AEW Collision Review – 08.16.25

Here’s a quick look at the week in AEW thus far: Dynamite | ROH

Collision is ON THE AIR from the Andrew J. Brady Center in Cincinnati, OH (and was recorded live in front of a studio audience on 08.14.2025) . The presenters of tonight’s program are Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard on match calls, Arkady Aura doing in-ring announcements, and Renee Paquette giving news updates and conducting backstage interviews.

Here’s AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm to open the show. Storm says that Athena is a history-making, record-breaking woman but holy shit she’s annoying. Storm asks if Athena has to attack her every time she sees her and then spend the rest of the evening whining like a pre-pubescent teenager? Storm then asks how many nicknames Athena actually needs while running them all down. “You’re also the Fallen Goddess and all that means is the good lord above realized ‘holy shit she IS annoying'”. (Whoever wrote that, bravo friend.) Storm says it’s time to pray and drops to her knees. Storm prays that Athena will leave London on a budget airline with Storm’s ass print on her face.

Here’s ROH Women’s World Champion Athena to attack, shockingly. As Storm starts to get the better of it, here’s Billie Starks to join the attack on Storm. They get the better of Storm and Athena mounts Storm before telling her that if she wants to pray she should pray that Athena doesn’t expose her for the fraud she is. Athena asks the crowd that if AEW is where the best wrestle, why is this bitch sitting at the top? Starks dumps Storm into the ring as Athena continues berating the crowd and Storm. Athena mocks the Storm pose and here’s Mina Shirakawa to interrupt. Storm revives and dumps Starks with a German. Once Athena realizes she’s suddenly outnumbered she says that they’re all adults and can do “conflict resolution”. As Storm and Shirakawa close in Athena jumps into the arms of a couple Security goofs at ringside who hustle her away. Storm and Shirakawa celebrate on the ramp.

This was what you think it was. Just a quick heat check on the Women’s title since everyone has to fly soon and they don’t want anyone doing anything too physical. Storm reined it in a bit tonight, as well.

Schiavone throws to a highlights package from Dynamite’s MJF-Hangman Page face-to-face confrontation. Forbidden Door is one week away!

Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta vs JetSpeed

The Death Riders are seconded by Marina Shafir. Moxley gets a big hometown reception. JetSpeed are 4-0 in tag matches on Collision. Bailey and Knight decide to attack pre-bell so they fly over the top rope and land on Moxley and Yuta to a big pop. Bailey dumps Yuta back in and the ref rings the bell.

Bailey kicks Yuta in the stomach and tags in Knight. Bailey and Knight hit a double-team hiptoss, face-buster, and double drop kick on Yuta before nipping up simultaneously. (This happens often in real fights, as well. The double nip up. You could look it up.) Yuta recovers quickly and he and Knight start throwing bombs at each other. Knight gains the advantage and slaps on an abdominal stretch. Yuta manages to hiptoss Knight off before raking his eyes. Yuta whips Knight to the mat and tags in Moxley.

Moxley runs Knight over with a clothesline before wiping Bailey off the apron. Moxley puts the boots to Knight in a neutral corner before running him over the top rope all the way to the floor. Moxley charges out and runs Knight’s head into the announce desk three times before Bailey sprints over to attack. Moxley stops that with a knee before running Bailey’s head into the announce desk as well. Moxley dumps Knight back in and tags in Yuta. Moxley holds Knight so Yuta can dropkick him in the face. Yuta hits a bridging fisherman’s suplex on Knight and covers for two.

Moxley tags in and works Knight over before dropping him with a knee. Yuta tags in to continue the assault in the Death Riders corner. Knight tries to fight his way out but Yuta stops it with a chop. Yuta snap-mares Knight over and drops a double knee. Yuta covers and gets two. Yuta starts dropping elbows on Knight’s shoulder but Knight grabs a sneaky roll-up and gets a quick two. Knight slips Yuta’s advance and leaps to tag in Bailey.

Bailey grabs a charging Yuta and runs him head-first to the top turnbuckle. Bailey ascends but his jump misses. Bailey hits a reverse thrust kick on a charging Yuta. Bailey drops Yuta with two more kicks and then hits a running shooting star press before covering for two. Bailey kicks a prone Yuta twice but his third attempt is thwarted when Yuta grabs his leg. Yuta tries to snap Bailey’s exposed toes (I HAVE BEEN WAITING PATIENTLY FOR SOMEONE TO ATTACK MIKE BAILEY’S EXPOSED FEET. Yuta, you the man, dawg.) Bailey adopts THE CRANE POSE and of course Yuta wades in to take the subsequent kick.

