AEW Collision – June 20, 2026: There’s A Lot Here

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Young Bucks/Jack Perry vs. Lethal Twists

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

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

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

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

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

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

Survival Of The Fittest: Mina Shirakawa vs. Kris Statlander

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

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

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

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

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

Hurt Syndicate vs. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dante Martin vs. Mistico

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

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

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

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

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

Pac vs. Jay Alexander

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

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

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

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Adam Priest

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

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

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

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

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

Owen Hart Cup Semifinals: Maya World vs. Athena

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

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AEW Dynamite – June 17, 2026: You Need Shows Like This

Dynamite
Date: June 17, 2026
Location: Smart Financial Center, Sugar Land, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

We’re less than two weeks away from Forbidden Door and the tournaments are on a roll. We have the two Owen Hart Cups and the qualifying matches for the upcoming Survival Of The Fittest, which is basically a tournament of its own. That’s in addition to the six on six cage match and tonight we’re getting that match minus the cage. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

MJF and the Don Callis Family are in the back with MJF bragging about his abilities and now he’s ready for Mark Briscoe and company. Other than that though, he’s ready for Will Ospreay, who needs to realize that it isn’t 2024 and time has passed Ospreay by. As for Briscoe, it’s hilarious that he thinks he has a prayer to win the match tonight or at Forbidden Door. Callis introduces the rest of MJF’s team, which includes Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada and Andrade El Idolo. That’s quite a team, but Andrade isn’t happy with the move. Callis calms him down, again, and tells him to do the match.

Kenny Omega vs. Tony Nese

This is the result of Nese wanting a match. Omega wastes no time in taking over and hitting the Snapdragon. The V Trigger and One Winged Angel finish at 1:49. Now that’s how you properly use an ROH star, as Nese doesn’t do anything on his own and was perfect cannon fodder for Omega.

Post match Omega gets the mic but here are TMDK to interrupt. The three of them get in the ring so Omega wisely bails, with the Elite coming out to back him up. Omega explains that no one knows what TMDK means anyway but he’s ready for Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door. This is what it should have been, as it’s just another thrown out there Forbidden Door match and I’d rather they do this than have Sabre get a bunch of TV time to build him up at the last minute.

We look at the Dogs beating the Young Bucks on Collision.

We run down the rest of the card.

Death Riders vs. Brodido

Garcia shoves Bandido around to start and takes him to the mat for a slap to the back of the head. Back up and Bandido takes over on him rather quickly and hand it off to King for a slam. Garcia stops to dance and is double chopped down and it’s time for Moxley to come in. The big exchange of forearms (complete with intense glaring) goes to King as Moxley is sent outside for the dive from Bandido.

We take a break and come back with King and Moxley striking it out again. Moxley hits a cutter but King pops back up for a running clothesline. Bandido comes back in to suplex Garcia into the corner but King stops to yell at Marina Shafir, allowing Moxley to get in a suicide dive. A spike piledriver puts King down on the floor and Bandido is knocked down as well.

King is getting to his feet about 40 seconds after being spike piledriven on the floor so the Riders throw him back inside for two. Moxley plants King down again and we take a second break. We come back with Moxley knocking Bandido off the apron so King can’t escape. Moxley and Garcia fire off the corner clotheslines but he double clotheslines his way out.

It’s off to Bandido for the house cleaning, with Garcia and Moxley both having to be saved from delayed vertical suplexes. Instead Shafir is suplexed and Bandido hits a big dive to hit all three of them. Back in and everyone is knocked down again until Bandido catches Garcia with a pop up knee. King dives onto Moxley and the 21 Plex finishes Garcia at 22:04.

Rating: B. Well that was…random. I’m not sure where this came from but it wound up being a good match, King’s ridiculous selling of a spike piledriver on the floor aside. If nothing else, it was nice to see Bandido avoid taking a fall as it keeps the ROH World Title looking even remotely important. I mean it isn’t, but at least they’re giving it a bit of an impression.

Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada aren’t sure who they’ll be facing tonight, but it won’t be Tomohiro Ishii, who has been attacked. Oh no. Not that guy who never wins anything important!

Tommaso Ciampa talks about how he used to respect Chris Jericho. He loved the version who changed the wrestling world and took over New Japan. The version last week though? The one with all of the puns? Ciampa hates that one and offers to dance with Jericho if Jericho is interested.

The Dogs are coming to the ring for a chat but Adam Copeland and Christian Cage pop up to beat them down. Cage says he didn’t do anything to the Dogs’ mothers because he would never do anything to a team named after their mothers. Copeland talks about the things he and Cage learned over the years, including facing teams like the APA and learning from their beatings. The Dogs can walk through the Forbidden Door, but they’re walking back out as housebroken little pups.

Starlight Kid is ready to stand up for Stardom and beat Thekla. Thank goodness someone is standing up for…that other promotion.

Thekla talks about doing everything that Kid did and she got fired from Japan. Now it’s time for Thekla to beat Kid and take her mask.

