AEW Dynamite – July 15, 2026: Wow That’s A Lot

Dynamite
Date: July 15, 2026
Location: MGM Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with one of the bigger Dynamites of the year and now we have less than two weeks before Redemption. Last week saw Kenny Omega regain the World Title in a heck of a fight against MJF which means the title match at the pay per view (assuming there is one) could go in a few directions. The rest of the Redemption card needs to be set up as well so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Beach Break recap.

Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta warm up for their Tag Team Title match. Jon Moxley fires them up and then tells Will Ospreay that he has earned this but it is time for some hard decisions. Ospreay has to take the shot when he has the chance, no matter the target.

Tag Team Titles: Death Riders vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage

Copeland and Cage are defending. Yuta goes for Copeland’s leg to start before driving him down by the arm. That just earns him a big boot so it’s off to Cage vs. Garcia. Cage backs him into the corner and it’s back to Copeland to hammer away. The Riders tie Copeland up in the ring skirt though and pound him down to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Copeland grabbing a powerslam, allowing a tag back to Cage. That means house can be cleaned quickly, with Garcia having his neck snapped over the top rope. Everything breaks down and Yuta’s German suplex gets two on Cage. The Riders do their weird spinning circle thing and then go to take off a turnbuckle pad. That’s enough for Cage to get in a low blow, followed by the spear to pin Yuta and retain at 11:57.

Rating: C+. This was perfectly acceptable match and they didn’t stay out there too long, which makes sense as there was no reason to think Garcia and Yuta were winning the titles. There is nothing wrong with getting the champs out there for a simple title defense and at least it’s against a regular team. Not bad here, with Cage just kicking Yuta low to set up the finish being pretty funny.

Post match the Dogs run in and beat the champs down so here is the Bang Bang Gang for the save. The Dogs are cleared out and Cage and Jay White have a staredown but things stay peaceful.

We look at Hikaru Shida attacking Harley Cameron after their match and Queen Aminata making the save. Aminata gets a TBS Title shot on Collision.

Video on Andrade El Idolo.

Andrade is ready to beat Jake Doyle and move on to eventually win the World Title. Oh and he has the Dynamite Diamond Ring, seemingly thanks to Will Ospreay. How you know?

The Conglomeration tease an open challenge for the Trios Titles and the Demand interrupt. Don’t worry though because they’re not going to lay a finger on the champs….but here is the Lethal Twist to jump the Conglomeration instead. Ricochet: “They’re not in the Demand!”

Andrade El Idolo vs. Jake Doyle

If Andrade wins, he gets a National Title shot against Mark Davis. Doyle knocks him outside at the bell and then hits the running shots in the corner. Andrade gets a boot up though and an enziguri sends Doyle back outside. We pause for the photo with the woman before they head inside…and go right back outside, where Doyle chokeslams him onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Doyle knocking him down again. Andrade knocks him to the floor though and hits the middle rope moonsault, only to get powerbombed back inside. Doyle’s big right hand knocks Andrade out of the air for two but Andrade spinning elbows him in the face. The DM finishes Doyle at 12:15.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much the most obvious result in the world but it went fine, as the fans are WAY into Andrade at the moment. It makes sense too as he’s on fire and dripping with charisma. Keep going with him for the moment, as it’s working for the moment, though there is always the chance that Andrade could turn it off at a moment’s notice.

Video on Kenny Omega winning the World Title back last week.

Here is Omega for his World Title celebration. Hold on though as here are the Young Bucks to present Omega with the original World Title design. Omega didn’t think he was going to get back to this spot again and thanks everyone for believing in him. We have less than fifty days before All In and you are going to see the best version of Omega. This brings in Will Ospreay, who asks the Bucks to talk to Omega on his own.

The Bucks leave in peace and Ospreay is glad to see Omega as World Champion again. Last week Omega got hit in the face with the belt “and then you kicked out at once you cheeky slag!” Ospreay has wanted to be just a fraction of the wrestler Omega is and now he wants to show everyone what they can do at All In.

Cue Kevin Knight to interrupt, saying he wants to face Omega one on one. Knight wants the title shot at Redemption but Omega says no…but he’ll give Knight a title shot anyway because he thinks Knight has something. Then Knight listened to Don Callis, which Omega understands. Omega did that before and he bought into the idea, but Knight doesn’t need to be there.

Now Omega is saying the same thing that everyone but Callis believe: Knight doesn’t need Callis because he could be champion on his own. That makes Knight the only real fraud because there is a good guy in there who doesn’t need Callis. If Knight is getting the title shot, Omega wants him to get it on his own. Knight says there isn’t goodness in him, because it’s greatness.

With that, Knight decks Omega with the microphone and ducks the Hidden Blade to escape. Darby Allin runs in to jump Knight so here is the Don Callis Family to beat Allin down. The Death Riders come in for the save. Maybe a segment that was about Omega and Ospreay, with Knight coming in for his part, shouldn’t wind up having about a dozen people involved?

Jack Perry issues an open challenge for Collision. Luchasaurus is his tech guy.

Brodido vs. Nick Comoroto/Aaron Solo

Bandido gets to show off a bit with the gorilla press to Comoroto before King drops him onto Comoroto for an early two. King knocks them both down and Bandido’s frog splash gets a double pin at 2:16. That was efficient.

Post match Bandido runs into Kyle Fletcher and gives him a wanted poster. Oh sweet goodness Bandido is going to lose another singles match on PPV and no one is going to care about the Ring Of Honor World Title in the slightest isn’t he? It’s a rhetorical question because OF COURSE HE IS.

International Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Komander

Fletcher is defending and gets taken down for an early near fall, which has Fletcher thinking twice. Komander sends him outside but gets pulled out of the air, allowing Fletcher to boot him in the face. Back in and Fletcher knocks him to the floor, setting up the big rope walk flip dive as we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher laughing at Komander striking away until a superkick puts Fletcher down. An apron superplex is escaped and Komander flips him off the top for a roll to the floor. Komander hits a big dive and a 450 gets two back inside. Cielito Lindo is broken up so Komander goes with a super Destroyer for two. A Michinoku Driver gives Fletcher two and he grabs the brainbuster to retain at 11:02.

Rating: B. Good match here, which shouldn’t be a shock. Komander getting title shot after title shot became a running joke but his matches have been enough of a blast to shake a lot of that off. At the same time you have Fletcher, who works well with anyone. Again, they didn’t go too long in a match where there was no drama and that helps so much.

Post match Fletcher goes for the mask so Konosuke Takeshita runs in for the save. Kazuchika Okada is here too though and the Rainmaker drops Takeshita. Brodido run in to take out Okada and Fletcher.

Kenny Omega is ready to face Kevin Knight but Darby Allin comes in to say Knight isn’t changing overnight. Allin is ready to take the TNT Title and leaves. Jon Moxley comes in to agree that some people cannot change.

Here are the Brawling Birds for a chat. They want the Women’s Tag Team Titles and All In is coming up so let’s consume alcohol.

Chris Jericho wants a rematch with Tommaso Ciampa at Redemption but he’ll bring the Painmaker.

Ciampa is in and issues an open challenge for Collision.

Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage

Cage jumps him to start fast and drops him onto the ramp as Taz talks about making the mistake of paying for Cage’s dinner before. Allin is sent flying with a fall away slam and we take a break. We come back with Allin hitting a running dropkick off the steps and grabbing a super Code Red for a near fall. Allin’s suicide dive connects but Cage is right back up with a gorilla press toss to send Allin head first into the post. Naturally Allin is up again with a Coffin Drop onto Cage onto the steps, followed by a regular one to pin Cage at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Have I mentioned that I’m sick of Allin doing stupid stunts in a match and then popping back up to win? It’s just been a few years of the same thing now and that’s a bit irritating. Allin vs. the Don Callis Family isn’t exactly an original story but at least he has a feud with Knight already built up and he very well may take the TNT Title next week.

Kyle Fletcher is ticked off and ready to defend against anyone. For now, he wants Bandido and the title shot is offered for Redemption.

Kevin Knight and Don Callis are ready to take out Kenny Omega. Mike Bailey comes in to say he’s ready for Knight to change back.

Maya World/Hyan/Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne/Mercedes Mone

Nightingale backs Mone into the ropes to start and the other four come in, with Hyan and World taking over in the corners. We settle down to Nightingale cartwheeling out of a whip into the corner but missing an enziguri. Kross is knocked down into the corner though, leaving Mone to get beaten up by Hyan and World. Mone is tossed onto Kross and Bayne and we take a break.

We come back with Mone hitting a Backstabber for two on World. Back up and World brings in Nightingale to clean house, including some elbows in the corner. A powerbomb gets two on Bayne and everyone knocks everyone else down for a big breather. Mone grabs Three Amigos to World and hits the frog splash with Hyan making the save. Bayne and Kross are back up but Nightingale breaks up the Divine Intervention. The Pounce sends Bayne flying and Hyan spears Mone, who is right back with the Mone Maker for the pin at 13:54.

Rating: B-. Well that was….long. It came at the end of a rather lengthy show but we needed every single bit of Mone’s stuff in there. After all, it had been a full what, hour or so since the last Eddie Guerrero tribute? Anyway, I’m not sure I get why Mone needed the attention here (yes it’s her hometown and Heaven forbid a heel not be the conquering hero in their hometown) when Nightingale is a week and a half away from her title shot, but I’m sure it made sense to Mone.

Overall Rating: B. They had to cover A LOT of ground here as there isn’t much time left for Redemption. While they managed to make that happen, which is rather impressive, they did it so fast that it was quite the packed show. It worked more than it didn’t, though it still had a lot of the same issues that tend to come up in AEW (inconsistencies with title shots, way too many champion vs. champion matches, so many people flying around, the obsession with Mone looking stronger than Superman). I’m beyond the point of believing those things are going to change, so all things considered, this show went pretty well.

Results
Christian Cage/Adam Copeland b. Death Riders – Spear to Yuta
Andrade El Idolo b. Jake Doyle – DM
Brodido b. Aaron Solo/Nick Comoroto – Double pin
Kyle Fletcher b. Komander – Brainbuster
Mercedes Mone/Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Hyan/Maya World/Willow Nightingale – Mone Maker to World

 

 

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AEW Collision – July 11, 2026: My Anniversary Show

Collision
Date: July 11, 2026
Location: Berglund Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

So Hangman Page is back. You might not have heard about this because Tony Khan announced it in a livestream on Friday rather than on the big Dynamite earlier this week but Page is indeed back. That leads to the question of what he is going to do, but with about two weeks to go before Redemption, he has to figure something out. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Kenny Omega winning the World Title back from MJF on Dynamite.

Here is Hangman Page (with a not great haircut and recently having had a vasectomy) to say that he is….a gardener? He brags about his butterfly weed and talks about how fascinating it is to plant seeds and see what they become. Page wanted to be here in Roanoke because he needed to plant another seed.

Back in March, he lost a Texas Death match to MJF and maybe that was overconfidence, but he did lose. He’ll be a man of his word and never challenge for the World Title again. There are other titles to come after though and he’s coming for some of them. This felt like “Oh well, Page is nearby, let him show up and say something.”

Beach Break recap.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Bandido is defending and thankfully we hear about Shibata’s undefeated streak in Ring Of Honor rather than his success in AEW. Shibata backs him into the ropes to start and we get a clean break. Bandido gets wrestled to the mat without much trouble and has to go to the ropes to escape a kneebar.

Back up and they trade some running kicks in the corner with Shibata getting the better of things. Bandido pops up for a frog splash crossbody, only to get crotched on top. A running boot puts Bandido on the floor and we take an early break. We come back with Shibata knocking him out to the apron for a DDT, followed by a suplex on the floor.