Moxley has had enough and charges in to rake Bailey’s eyes. After Moxley and the ref have a discussion a recovered Bailey and Knight hit a double drop kick on Moxley. Yuta and Moxley regroup on the floor. Bailey and Knight try to attack and when Knight flies over the ropes Moxley catches him with a forearm on the way down. Bailey slugs Yuta but Moxley charges over and dumps Bailey with a German suplex on the apron. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Moxley yells at the crowd before he and Yuta dump a dazed Bailey back in. Yuta stomps Bailey and then runs him hard into a neutral corner. Moxley tags in and tries to break Bailey’s fingers before stomping on Bailey’s hand. Moxley works an elbow lock submission (I guarantee you that William Regal taught him that hold, sunshine.) Bailey breaks out but his short attack is stopped by a Moxley knee lift. Bailey ends up on the floor and as Moxley jaws at Knight, Shafir nails Bailey with an armdrag take over. Shafir fires up the double bird to the crowd. Moxley tosses Bailey back in.

Back to full screen with Moxley hitting a backbreaker on Bailey. Yuta tags in and Bailey fires up with some rights, so Yuta rakes the eyes and tags in Moxley. Bailey gets a sneaky roll-up on Moxley for two. Bailey staggers Moxley with an enziguri. Yuta tags in and Bailey finally manages to escape and tag Knight. Knight wipes out Moxley and then starts throwing uppercuts at Yuta. Knight slips a Yuta charge and hits him with a tilt-a-whirl powerslam and standing splash before covering for two.

Yuta dumps Knight into the team corner where Moxley pulls his hair. Knight forearms Moxley to the floor but Yuta wades in to attack. Yuta punches Knight in the head until the ref breaks it up. Knight revives and nails a charging Yuta with a dropkick. Moxley is frustrated on the floor as both guys are down. (We’re close to twenty minutes here guys, let’s move this thing along.) Moxley and Bailey tag in and we have a strong style forearm battle that Bailey ultimately wins. Yuta charges into a Bailey kick but this gives a revived Moxley a chance to forearm Bailey and a lumbering Knight.

Bailey and Moxley start chopping each other and Knight and Yuta join in. A series of big knocks on all four ends with Moxley hitting a cutter on Bailey. Moxley is wildly frustrated when Bailey kicks out at two. Yuta tags in but he and Moxley’s double-team attempt is slipped by Bailey. Knight charges in and wipes out Moxley as Bailey rolls up Yuta for two. Bailey hits Yuta with the PK and his backflip double knee drop. Bailey kicks Yuta dead in the jaw and covers for two as Moxley breaks it up. Knight dumps Moxley to the floor.

Bailey and Knight whip Yuta to a neutral corner but Bailey’s charge is met by a big boot from Yuta. Yuta ascends and Knight charges over and ranas him into Bailey’s powerbomb/roll up and that gets two. Knight tags in and he and Bailey hit a backdrop driver on Yuta. Knight hits a springboard splash on Yuta and covers for two. Bailey is working Moxley over on the floor. Knight and Yuta have a series of missed moves before Knight sends Yuta to the floor with a kick. Yuta charges back in and Knight’s roll-up is broken up at two by Shafir pulling Knight to the floor.

Shafir drives knees into Knight’s mid-section before Bailey flies over to push her off. Shafir charges and Bailey slips it and pushes her into the ring steps. (I bet that will get some comments online.) Moxley pulls Bailey off the apron before entering the ring. Moxley tries for the Death Rider but Knight slips out of it as Yuta accidently nails Moxley with a Baisaku knee. A stunned Yuta turns into a roundhouse kick from Bailey as Knight ascends. Knight hits a giant splash on Yuta and covers but Shafir flies into the ring to distract the ref. The ref finally counts two.

Moxley hits Bailey with a Death Rider on the floor and as the ref is still barking at Shafir, Yuta low-blows Knight from behind. Yuta rolls up Knight and bridges as the ref counts three.

Twenty four minutes for that finish. Sure, why not. Bailey and Knight lose their first tag match on Collision after starting 4-0. This was just SO LONG. I think my biggest problem with Moxley at this point is his all-over-the-place selling. Yuta did well here and he fits this current role almost to a tee. No Claudio tonight, so Shafir had to take a few bumps. The crowd was mostly into it by the end but I don’t think they want to hate Moxley because of the hometown deal so it wasn’t maybe as loud as it could have been. The finish knocks the quality down for me, but yes I know that heels often cheat to win. 3.25*

Winners – Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta (Yuta low-blow and roll-up on Knight)

Schiavone throws to a preview package of the Technical Spectacle that’s still to come before we go to commercials.

The Outrunners are going to re-connect with not Mother Nature, but BROTHER NATURE. I can’t begin to do this justice so click the link and watch it on Youtube.