Bandido is really happy about the win over the Death Riders. Bandido wants to face Jon Moxley for the Continental Title at Forbidden Door so Jon Moxley comes in to tell him to shoot his shot. This is going to be Bandido’s third pay per view out of four where he loses a singles match with the person beating him having no interest in being the ROH World Champion. As in the title he has defended once in America this year. Which absolutely needs to be a thing.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Hazuki vs. Mercedes Mone

They run the ropes to start until Hazuki slips on a springboard attempt but knocks Mone down. The threat of a running shot sends Mone bailing out to the ramp and she bails again from what looks like a rolling clothesline. We take a break and come back with Mone hitting a nasty gutbuster for two, with Hazuki rolling outside this time. Mone knocks her into the corner for two more but Hazuki gets in a toss to the floor. The suicide dives connect, as does a missile dropkick back inside.

Back in and Mone gets in two Amigos but the third is blocked, leaving Mone to snap the arm over the middle rope. A Meteora knocks Hazuki onto the ramp as we take a break. We come back with Hazuki firing away but getting sent face first into the middle buckle. Hazuki knocks her down again and drops the top rope backsplash, setting up the crossface. That’s broken up as well and they trade forearms from their knees with Hazuki getting the better of things.

They trade kicks to the face for a double down but Hazuki is back up with a kick to the face for two more. A brainbuster sends Mone out to the floor but she comes back inside for an exchange of rollups. The Statement Maker goes on and is broken up, leaving Mone rather frustrated. La majistral gives Hazuki two and they trade running shots to the face. Mone catches her with a Backstabber into the Statement Maker out of mostly nowhere for the tap at 22:28.

Rating: B. I never know what to say in a match like this because this whole thing was based on what these two did when they faced each other somewhere else. I’m sure that match was great, but basically we’re just told “yeah they had an awesome match”. Hazuki doesn’t mean anything in AEW (where she debuted last month) but Mone gets to have another match that I’m sure will be described as a classic.

Video on Maya World vs. Athena in the other semifinal.

Here is Will Ospreay, who is rather happy after getting married over the weekend. Yeah he has to go on his honeymoon so he took his wife upstairs, did various things, and told her to clean herself up because he was going to Houston. With that out of the way, here is Swerve Strickland as well, with Prince Nana mocking Tony Schiavone’s suit.

Strickland says it’s been awhile and Ospreay says the look on Strickland’s face is different. Actually Strickland thinks Ospreay has changed because no one knows why Ospreay is with the Death Riders. Ospreay says people need to let it go because he’s training with them and the training is working. That night where the Riders hurt him though, he didn’t see Strickland anywhere. Then they agreed to help Hangman Page get the World Title but where was Strickland there again? So where was Strickland?

Before he can speak, Ospreay takes the mic and says his own dream is bigger than Strickland’s explanation. Their match is going to be the semifinals of Ospreay’s World Cup. Strickland threatens to take Ospreay out and asks where Page is now. After everything they did, Page is just gone and now Strickland is supposed to step aside again?

Strickland is ready to get his title back because he’s better than Ospreay on his best day. Ospreay shoves him down so Strickland gets the chain out. Cue the Death Riders, with Strickland saying Ospreay really has changed. They got the point across well enough, but this was a rather lengthy exchange.

Chris Jericho wants to go face to face with Tommaso Ciampa on Collision.

Will Ospreay yells at Daniel Garcia when Jon Moxley comes in to ask if Ospreay feels in control. Moxley tells him he can’t lose control and Ospreay lets go of Garcia.

MJF and the Don Callis Family come to the ring for the main event but Mark Briscoe and the Conglomeration pop up. Briscoe introduces the rest of the team, including Konosuke Takeshita (who he introduces with a less than great name for someone Asian) and Darby Allin.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Don Callis Family vs. Conglomeration/Darby Allin/Konosuke Takeshita

Briscoe starts with MJF, who breaks new ground by tagging out at the bell. Andrade comes in and is sent outside for his regular photo, earning a dropkick through the ropes from Briscoe. Back in and the good guys take turns beating on Andrade in the corner but he’s able to take his pants off anyway. Fletcher and O’Reilly come in with Fletcher posing a lot before taking over.

O’Reilly rolls into an ankle lock and everything breaks down into the big brawl. Takeshita hits the big running flip dive but Allin gets jumped from behind inside. Fletcher and Knight almost get in a fight until it’s MJF coming back in to stomp on Allin’s ankle. We take a break and come back with Doyle working on Cassidy’s arm, only for Cassidy to feed him MJF’s arm instead. That’s enough for Strong to come in and clean house, including throwing Cassidy at various people.