They go back inside for the exchange of chops until Bandido grabs a gorilla press. A shooting star press of all things gives Bandido two but the X Knee is blocked. Back up and another X Knee connects but Shibata reverses the 21 Plex into a suplex of his own. Shibata hits a clothesline and tries a low blow, which is reversed into la majistral to retain at 12:33.

Rating: B-. This was your latest random Bandido title defense and as usual, it worked fine. If nothing else it’s nice to see Bandido winning a match on AEW TV, as he hasn’t had the best record around here. He’s rather talented, but it would be nice to see him have a feud over the title rather than one off matches with the title on the line. Just to mix it up for a change.

Earlier today, Hikaru Shida bragged about winning the TBS Title and ignored Harley Cameron’s praise before their title match.

Mike Bailey is ready to win the National Title.

TBS Title: Harley Cameron vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending and jumps her before the bell. The bell rings and Shida sends her face first into the mat but Cameron gets in some kicks to the face. One of them sends Shida outside and a DDT on the floor has Shida in trouble for a full 17 seconds. With that out of the way, Shida hits a backbreaker into a running knee and we take a break.

We come back with Cameron hammering away in the corner but a sunset bomb is countered. Naturally Cameron bites the leg and grabs a half crab. Shida makes the rope and hits a running knee, setting up the weird surfboard hold to make Cameron tap out at 9:41.

Rating: C+. I can go for Shida getting a win in her first title defense but at the same time, it would be nice to not see Cameron lose so often. She can only be so bulletproof with her insane charisma and having her win something important would be nice for a change. That doesn’t seem likely anytime soon, but at least they’ve Shida’s reign is off to a nice start.

Post match Shida hammers on Cameron until Queen Aminata runs in for the save.

The Lethal Twist and Demand surround Matt Sydal. Threats are made but Sydal calls Ricochet bald and runs off.

Kyle Fletcher is happy with his International Title win but wants to see Brian Cage destroy the Rascalz.

We look at Brawl In The Ballpark, which saw some AEW matches take place at a Minnesota Twins game. Tying AEW to something big like Major League Baseball is a great thing.

Here is the Conglomeration for a chat. They liked Brawl In The Ballpark but know someone who wants to be a champion. This brings out Willow Nightingale, who is sad because she was out of action but she’s ready to go to Wembley. She’s going to prove that she’s ready to be the best and at Redemption, she’ll carry the Women’s Title around her waist.

Skye Blue is ready for Thekla to take out Willow Nightingale. And the Sisters Of Sin aren’t happy with Megan Bayne/Lena Kross.

Death Riders vs. Top Flight/AR Fox/Komander

Garcia takes Darius down to start so Darius takes Garcia down as well. Fox comes in for a spinning suplex but gets dragged into the corner for the tag to Moxley, with the fans rather approving. A quick takedown is enough for Moxley, so it’s off to Castagnoli to backbreaker a diving Komander. That’s shrugged off and Komander fights up to clean house with a hurricanrana. Everything breaks down and we take an early break.

We come back with Dante in trouble and getting stomped down for an early one count. Dante is sent outside for the stomping so Komander is there with the rope walk dive. Back in and Fox grabs a cutter, followed by the dives to the floor. The Swanton hits Garcia but Castagnoli swings Fox. Top Flight armdrags Moxley to the floor for a dive, leaving Komander to slug away on Garcia and Yuta. Fox is back in for the save but misses a 450, meaning it’s the running uppercuts in the corner. The Scorpion Deathlock has Fox in trouble and Moxley adds a Stomp to give Garcia the pin at 12:29.

Rating: B-. This got fun for a bit, though I’m not sure why the Death Riders needed so long to beat a thrown together team of people without the most success. That being said, it was good enough action and that’s about all you can ask for on a lot of Collisions. What else is Moxley going to do? Not appear on every show?

Post match Moxley declares it as the Death Riders against the World.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne are sick of the tag team division, especially the Sisters Of Sin. Just keep carrying Thekla’s bags.

Thekla doesn’t think much of anyone but the Triangle Of Madness. Willow Nightingale can keep talking about her happiness but Thekla is going to take her out.

The Bang Bang Gang continue to offer their neutering services. I think we get the joke already.

Zachary Wentz vs. Brian Cage

Wentz knocks him to the apron to start and hits the handstand kick to the head, setting up the required dive. Cage fights back and hits the apron superplex and we take an early break. We come back with Wentz hitting a missile dropkick to leave both of them down. A handspring knee to the face gets two and a middle rope cutter drops Cage for two more. Cage blasts him with a discus lariat though and an apron German superplex sets up the Drill Claw to finish Wentz at 7:53.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty basic formula match with the fast paced guy against the monster and that’s all it should have been. Cage cuts Wentz off to get revenge for Kyle Fletcher and the Don Callis Family gets to celebrate for a bit. That being said, Cage’s return makes me wonder why the Family needs so many monsters, especially when a lot of them just stand around in the back.

Post match Trent Beretta gets in the ring and declares himself the winner over Darby Allin. Cue Allin and we’re having a match.

Darby Allin vs. Trent Beretta

Allin knocks him outside to start but gets distracted by Cage, allowing Beretta to take over. Back in and a quick Coffin Drop attempt is blocked, with Beretta hitting a backdrop into a faceplant. Allin fights up and dives onto Cage, only to get Strong Zeroed onto the apron for two. Beretta takes him up top but gets caught in a super Code Red. The Coffin Drop finishes for Allin at 4:20.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what the point was in having Allin just show up at the last second with no indication that he wouldn’t be around, but at least he won in a fun match. That’s all it needed to be and it’s not like Beretta losing is going to hurt her in the slightest. The fans are going to love Allin no matter what he’s doing and getting him on the show makes sense, pretty much no matter how he gets there.

Post match Cage is in to powerbomb Allin over and over, with Mike Bailey running in for the save.

Willow Nightingale meets Maya World and a six woman tag is set up for Dynamite, with the two of them and Hyan vs. Mercedes Mone/Lena Kross/Megan Bayne.

Andrade El Idolo is on a boat. How you know? Because that’s what the video shows him doing.

National Title: Mike Bailey vs. Mark Davis

Davis is defending and Kyle Fletcher is on commentary. Bailey can’t get a cross armbreaker to start so Davis slams him down for a backsplash. A big chop gives Davis two and he bites Bailey’s toe for a bonus. Bailey fights up and fires off the kicks in the corner, setting up a super hurricanrana. They go outside, where Davis piledrives him onto the announcers’ table and we take a break.

We come back with Bailey rolling out of a piledriver attempt and kicking him in the chest for two. A double knockdown leaves both of them getting a breather before Doyle bites the toe again. Bailey kicks him in the head and slightly overshoots the Ultimate Weapon for two. Jake Doyle offers a distraction and Davis gets in a kind of reverse Vertebreaker.

Bailey’s arm trap sunset flip gets two and Fletcher is panicking on the floor. The tornado kick sets up a missed Ultimate Weapon and Davis drops him with a running elbow. They fight to the apron, where Bailey’s moonsault knees miss, allowing Davis to clothesline him into the piledriver to retain at 14:13.

Rating: B+. This got rolling near the end and I wasn’t sure who was going to win, which is always a nice feeling. As usual, Bailey is a heck of a star in the ring and the stuff outside of the bells isn’t his best work. They kept that to a minimum here and things worked better as a result. Davis is doing rather well as a monster and that’s a lot more than I was expecting when he started his singles push.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event helped it a lot but there was quite a bit of the Don Callis Family on this show and that wasn’t a great thing. As usual, this show is entertaining enough while it lasts, but it always feels like it would be that much more effective at half of the length. Either way, it’s another perfectly good wrestling show without much going on and that’s pretty much Collision in a nutshell.

Results
Bandido b. Katsuyori Shibata – La majistral
Hikaru Shida b. Harley Cameron – Surfboard choke
Death Riders b. AR Fox/Death Riders/Komander – Stomp to Fox
Brian Cage b. Zachary Wentz – Drill Claw
Darby Allin b. Trent Beretta – Coffin Drop
Mark Davis b. Mike Bailey – Piledriver

 

 

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AEW Collision – July 2, 2026: The Long Wrapup

Collision
Date: July 2, 2026
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

It’s a rare Thursday show as there isn’t much of a point of airing in the usual 4th Of July time slot. The big story here is the rapid fire build towards Redemption, but we also have an extra push towards next Wednesday’s World Title match between MJF and Kenny Omega. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Death Riders vs. Shingo Takagi/Drilla Moloney

Pac and Takagi fight over arm control to start with Takagi getting in a headlock takeover. After a bit of a breather, Pac grabs a headlock of his own, followed by a running headscissors. Moloney comes in to shoulder Castagnoli down and some chops put him in the wrong corner. A rolling neckbreaker drops Castagnoli again and we take a break.

We come back with Moloney in trouble but jumping over Pac into a dropkick. Takagi comes back in and gets knocked down, only to drop Pac just as fast. An enziguri puts Pac down again and it’s back to Castagnoli vs. Moloney. A spinebuster drops Castagnoli and a top rope elbow gives Moloney two, with Takagi celebrating early. Everything breaks down and a powerbomb leaves everyone down again.

The Swing into the dropkick gets two on Takagi with Moloney making the save. Moloney is taken to the floor, where Daniel Garcia pops up to choke him from the crowd. That leaves Pac to clothesline Takagi for two as this match is still going. Moloney’s piledriver to Garcia on the floor is broken up and Takagi clotheslines Castagnoli. Garcia comes in for a distraction and Castagnoli rolls Takagi up for the pin at 18:12.

Rating: B-. Well that was long. I’m really not sure if we needed to keep up something set up with a bonus match thrown onto the Kickoff Show but AEW does some odd things. The match was good enough, though it seemed a bit slow paced until things picked up at the end. Hopefully this wraps it up though, as the Death Riders feuding with another stable sounds very tiring.

The Conglomeration is upset about Tomohiro Ishii and Mark Briscoe being out and injured. They’re still scared of Lio Rush (though he might like them), but Konosuke Takeshita wants to face El Phantasmo.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Brian Cage

Andrade jumps him to start fast and they trade the rather hard chops in the corner. Cage gets in a slam into a legdrop but Andrade knocks him outside for the corkscrew drive. We pause for the picture with the fan, allowing Cage to hit the apron superplex as we take a break. We come back with Cage charging into a knee in the corner, setting up the double moonsault to give Andrade two.

Three Amigos connect for Andrade but Page is back with a 619 into the sitout powerbomb for two more. Cage gets knocked off the top and it’s a frog splash to give Andrade another near fall. The running knees in the corner connect for Andrade, with Cage popping back up for an F5. Cage’s big clothesline is countered with the spinning elbow, setting up the DM to give Andrade the pin at 13:21.

Rating: B. I liked this fairly well as Andrade continues his roll around here. I’m not sure where it goes and I really don’t need to see Andrade running through the Family again (it’s been done) but the fans are way into Andrade right now. Giving him a bunch of matches on TV isn’t a bad idea and if it winds up making him more popular, great.

Post match Andrade hits the catchphrase.

Gabe Kidd is ready to come back and hurt people. You know, Gabe Kidd stuff.

Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa vs. Zara Zakher/B3cca

Shirakawa dances a bit to start and a rollup gets two on B3cca. Everything breaks down rather quickly though and Rosa wins a slugout. Some running shots in the corner crush B3cca/Zakher, with Shirakawa adding a running basement dropkick. A Tijuana Bomb finishes for Rosa at 2:22.