Ricochet vs Ace Austin

Ricochet is 7-0 on Collision. There’s some yap to start as Ricochet tries to bully Austin. Austin fires off some rights and a chop that staggers Ricochet. Ricochet reverses an irish whip but Austin flies in to trip up Ricochet before blasting him in the back with a kick. Austin rolls up Ricochet for two. Austin dropkicks Ricochet and he ends up on the floor. Austin waits for Ricochet and when he’s recovered, Austin ducks a couple of Ricochet leg-sweep attempts and kicks Ricochet square in the chest. Austin dumps Ricochet back in and ascends but by the time he comes off Ricochet is able to slip Austin’s kick attempt.

Austin pushes Ricochet to a corner and charges. Ricochet flips Austin onto the apron where he eats an Austin forearm. Austin tries for a springboard move but Ricochet staggers into the ropes sending Austin stomach-first onto the top rope. Ricochet fires up and drops a knee onto Austin’s forehead. Ricochet stands on Austin’s hair and pulls him up by the arms. (Trevor, the man has a family, my god.) Ricochet drives knees into Austin’s back and then pops him with an elbow drop. Austin tries to fight back with rights but Ricochet stops it with a knee lift. Ricochet smashes Austin’s head into the second turnbuckle and then hits Austin with a 619. Ricochet hits a springboard lariat and covers Austin for two. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Ricochet twists his boot on Austin’s face. Ricochet stomps Austin onto the bottom rope and then stands on his neck while using the ropes for torque. Ricochet barks at the ref and then starts ramming his shoulder into Austin’s mid-section. Ricochet snap-mares Austin to a sitting position and then headbutts him in the lower back. Ricochet drops another falling headbutt onto Austin before chirping at someone in the crowd. Ricochet chops Austin and then blasts him with a forearm when Austin stops an irish whip attempt. Austin finally fires up with some rights and we go to full commercials.

Back live with Austin hitting a springboard roundhouse kick and covering Ricochet for two. As Austin ascends here’s the Gates of Agony walking down the aisle. The distraction gives Ricochet time to crotch Austin on the top turnbuckle. Ricochet hits a superplex and brainbuster on Austin. Ricochet hits a shooting star press on Austin and covers for two. Ricochet hoists Austin and hits a backdrop driver before covering for two. The crowd fires up for Austin as he rolls up a stunned Ricochet for two. Ricochet flies in with a knee to put a stop to Austin’s short-lived momentum.

Ricochet ascends and takes forever to pose so a recovered Austin pushes the ropes to crotch Ricochet. Austin charges down the apron and hits a rana on Ricochet. Austin clotheslines Ricochet over the top rope to the floor. Austin flies over the top rope and takes out Ricochet and Bishop Kaun. Austin tosses Ricochet back in and as the ref is checking on Ricochet Toa Liona snatches Austin off the apron. Liona misses a charge and goes into the ring post. Austin sneaks back into the ring and rolls up Ricochet for two. Austin hits a small package on Ricochet and that gets two.

Kaun leaps up on the apron and Austin sends Ricochet into Kaun after he slips a Ricochet charge. Austin rolls Ricochet up for two. Austin hoists Ricochet who rakes Austin’s eyes to get out of it. Ricochet snaps Austin’s head to the mat by his hair and goes to the corner. Ricochet wallops Austin with the Spirit Gun and covers for three.

I liked this a bunch, but Ace Austin, as everyone will discover soon, is awesome. He’s also kind of short, so we’ll see how far he will go, but I like this signing a bunch more than someone like Speedball for example. Ricochet fights like a vicious heel now and I’m totally here for it. He needs to be moving up the card at some point but I can’t see him getting a shot at the world title and uber-heel Kyle Fletcher has the TNT belt. So I guess we’ll see. Anyway, this was good stuff right here. 3.5*

Winner – Ricochet (Spirit Gun)

Post-match sees the GOA hit Austin with a double-team Razor’s Edge looking thing on Austin before celebrating with Ricochet.

Here’s Renee Paquette backstage with AEW World Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate and MVP. Paquette asks them if they have a prediction on the tag team eliminator tournament finals between FTR and Brodido. MVP says they’re two fine teams but they don’t care who wins. Paquette questions MVP about the aftermath of the drama with MJF and if they’re still on the same page. MVP brushes off the drama and says they’re better than they’ve ever been. Benjamin tells Paquette it’s been a pleasure and the Syndicate leaves.

Next up to speak with Paquette are Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong. Paquette asks about their emotional state after Adam Cole’s exit at All In: Texas but before Strong can answer Tomohiro Ishii and Hologram enter. Strong is disgusted but a delighted O’Reilly says that the Paragon will get back to their winning ways just like the Conglomeration has with their win over the Young Bucks and Don Callis Family on Dynamite. Strong has had enough and yells “KYLE!” but it’s not O’Reilly, it’s Kyle Fletcher. Strong says everyone is going to pay up until he gets his hands on Fletcher for what he did (I’m assuming he’s talking about Cole’s injury here.) Strong storms off as O’Reilly describes to Hologram in detail what they’re going to do after the show. Strong storms back in and drags O’Reilly off so they can have their match.

Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong vs Lee Johnson and Blake Christian

For real though, shoutout to Adam Cole. It’s Christian and Strong to start as Strong grabs a wristlock. Christian flips out of it and grabs a wristlock of his own. Christian lets Strong go for some unknown reason so Strong just casually blasts Christian with a chop. Strong runs Christian to the Paragon corner and tags in O’Reilly. They blast Christian with chops and kicks and as Johnson charges over O’Reilly hits him with a knee lift. O’Reilly runs Johnson into a chop from Strong. O’Reilly yanks a dazed Christian into a snap suplex before covering for one.

O’Reilly snaps Christian’s arm over his shoulder but Christian pulls it into a sleeper. O’Reilly drops out of it as Christian tags Johnson in. O’Reilly roundhouse kicks Christian down and then wallops a charging Johnson with a mid-section kick. (One thing I ALWAYS loved about O’Reilly is his foot-work and how he snaps his hips when he kicks. It looks like it would hurt like hell and I always appreciate that in a wrestler.) Strong tags in and crushes Johnson with a chop and a knee lift. O’Reilly tags in and Strong hits a backbreaker on Johnson as O’Reilly comes off the second rope with a knee to Johnson’s throat. O’Reilly kicks Christian off the apron but walks into some forearms from a recovered Johnson.

O’Reilly kicks Johnson in the thigh to break that up and pulls Johnson into a guillotine. Christian charges in to use Johnson as a ramp to jump and wallop an unsuspecting Strong with a forearm. Christian slips an O’Reilly charge and dropkicks him in the back. Johnson runs the apron but his kick is stopped by Strong but as he tries to pull Johnson to the floor Christian nails Strong with a tope suicida. Johnson slips an O’Reilly charge as Christian blasts O’Reilly with an enziguri. Johnson kicks O’Reilly in the chest and hits a standing moonsault on O’Reilly before covering for two.

Johnson runs O’Reilly into his team corner as Christian tags in. Johnson shoulders O’Reilly as Christian follows with a kick to O’Reilly’s head. Johnson whips O’Reilly into a Christian flying cross-body and Christian covers for two. Johnson tags in and goes to work on O’Reilly with kicks. O’Reilly fires up with forearms but Johnson stops it with a kick. Johnson charges and O’Reilly lifts a knee into his gut. Christian tags in and charges across the ring but Strong catches him and drops him back-first onto O’Reilly’s lifted knees.

Strong tags in and dropkicks a charging Johnson. Strong hits a backbreaker on Johnson before flipping Christian over and onto his face. (Nasty spot, that.) Strong crushes Johnson with a backdrop suplex. Strong runs the ropes and hits a dazed Johnson with forearm after forearm. O’Reilly tags in as Strong lifts a knee to Johnson’s jaw. O’Reilly and Strong hit double-team offense on Johnson that ends with a combo knee-forearm shot to Johnson’s jaw. Christian manages to toss O’Reilly to the apron when he charges and then Christian stops Strong’s charge with a boot.

O’Reilly flies down the apron to drop a knee onto a prone Johnson but Christian blasts him with a kick when O’Reilly tries to sweep him off the apron. Christian hits an enziguri on Strong but his subsequent acrobatics are stopped by a huge Strong knee lift. O’Reilly and Strong hit the High-Low on Christian and O’Reilly covers for three.

Never really in doubt but Christian and Johnson did well here I thought. Solid tag match with a decent heat sequence on O’Reilly and a clean babyface victory. The dynamic with O’Reilly and Strong may be off backstage but they never fail to look like a well-oiled machine when they team. This was solid pro wrestling here. 3*

Winners – Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong (High-Low on Christian)

Post-match sees Ishii and Hologram come into the ring to high-five O’Reilly. Strong grabs O’Reilly and tries to leave as O’Reilly is making “call me” motions at Hologram and Ishii. We go very abruptly to commercials.

Schiavone and Menard talk up Forbidden Door but suddenly backstage here’s BIG STOKE and FTR stealing Bandido‘s mask. Brody King comes charging in and starts whaling away on Harwood and Wheeler. They fight their way out onto the stage and King runs Wheeler into the ring. King punches Harwood and then clotheslines him over the top rope into the ring. King rips Harwood’s t-shirt off and chops him in the chest. King whips Harwood into Wheeler in the corner and then splashes them both. King barks for the crowd and lines up for the cannonball but STOKE grabs his ankle to prevent it. King grabs STOKE who throws powder over his shoulder into King’s eyes. FTR hit a Shatter Machine on a staggering King. Harwood places Bandido’s mask over STOKE’s head as STOKE tells the camera they will be the number one contenders and see everyone at Forbidden Door.