Doyle is back in and gets knocked down to give Strong two as everything breaks down again. We get the parade of knockdowns until Takeshita and Fletcher fight over a brainbuster. Takeshita gives him a Blue Thunder Bomb instead and it’s off to MJF vs. Briscoe for the big showdown. Briscoe cleans house again but Knight breaks up the Jay Driller. Allin hobbles after Knight through the crowd but Doyle grabs Allin and sends him off the stage and into the post. The Jay Driller plants MJF so Don Callis distracts the referee. MJF takes Strong down into the Salt Of The Earth for the rather fast tap 17:23.

Rating: B-. This is one of the things that AEW does and I don’t get it. They have this match go over seventeen minutes and then expect me to be interested in seeing it again, albeit in a cage, in about a week and a half. I really do not get it and while the match was good enough, I don’t really need to see them do it even bigger at Forbidden Door. The result is fine enough, even with Strong tapping out so quickly.

Post match the good guys are beaten down, with Andrade and MJF almost getting into a fight. That’s broken up and Briscoe gets hit in the face with the diamond ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the big push towards Forbidden Door and it accomplished that pretty well. The important thing here was setting up some matches for the pay per view while also advancing some of the stuff that is already set. You need to have shows like this and they did it with some good matches here, albeit with some parts which were less than enthralling.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Tony Nese – One Winged Angel
Brodido b. Death Riders – 21 Plex to Garcia
Mercedes Mone b. Hazuki – Statement Maker
Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Don Callis Family b. Conglomeration/Darby Allin/Konosuke Takeshita – Salt Of The Earth to Strong

 

 

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

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AEW Collision – 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 Collision – May 30, 2026: They Did Something Different

Collision
Date: May 30, 2026
Location: Propst Arena, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another edition of Collision after the special one hour show on Wednesday. Never fear though because we’re getting the full two hour edition this week as well. We’re done with Double Or Nothing and are likely to get some additional Owen Hart Cup matches this week. That should work well enough so let’s get to it.

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

Konosuke Takeshita thanks the Conglomeration for having his back on Dynamite and promises that this isn’t over with the Don Callis Family. Takeshita has a backpack of his own.

Trios Title: Conglomeration vs. Don Callis Family

Lance Archer and RPG Vice are challenging for the Family and Tommaso Ciampa is on commentary. Strong and O’Reilly take turns beating on Romero to start, with a backbreaker setting up Cassidy’s lazy elbow. Romero actually takes Cassidy down but Cassidy is right back with his hands in his pockets for an armdrag.

Beretta takes over on Cassidy and Romero hits the lariats but it’s off to Archer, which makes Cassidy think twice. O’Reilly is more than willing to strike away at him and Archer limps around, at least until he runs O’Reilly and Cassidy over. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly fighting out of trouble and hitting a clothesline.

Strong gets the tag to clean house, including the usual backbreakers. Cassidy is put onto Archer’s shoulder for a spinning DDT but Romero gives Cassidy the running Sliced Bread #2. Beretta adds a delayed piledriver for two but a second is countered with a backdrop. Romero gets caught with a gutbuster and Archer gets choked out. Cassidy’s top rope elbow finishes Romero to retain the titles at 11:37.

Rating: B-. Good enough opener here with the Family sending in its G team to lose a title shot. At the same time, Cassidy is more than capable of making his stuff work against low level goons, which is exactly how RPG Vice could be described. This was a fine way to start the night, as is often the case with the Trios Titles.

Video on Megan Bayne and Lena Kross, who are all dominant and such.

Tay Melo/Anna Jay vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

Non-title eliminator match with a five minute time limit. Kross and Bayne are sent into each other to start but fight back without much effort. Bayne plants Jay a few times and it’s off to Kross for the shoulders in the corner. Kross knocks Jay down for two but she escapes Bayne’s slam attempt.

A small package gives Jay two of her own and it’s back to Melo to strike away. There’s a double DDT for two on Kross as we have a minute left. A running boot/German suplex combination gets two on Melo but the Divine Intervention is broken up. Jay gets the Queenslayer on Bayne and time expires at 5:00, giving Melo and Jay a title shot.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t exactly thrilling but it did exactly what it needed to, with Melo and Jay getting set up as the next challengers. That’s how it should have gone and it made for a good, short match. They don’t need to win the titles, but it’s a fine way to set up a title shot without burning off too much time.

Long recap of Wednesday’s Dynamite and Collision.

Here is Tommaso Ciampa, who was hoping that the old Chris Jericho would be here to get some revenge but instead he’s not here. Therefore, we’ll go with 1,004 reasons why he hates Jericho. This includes Fozzy sucks, the light up jackets, the cruises he makes everyone go on and HIS ARMBARS. Ciampa hates that full head of hair that Jericho has too and Jericho needs to understand that this isn’t some happiness tour. He promises to take Jericho out.

Maya World vs. Hazuki

Persephone is on commentary. Hazuki works on the arm to start and grabs a rollup for two, with World’s backslide getting the same. Back up and World kicks away, setting up a bulldog into the middle buckle. Hazuki’s headscissors into a basement dropkick gets her out of trouble and she stomps away in the ropes. A point at Persephone takes us to a break.