Here is Thekla to brag about beating Starlight Kid and stealing her mask. After the show, she made Kid go to the strip club and dance for her. Stardom is dead so long live the Toxic Spider and she’s ready for anyone who shoots at her at All In. She’ll catch the bullet with her teeth.

Skyflight officially offers Matt Sydal a spot on the team and he….I think accepts? Either way he has their backs.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Bang Bang Gang/Adam Copeland

Ok then. Colten takes Moriarty down to start but comes out of the corner with a dropkick. Copeland comes in for a double hiptoss and the Edge O Matic drops Bravo. A double Quick Draw puts Bravo down again and Copeland seems rather pleased. Austin is pulled outside for the big beating and we take an early break.

We come back with Dean hitting a Bronco Buster on Austin, who fights up without much trouble. White comes back in for the dragon screw legwhips and the 3:10 To Yuma hits Moriarty. Taylor is back in to clean house but White saves Copeland from a middle rope splash. A double superplex brings Taylor crashing down and it’s a spear to Bravo. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 10:43.

Rating: B-. This was the fun match of the show and it went rather well, with the focus being getting White back in the ring. White looked good as usual when he’s in there, but the problem is keeping him in there. The feud with the Dogs should be enough to keep them busy, with Copeland and Christian Cage being another possibility.

Post match the Dogs come out for a staredown but the Death Riders run in to beat down the Bang Bang Gang. The Dogs join in on said beating, with David Finlay hitting White with the shillelagh.

Willow Nightingale is still training for a return. Her method this week: buying Billy Joel music.

The Demand vs. Sonico/Chris Nastyy/Jordan Oasis

An assisted cutter and frog splash have Nastyy in trouble as Liona’s eye is cut open BAD. His blood is all over Oasis, who is knocked out to the floor. Nastyy gets crushed and a springboard Doomsday Device finishes for Ricochet at 1:48. Total destruction.

Post match Ricochet says he doesn’t like Matt Sydal and says the three of them have been in demand for over a year. They get to make the decisions around here. Of all the people in AEW, Sydal is getting a focus? Really?

Athena vs. Rina

Non-title and for the #1 spot in next week’s Casino Gauntlet match. Rina fires off some dropkicks to start but Athena is up with a running uppercut. The flipping clothesline misses in the corner though and Rina is back up with a middle rope dropkick for two. They head outside with Athena taking over as we go to a break.

We come back with Athena getting pulled out of the air and Rina throwing her down by the hair. Athena grabs a quick Fujiwara armbar, which is turned into a rollup to give Athena two. Another Fujiwara armbar is broken up and Rina grabs a Gory Bomb. Double knees from the top and a cradle get two on Athena, who is right back with a shove onto the barricade. The O Face is broken up but a second attempt finishes Rina at 13:41.

Rating: B. They had a hard hitting back and forth match here and it’s nice to see Athena getting a win in AEW. At the same time, Rina was another example of “here’s a new person, she’s awesome, end of description”. I’m not saying she’s bad or anything close to it, but it can get a bit tiresome having so many people come in for the first time or their first time in a good while and just be expected to roll with them hanging against a top star.

Kyle Fletcher is ready to get the TNT Title back.

Mistico/Mike Bailey/Bandido vs. Rascalz

Reed dropkicks Bandido into the corner to start so it’s off to Bailey for the bouncing kicks. Bailey gets knocked down and a stomp to his back gets two, only for Wentz to miss a charge to the floor. That means the parade of suicide dives can commence but Bailey’s is cut off. Reed hits the big running diving cutter onto the pile as we take a break.

We come back with Wentz and Bailey getting a double tag to bring in Bandido and Reed. Everything breaks down and Mistico hits a springboard double elbow, followed by a springboard double dropkick. Xavier springboards into Bandido’s X Knee and, with Mistico and Bandido hitting dives, the 21 Plex finishes Xavier at 8:19.

Rating: B-. This was another match that felt like it was a way to get Mistico onto the show in any form. I’m really not sure why all he does is get thrown into tag matches, unless it’s some kind of a mandate from CMLL. The match was the usual bunch of flips and dives and as exciting as you would have expected.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross think they’re too dominant for any team and say address them from your knees, because it’s easier to bow down.

Rush vs. Jordan Cruz

Rush knocks him outside to start and sends him into the barricade. Back in and some facewashes have Cruz down before the Bull’s Horns finishes at 1:38.

The Opps want an ROH World Title shot for Katsuyori Shibata. You mean AEW wrestlers can challenge for ROH titles? And yes, the match will be on Collision instead of Ring Of Honor (where Shibata wrestles as well). Anthony Bowens tries to get some enthusiasm going and is shot down.

Julia Hart vs. Maya World

For the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet. World takes her down for an early backsplash to start but they’re quickly on the floor where Hart fires off some chops. A Tarantula has World in more trouble and we take an early break. We come back with Hart grabbing Hartless but World stacks her up for the escape. A double stomp gives World two but a Shining Wizard is cut off with…something that involved a bunch of camera cuts. World’s tabletop suplex gets two but Hart knocks her off the top. The moonsault hits raised knees though and World’s Shining Wizard gets the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C+. It’s good to see World getting a win, though it isn’t going to mean much if she doesn’t win something that actually matters. That would mean beating Athena or possibly even Thekla and I don’t know if I can see the latter happening. Beating Athena should be a major moment and that’s a lot to put on someone like World, who hasn’t been around that long. It’s not a terrible idea, but it might be too soon. Either way, she definitely looked more confident out there and that is great to see.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Jericho.

Video on MJF vs. Kenny Omega.

El Phantasmo vs. Kyle Fletcher

Don Callis is on commentary. They trade early rollups for two each to start, with Fletcher freaking out at a VERY near fall. An armdrag takes Fletcher down again but he’s back up with one heck of a big boot. We take a break and come back with Phantasmo hitting a crossbody into a Lionsault for two more. A DDT puts Fletcher, whose knee is banged up, down again but he’s right back up with a Michinoku Driver for two of his own.

Fletcher’s running charge misses and he crashes to the floor, with Phantasmo hitting a moonsault. That earns him a lawn dart into the barricade and Phantasmo has to dive back inside. A heck of a sitout Last Ride gives Fletcher two and he can’t believe the kickout. Some rollups give Phantasmo two each but Fletcher is back up with a running boot in the corner. The brainbuster finishes at 11:54.

Rating: B. They beat each other up and Phantasmo continues to feel like someone who could give almost any opponent a run for their money. It made for a good match as Fletcher has turned into one of the more dependable stars in AEW. I could go for more of Phantasmo, like say having him win a match.

Post match Callis gets in the ring and talks about the disloyalty of Konosuke Takeshita. Starting on Dynamite, the Family is taking everything from him, including the International Title. Takeshita comes out to chase Callis off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There was good action throughout the night but you could feel the extra half hour baked into this. A bunch of the matches felt like there were being dragged out for the sake of filling time and since Collision isn’t exactly known for its heavy emphasis on storyline development, this was a long show. Certainly an entertaining two and a half hours, but 10+ hours in five days from any promotion is quite taxing and I was ready for this show to end a lot earlier than it did.

Results
Death Riders b. Shingo Takagi/Drilla Moloney – Rollup to Takagi
Andrade El Idolo b. Brian Cage – DM
Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa b. Zara Zakher/B3cca – Tijuana bomb to B3cca
Bang Bang Gang/Adam Copeland b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Blade Runner to Bravo
The Demand b. Sonico/Chris Nastyy/Jordan Oasis – Springboard Doomsday Device to Nastyy
Mistico/Mike Bailey/Bandido b. Rascalz – 21 Plex to Xavier
Rush b. Jordan Cruz – Bull’s Horns
Maya World b. Julia Hart – Shining Wizard
Kyle Fletcher b. El Phantasmo – Brainbuster

 

 

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AEW Collision – June 27, 2026: If You Can Get Around That Part

Collision
Date: June 27, 2026
Location: Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

It’s the night before Forbidden Door and we have another two hours to go before we get to the pay per view. In this case that means the Trios Titles are on the line and I’m sure we’ll get some more previews for tomorrow night. That’s about all you can do here, as in theory the card is all set. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Trios Titles: Conglomeration vs. The Opps

The Opps are challenging. Shibata backs Strong into the corner without much trouble and it’s already off to Hook to headlock O’Reilly. That earns Hook a backbreaker from Strong and a rather lazy elbow from Cassidy for some delayed ones. Bowens comes in and gets a hands in the pockets dropkick and it’s already off to Shibata. A cheap shot from the apron cuts Cassidy off and a pair of suplexes (apron and floor variety) have him in trouble as we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy getting sleepered down but Shibata jumps Strong rather than hitting the PK. Cassidy is able to get in a shot of his own and O’Reilly comes back in for the ankle lock on Bowens. A double clothesline drops the Opps and Strong comes back in and it’s time for a chop off with Shibata.

With Shibata in trouble Strong starts throwing Cassidy around like a weapon, which works oddly well. Shibata and O’Reilly forearm it out with the latter getting the better of things. Bowens is back in to take over with a string of strikes and a DDT out of the corner gets two on Cassidy. Back up and Bowens accidentally superkicks Shibata and the Orange Punch into the Angle Slam retains the titles at 14:00.

Rating: B-. This was a perfectly acceptable way to open the show as the fans are always going to be into the wacky hijinks of the Conglomeration. They’re a fine choice for the Trios Titles and a good way to open the show. On the other hand you have the Opps, who feel like they deserve a charity telethon. If this is the best they can do, just disband the thing already.

The Demand is ready to get back into the title hunt but the Lethal Twists come in. They think they should talk, with Ricochet and Jay Lethal admiring the other’s haircuts.

The Death Riders are ready to send Will Ospreay to get revenge on Swerve Strickland. Works for Ospreay, who says his friendship with Swerve is over and it’s time to go to Wembley.

TNT Title: Dezmond Xavier vs. Kevin Knight

Knight is defending and grabs a headlock takeover to start fast. Xavier goes after the arm and grabs la majistral for two, leaving Knight a bit shaken. Knight gets caught holding the rope so Xavier gives him a slingshot hurricanrana to send Knight underneath those ropes. Xavier follows him but gets caught with a clothesline off the steps and we take a break.

We come back with Xavier winning a slugout to put them both down but Knight is up first. A middle rope DDT gives Xavier two but Knight snaps off a sweet hurricanrana. Knight goes up so Xavier gets smart by rolling to the corner. Another rollup gives Xavier two but Knight hits a heck of a dropkick. Xavier’s hurricanrana spikes Knight and they slug it out from their knees. A spinning faceplant drops Knight and a Meteora gives Xavier two, with Knight rolling outside. The big dive takes him out but Knight gets the knees up to block a sky twister press. The Crash Landing retains the title at 12:56.

Rating: B. This was the hard hitting, athletic style match that you would have expected these two to have. It’s the kind of match you often see on Collision, as there was absolutely no reason to believe that the title was going to change hands but it was fun while it lasted. Xavier is a blast to watch and Knight is getting better every single week. Rather good stuff here.

Video on the twelve man cage match at Forbidden Door. That’s a lot of people in any cage, even if there is no way they all stay inside.

Here is the Triangle Of Madness for a chat. Thekla has been told that she is the only one who is making Forbidden Door feel like Forbidden Door. If she wants to destroy the forbidden door, she’s burning it down. Sky Blue is ready to show you how violent she can be on the Kickoff Show. To the point here, and thankfully it seems like the Thekla vs. Stardom stuff should be done soon.