Good angle here, I liked King’s willingness to just go toe-to-toe with Harwood and Wheeler. It was obvious how it would go in the end but this was good to build the drama for the big match in Glasgow on Wednesday.

Here’s Sky Flight to say that they want the Don Callis Family in any kind of match they want to choose in Scotland. Leila Grey says no matter what type of match they choose Sky Flight is going to [BLEEP] them up. Christopher Daniels says that will be five dollars in the Sky Flight Swear Jar so Grey pulls a ten from her cleavage and says that’s bull[BLEEP]. Scorpio Sky and Daniels chuckle and decide to head to training.

$100,000 Challenge Match: Julia Hart vs Kris Statlander vs Penelope Ford vs Anna Jay

Hart is seconded by Skye Blue and Thekla, but they don’t stay at ringside. Megan Bayne and Tay Melo appear with Ford and Jay but don’t stay at ringside. Statlander runs to the announce desk and sprays Schiavone with confetti.

The bell sounds and a four-way brawl breaks out. Statlander and Jay mount Ford and Hart respectively and fire rights to their heads. Statlander and Jay whip Ford and Hart into each other and then hit them with simultaneous backdrops. Statlander and Jay lock up before running the ropes. Statlander walks into a back thrust kick from Jay. Jay snaps Statlander into a seated position and then runs the ropes to hit her with a rolling neckbreaker that doesn’t quite connect. Statlander leaps up and dropkicks Jay in the back before covering for two as it’s broken up by Hart.

Hart pulls Statlander into a wristlock and yanks on her arm. Hart shoulders Statlander and then blasts her with a forearm. Hart ascends and walks the ropes before nailing Statlander with a rana. (Given that Hart basically dresses like the Undertaker at this point a rope-walk move is not surprising.) Hart misses a charge and Statlander wallops her with a forearm. Ford comes flying in with a backflip elbow on both Statlander and Hart in the corner. Jay comes flying in with a leg lariat on all three. (Menard is openly rooting for Jay here.) A recovered Hart throws Statlander down and then crushes Jay with a forearm. Hart runs Jay into a Ford trip and then Hart blasts Jay with a lariat to the back of her neck. Ford then waffles a prone Jay with a dropkick to the back. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Hart covers Jay but Ford breaks it up at one. Ford and Hart start swinging at each other. Hart breaks off from that and hits a standing moonsault on a prone Jay but Ford again breaks up the cover attempt at one. Ford blasts Hart into the corner and then hits her own standing moonsault on Jay. Predictably, Hart breaks up the cover at one. Hart and Ford start throwing forearms but they fail to notice a recovered Statlander who blasts them both with a lariat. Statlander hits a snap suplex on Ford and then follows with one to Hart. Jay wanders into her own Statlander snap suplex. Statlander yanks up Ford but Hart prevents whatever she was going to try and she and Ford try to suplex Statlander. They fail miserably and Statlander yanks them both over her head with backdrops. (She really wrenched on Hart’s neck there. Yikes.) Statlander runs Hart and Ford to the floor but they slip her baseball slide attempt. A recovered Jay blasts Statlander off the apron with a leg lariat. Hart dumps Jay to the floor as Ford flies in to knee Hart in the mid-section. Ford hoists Hart and nails her with a sit-out knee drop. Ford goes to ground and pound on Hart before draping her over the second rope and putting her leg over Hart’s shoulder. Ford snaps Hart off the rope and covers for two. Ford delivers four kicks to a prone Hart before hitting her with six more stomps for good measure.

Back to full screen with a long look from the crowd as Ford ascends. Jay climbs up to prevent whatever Ford was going to do to Hart as I sense an incoming tower of doom spot. Statlander charges in to blast Hart in the back and then yanks Ford off the top turnbuckle. Statlander crushes Ford with a German and then nips up. Jay kicks Statlander in the chest and then hits her with a top turnbuckle blockbuster. Jay doesn’t cover so Hart rolls her up for two. Jay shakes that off and hits a reverse thrust kick on Hart before hitting Statlander with a hip attack. Jay blasts Ford with a leg lariat before doing the same to Hart. Statlander runs into a Jay backstabber and Jay covers for two. (Listen, they are working super hard and the crowd is quiet as hell. I don’t know what they have to do here but man, this is a shame because this match is not bad at all.)

Jay ends up on Statlander’s back and they both get pulled into the corner by Hart. Hart climbs on Jay’s back and Ford runs in to dropkick Statlander sending everyone crashing back into the corner. Ford hits a charging Jay with a cutter before blasting a charging Hart with a right. Statlander hoists Ford who immediately slides down and turns it into a poison rana on Statlander. (That was the move that finally woke the crowd up, but they’re clapping like an appreciative Japanese crowd. What a weird show this is turning into.) Hart knocks Ford into the corner and lariats her. Hart charges Ford and wallops her with a shoulder. Hart kicks a charging Jay twice before posing her in the corner. Ford drops Statlander and both she and Hart ascend. They both miss moonsault attempts as Jay actually gets her knees up to blast Hart while Ford simply missed entirely.