We come back with Hazuki winning an exchange of forearms but World catches her in the corner. Something like a powerbomb out of the corner gives World Two but Hazuki grabs the rope to prevent her from going up. A pump kick sends World to the apron for a hanging DDT so Hazuki heads up top. That’s broken up and World knocks her to the floor, where Hazuki runs right back inside for a dive. Back in and a tabletop suplex gives World two, only to miss a moonsault. The Codebreaker out of the corner sets up a top rope backsplash to give Hazuki the pin at 10:20.

Rating: B-. This was Hazuki’s traditional introduction match to let us know who she was before she starts up in the Owen Hart Tournament. It doesn’t help that it’s a cold match and went back and forth, but at least Hazuki got to be on one of the shows. This is something that happens in these tournaments on the regular and while I get the appeal, it often comes off as filler more than anything else.

Post match Persephone gets in the ring for the showdown.

We get a tribute to Dennis Condrey (who lived in Huntsville) and Bobby Eaton (who was from Huntsville). That’s a rather nice moment as the Midnight Express really was as good as advertised.

Video on Lee Moriarty, who has been the Ring Of Honor Pure Wrestling Champion for almost two years.

Lee Moriarty vs. Tim Bosby

Shane Taylor is on commentary. Moriarty wrestles him down without much effort and slides between Bosby’s legs for a bring it on. Bosby’s uppercut earn him a leg lariat and it’s the Border City Stretch to give Moriarty the tap at 1:34.

Post match Shane Taylor Promotions come in to praise Moriarty and insult the fans but the Death Riders’ entrance for their match cuts them off.

Death Riders vs. The Infantry

Moxley grabs Bravo’s arm to start and shoves him down, allowing Pac to come in for a wristlock of his own. The Infantry’s manager Christyan XO grabs Pac’s leg so Marina Shafir scares her off the apron. Dean pulls Pac to the apron and the beatdown is on, with Moxley grabbing a chair to chase them off. Taylor gets off commentary to punch Moxley down and a DDT drops Pac on the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Moxley getting kicked down again and a Bronco Buster hitting Pac. The chinlock is broken up and Pac hits a dive, allowing the tag off to Moxley. House is quickly cleaned and Moxley wins a slugout with Dean by knocking him into the corner. A double DDT drops the Infantry but they come back with an enziguri into a neckbreaker. Moxley raises his knees to block a splash and even Shafir gets in a shot in the corner. Pac hits a big clothesline and the Death Rider finishes Bravo at 11:10.

Rating: B-. The Death Riders continue to be confusing, as they are heels a lot of the time but here they might as well have been the 1986 Rock N Roll Express. The fans were certainly into them as they love Moxley, but it’s a little weird to see Kenny Omega act like they’re evil incarnate on Dynamite and then have them do this kind of a match a few days later. That being said, the Infantry continues to look like cannon fodder and not much more, which makes seeing them on Ring Of Honor feel like a bit of a waste of time.

Also a sidenote: Taylor was rather good on commentary. If he puts in some practice, he might have a future there as he has a clear voice and the experience to fit in as a veteran.

The Triangle Of Madness is happy that Thekla retained the title but Skye Blue is coming for the Women’s Title. Or they’re just tricking us and everything is fine.

Lio Rush, with an umbrella, scares the Conglomeration.

Here are the Dogs to throw out disposable cameras for their Five Second Pose because Alabama is too stupid to use smart phones. The pose is GUNNS DOWN but a certain team cuts them off.

The Dogs vs. The Gunns

The rest of the Bang Bang Gang is here with the Gunns and Jon Moxley is on commentary. Colten shoulders Finlay down to start and it’s off to Austin for an elbow to the face. Austin slugs away at Connors and hits a jumping Downward Spiral before dropping Finlay as well. We take a break and come back with Austin in trouble, including the Dogs putting a Polaroid on his head.

That just fires Austin up so Colten can come back in and clean house. That doesn’t last long as it’s a double suplex to send him flying, leaving Clark surprised at the kickout. The Dogs miss a high/low and the real hot tag brings Austin back in. They all forearm it out and then knock each other down, with Finlay chop blocking Colten. A shillelagh to the jaw knocks Austin silly and the spear gives Connors the win at 10:43.

Rating: C+. That’s a surprising result as you might think you would want to reestablish the Gunns a bit after they’ve been apart for so long. The team still looks good, but the Dogs are a bigger deal at the moment and this was more about making them stronger. At least I can tell the Gunns apart now so thank goodness for different hair (which they probably had before).

Post match the Dogs stay on them but the rest of the Bang Bang Gang run in for the save.

Video on Kevin Knight vs. Mike Bailey.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

The TBS Title will be decided in a Survival Of The Fittest (or possibly fitness according to Schiavone), a six woman elimination match, taking place on July 1. Qualifying matches will take place in the coming weeks.