Chris Jericho vs. JD Drake

Drake talks trash to start and gets chopped for his efforts before missing a charge. A super hurricanrana and enziguri send Drake outside so Jericho gives him a big dive. Back in and Drake hits a swinging Boss Man Slam for two, setting up the cannonball. Drake’s moonsault misses and Jericho grabs the Codebreaker. The Tommaso Ciampa style running knee sets up the Walls to make Drake tap at 5:18.

Rating: C+. Now this was refreshing, as there is no reason for Drake to have a long match against Jericho. Even an older Jericho should not be having any real trouble with Drake and they did it as they should have. I’ll take that as a nice change of pace and hopefully these shorter matches are included more often, as they can be rather effective.

Post match Jericho puts the hold on again until Tony Schiavone insists that Jericho is better than Tommaso Ciampa. Jericho says he’s been looking for Ciampa but knows he isn’t here tonight. He wants to thank Ciampa for leaving him beaten and bloody but Ciampa won’t be thankful for what Jericho is going to do to him next.

Thunder Rosa isn’t scared of Lena Kross/Megan Bayne, who don’t care about her. She insults their hats and takes her shirt off for some violence but nothing happens. The fact that Rosa’s partner, Olympia, isn’t here tonight makes it even sadder.

CMLL Women’s Title: Persephone vs. Billie Starkz

Persephone is defending and gets taken down early so Starkz can do some jumping jacks. That earns her a running hurricanrana but Starkz is back with a DDT onto the apron. It’s already time to load up the announcers’ table and Starkz adds a flip dive off of the table as we take a break.

We come back with Starkz cranking on both arms but making the mistake of throwing in a slap. Persephone knocks her down for two, followed by a superplex. Starkz blocks another suplex though and grabs the Last Shot to leave them both down. Persephone cuts off a running knee and gets two off a bridging northern lights suplex. A spear and Razor’s Edge retain the title at 9:20.

Rating: B-. If you ignore that the was no reason to believe that Starkz was going to win the title, this was a perfectly fine match. Persephone has been presented as a big deal in her limited appearances around here and it’s nice to have her thrown into the title match next week. Hopefully we have moved on from the idea of Starkz being the one to dethrone Athena, as I really do not see the point.

Post match Hikaru Shida runs in to go after Persephone but a bunch of the other women in the TBS Title match chase her off.

Premiere Athletes vs. Mike Bailey/Mistico

Bailey kicks Nese down to start but gets double teamed into the corner. The villains are quickly sent outside but cut off the dives to send Mistico and Bailey into the steps. Back in and Daivari takes over on Bailey but Mistico is up with a double springboard elbow. Stereo superkicks put the Athletes on the floor and now the dives connect. Back in and Bailey gets caught with a hammerlock lariat but moonsaults outside onto Daivari. That leaves Mistico to grab La Mistica to make Nese tap at 4:07.

Rating: C+. See what I mean about the shorter matches being nice? This was the regular “hey, Mistico is on this card” match and he did a few signature moves to get out of there. The Athletes are nothing more than low level villains and that’s all they needed to be here, as Mistico was the big focal point here.

Gabe Kidd is coming back and believe it or not, he’s angry. We’re just that lucky.

Jake Doyle vs. Adam Priest

Don Callis is here with Doyle (after not being here with Kevin Knight). Priest gets powered around and hit in the back to start. Doyle runs him over without much trouble and we take an early break. We come back with Priest grabbing a flying DDT and working on the arm. Doyle’s backdrop is countered into a cross armbreaker but he muscles Priest up into a powerbomb. A missed charge in the corner has Doyle in more trouble and Priest gets two off a DDT. Priest goes up and gets forearmed out of the air, setting up Into The Void to give Doyle the pin at 9:10.

Rating: C. This was another fine match with Doyle having to sweat a bit before picking up the win. Priest is turning into a rather useful jobber to the stars as he isn’t the biggest guy but can make his offense look good enough out there. Put him in a tag team and it could work out fine, if he’s actually given a chance.

Video on Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone in the finals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup. Mone gets in a good line with “dreams don’t win championships, I do”.

Willow Nightingale is training to return to the ring and knows she made some mistakes before.

Maya World/Hyan vs. Athena/Mercedes Mone

It’s a brawl to start fast and Athena is dropped onto World’s raised knees. Hyan hits a double dive to the floor and World 619s Athena back inside. Mone fights back though and commentary responds by running down the Forbidden Door card. Athena hammers on World on the apron and gives her a hard knee before handing it back to Mone. World slips out of a double suplex though and rolls over for the tag off to Hyan. House is cleaned for a bit until Athena gets in a powerbomb onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Mone’s backstabber dropping Hyan for two and Athena’s backsplash gets the same. The Third Amigo is blocked though and Mone misses a running knee in the corner. It’s back to World to pick up the pace, with a rollup and double stomp getting two on Athena.

That earns World a Codebreaker into a Backstabber with Hyan having to shove Athena into the cover for the save. Everything breaks down and Athena suplexes World but gets kneed down by Hyan to leave all four on the mat. Mone pulls World to the floor for the Statement Maker (for a tap), leaving Athena to middle rope O Face Hyan for the pin at 16:53.

Rating: B-. They are trying to make us believe that World has a chance tomorrow right? I’m not sure I’m seeing that happening here, as this story has been about as one sided as you can get. World is already a major underdog so unless the upset of all time in AEW is coming, I really don’t see this one going well for World, who has looked like a loser who got lucky to be here.

Post match Athena and Mone beat up Hyan until World comes in for the save. World moonsaults onto both of them on the floor to avoid looking like a total loser to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Most of the time, the main thing to remember about Collision is that it means almost nothing in the big picture of AEW. Everything that matters happens on Dynamite or the pay per views with only the occasional bone being thrown to Saturday night. If you can keep that in mind, Collision can be a rather enjoyable show as it feels like AEW but with no stakes. That’s a perfectly nice way to go, as there is no pressure and it doesn’t feel like everything is going a thousand miles per hour. I had a nice time with this, mainly because it didn’t feel like I was being bombarded with details and changes every two seconds.

Results
Conglomeration b. The Opps – Angle Slam to Bowens
Kevin Knight b. Dezmond Xavier – Crash Landing
Chris Jericho b. JD Drake – Walls Of Jericho
Persephone b. Billie Starkz – Razor’s Edge
Mistico/Mike Bailey b. Premiere Athletes – La Mistica to Nese
Jake Doyle b. Adam Priest – Into The Void
Athena/Mercedes Mone b. Maya World/Hyan – O Face to Hyan

AEW, 2026, Collision, Conglomeration, The Opps, Lethal Twists, The Demand, Death Riders, Dezmond Xavier, Kevin Knight, Chris Jericho, JD Drake, Thunder Rosa, Persephone, Billie Starkz, Lena Kross, Megan Bayne, Hikaru Shida, Jake Doyle, Adam Priest, Don Callis, Mercedes Mone, Maya World, Willow Nightingale, Athena, Hyan

 

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AEW Collision – June 13, 2026: Street Fighting People

Collision
Date: June 13, 2026
Location: Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still on the Summer Blockbuster and in this case that means we have a big old street fight between Shane Taylor Promotions and the Death Riders. It’s also Forbidden Door season and that means we have Kenny Omega getting warmed up before he faces Zack Sabre Jr. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Happy Birthday Jacob. I love you buddy.

Kenny Omega vs. Bad Dude Tito

Tito has Mikey Nicholls in his corner and slams Omega down to start. A running hurricanrana works a bit better for Omega and they’re quickly on the floor. Tito gives him a suplex on the outside and an exploder version gets two back inside. Omega is right back with You Can’t Escape but the moonsault hits knees. As I try to figure out if the part that YOU CAN’T ESCAPE is the roll or the roll and moonsault, Tito strikes him up against the ropes but gets kneed down for two. Another V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angel to pin Tito at 4:52.

Rating: C+. That’s exactly what it should have been as Omega shouldn’t be having trouble with someone who doesn’t have much of a singles track record. Omega gets to look strong on the way to the pay per view and it’s not like this hurts Tito in any meaningful way. Do more stuff like this, as it accomplished what needed to be done.

Post match Omega says he wasn’t sure what to do as he wasn’t back in time for the Owen Hart Tournament but then he was given a gift from Zack Sabre Jr. Omega knows that Sabre is a great star and some Omega used to be, so let’s do this at Forbidden Door. Simple and to the point here, which is good.

Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis aren’t happy with Konosuke Takeshita and want the International Title back in the Don Callis Family. Kazuchika Okada comes in and likes the thinking.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Hikaru Shida vs. Zayda Steel

Christopher Daniels is here with Steel. They chop it out to start until Shida pulls her down by the hair and blocks an armdrag. Shida hammers away in the corner but Steel is back with a running headscissors. A running dropkick sends Shida outside but she’s fine enough to cut off a dive.

We take a break and come back with an enziguri sending Shida outside, allowing Steel to point at the title. Something like a standing Koji Clutch has Shida in more trouble, at least until she slips out for a running knee. Shida ties up the leg and arm at the same time…and actually gets the tap at 9:53.

Rating: C+. That was a very abrupt ending as it felt like Shida was just starting to work on the leg when Steel tapped. That being said, Shida is someone you want in a multi person match for a title as she has the resume to make it feel more important while also being a threat to win the thing. Steel continues to be the kind of spunky woman who loses a lot, which makes her a bit of a common idea in AEW.

Post match Shida gets in a few cheap shots so Daniels comes in to clear her off.

The Opps insist that they’re good without Samoa Joe around. They don’t like Anthony Bowens being after the applause though because this is about violence. How exactly are these guys supposed to be different than the Death Riders?

Rascalz vs. Austin Atlas/Aaron Atlas

Xavier headlocks Austin to start and it’s off to Wentz for a Bronco Buster. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Hot Fire Flame finishes Austin at 1:41.

Post match the Rascalz introduce Myron Reed for his match.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Myron Reed

Reed is challenging and Don Callis is on commentary. Reed knocks him into the corner to start and gets hammered down to the floor without much trouble. Back up and Reed nails a spinning kick to the head before sending Knight outside. They trade places and Reed cuts off a dive with a Stunner over the ropes. Back in and they trade chops in the corner until Knight hits a springboard forearm.

We take a break and come back with Reed putting him down before they trade kicks to the chest. The F5 onto the ropes into the hanging faceplant gives Reed two so Knight is back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for the same. It’s too early for the UFO Splash as Reed jumps up to the top for a Stundog Millionaire. The diving cutter drives Knight out to the floor and a 450 connects for two back inside as Knight has to get a foot on the rope. Back in and Reed gets dropkicked out of the air, allowing Knight to hit a swinging Rock Bottom to retain at 13:14.

Rating: B. Despite me still not quite getting how title shots are handed out around here, this was a rather energetic, fast paced match. Reed continues to be quite the fiery star in the ring (though I’m not sure how much sense it makes to throw yourself over the top rope and crash onto the floor with more momentum than your opponent, even if it looks awesome). This was fun enough, even if Reed was another challenger with no chance.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are ready for anyone.

Maya World talks about her brother passing away recently and she’s wrestling in his honor. Now she’s ready for Athena.

Athena is sorry for World’s brother but what about her? As cute as World’s Cinderella story might be, she’s still living in Athena’s world.

Athena vs. Tiara James

Non-title. Athena hammers away to start and hits a running clothesline in the corner. James actually gets some near falls so Athena dropkicks her out to the floor. Athena crushes her against the barricade and the Koji Clutch finishes at 2:18. This was more efficient than Athena’s ROH squashes.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Maya World chases Athena off. Athena runs back in to jump World and lay her out.

The Demand isn’t happy with their lack of respect but Ricochet wants more gold. Say with Konosuke Takeshita.