Ford and Hart slip charges as Statlander and Jay crash into each other. Statlander and Jay use forearms to hold off Hart and Ford before Jay blasts Statlander with a forearm. Statlander hits a fallaway enziguri on Jay and everyone is down. Hart and Jay start slugging it out as the crowd finally is into this. Jay yanks Hart up for a Gory Special but her cover is slow and Ford breaks it up at two. Ford yanks Jay out of the ring and they fight in the aisle. Statlander charges in and puts Hart in a headscissors submission as Jay DDT’s Ford in the aisle. Hart taps before anyone can stop it. Statlander wins $100, 000. (I desperately hope that some day Tony Khan presents one of these match winners with a GIANT OVERSIZED NOVELTY CHECK.)

I really liked this match a bunch, I’m not going to lie. The damn crowd would NOT get into it but Ford’s poison rana finally woke them up despite everyone really going hard for the first few minutes. No idea what that was about. Four-ways are hard to agent let alone wrestle and this was as crisp as I’ve ever seen from these four. Is Ford a limited worker, probably, but she went hard here and the poison rana was the coolest “move” of the match. Jay can take a beating, Hart is what she always is. Statlander is SO strong it’s ridiculous, the spot where she had both Hart and Jay on her back was astounding. Take the stars, ladies. 3.75*

Winner – Kris Statlander (Headscissors submission on Hart)

Post-match sees Thekla and Skye Blue charge in to attack Statlander. Here’s Queen Aminata to rush in and immediately go at Thekla. The Triangle crew still has the numbers advantage as they beat down Aminata and Statlander. Ford jumps on Jay’s back to prevent her entering and of course that brings out Tay Melo to blast away at Ford. They fight in the aisle and here’s Megan Bayne to blast a staggering Jay with a right. Bayne puts heavy shoulders into Jay while Ford continues assaulting Melo. Here’s Harley Cameron to a huge pop. Cameron has a board with a chain on it and the ring clears as Cameron threatens Bayne and Ford. Bayne wants to fight but Ford holds on to her and everyone glares at each other.

An hour and seventeen minutes into Collision and it’s our first Don Callis Family moment which has to be some kind of record. AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher is flanked by Lance Archer and Hechicero. Fletcher says he and Callis challenged New Japan to send their best pound-for-pound wrestler to challenge Fletcher at Forbidden Door. NJPW sent Hiromu Takahashi to Dynamite and Fletcher says he is good and may be the best IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion of all time. Fletcher says his reign is just getting started and won’t stop at Forbidden Door as he promises to make Takahashi’s name be on the list of stars he’s mopped the floor with. Archer mentions the Sky Flight challenge and says that they should keep the Family’s name out of their mouths because whether it’s one of them or all of them, everybody dies. Fletcher hypes up Konosuke Takeshita’s G1 performance and says Hechicero will soon be the ROH world champion. They all wish good things for Callis as we go to commercials.

Renee Paquette is with Kris Statlander when we return and Statlander fires confetti at her while celebrating her win. Harley Cameron rushes in and tries to hoist Statlander to celebrate. She fails, so she jumps into Statlander’s arms while saying how inspiring Statlander is. Here’s Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta to interrupt as Statlander pulls Cameron behind her. Moxley kind of grins at Paquette before hyping up Statlander. Yuta wants a fist bump but settles for just telling Statlander “great work out there.” The Death Riders exit and Cameron stares at Paquette who seems kind of uncomfortable.

They’ve been teasing this Statlander-Death Riders thing for awhile now. Let’s get to the fireworks factory already.

Bryan Keith vs Juice Robinson

Robinson is seconded by Austin Gunn, Cardblade and Coltonboard. Keith is seconded by Big Bill.

Keith mocks the gun salute before grabbing a wristlock on Robinson. Robinson reverses and snaps Keith into a side headlock. Keith yanks Robinson’s hair and pulls him into a headscissors. Robinson escapes and slaps the side headlock back on. Keith escapes and runs the ropes but Robinson trucks him over and covers for one. During this Schiavone announces Moxley/Yuta/Claudio vs JetSpeed/Hiroshi Tanahashi for Dynamite. Keith gains the advantage with a chop to Robinson’s throat. Robinson recovers to hit an armdrag on a charging Keith. Robinson scoops Keith into a bodyslam. Keith springs up but meets a Robinson leg lariat. Robinson glares at Big Bill as Gunn makes fun of a crawling Keith. Robinson charges but Keith recovers to send him over the top rope to the floor. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Keith dumps Robinson back in before grabbing his leg and whipping Robinson’s knee into the ring post twice. Robinson crawls away in agony as Keith stalks back in. Keith puts on a spinning toe hold (!) but inevitably Robinson small packages him for two. Keith blasts Robinson with a kick but Robinson comes back with elbows. Keith kicks Robinson’s damaged knee to regain the advantage. Keith wastes a lot of time jawing at Gunn on the floor but he’s still able to put on a Texas Cloverleaf on Robinson. Keith steps over and leans back into it as we go to full commercials.

