The SmarK Rant for AEW Collision – 01.25.25

The SmarK Rant for AEW Collision – 01.25.25

“Homecoming”

RIP to Col. DeBeers.

Live from Jacksonville, FL

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Jim Ross & Nigel McGuinness

Samoa Joe v. Nick Wayne

Apparently it’s 45 degrees F out there, which is cold for Florida but would be considered nicely temperate for where I live. Barely even jacket weather. Joe immediately slaps Nick around and goes for the muscle buster, but Nick goes to the eyes and takes him down with a dragon screw. The Patriarchy gets some abuse from the floor while Joe’s backup inadvertently distracts the ref, and Wayne gets one. Nick manages a Code Red for two, but Joe dodges Wayne’s World and clobbers him with a lariat. Muscle buster hits on the second try and that’s it for Nick at 5:29. Nice little opener, nothing special. **

Kazuchika Okada v. Komander

Oh hey another TV job for Komander, lucky him. Okada offers a handshake and gets foiled by Komander, which is pretty disrespectful. So Okada rakes the eyes, but Komander tries a standing submission move and Okada makes the ropes to break. Komander hits him with a dive, but Okada levels him with a big boot in the ring. Komander gets him on the floor again and has trouble executing a dive off the apron, so Okada DDTs him on the floor as we take a break. Back with Komander bulldogging him for two. Okada catches him with the neckbreaker and goes up with the flying elbow, which is more of a falling elbow in this case, but Komander escapes the Rainmaker and makes the comeback. Destroyer and he goes up and moonsaults Okada to the floor. Back in, he walks into the Rainmaker and gets pinned at 9:00. This kind of stuff is really not doing the ROH TV title any favors. Match was sloppy but fine. **1/2

Meanwhile, Powerhouse Hobbs waits for Big Bill in the parking lot as promised, and they get into a brawl out there, resulting in Hobbs destroying parts of the scenery and using them as weapons until security pulls them apart.

Meanwhile, AJ & Big Justice meet up with the Kingdom and bring the Boom.

Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly v. Daniel Garcia & 2.0

I guess the build towards Garcia defending the TNT title against Shelton Benjamin has been dropped now. Garcia and Cole battle to a stalemate to start, and then Daddy Magic comes in and works on Strong’s arm. Parker gets trapped in the Kingdom corner and Kyle double-teams Ang and gets a snap suplex for two. Over to Garcia, but Kyle clears the ring, and Garcia beefs with Shane Taylor Promotions at ringside as we take a break. Back with 2.0 double-teaming Kyle with an elbowdrop for two. Kyle fights them off and makes the hot tag to Adam Cole, but Daniel cuts him off with a backdrop driver. Cole with a neckbreaker and Strong comes in and cleans house on 2.0 by himself, and a back suplex on Angelo gets two. Strong & O’Reilly double-team Ang and MAN they are smooth together. High Low on Parker finishes at 10:00. Hopefully this is a return to form for the Trios division and they get those belts off the Death Riders soon. ***

Meanwhile, Max Caster is a survivor and announces his open challenge series to determine the best wrestler alive. Which is him, I guess.

Meanwhile, Hologram readies his programming for a return.

Meanwhile, Top Flight squabbles about Lio Rush & Action Andretti and their stupid coats.

Mariah May & Toni Storm join Tony in the ring for their face to face. Apparently Toni is NOTHING to Mariah and a meme that people laugh at, and she was always just a pawn that Mariah used for her own purposes. So a starstruck rookie Toni offers a hug, and Mariah clobbers her with the belt and beats her down as a result. Why would you do that to a rookie? But then Toni wakes up with “What makes you think I’ve forgotten” and reveals what we knew all along: SHE WAS ACTING. Just in time for the Oscars, too. Not only that, but somehow she completely changed her face when going from Toni Time to Timeless Toni and completely switched identities like Clark Kent and Superman.