The Dogs vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks clear the ring to start and take over on Finlay in the corner. The running flipping neckbreaker into a backbreaker drops Finlay again and there’s the running double bulldog. Nick hits a big dive onto the ramp but Finlay takes both Bucks down. A double shoulder drops Nick and an Irish Curse hits Matt.

That’s shrugged off and Matt hits a big dive off the ramp to take Finlay down again. Finlay is right back up with the suplex into Connors’ spear from the ramp and the Bucks are in trouble. They beat the count at nine and we take a break. We come back with Matt getting faceplanted for two but fighting up for the tag off to Nick. A high crossbody gives Nick two and everything breaks down again.

The Bucks hit a stereo top rope double stomp/Swanton and the double Sharpshooter goes on. With that broken up, the superkicks abound until Connors rolls Matt up for two. A missile dropkick/Tombstone combination gets two on Connors, followed by the BTE Trigger for the same with Finlay making the save. The Meltzer driver is broken up and a shillelagh shot into the spear gets two with Nick making a save of his own. Back in and a suplex/spear combination finishes Matt at 16:06.

Rating: B. This was the usual wild match with a bit of regular wrestling in the middle. The Bucks know how to fly all over the place and it was entertaining while it lasted. At the same time the Dogs definitely needed the win and even with some cheating involved, beating the Bucks means quite a bit in AEW so that should be a nice boost for them.

Dynamite recap.

The Conglomeration is ready to help Mark Briscoe win the World Title.

Forbidden Door rundown.

Commentary apologizes to Stardom for Thekla’s comments but Thekla pops up to say no one in Stardom deserves her respect. Yes she got fired from Japan but look at her now. Everyone is talking about Stardom and it’s because of her. The whole Stardom locker room wants her so send their best girl for a title shot at Forbidden Door. And the president who fired her can have a front row seat! For a story about something that happened in another promotion last year, this is certainly a story.

The Bang Bang Gang have opened a spay a neuter center and are willing to treat the Dogs.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Julia Hart vs. Persephone

Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Hart slaps her in the face to start and mocks Persephone’s eyes, which were damaged by Hart’s mist a few months ago. Persephone strikes away and gets a quick rollup for two, followed by a bridging suplex for the same. They head outside with Hart looking at the title and getting dropped face first onto the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Persephone getting in a dropkick but Hart crucifixes her for a quick two. A basement dropkick puts Hart down again and we get a double breather. Some feet to the face stagger Persephone but she pops up with a heck of a spear. They fight up to the stage where Hart’s DDT is countered into a powerslam to leave both of them down again. Back in and Hart goes to the eye again and loads up the mist, which is slapped out of her mouth. Persephone is fine enough to hit the Razor’s Edge to advance at 9:09.

Rating: C+. They were trying something here with Hart going after the eye over and over but it never seemed to go anywhere. Persephone gets some revenge though and that’s the right idea, as she is someone who seems to be getting a bit of focus around here. Hart continues to do well in the ring and the match was another nice outing for her.

Starlight Kid will take up Thekla’s challenge.

Thekla knows Kid and hates her with a passion, just like she hates Stardom.

Jake Doyle vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey is wanting to beat the Family one by one to prove that Kevin Knight (on commentary) doesn’t need them. Doyle shrugs off some strikes to start and knocks him down but charges into a foot in the corner. Bailey sends him outside for the big moonsault, meaning it’s time for the staredown with Knight. The distraction lets Doyle run him over and we take a break.

We come back with Bailey having to fight out of some chokes and kicking Doyle in the head. Doyle clotheslines him from behind though and they’re both down. Back up and Doyle gets smart by standing on Bailey’s foot and hitting him in the face. Doyle gets caught going up though and Bailey powerbombs him down, setting up a shooting star press for two. The tornado kick connects in the corner but Bailey misses the Ultimate Weapon. A sitout powerbomb gives Doyle the pin at 10:06.

Rating: B-. I approve of anything that involved Bailey getting beaten up so this worked out well. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Doyle getting his feet wet again after his time off due to injury and this was a good way back for him. At the same time, Bailey’s quest for revenge is off to a rousing start and hopefully leads to him getting beaten up time after time.

Death Riders vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Ten person street fight. The Riders start outside as usual, where the Promotions jump out from behind some bushes to jump them. Castagnoli gets buried underneath some bike racks and almost everyone else goes inside. Moxley follows Taylor to ringside and throws a chair at him as this is total chaos thus far. Moriarty and Garcia go inside until Pac comes in to jump over Moriarty a few times.

A dropkick puts Pac down but Moxley is in to knock Moriarty into the corner. Taylor and company are back in and the brass knuckles punch knocks Moxley silly, naturally busting him open in the process. Castagnoli runs in for the save and even muscles Taylor up for a suplex. Adora comes in to chop Castagnoli, who responds by loading up a Swing on Taylor. That’s broken up by Adora, who is swung in Taylor’s place as we take a break.

We come back with the Promotions bragging to a camera, allowing Castagnoli to powerbomb Bravo through a table. Pac hits a moonsault onto a pile at ringside, leaving Garcia to strike away at Moriarty inside. The running shots in the corner have Moriarty in trouble, allowing the Riders to do a bouncing circle. Dean hits Pac with a helmet before Castagnoli Air Raid Crashes Moriarty off a barricade and through a table. Christyan XO comes out to hand Dean something to knock Garcia silly, setting up a double stomp onto a chair for two.

Moxley is back in with a turnbuckle but Taylor saves Bravo from a bit of maiming. The big beating has Moxley down on the floor, leaving Shafir alone in the ring. The Promotions jump her and get off her socks so the tacks and glass (oh here we go) can be poured out. Shafir’s bare feet are dropped onto them but she fights up anyway, allowing the Riders to come back in for the save. Garcia uses a piece of glass to break up the Border City Stretch and Moxley cutters Taylor and the string of clotheslines connect in the corner. The Paradigm Shift finishes Taylor at around 24:00 (I never heard an opening bell).

Rating: B. It was a good brawl, even if there was a grand total of no way Moxley and company were losing in Moxley’s hometown. The action was violent though and I liked the Promotions jumping them outside. This was a match designed for Moxley and company to get a feel good win, though it would have been nice to not see Taylor, who has by far the highest value on the team, not lose on back to back shows.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that absolutely felt bigger than most Collisions and that helped quite a bit. The street fight was entertaining enough (stupid glass/tacks spot aside) and some of the other matches worked well. I liked the opener with Omega going over strong, as that’s how it should have gone and didn’t go way too long. I could have gone with the show being trimmed down a bit, but this was definitely an improvement over the normal Collision.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Bad Dude Tito – One Winged Angel
Hikaru Shida b. Zayda Steel – Leg and arm stretch
Rascalz b. Austin Atlas/Aaron Atlas – Hot Fire Flame to Austin
Kevin Knight b. Myron Reed – Swinging Rock Bottom
Athena b. Tiara James – Koji Clutch
The Dogs b. Young Bucks – Spear/suplex combination to Matt
Persephone b. Julia Hart – Razor’s Edge

 

 

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AEW Dynamite – May 27, 2026: Cool For The Summer?

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

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and MJF got the World Title back from Darby Allin. That’s the big story, but it wasn’t the last part of the show. After the title change, Kevin Knight came to the ring and attacked Allin, turning evil in the process. Other than that, we are about a month away from Double Or Nothing and we need some Owen Hart Cup finalists. Odds are we’re get closer to those this week, especially since we have another hour of Collision after this show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Back at Double Or Nothing, Will Ospreay was happy with his win and ran into Kenny Omega. They get to the point, with Omega asking why Ospreay is hanging out with the Death Riders. Omega said Ospreay could have trained with him if he wanted the World Title, but Ospreay points out that Omega is barely ever here.

That leaves Omega without much of a defense but as a friend, he wants Ospreay to watch out for the Death Riders. Ospreay doesn’t seem offended but here is Jon Moxley to say that’s good advice. Moxley gives Ospreay a bag of ice and says the truck is outside. With Moxley gone, Omega says Ospreay can call anytime and they seem to part as friends.

Here is Kevin Knight for a chat. He knows everyone wants to know why he attacked Darby Allin. The answer is because Allin let them all down and even though they’re in Philadelphia, he’s not trusting the process. Knight was the last person to beat MJF but he didn’t get a title shot.

Instead Knight was sitting on the bench even though he isn’t a bench player. He wasn’t wasting any time because he should be in the main event. This brings out Mike Bailey (in a less than nice jacket) who thinks Knight can turn around and apologize. Knight ignores the handshake and lays Bailey out. That’s a smart move.

Ricochet, with the Demand, isn’t worried about Chris Jericho tonight, even if everyone else is banned from ringside.

Chris Jericho vs. Ricochet

Everyone is banned from ringside. I take it that doesn’t involve commentary or the production crew but I guess that’s implied. Ricochet starts fast and kicks him into the corner but Jericho is up with a backdrop to the floor. Jericho hits a dive and loads up the announcers’ table for the Walls on said table. With that broken up, Ricochet sweeps the leg off the apron and starts going after the leg as we take a break.

We come back with Jericho hitting a Death Valley Driver on the apron and they’re both down on the floor. They get back inside where Jericho tries the Lionsault but has to switch to a springboard back elbow as Ricochet gets up. The threat of the Judas Effect sends Ricochet back outside and he snapmares Jericho over the top. The suicide dive and running flip dive connect, as does a springboard Phoenix splash to give Ricochet two back inside.

Jericho is right back up with another Walls but Ricochet goes after the banged up knee to escape. Ricochet uses the referee as a distraction and hits Jericho low but misses the 630. Jericho’s Codebreaker gets two and there’s the Judas Effect into a not so clean Lionsault to pin Ricochet at 13:57.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that Jericho needed as they didn’t do any shenanigans and he won clean (well, mostly clean as the Lionsault landed on Ricochet’s face) in the end. That’s how this should have gone and it wound up being a good TV match. Jericho can still go in the ring when he has to, but the situation has to be set up right, as it was here.

Post match Jericho celebrates but Tommaso Ciampa runs in to jump him from behind. The running knee leaves Jericho laying.

Andrade El Idolo wants the world Title because he’s that awesome and better than MJF.

Orange Cassidy vs. Lio Rush vs. Brian Cage vs. Rush

For the sake of simplicity, Lio Rush is “Lio” and Rush is “Rush”. Cage sends Lio outside to start and Cassidy is tossed as well, leaving the power guys to go at it. Rush cuts off a charge with a shot to the face but they knock each other down, allowing Cassidy and Lio to come in and get two each.

Lio starts running the ropes to confuse Cassidy before sending him to the apron. A handspring kick to the head knocks Cassidy outside but Cage pulls a suicide dive out of the air. Back in and Rush hits the Tranquilo pose as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy dropping his top rope elbow on Cage, who muscles him up with an apron superplex. Lio is dropped with a Falcon Arrow for two more but Cassidy manages a Stundog Millionaire to send Cage outside.

The diving tornado DDT plants Cage again but here is Lance Archer to cut Cassidy off. Cue the returning Jake Doyle to go after Cassidy, with Roderick Strong running in for the save. The teams brawl off, with Cassidy being carried to the back. Lio hits a quick springboard Stunner on Rush but misses the Final Hour. Rush sends him into the barricade and chokes a bit, setting up the Bull’s Horns for the win at 12:10.

Rating: B-. It was little more than a showcase match and that’s how it was described. Thankfully once two of them left, Rush didn’t waste time in running through Lio, which is how this should have ended. It was a good enough match with Cassidy doing his thing and Cage and Rush beating each other up. If nothing else, Rush beating someone with some actual status is nice to see.