Don Callis Family vs. Jimmy Wild/Tommy Mars

It’s Brian Cage/Jake Doyle for the Family as Nigel pops Moxley by saying Mars is substituting for Wild’s normal partner, Johnny Wet. The Drill Claw and a sitout powerbomb finish for the Family at 1:31. Total squash.

Post match Konosuke Takeshita comes out for the main event and Doyle/Cage have to be held back from him.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Daniel Garcia

Takeshita is defending. Garcia pulls him down into a headscissors but Takeshita escapes and glares on his way up. Takeshita kicks away as even Moxley admits Takeshita is going to give you a beating no matter who you are. Garcia bails outside so Takeshita follows him to keep up the fight. They start to get back inside but Garcia hits a dragon screw legwhip (Moxley approves) as we take a break.

We come back with Shafir on commentary now and suggesting Garcia use his toe. Takeshita uses a wheelbarrow suplex to escape an ankle lock as Moxley takes Shafir’s place (Schiavone: “You know you just gave your headset to a crazy woman?”). Garcia gets an STF, followed by a piledriver, which just wakes Takeshita up. A running knee knocks Garcia silly but he chops Takeshita down to block another running knee.

They slug it out until Takeshita gets two off a Blue Thunder Bomb. The knee gives out though and Garcia hits a Stomp before taking him up top. Takeshita tries a top rope clothesline but gets pulled into the Dragontamer. That’s broken up as well and Takeshita hits a heck of a wheelbarrow suplex. The Raging Fire retains the title at 16:33.

Rating: B+. This got intense and as usual, Moxley added a lot on commentary as he comes off like the biggest fan in the world. That’s always going to help as he just adds an energy to any match he’s calling. Garcia winning the title was never a realistic ending, but that wasn’t exactly the point here. They beat each other up and I had fun watching them do it so I’ll take it.

Post match even Moxley appreciates the match but the Don Callis Family comes in to jump Takeshita. Moxley gets up to help but Shane Taylor Promotions jumps him as well. This brings out the Conglomeration to get in on things and Nigel McGuinness gets in a fight with Shawn Dean. Mike Bailey runs in and the good guys clear the ring.

Takeshita seems to nod a thank you to Moxley and shows respect to Garcia to end the show. This felt like the ending to a house show where the promotion said “oh just send all the good guys out there to beat up all the bad guys and send them home happy”. It might not be the most original idea, but I’ve seen worse.

Overall Rating: B. As absolutely sick as I am of Tony Khan produced wrestling after 12 hours of it in a week, this was a pretty nice midcard heavy show. I liked the rotating commentators deal as it added some flavor to the matches and kept things moving. This wasn’t exactly must see stuff, but it felt different enough to make things a bit different than usual, which was rather appreciated.

Results
Conglomeration b. Don Callis Family – Top rope elbow to Romero
Tay Melo/Anna Jay vs. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross went to a time limit draw
Hazuki b. Maya World – Top rope backsplash
Lee Moriarty b. Tim Bosby – Border City Stretch
Death Riders b. The Infantry – Death Rider to Bravo
The Dogs b. The Gunns – Spear to Austin
Don Callis Family b. Jimmy Wild/Tommy Mars – Sitout powerbomb to Mars
Konosuke Takeshita b. Daniel Garcia – Raging Fire

 

 

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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

 

 

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

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




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

 

 

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

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AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 Preview

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

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

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

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

Kickoff Show: Death Riders vs. Opps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overall Thoughts

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

 

 

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AEW Collision – May 16, 2026: It’s Still Going

Collision
Date: May 16, 2026
Location: Wicomico Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to the usual time and schedule for the show as we have the World Title on the line again. This time Darby Allin is defending against Sammy Guevara, who issued the challenge at last night’s Ring Of Honor Supercard Of Honor. That’s in addition to a few other matches set up at last night’s show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

After Dynamite, Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, complained about not being able to beat Kyle O’Reilly. In theory, that means O’Reilly will be the next Continental Champion but Moxley is going to find a way. Claudio Castagnoli is ready to face Brody King in the Owen Hart Tournament. The rest of the team is ready to face the world. If it’s Wheeler Yuta against the world, the world doesn’t have much to worry about.

Conglomeration vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Non-title Eliminator Match. Bravo and Briscoe trade headlocks to start with Briscoe knocking him into the corner. That means it’s off to O’Reilly vs. Moriarty, with O’Reilly taking him down to taking him down into a rollup for two. The cross armbreaker is blocked but everything breaks down, with O’Reilly being left alone to hammer Moriarty in the corner. Cassidy comes in for one right hand and Moriarty falls down.

Dean comes in and gets armdragged by Cassidy, who is sent to the apron and beats up the Infantry anyway. A slingshot spear finally takes Cassidy down and Taylor (not in the match) drops a leg on the apron as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy getting in his spinning DDT but Moriarty grabs an abdominal stretch.