Back live with Keith missing an elbow drop while Robinson props himself up in a corner. Keith charges and eats an elbow from Robinson. Keith catches Robinson’s kick so Robinson starts popping him with right jabs. Robinson elbows Keith down but he pops right up and runs into a Robinson spinebuster. Robinson covers for two. Robinson bellows in frustration. Big Bill jumps on the apron and Gunn sprints around to pull him off. Bill misses a punch but he’s able to reverse an irish whip and drive Gunn into the barrier. Bill charges and Gunn slips it as Bill eats it on the barrier. Keith runs into a big right hand from Robinson followed by a faceplant DDT. Robinson covers Keith and gets three.

Not a surprising result given Keith’s overall singles record, I suppose. Robinson sold the knee the whole way which I appreciate and the finish made sense within the framework of the match and feud. You won’t really think too much about this tomorrow but it wasn’t actively bad or anything. 2.5*

Winner – Juice Robinson (Faceplant DDT)

Post-match sees Gunn and Robinson escape before a livid Big Bill can hurt them. Jose Trevino of the Cincinnati Reds is in the crowd.

Here’s Renee Paquette with Anthony Bowens and she asks him about Max Caster’s International Five Minute challenge for Dynamite. Bowens thought the interview was going to be about him. He’s tired of hearing about Max Caster because when the Acclaimed broke up, he was supposed to be the star. Bowens mentions throwing out a first pitch at a San Francisco Giants game and hobknobbing with some stars on a red carpet. Bowens complains about Caster getting the Glasgow showcase when all he does is lose. Bowens tells Paquette he’s tired of it and leaves. We go to commercials.

Technical Spectacle: Daniel Garcia vs Lee Moriarty vs Hechicero vs Nigel McGuinness

McGuinness gets a great reception as Schiavone informs us that he started his American career in Cincinnati. Shane Taylor Promotions enter with Moriarty but don’t stay at ringside. There’s a second referee on the floor and Schiavone says no one is actually allowed at ringside during this.

The bell sounds and McGuinness squares up with Moriarty as Hechicero does the same with Garcia. McGuinness uses chain wrestling to put Moriarty to the mat while Garcia is working the legs of Hechicero. Garcia lines up a surfboard as McGuinness launches Moriarty with a monkey flip. Moriarty tries a sunset flip on McGuinness as Hechicero has Garcia in a submission arm hold. Garcia slips out and slaps on a spinning toe hold while McGuinness drops a knee on Moriarty’s elbow. Aubrey Edwards asks everyone to break as Moriarty and Hechicero are in the ropes. Garcia gets one when he rolls Hechicero over.

McGuinness and Moriarty fight on the floor while Garcia and Hechicero do the same on the opposite side of the ring. Hechicero grabs a vicious looking elbow lock while McGuinness uses the ring steps to destroy Moriarty’s hand. Hechicero keeps the elbow lock going as they get back in the ring while a recovered Moriarty runs McGuinness into the barrier. Garcia gets a sneaky roll-up on Hechicero for two.

Garcia chops away at Hechicero and mounts the second rope to throw punches but he’s cut off at four by a charging Moriarty. Garcia elbows Moriarty who staggers back to the ropes. Garcia small packages Hechicero for two. Garcia and Hechicero tumble in a circle before Hechicero stops it and gets two. Moriarty has a full nelson on McGuinness on the outside as a recovered Hechicero SWEEPS THE LEG on Garcia before Moriarty flies in with a sunset flip on Hechicero that gets one. Garcia pulls Moriarty over and his crucifix pin gets two before Hechicero breaks it up.