MJF runs into Kevin Knight and thanks him for the beatdown on Sunday. Knight says he’s coming for the World Title, which doesn’t sit well with MJF. Kyle Fletcher comes in to stare Knight down and Don Callis likes what he sees.

Video on Mark Briscoe, including some cool old Briscoe Brothers footage.

The Brawling Birds aren’t happy with Jamie Hayter losing on Sunday but Alex Windsor is ready for whomever she is facing in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup.

Here is MJF for some bragging. He’s rather pleased with being a three time World Champion by the time he’s thirty years old and they will talk about him for years to come. The banner and confetti fall but here is Mark Briscoe to interrupt. He calls MJF a stranger in a strange place here in Philadelphia, almost like he’s a penguin.

Briscoe accuses MJF of thinking he’s above everyone else, but Briscoe beat him not too long ago. So he wants a title shot and asks if MJF is going to man up. That’s a firm “no” because this is a business and Briscoe isn’t business. MJF goes to leave but gets cut off by Rush, who wants the title as well. MJF says no to tonight but actually agrees for next week. That sounds shenanigansy.

Jack Perry is on his bus and uses the loudspeaker to say he’s ready for Mark Davis. Then he does a Rocky training montage.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brody King

They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get anywhere so they stare at each other a bit more. A big running clothesline sends Castagnoli outside where King chops away and we take a break. We come back with the two of them slugging it out and hitting stereo clotheslines.

They forearm it out with Castagnoli getting the better of things but King knocks him into the corner. A forearm knocks Castagnoli into the corner for the cannonball but he’s able to cut off a suicide dive. The Neutralizer is cut off so Castagnoli uppercuts away. Swiss Death is shrugged off though and King’s big clothesline finishes at 12:02.

Rating: B-. This was about two big guys beating the fire out of each other and that’s exactly what you knew it would be the second the match was announced. I do like King advancing as there is no reason to pretend that Castagnoli is going to make a serious run in the tournament. He’s there for one purpose and he served that purpose right here.

Here are Adam Copeland and Christian Cage for a chat after winning the Tag Team Titles at Double Or Nothing. Cage loads up his catchphrase and says it wasn’t that bad, because he didn’t bang of the fans’ mothers. Ok maybe he did. Either way, FTR was the top team but not the tippy top team. Copeland is so happy that he’s bringing back the FIVE SECOND POSE!

Cage points out that there is no such thing as flash photography again, but Copeland whips out a bag of disposable cameras, which he stocked up on 25 years ago just in case. Cage is STUNNED (that’s one of the funniest facial reactions I’ve seen in a good while) as Copeland hands them out and explains the concept but the Dogs attack them to break up the pose. The beatdown is on and Cage’s bad arm is injured again. The Dogs do their own pose and promise to win the titles.

Swerve Strickland is happy with his first round win and is ready to take out Brody King in the second round.

Tay Melo/Anna Jay vs. Ava Everett/Allie Katch

After an insert promo from Lena Kross and Megan Bayne about how they aren’t impressed by Melo and Jay, we’re ready to go. Katch is sent into the corner and hit with some running shots to the face to start. Everett comes in and gets kicked down as well, setting up a Gory Bomb into Melo’s knee for the pin at 1:13. Total squash.

Mike Bailey wants to face Kevin Knight.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mark Davis vs. Jack Perry

Non-title and Davis jumps him to start fast so the beating can ensue. Back up and Perry takes Davis’ eye patch and sends him outside for the suicide dives. There’s the running flip dive as well and we take a break with Davis in trouble. We come back with King fighting back and sending him hard into the barricade.

Perry can’t piledrive him on the apron but can knock him put him on the ropes for a hurricanrana. Back in and top rope moonsault gets two, followed by a step up backsplash for two more on Davis. Perry sends him outside and hits a sliding wheelbarrow bulldog but Davis is fine enough to hit a suplex onto the apron.

We take another break and come back with Perry having lost his shoes but being able to hit a top rope DDT. They trade rollups for two each and Perry hits his own piledriver for two. The Snare Trap goes on until Davis makes the rope and is up with a huge clothesline. They go up top and Davis knocks him into a super piledriver for the pin at 17:25.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it was fun to see Davis getting another win. If nothing else, it’s good to see a champion get a pin rather than losing right out of the blocks. Perry is going to be fine and he lost to that big of a move so it’s not like it’s some quick upset.

Overall Rating: B+. They had a good followup to the pay per view here with enough action and storyline advancement to make for a fun show. MJF having to deal with a bunch of people makes sense, and it seems like we’re well on the way to Ospreay getting the big title win in England. Good stuff here and I could go for seeing what they’re setting up for the summer.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Ricochet – Lionsault
Rush b. Orange Cassidy, Brian Cage and Lio Rush – Bull’s Horns to Lio
Brody King b. Claudio Castagnoli – Clothesline
Tay Melo/Anna Jay b. Ava Everett/Allie Katch – Gory Bomb into a knee to Everett
Mark Davis b. Jack Perry – Super piledriver

 

 

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AEW Double Or Nothing 2026: Wowzers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kickoff Show: Opps vs. Death Riders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Conglomeration gives O’Reilly a pep talk.

Continental Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Post match Joe shows some respect before leaving.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Darby Allin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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AEW Dynamite – May 13, 2026: Three For Three

Dynamite
Date: May 13, 2026
Location: Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Asheville, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re on the way to Double Or Nothing and this week we find out if MJF is willing to put up his hair against Darby Allin and the World Title. Like doubling the stakes you might say. Other than that, we get to see the unveiling of this year’s Owen Hart Classic brackets. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Earlier today, MJF wouldn’t answer a question about whether he would put his hair on the line. Then he passed a rather surprising number of bald men until running into the Demand. Ricochet says MJF will look good bald, but not as good as him.

FTR/The Dogs/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Orange Cassidy/Young Bucks

Believe it or not, it’s a brawl to start with everyone going out to the floor but we quickly settle down to Harwood and Cassidy in the ring. Harwood’s top rope superplex connects but Cassidy is right back up with a Stundog Millionaire. Ciampa comes in and can’t connect with a chop, instead getting kicked away. Nick gets the tag and picks up the pace until the Bucks take out the Dogs.

It works so well that they do it again before going after Stokely. FTR’s save earns them some superkicks and it’s off to Cage, who lets the Bucks hit another double superkick before getting two. We take a break and come back with Stokely on commentary and Cage fighting out of the corner.

The non-Harwood villains pull Cage’s partners off the apron though until Copeland gets back up. Cage knocks Harwood down and brings Copeland in to quite the positive reaction. The Edge-O-Matic gets two on Connors and everything breaks down. Copeland hits an Impaler on Connors and his partners all come off the top for the big visual.

The Bucks hit dives and Cassidy and Cage put their hands in their pockets but Cage throws Cassidy over the top onto a pile. Cage hits his own dive but Copeland walks into a Shatter Machine with Cassidy making a save. We hit the parade of knockdowns and Connors spears Harwood by mistake. Connors gets triple superkicked into a spear from Copeland for the pin at 15:52.

Rating: B. This was your wild tag match to start the show and the fans were definitely into the whole thing and brought it up even higher. Copeland getting the pin is good, though it might have made more sense for him to win with the Grindhouse on the way to the I Quit match. That’s a minor quibble though and it was an energetic way to start the show, which is a good idea.

We go to the Death Riders’ training area (seemingly on a rooftop) where Will Ospreay trains his neck and Jon Moxley talks about how Ospreay used to fly like a bird. Because that’s what birds do. Now he needs to be a bird of prey.

Video on Stadium Stampede.

The Demand and Mark Davis introduce Andrade El Idolo and the Dogs as their other team members. That might be a bit more effective if the Dogs hadn’t just lost a match.

Mike Bailey vs. Westbrook

Bailey misses a kick and the standing moonsault but manages to knock Westbrook out to the apron. The Tornado Kick and Ultimate Weapon finish at 1:10.

Kevin Knight gets in the ring with Bailey and it’s Open Challenge time.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. ???

Knight is defending against…Brian Cage of all people and yes of course he’s still part of the Don Callis Family (who are here along with Mike Bailey). Knight’s chop has no effect to start and some running shoulders do about the same. Cage sends him into the corner and then does it again, only to charge into a raised boot. Knight’s dive to the floor bounces off of Cage though and he F5’s Knight onto the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Cage grabbing a DDT into a swinging neckbreaker (that was nice) but getting his neck dropped across the top rope. Knight scores with a springboard missile dropkick and they’re both down. Cage is sent outside and taken out with a big dive, followed by a hurricanrana into the steps. Back in and Cage grabs the apron superplex for two as Bailey and Lance Archer get in a fight on the floor. That leaves Knight to hit a springboard clothesline and a hurricanrana out of the corner. The UFO Splash retains the title at 10:45.

Rating: B-. Well Cage is back and he’s losing again. I’m not sure how much he’s going to help the Callis Family, but the point of the team seems to be to build up as many wrestlers as they can find. Either way, it’s a fine power vs. speed match and that’s something that is almost always going to work.

Post match Bailey congratulates Knight on his win and Knight welcomes Cage back. Bailey says Knight is a future World Champion and Bailey wants the next World Title shot.

Here are the Men’s Owen Hart Cup brackets:

Samoa Joe
Will Ospreay

Mark Davis
Jack Perry

Swerve Strickland
Bandido

Claudio Castagnoli
Brody King

Joe vs. Ospreay and Strickland vs. Bandido will both be at Double Or Nothing. The finals are at Forbidden Door.

Jack Perry, holding a knife, talks about how Mark Davis needed a golf club to beat him. They’ll fight at Double Or Nothing in Stadium Stampede and then it’s back to basics, with Perry moving on towards the World Title.

Will Ospreay vs. Ace Austin

We do get a handshake to start before they take turns flipping out of wristlocks. Austin’s standing armbar is countered into a seated armbar, which is broken rather quickly as well. Austin puts him down with a test of strength but can’t break the bridge. A running dropkick to the back of the head hits Ospreay and Austin pulls him into a Muta Lock, sending Ospreay over to the ropes.

Austin Death Valley Drivers him for two and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a Phenomenal Forearm, setting up a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Ospreay’s handspring kick to the head sends Austin outside but he’s back up to dropkick Ospreay through the ropes. Back in and the Oscutter gets two more but the Hidden Blade misses.

Austin faceplants him and grabs an anklescissors to bring him off the top. Ospreay’s legs get tied up for a rollup and a spinning Downward Spiral gets two more. A Cheeky Nandos misses for Ospreay but he pulls Austin into a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Austin hits a springboard spinning kick to the head for two but Ospreay kicks him in the arm and grabs a cross armbreaker for the tap at 15:41.

Rating: B+. Dang I could go for more of Austin, as there is something about him that is just fun to watch. Of course he didn’t have a chance here against the new and improved Ospreay but they had a very entertaining match together. Ospreay is the same high flier he was before but now with a submission game, which doesn’t fit him so well, but having him turn on Moxley and use that against him could work well.

Post match Ospreay shows some respect to Austin. This brings out Samoa Joe and the Opps, with Joe saying Ospreay could have had a first round bye but made his decision. Therefore, it’s time for pain at Double Or Nothing. Tonight though, the rest of the Opps head to the ring but here are the Death Riders before things get violent. Ospreay looks at Jon Moxley and seems to think there might be some benefits to this.

MJF interrupts Konosuke Takeshita and praises him for what he has been doing. Takeshita is going to win the title tonight and MJF thinks he would be a great first challenger. With Takeshita gone, MJF gives Don Callis the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Andrade El Idolo comes in to stare MJF off and say he wants the title.