The other members of the team all pull until they get caught, meaning Cassidy can bring O’Reilly back in. The Infantry’s belly to back neckbreaker puts O’Reilly down for two and everything breaks down. Taylor cuts off Briscoe’s step up chair dive so O’Reilly takes Taylor down. That leaves Briscoe to Froggy Bow and Jay Driller Dean for the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. This was the usual good match that turned into a fairly wild brawl by the end. That worked out well, with the Conglomeration always working, even in the altered lineup. Both teams were mixing it up a bit here and that’s fine enough, as it’s not like the titles were on the line in the first place.

Will Ospreay is ready for the Owen Hart Tournament. He respects Samoa Joe, but no one is stopping him from winning the whole thing.

The Conglomeration is happy with their win (it wasn’t a title defense, despite what the interviewer says). O’Reilly is ready for Moxley and Briscoe is ready for Tommaso Ciampa. Willow Nightingale wants all the gold, including the Women’s Title.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Red Velvet

Nightingale is defending (Velvet’s ROH Women’s TV Title isn’t on the line) and say it with me: it’s an open challenge. Nightingale backs her into the corner and smiles to start so Velvet kicks the leg out. Velvet’s arm cranking doesn’t work so Nightingale gets up and offers a (left) hand(ed) shake.

Velvet tries and fails to crank on the arm and Nightingale sends her into the corner for the rapid fire clotheslines. A sitdown splash misses for Nightingale and Velvet rolls her up for two. They head outside, with Velvet striking away, only to get caught with a suplex. We take a break and come back with Nightingale missing her flip dive off the apron for a nasty crash. A bulldog gives Velvet two but she charges into a spinebuster for the same.

Nightingale drops her with a powerslam but the Babe With The Powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana. Velvet hits some running knees, only to flip into a full nelson slam for two more. Back up and Nightingale wins a strike off but gets flipped off the top. The Final Slice gives Velvet two, only for Nightingale to Pounce her out of her skin. The Babe With The Powerbomb retains the title at 13:03.

Rating: B-. Velvet has been on a roll since she came back from her injury and it’s nice to see her getting to showcase that on the bigger stage. At the same time, it feels like all Nightingale does anymore is defend the title in open challenges. It really shouldn’t be hard to find her a regular challenger and hopefully that is coming up sooner than later.

We look at the Women’s Owen Hart Cup brackets.

Video on Sammy Guevara, who is ready to challenge Darby Allin for the World Title.

Guevara knows he can beat Allin, as he’s done it four times before. Then he’ll beat MJF and shave him bald, but he’ll leave a fade.

Darby Allin isn’t surprised MJF isn’t here. He’s here to defend the title though because he loves this. If Mike Bailey wants a title shot, bring it on Dynamite.

Tommaso Ciampa is attacking Mark Briscoe in the back and they brawl into the arena, where Briscoe whips him into the barricade. Briscoe throws in some chairs, along with Ciampa, but the Jay Driller is broken up with a low blow. Ciampa chairs him down and takes Briscoe up top but the Conglomeration runs in for the save. Briscoe wants their match on Dynamite No DQ.

We look at the Men’s Owen Hart Cup brackets.

Opps vs. Lethal Twist

Lethal wants to start with Joe and gets his wish, with a chop just annoying Joe a bit more. It’s off to Bowens and Johnson, with Bowens sending him hard into the corner and stomping away. Bowens drives Lethal back first into the apron a few times as he’s being rather aggressive here. Back in and a Russian legsweep sets up Joe’s backsplash for two but a Blake Christian distraction lets Lethal hit a missile dropkick.

We take a break and come back with Johnson hammering on Joe. The beating doesn’t last long as Joe is up for the tag off to Bowens, who cleans house. A spinning torture rack faceplant gets two on Johnson, who Death Valley Drivers him into Hail To The King from Lethal. The Figure Four is blocked and Bowens clotheslines his way out of trouble. Joe comes in and yells at Lethal for clotheslining him, meaning it’s the Koquina Clutch to Lethal and a twisting armbar to Johnson for the double tap at 11:48.

Rating: B-. I can go for Bowens getting to do something of note after so many months of just floating around. The more aggressive style worked well for him here and the armbar is a fine way to go. This has me intrigued to see more and that’s not something I’ve gotten to say about a Bowens match for a long time. Nice fit here, which I didn’t see coming.

Post match Bowens talks about how confused he was for a long time, but then he found the Opps and it’s a perfect fit. He is the pride of professional wrestling and your hero, crediting Joe with his change of attitude. Joe tells Will Ospreay that decisions have consequences and while Ospreay sees it as a dream match, it’s going to be a nightmare.

We look at Swerve Strickland attacking Bandido last night at Supercard Of Honor.

Brody King threatens Strickland with violence but Bandido says he has to do this one himself.

Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Allie Katch/Kaia McKenna

Non-title Eliminator match with a five minute time limit. Bayne knocks Katch into the corner to start and it’s off to Kross for the rapid fire elbows to the face. Everything breaks down and the non-champions get slammed into each other. The Divine Intervention finishes Katch at 1:50.

Video on the Double Or Nothing Women’s Title match.