A series of pin attempts all get two until McGuinness gleefully stomps on the pile to break it all up. McGuinness and Moriarty square off again as Hechicero and Garcia hook up. Garcia charges over and Moriarty slips it and almost sends Garcia into McGuinness. Moriarty puts Garcia into the Gory Special position but McGuinness slips Moriarty into a leg submission at the same time. Moriarty manages to slap an ankle lock on Hechicero with everything else going on. Hechicero’s kick to Moriarty’s face breaks up the whole thing. We go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Hechicero dumps Garcia to the floor as Moriarty works over McGuinness’s elbow. Hechicero drops Garcia throat-first on the barrier. McGuinness drops Moriarty but misses a subsequent elbow drop attempt. Moriarty puts on a Border City stretch on McGuinness so Hechicero charges in and slaps a Figure Four on Moriarty. Garcia sprints in and puts an armbar on Hechicero. (I imagine Schiavone is losing his mind at this because he did that exact thing the first time they did the “everyone’s in a submission hold” spot.) McGuinness finally escapes and drops an elbow on Garcia. Hechicero wallops McGuinness with a kick and with McGuinness trying to bail Hechicero hits a Dragon Screw leg whip on McGuinness between the ropes.

Back to full screen with Hechicero working Moriarty’s legs over the second rope. McGuinness yanks Garcia to the floor and runs him into the barrier. Hechicero is on the top rope posing as McGuinness climbs up to crotch him. McGuinness hits a Tower of London spot on Hechicero and Moriarty respectively. McGuinness covers Hechicero for two as a recovered Garcia breaks it up. Garcia chops McGuinness and they exchange sunset flip covers until Garcia gets two as Hechicero breaks it up.

Hechicero puts McGuinness in a rear choke as Moriarty covers Garcia for two. McGuinness slips out and puts Hechicero into a sitting reverse Figure Four. Hechicero makes the ropes as Moriarty hoists Garcia into the Gory Special position. McGuinness tries to get Garcia out of it but Garcia decides to slap on a headscissors submission on McGuinness in return. The whole thing breaks apart and Garcia puts McGuinness in a crossface as Hechicero tries for a crucifix pin on Moriarty. Everyone rolls around a bit and McGuinness gets a quick two on Garcia.

McGuinness rolls through and puts a locked elbow submission on Garcia as Moriarty is now working Hechicero’s leg. Hechicero slips out and manages to lock Moriarty in his own Figure Four. Moriarty and Garcia make the ropes and both holds are broken. Moriarty waffles Hechicero with euro uppercuts as McGuinness has an armbar on Garcia. Hechicero hits his wildly dangerous looking headscissors cutter on Moriarty so McGuinness charges over and slaps the London Dungeon elbow lock on Hechicero. Garcia charges in and pulls Moriarty free so he can put him in a Sharpshooter. Garcia and McGuinness bark at each other as neither of their holds is getting a tap out.

Hechicero pulls away causing McGuinness to wallop Garcia with an elbow. McGuinness puts the London Dungeon on Moriarty so Hechicero slaps the Indian Death Lock on Moriarty while putting McGuinness in a side headlock. Garcia finally breaks the whole thing up by slap-chopping Hechicero a few times. They slug it out with the chops and Hechicero gains the advantage. Hechicero whips Garcia into the corner and follows with a splash. Garcia slips a charge and puts Hechicero in the Sharpshooter.

McGuinness drops Moriarty and puts the London Dungeon back on. Moriarty tries to stop Hechicero from tapping but when McGuinness leans the full way back Moriarty can’t take it any more and taps out. McGuinness will face Zack Sabre Jr for the IWGP World Championship at Forbidden Door.

It was different and very interesting how this went since almost all four ways are “two guys on the floor while two guys fight in the ring” but this was a LOT of them all being in the ring at the same time. Very clever and innovative agenting here with the many multiple submission spots. McGuinness getting the shine in his home country against ZSJ will mean a great deal to him, I’m sure. I enjoyed this a bunch as I like Hechicero’s style and offense, I enjoy Moriarty’s out-of-left-field offense, and Garcia is almost always a pleasure to watch. 4*

Winner – Nigel McGuinness (London Dungeon elbow lock on Moriarty)

Post-match sees a dejected and stunned Garcia watching McGuinness celebrate. Renee Paquette enters the ring to chat with McGuinness as Menard checks on Garcia. Paquette asks if McGuinness is ready for ZSJ and he asks the crowd what they think to a big response. McGuinness says it’s a dream match for him, ZSJ and a lot of people around the world. McGuinness addresses Garcia and says he was this close but Garcia really doesn’t want to hear it. McGuinness hypes up Garcia to a nice hand from the crowd. McGuinness asks Garcia to stand in his corner at Forbidden Door. Garcia thinks for a second then shakes McGuinness’s hand. We actually end mostly on time for once.

This was a darn good show even if the biggest stars on it were Moxley and Ricochet. All the ring-work was good tonight, there were no “showcase” squash matches and I didn’t have to watch Max Caster get destroyed in two minutes. I thought the Death Riders match was at least ten minutes too long. I really enjoyed the women’s four way even if the crowd took forever to get into it. The Robinson-Keith match was short and to the point which I appreciated, and the Paragon match was a fun sprint as well. I’ll take this kind of effort every week, please. Thumbs up from me.

Thanks for reading and commenting, and enjoy your Sunday!