Here are the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament brackets:

Persephone
Hazuki

Willow Nightingale
Alex Windsor

Mina Shirakawa
Athena

Skye Blue
Sareee

Nightingale vs. Windsor is at Double Or Nothing and the finals will also be at Forbidden Door. It’s also good that Persephone is back and it must be time for Athena to lose on the main roster again.

The Conglomeration isn’t sure which of them should get the Tag Team Title shot. Willow Nightingale is going to win the Women’s Owen Cup. Oh and Mark Briscoe is back and wants Tommaso Ciampa next week, which will be another three hour show.

Triangle Of Madness vs. Hikaru Shida/Brawling Birds

Everything breaks down to start with the fight heading outside. The Triangle gets beaten up on the floor, with Hayter taking over on Thekla in the corner. Thekla fights up and hits a big dive to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Hayter big booting her way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to Shida.

A suplex sends Hart into the corner and it’s back to Thekla to kick Shida down. The double gordbuster and double superkick put Shida down, with the other two coming in for the save. Blue breaks up Two Birds One Stone and it’s the Haytebreaker to Hart. Two Birds One Stone is loaded up again but Thekla comes in with a belt shot for the DQ at 10:03.

Rating: C+. I like the ending as Thekla would rather do damage than win the match, especially with her big title defense coming up. The Birds work very well together and got to showcase themselves a bit here, though the lack of Statlander was a bit odd. That being said, I’ll take a regular team getting some ring time over a makeshift group of three women.

Post match the beatdown is on until Mina Shirakawa and Willow Nightingale make the save.

Video on Rush.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Allin is defending and his early suicide dive is rammed into the post. They head inside with Takeshita sending him flying into the corner, where Allin bites the face. A top rope shoulder doesn’t do anything to Takeshita, who knocks Allin outside instead. The steps are loaded up but Allin scratches his way out of a suplex and dropkicks Takeshita off of said steps. A suicide dive hits Takeshita again and they get up to the apron.

Takeshita Blue Thunder Bombs him to the floor and we come back with Allin pulling him into a guillotine choke. That’s reversed into a wheelbarrow suplex and a bridging German superplex (GEEZ) plants Allin hard for two. The running knee gives Takeshita two more and Don Callis gives him the ring. Takeshita doesn’t want it though and gets small packaged for two more.

Allin Code Reds him off the top and the Last Supper gets two. Takeshita is sent outside and the Coffin Drop connects to a standing Takeshita on the floor. Back up and Takeshita goes onto the steps but gets his suplex reversed into a Scorpion Death Drop. Back in and Takeshita gets the knees up to block a Coffin Drop, only for Allin to grab a Scorpion Death Lock. Takeshita makes the rope but the Coffin Drop connects to retain the title at 15:30.

Rating: B. Another good match from Allin, though having him space them out a bit more might work better for him. At the same time, it was another case where there was basically no drama about who was winning as their Double Or Nothing matches were both set, though I’ll take Takeshita over Okada. It’s nice to have the World Champion around, though we’ve pretty much covered the “Allin fights really hard to keep the belt” stuff for the time being.

Post match Allin grabs the mic and wants MJF’s decision right now, because starting a segment this far after the show was supposed to be over is fine. A table is set up and MJF comes out, with Allin wasting no time in signing the contract. MJF can’t bring himself to do it though, instead talking about how Allin always believes that making people happy matters. Deep down though, the people know that Allin is someone who got lucky.

At Double Or Nothing, MJF is going to become a three time World Champion at 30 years old. Allin promises to make MJF bald at Double Or Nothing and that’s enough to get the signature. The brawl is on and MJF leaves him laying but Kevin Knight runs in to break up a super Tombstone to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Dang that was long, with a seventeen minute overrun. Other than that though, this was a rather good show, with a pair of awesome matches. The MJF stuff was all but guaranteed so it was hardly a big change, but this was just about making it official. They added a bunch of stuff to Double Or Nothing here too and the card looks pretty good, so hopefully they don’t change it too much before the pay per view.

Results
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Orange Cassidy/Young Bucks b. FTR/The Dogs/Tommaso Ciampa – Spear to Connors
Mike Bailey b. Westbrook – Ultimate Weapon
Kevin Knight b. Brian Cage – UFO Splash
Will Ospreay b. Ace Austin – Cross armbreaker
Triangle Of Madness b. Brawling Birds/Hikaru Shida via DQ when Thekla used a belt
Darby Allin b. Konosuke Takeshita – Coffin Drop

 

 

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AEW Collision – April 25, 2026: They’re It

Collision
Date: April 25, 2026
Location: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back on Saturday nights and hopefully that doesn’t mean we’re back to the usual less than important shows. There are two title matches tonight and naturally the Don Callis Family is challenging in both of them. Other than that, we get to hear from FTR so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Conglomeration is ready to go but FTR and Stokely interrupt because they have something to say to Adam Copeland and Christian Cage.

Here are FTR and Stokely to do just that. They get right to the point by accepting Copeland and Cage’s challenge for Double Or Nothing but they want this to be definitive. It can be a street fight, but they want it to be an I Quit match (Harwood: “Five letters, two words.”) so the nostalgia run can end for good. Ball’s in your court.

Trios Titles: Conglomeration vs. Don Callis Family

Lance Archer/Hechicero/Andrade El Idolo are challenging for the Family. The Conglomeration run into FTR on their way to the ring and shove FTR down. That’s rather unpleasant. Hechicero and O’Reilly go technical to start with Hechicero going after the leg. Strong comes in and backbreakers Hechicero so Cassidy can…eventually…drop an elbow.

Archer comes in and Cassidy changes his mind by bringing Strong back in. That doesn’t last long either so it’s off to Andrade vs. Cassidy. The lazy kicks don’t do much to Andrade so Cassidy steals his belt and rips the pants down, leaving Andrade staggering. Strong comes back in to hammer away in the corner but Andrade clotheslines Cassidy and steals his shirt as we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy fighting out of the corner, including a double hurricanrana to Andrade and Hechicero. O’Reilly gets the big tag and everything breaks down, with Strong tossing Cassidy into various Family members. Andrade fights back and hits Two Amigos on O’Reilly, who breaks up the third. Archer is back in to clean house, with a spinning Boss Man Slam getting two on Cassidy. The chokeslam is countered with an Orange Punch and a high/low gives Cassidy the pin at 13:25.

Rating: B-. This was a good opener with the Family being fine as the designated losers to make the new champs look strong in their first defense. It helps that the titles have changed hands on this show before so the result wasn’t entirely a formality. At the same time, Archer taking the fall doesn’t seem to be a great idea, as that isn’t how a monster tends to be treated.

After Dynamite, the Death Riders sat down with Will Ospreay, with Marina Shafir apparently wrenching his neck to fix it. Jon Moxley asks what Ospreay is trying to do. They met seven years ago and at some point, Ospreay needs to realize that his body will break down. There is a door he can walk through and they can settle up, with Moxley sliding him a chair. Moxley says Ospreay can be anything he wants to be, or be like everyone else. With that, Moxley lays face down on the floor and Ospreay picks up the chair…and shoves the camera away.

Death Riders/The Dogs vs. Young Bucks/Rascalz

Moxley, apparently not dead, is on commentary. Xavier and Yuta start things off and everything breaks down, with Yuta getting caught in the wrong corner. Matt gets crushed in another corner but the Rascalz fight back to knock Castagnoli down. That doesn’t last long as Garcia and Castagnoli grab Sharpshooters, only for the Bucks to sunset flip in for Sharpshooters on the Dogs (rather than, you know, saving their partners).

Xavier DDTs Yuta in the middle and small packages him for two, which breaks the four holds. Yuta suplexes Xavier out of the corner and the bad guys are in control as we take a break. We come back with Reed cleaning house, including a rather bouncy cutter to Yuta. Moxley: “This is what we live for!” There is something to be said for seeing Yuta get beaten up. Matt comes back in to roll the northern lights suplexes and Connors is knocked down.

The good guys hit a string of dives and shots from the top, only for Castagnoli to cut off Xavier’s. The Swing sends Xavier into Yuta’s dropkick but the Bucks are back in for the save. Reed does his big running cutter to drop Castagnoli onto the pile at ringside, leaving Wentz to hit a top rope cutter on Finlay. A suplex is loaded up but reversed, with Wentz being lifted up so Connors’ top rope spear can finish him at 14:09.

Rating: B. The match was the usual insane collection of spots and dives…and my goodness I cannot bring myself to care. I feel like I’ve seen this match about 100 times this year alone and this one just happened to be a ten man version. It’s certainly not bad and the athleticism is great, but it came and went and I’m sure we’ll see something that is basically the same at least twice in the next week.

Mina Shirakawa and Harley Cameron want Hikaru Shida to apologize, but she stands by what she said: Cameron will never be on their level. Arguing ensues.

Kris Statlander vs. B3cca

B3cca jumps her to start and gets sent into the corner to start. Statlander actually gets tied up in the ropes for some stomps and a top rope dropkick. Back in and Staturday Night Fever is broken up, with B3cca grabbing Carmella’s Code Of Silence. That’s easily reversed into Staturday Night Fever to give Statlander the pin at 1:48. B3cca got in a lot here.

Post match Statlander walks past Hikaru Shida.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are ready for Statlander and Shida.

Rush vs. Adam Priest

Priest takes him down by the arm to start and mocks the horns pose, meaning it’s time to chop it out. Rush isn’t having that and knocks him into the corner to stomp away. The running slap in the corner connects for Rush and we take a break. We come back with Priest hitting an Alabama Jam for two but Rush sends him outside. Stomping against the barricade has Priest in more trouble and the Bull’s Horns finish for Rush at 8:12.

Rating: C. The match was just a step above a squash, with Rush running through Priest and shrugging off his offense, as he should have. On one hand that’s how this should have gone, but it would be nice to see Rush actually do something that matters. I haven’t seen it happen in a long time and it doesn’t feel like it’s changing anytime soon.

Konosuke Takeshita is ready to face Kazuchika Okada.

Kazuchika Okada is ready to face Konosuke Takeshita.

Skye Blue/Thekla vs. Persephone/Alex Windsor

Thekla quickly hands it off to Blue, who pulls Windsor down by the hair to start. They slug it out until Windsor hits a clothesline as everything breaks down. We settle down to Persephone taking over on Blue but Thekla trips Windsor from the floor. Thekla’s double stomp off the apron connects and we take a break.

We come back with Windsor still in trouble but managing a running clothesline. Persephone comes in to send Thekla flying off a fall away slam. Everything breaks down and Persephone hits a double high crossbody. Code Blue is broken up but Persephone misses a charge in the corner. Windsor and Thekla brawl out to the floor and Persephone loads up a Razor’s Edge. Cue Julia Hart to spit mist in Persephone’s eyes though, meaning Code Blue can finish for Blue at 10:29.

Rating: C+. This was another fine match, with Hart’s run in being timed well enough. The odds can even up when Jamie Hayter comes back from injury so there is at least a logical final step with the six woman tag. I’m a bit surprised that Persephone took the fall, but it’s better than Windsor getting pinned again.

We look at MJF and Kevin Knight on Dynamite.

National Title: Jack Perry vs. El Clon

Perry, who has shaved, is defending. They run the ropes to start and sends Clon to the floor, allowing Perry to untie his hair. A dive is cut off by a raised knee and Clon sends him into the steps. That earns Clon a posting into a 619 around the post, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. Clon gets in a quick clothesline to take over again and we take a break.