Athena and Mina Shirakawa bicker before their Owen Hart Cup match.

We look at Nigel McGuinness beating Josh Woods at Supercard Of Honor.

We look at Lio Rush’s “star making performance” from last night. Not exactly no.

Rush, being rather normal, says “these things happen”, when asked about Action Andretti costing him the match. He insists it’s fine, but when interviewer Nigel McGuinness leaves, he takes off his sunglasses to reveal red eyes as black goo drips out of his mouth. Anything in wrestling involving “black goo” is not a good idea. Free lesson of the day.

The Dogs/Mark Davis vs. The Rascalz

Clark Connors beats up a production worker for dropping something. The Rascalz triple team Davis to start and manage to knock him down in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Rascalz get to strike Davis down inside. The Dogs make a save and Wentz gets triple teamed down as we take a break.

We come back with Connors running over to break up a tag attempt as Wentz is still in trouble. Wentz fights up a few seconds later and gets the tag off to Reed to clean house. The Dogs cut that off and it’s back to Davis, who takes too long setting up a double Doomsday Device. That’s broken up with a double superplex and the Rascalz hit a triple dive. Reed cutters both Dogs but gets piledriven by Davis, setting up the Last Clip to give Finlay the pin at 11:33.

Rating: B-. The match was entertaining, but I could really go for more tag matches with, you know, tags throughout. I get that things are going to break down eventually as almost all tag matches do, but it shouldn’t be this much of the match. Davis and the Dogs worked well enough here and the Dogs certainly need the wins.

Anna Jay has a lot left to do and Tay Melo is here with her. Their team seems to be back.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

Allin is defending and it’s No Countout again. Allin looks down at the title…and Guevara stomps him onto it for a smart move. The bell rings and Guevara goes outside to set up the table (because No Countout means No DQ) and a ladder (because of course). Guevara’s Swanton off the ladder sends Allin through the table and we’re less than two minutes into the match.

Back in and the GTH is countered into the Scorpion Deathlock but Allin collapses with the hold on. For some reason that’s not a stoppage and Guevara drops a springboard splash for two. Allin knocks him off the top but the Coffin Drop is broken up and Guevara sends Allin crashing out to the floor. Back in and Three Amigos give Guevara two and we hit the chinlock.

We take a break and come back with Guevara diving into a choke but making the rope. Guevara is back up with a shot to the face but Allin kicks him in the face and hits a springboard shoulder. A pair of GTH’s and a frog splash give Guevara two so he puts Allin on a table at ringside. The 630 misses for Guevara and a Coffin Drop retains the title at 17:06.

Rating: C+. I get what they’re going for with Allin but I’m at the point where I really could go for a break from him. Seeing the same person headline show after show in a 15-20 minute match is losing its charm. The match was far from bad, but I’m looking forward to Allin losing the title just so he’s away for a little while. Throw in him reaching Super Cena levels of surviving stuff and it’s even worse.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show for the most part, as it felt more like a show that was focusing on setting things up while also doing some stuff here. That’s not usually the case with Collision but they have been doing a bit better in recent weeks. If that’s becoming the new norm, Collision will get a lot more useful in a hurry. For now, good stuff, even if I’m rather over the Allin stuff.

Results
Conglomeration b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Jay Driller to Dean
Willow Nightingale b. Red Velvet – Babe With The Powerbomb
Opps b. Lethal Twist – Double submission
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Allie Katch/Kaia McKenna – Divine Intervention to Katch
The Dogs/Mark Davis b. The Rascalz – Last Clip to Reed
Darby Allin b. Sammy Guevara – Coffin Drop

 

 

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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 – May 6, 2026: Line Them Up

Collision
Date: May 6, 2026
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

This is one of those split shows as we’re getting the first half on Wednesday right after Dynamite and the second half on Saturday (with a golf theme, hopefully featuring Barry Darsow and Kerw….never mind). The main event is a ten man tag and yes it does indeed feature the Young Bucks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Sting helping Darby Allin up after Allin retained the World Title in the Dynamite main event. Sting gives Kevin Knight a nod of respect before leaving…and here is MJF to interrupt. Everyone is sick of seeing Allin with the title. It’s been cute and all but give him the rematch already. Allin wants something on the line, so MJF offers his scarf and the Dynamite Diamond Ring but that’s not enough.

MJF throws in a million bucks but Allin doesn’t care about money. Allin wants MJF’s hair on the line, even revealing that MJF flew to Turkey for a hair transplant. MJF has until next week to sign the contract or he never gets a rematch. MJF can’t bring himself to say anything and leaves, so here is Kazuchika Okada to interrupt. Okada requests and received a title shot next week. Oh sweet. I was hoping we’d only have one champion get beaten on Dynamite this month.

Will Ospreay is told his neck is improving and if his MRI this week looks good, he’ll be medically cleared. Ospreay won’t really say what he’s doing with the Death Riders but it seems to be a means to an end.

