the horrible ending to Jericho vs. Knight and Moxley’s near squash of Perry (which of course took fifteen minutes), this was a long show that had a lot of tournament stuff and Don Callis. That’s not the best night and I wasn’t into this for the most part.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Mike Bailey and Nick Wayne – Salt Of The Earth to Wayne
Jay White b. David Finlay – Blade Runner
Kevin Knight b. Chris Jericho – Crash Landing
Kris Statlander b. Viva Van – Staturday Night Fever
Maya World/Thunder Rosa b. Hikaru Shida/Persephone – Tabletop suplex to Shida
Jon Moxley b. Jack Perry – Bulldog choke

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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