We come back with Perry getting up to trade chops, followed by Sliced Bread for two. A spinning Canadian Destroyer gives Perry two more but Clon knees him in the face for the same. Clon’s step up Lionsault is blocked though and Perry’s running knee finishes at 9:51.

Rating: B-. It’s another “here’s a title match even though you probably don’t buy that the title is in jeopardy”. That’s a good way to use the rather large roster and something that has been done with the TV Title equivalent for the better part of ever in wrestling. This worked out well enough, with Perry getting a win while we wait for him to get a better challenger.

Willow Nightingale wants new competition.

Anthony Bowens asks the Opps if he’s on the team or not. Sure. Then the Opps leave him there.

Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate vs. The Demand

MVP is here with Jericho and the Syndicate and sits in on commentary. Jericho and Ricochet start things off with Ricochet tagging out before doing anything. Eh it was better when Thekla did it. Everything breaks down and the six way brawl is on. Ricochet is backdropped out to the floor and Kaun is sent outside as well, leaving Jericho to look at a fan’s shirt. Jericho’s big dive to the floor connects and we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet holding Jericho in a seated abdominal stretch. Jericho gives him a backdrop but Kaun is right there to cut off the tag, which is given up a few seconds later. Lashley comes in to clean house and it’s off to Benjamin to fire off the suplexes. It’s back to Jericho to hammer Ricochet on top, setting up the super hurricanrana.

Kaun drops Jericho with a right hand though and everything breaks down again. A Codebreaker gets two on Ricochet and it’s a spear to Kaun. Jericho gets the Walls on Ricochet, with Liona pulling them over to the rope. Ricochet gets in a low blow and the Ricosault finishes Jericho at 11:28.

Rating: B-. That’s a surprising result, as I would have expected Jericho to get his revenge here to set up a bigger match with Ricochet down the line. We will still likely get that, but there is a good chance that it happens at Double Or Nothing with Jericho putting something up. Like his AEW career. Or maybe something of value.

Overall Rating: B-. There were a lot of tag matches on this show and they started to get repetitive after a bit. The main event and a few other things felt like they advanced some stories, but this show combined to feel like quite a bit of filler. It’s not a bad show by any means and if you watch it, you’ll have a good enough time. It’s just not a show you really need to prioritize in the slightest. In other words, it’s what you get out of Collision a lot of the time.

Results
Conglomeration b. Don Callis Family – High/low to Archer
Death Riders/The Dogs b. Rascalz/Young Bucks – Suplex/top rope spear combination to Wentz
Kris Statlander b. B3cca – Staturday Night Fever
Rush b. Adam Priest – Bull’s Horns
Skye Blue/Thekla b. Persephone/Alex Windsor – Code Blue to Persephone
Jack Perry b. El Clon – Running knee
The Demand b. Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate – Ricosault to Jericho

 

 

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AEW Dynamite – April 22, 2026: These Guys Are Nuts

Dynamite
Date: April 22, 2026
Location: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

Well last week was a pretty big deal and now we get to see where things are going. That’s what we’re going to be finding out as Darby Allin is the new World Champion. We’re also about a month away from Double Or Nothing and now we get to see what might be coming up on the show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with a quick look back at Darby Allin winning the World Title last week.

Here is a ticked off MJF to get things going. He isn’t like the paper champion Darby Allin and demands respect. Last week was the Seattle Screwjob because he was three days removed from a war with Kenny Omega (which he won of course) and then Allin hit him low to start the match.

Allin can’t beat him if the playing field is even but here is Kevin Knight to interrupt. Knight says it’s the same old MJF out here whining like a little b****. He had MJF pinned a few weeks ago so if anyone was screwed it was him. MJF mocks what Knight said, as well as thinking it’s “socially acceptable” to be friends with Mike Bailey.

It’s so amusing to think think Knight is a star but the TNT Title suits him well: a title for someone with a ceiling. Knight threatens him with a slap and says some of the best in the world have held that title so it’s no wonder MJF never held it. We have a challenge for a fight and MJF says Knight has talked him into it so get a referee out here. Said referee comes out and holds up the title….but MJF rolls outside and says we’ll do it next week.

The Demand and Chris Jericho are in the back and Ricochet mocks the idea of them having a six man tag against Jericho. That makes Jericho laugh but he does show off his new shirt, which features a statement about regularly getting beaten up by the Demand. Jericho will just find someone who doesn’t like Ricochet.

Brody King vs. Lio Rush

Rush talks to himself in the corner so King pulls him out and gives him a slam. King sends him outside for the big chops but the running crossbody hits barricade. Rush posts him and we take an early break. We come back with King blocking the springboard Stunner and hitting a heck of a running clothesline.

Back up and Rush hits a Stunner over the middle rope but he has to escape a powerbomb. Rush does his weird crawl around the ring and hits a suicide dive, followed by the big dive to the floor. Back in and a frog splash to the back gives Rush one but King is back with a swinging Boss Man Slam. The Ganso Bomb finishes Rush at 9:25.

Rating: B-. Rush’s problem continues to be this ridiculous gimmick, as it’s distracting from his great athleticism. That should be enough to make Rush stand out but he has to do all of the weird, creepy stuff instead. The match was a pretty good back and forth match, but the over the top Rush stuff brought it back down as it kept getting brought back up.

Post match King implies he wants the winner of tonight’s World Title match.

Tommaso Ciampa (challenging for the World Title) says he is a father, a husband and a son. Tonight is about proving that glass ceilings can be shattered and no one has been more prepared than him. Darby Allin says he wants this, but Ciampa needs it. This was really good and I bought what he was saying.

Adam Copeland wants another Tag Team Title shot against FTR and they can make it a street fight. If FTR wins, Copeland and Christian Cage will retire as a team.

Hikaru Shida vs. Mina Shirakawa

Kris Statlander is here with Shida, who says something about Shirakawa in Japanese before the match. Shirakawa grabs a headlock to start and gets thrown down by the hair. That earns her Shirakawa’s dance and a Sling Blade before they go into a pinfall reversal sequence. Shida hits a running knee and we take a break. We come back with Shirakawa grabbing a headscissors into a basement dropkick.

Shirakawa starts in on the leg but the Figure Four is blocked. They go out to the apron with Shida hitting a belly to back piledriver and a top rope Meteora gets two. The falcon arrow is escaped and Shirakawa scores with a discus forearm. The top rope Sling Blade gives Shirakawa two and now the Figure Four goes on. With that broken up, Shirakawa grabs the kendo stick but Statlander takes it away. Shida knees her down and hits the falcon arrow for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: B-. It turns out that two talented wrestlers are able to have a good match when they’re given the chance. It worked well here and the idea of Shirakawa getting frustrated enough to try to use the cane. That being said, it’s not a great sign that Shirakawa lost again as she is just kind of there at the moment. I’m not sure how that’s going to change, but she doesn’t have the brightest future right now.

Video on Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita.

We look at the Death Riders helping the Dogs attacking the Rascalz and Young Bucks. The result is an eight man tag on Collision.

Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis

Davis jumps him before the bell as Don Callis joins commentary. Ospreay fights back and knocks him outside for a slingshot hurricanrana. Back in and Davis blocks a piledriver attempt and knocks him down with a single chop. That’s enough to send it back to the floor, where Davis fires off some knees. Ospreay is able to get back up for a running flip dive off the stage and we take a break.

We come back with Davis breaking out of a choke and grabbing a neckbreaker. Ospreay is able to hit a handspring kick to the head, followed by a top rope forearm to the back of the head. Davis crotches him on top and scores with a head of a clothesline. Something like a reverse Angle Slam gets two but the piledriver is escaped.

They trade kicks to the head and Ospreay Spanish Flies him for two. Davis hits a pair of belly to back suplexes and an enziguri, only for Ospreay to hit a quick Hidden Blade. The slightly delayed cover only gets two and Davis pulls him into the piledriver. Ospreay gets the foot on the rope so Davis piledrives him on the apron. That’s enough for the referee to call it at 15:32.

Rating: B. Well first of all, big points for not having Ospreay beat the count or pop up to his feet after that devastating of a move. The foot on the ropes after the regular version is acceptable enough but having Ospreay get up after the souped up piledriver would have killed the move. Outside of that, they beat each other up rather well, with Davis turning into a heck of a midcard monster over the last few months. Well done indeed.

Post match Davis teases another piledriver but gets the Death Riders run in to cut him off, albeit without getting physical. The Riders take the out cold Ospreay with them.

Alex Windsor and Persephone want the Triangle Of Madness on Collision. This was hard to understand because some fans kept yelling and a mic in the arena was picking it up.

Samoa Joe vs. Cody Chhun

Chhun gets out of a wristlock to start but gets pulled into an armbar. Joe unloads with the snap jabs into the corner and then walks away from a crossbody. The MuscleBuster finishes Chhun at 2:43.

Post match Hook comes out for a fist bump with Joe.

Video on Darby Allin, set to a song about how “I gotta be me” and showing some of his odd behavior. And winning the World Title.

Chris Jericho has found some partners in the Hurt Syndicate.

Here is Darby Allin for a chat. Allin lays the title in the middle of the ring and looks at it before talking about how his first match was right here in Portland. Everything could end as soon as Tommaso Ciampa comes out here. This title is for his beautiful fiance and the people…but here is MJF to interrupt. Allin turns down the rematch request…until MJF puts something on the line. Allin: “So get your a** out of my ring!” That would be easier if MJF wasn’t standing on the ramp. Anyway here is Ciampa and we’re ready to go.

AEW World Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Darby Allin

Ciampa is challenging and kicks him in the face in the corner to start. Willow’s Bell is blocked so Ciampa whips him into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Ciampa catapulting him face first into the bottom of the ring. Ciampa misses a running boot so Allin goes up and dives with a clothesline into the timekeeper’s area. Ciampa comes up and is VERY busted open, with Allin hitting a suicide dive as a bonus.

Back in and the Coffin Drop is broken up, with blood splatters on the camera. Allin is back up with a Scorpion Death Drop but Ciampa rolls away before the Coffin Drop can launch. Ciampa catches him on top…and hits a super Air Raid Crash to the floor, with nothing to break the fall (good grief). We take another break and we come back again with Ciampa chopping away.

Allin catapults him into the corner, with Allin bouncing back out with a double stomp. A running knee hits Allin, who pops right back up for a knockdown of his own. The Coffin Drop lands in a choke though, followed by a running knee for two. Another running knee gets another two but Ciampa can’t get a Scorpion Deathlock. Allin reverses into one of his own and, after quite the struggle, gets the tag at 18:02.

Rating: B+. This was a match where I was expecting it to be good but I wasn’t expecting them to go this hard. These two beat the living daylights out of each other and it felt like a war. It’s a good example of a match with pretty much no drama about the result but it was incredible watching them beat each other up until Ciampa gave out. Awesome main event.

Respect is shown after the match. Ciampa leaves but here is Brody King to issue the challenge for next week. Allin is in to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah this was another great show, with the stories progressing well enough and a heck of a main event to go with the rather good Ospreay vs. Davis match. I’m not sure what we’re going to get at Double Or Nothing but we can figure that out in the next few weeks. Dynamite is on a bit of a roll right now and if they can keep it up going into Double Or Nothing, we should have a heck of a pay per view coming up.

Results
Brody King b. Lio Rush – Ganso Bomb
Hikaru Shida b. Mina Shirakawa – Falcon arrow
Mark Davis b. Will Ospreay via referee stoppage
Samoa Joe b. Cody Chhun – MuscleBuster
Darby Allin b. Tommaso Ciampa – Scorpion Deathlock

 

 

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

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