Mike Bailey vs. AR Fox

They go to the mat a few times to start for a standoff so Bailey gives him the bouncing kicks to the floor. Bailey avoids a charge to send Fox outside, setting up a springboard corkscrew moonsault. Back in and a missile dropkick connects for Bailey and we take a break. We come back with a battle over a suplex until Fox DDTs him out of the corner.

A spinning suplex gives Fox two and he hits a big dive out to the floor. Back in and a Swanton gives Fox two but he has to avoid a Tornado Kick in the corner. Bailey misses the Ultimate Weapon as well and blocks Lo Mein Pain, meaning the Ultimate Weapon can connect for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: B-. As usual, Fox was entertaining in the ring and can do some very impressive stuff. Unfortunately at the same time, we are long past the point of believing that he has a real chance to win anything important. There are far worse choices to make others look good though and they had a nice, fast paced match.

Willow Nightingale issues another open challenge. How original.

Pac wants a shot at Darby Allin as he’s beaten him before. If Allin is so good, prove Pac wrong and yes, you can consider that an invitation.

Jamie Hayter vs. Skye Blue

Hayter elbows her in the face to start and boots her out to the floor. Back in and Blue gets in a snapmare, followed by a basement superkick for an early two. That’s shrugged off and a fall away slam sends Blue flying and Hayter hits a basement lariat for two of her own. Blue is back up with a Downward Spiral onto the apron and then sends her into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Hayter suplexing her into the corner and then suplexing her right back out. They trade kicks to the head but Code Blue is blocked, meaning they get to trade headbutts for a double down. Hayter’s choke in the corner is cut off and they both go up for an exchange of slaps. With that not working, a super Hayterade knocks Blue silly for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. It’s good to see Hayter getting a win, though I’m not sure what the endgame is supposed to be. She’s already lost the big title shot against Thekla and yet the feud seems to be continuing. Maybe they’ll run it back or do a triple threat or something, but for now it’s a weird way to go.

The rest of the Triangle Of Madness is in the crowd so Hayter beats Blue up some more.

Don Callis brags about his Family and all the gold they’re going to win. Konosuke Takeshita isn’t happy about Kazuchika Okada wanting the World Title and ignoring their upcoming match. On top of that, Andrade El Idolo wants the World Title as well and leaves. Calls seems to get annoyed but insists the team is going to win everything. Of note: Andrade has a new title on his shoulder which is never identified or even mentioned (yes I know what it is). While the last thing this company needs is more titles floating around, maybe tell us what we’re looking at?

Rush vs. Manny Lo

Bull’s Horns in 43 seconds. Rush’s post match catchphrase almost takes up a third of the match time.

Jack Perry is in his bus but gets out to climb a mountain. The hills are alive with the sounds of Baltimora.

The Dogs/Death Riders vs. Young Bucks/Bang Bang Gang

The brawl starts in the aisle and they get inside for an eight man suplex. The bad guys are almost whipped into each other but walk into a quadruple atomic drop. The Bucks clear the ring and Nick hits a big running dive. Austin’s dive is cut off though and Connors gives him a spear through the ropes.

The Riders stomp away on the floor and we take a break. We come back with Austin suplexing his way out of a chinlock but getting sent into the corner for a string of running clotheslines. Everything breaks down (I can’t believe it took that long) and Austin knocks Castagnoli away, allowing the tag back to Colten. House is cleaned but Colten gets caught in the Dragon Tamer/Stomp combination for two.

Matt comes back in to hit the rolling northern lights suplexes, even hitting two at once and getting a rollup for a near fall at the same time. The Bucks bulldog the Bucks down and it’s time to fire off the superkicks. The BTE Trigger hits Finlay for two and Castagnoli is back in with a double clothesline to the Bucks. A bunch of clotheslines leave everyone down until it’s Austin slugging it out with Yuta. Austin and the Bucks hit a triple superkick on Yuta and the Bucks nail stereo dives. The Fold gives Austin the pin on Yuta at 14:21.

Rating: B. This is pretty much all you would have expected and it felt very similar to all of the other versions of this kind of match AEW has done. It’s entertaining and had the dives and flips, but that’s kind of been done to death, especially with the Bucks. That’s a good enough main event for Collision though, especially one going on this late. I will however take Austin getting a win, as he’s starting to rack up some success around here. That’s rather promising.

The winners (and Juice Robinson) celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yeah that’s Collision for you: basically a house show with people you do recognize showing up and having matches without much impact on anything. You had the MJF/Allin challenge (fair enough as that was important) Rush’s latest push continues, some matches were set up for Dynamite and…yeah that’s about it. The show was perfectly watchable as usual, but it’s very little that you really need to see.

Results
Mike Bailey b. AR Fox – Ultimate Weapon
Jamie Hayter b. Skye Blue – Super Hayterade
Rush b. Manny Lo – Bull’s Horns
Young Bucks/Bang Bang Gang b. The Dogs/Death Riders – Fold to Yuta

 

 

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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