Brody King & Buddy Matthews v. The Gates of Agony

The House of Black is now the Hounds of Hell in a nice repackage. Buddy trades takedowns with Kaun and they get nowhere, so it’s over to Toa for a showdown with Brody. They slug it out until Brody gets trapped in the GOA corner and beaten down. Brody fights them off and everyone seems really lost, so it’s over to Buddy and he dives onto both Gates as we take a break. Back with the Gates back in control but Buddy crawls for the hot tag and Brody comes in and mauls people. Gates cut him off again, however, and Liona gets a samoan drop for two. It’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA and Brody hits the Bossman slam on Kaun, but Liona tries a powerbomb and that nearly goes terrifyingly wrong, with Brody gently landing on his head instead of dying. Brody recovers with a piledriver, however, and they finish Kaun at 9:43 with a double-team cannonball. This was a tad rough at points and probably would have been better served with the Hounds demolishing someone. **1/4.

Meanwhile, Harley Cameron meets up with AJ & Big Justice and brings the BAM, as they love, but Deonna Purrazzo interrupts and isn’t impressed with anyone.

Meanwhile, speaking of people who can’t win matches to save their life, Penelope Ford challenges Thunder Rosa to a match in hopes of actually winning something for once.

Deonna Purrazzo v. Serena Deeb v. Yuka Sakazaki v. Queen Aminata

Winner gets a TBS title shot on Dynamite for some reason. They all trade rollups to start, but Deonna tosses Yuka for some punishment from Taya. Deeb puts Aminata in a leglock and suplexes Deonna at the same time, but she gets dropkicked off the apron and Yuka hits Aminata with a missile dropkick and then dives onto all three outside as we take a break. Back with Purrazzo getting the armbar on Aminata, but the Queen reverses for two. Everyone trades big moves for near-falls and Yuka slugs it out with Aminata on the ramp, and then Deeb brawls with Aminata to the back while the Vendetta double-teams Yuka in the ring. Harley Cameron runs in and tries to save, but Deonna powerbombs Yuka anyway, only for Yuka to reverse into a crucifix for the pin at 9:37 to win the title match. *** That should be a good match.

Meanwhile, the Hounds of Hell all bark together, but Okada thinks they’re bitches. But then Buddy thinks that if Okada won’t defend the title, that makes HIM the bitch, and Okada doesn’t appreciate having his mean words turned against him.

Big Bill joins us to call out Powerhouse Hobbs, but when Hobbs obliges, Bill nails him with the backpack he’s been carrying around to pay that off, revealing that of course it’s filled with bricks. So Hobbs is busted open and they fight across the stage and Bill beats his ass with a chair. But then he threatens to smash Hobbs’ head with a brick, so Hobbs powers up and takes him off the stage and through a table with a belly to belly suplex, complete with a look of terror on Bill’s face on the way down. Great brawl.

Meanwhile, at the home of the Callis Family, Don warns his team that Kenny Omega is incredibly dangerous, even though there’s five of them and only two of them. But also there might be more than five of them.

AEW International title: Konosuke Takeshita v. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata takes him down and works the arm on the mat and they trade counters off that and it’s a stalemate. Takeshita boots him to the floor and they fight into the crowd, which goes badly for Takeshita. We take a break and return with Shibata beating on him with chops and a shotgun dropkick in the corner. Snap suplex gets two. Takeshita fires back with a german suplex, and they trade suplexes until Shibata takes him down with an STO. They slug it out with forearms and Shibata grabs the sleeper, but Takeshita carries him around the ring and hits him with a wheelbarrow suplex, only for Shibata to pop up and fire back with a knee strike and it’s a double down. They slug it out with forearms and Shibata gets the Octopus, so Don Callis leaves commentary and heads down to observe. They trade more german suplexes and Shibata gets another sleeper and rolls up Takeshita for two. Shibata with another sleeper, but Takeshita hits the Blue Thunder Bomb and it only gets one. So Takeshita hits him with the knee strike and falcon arrow and that finally finishes him at 13:30. Hell of a main event to end things. ***3/4

Man, what a night of wrestling this was between the two shows. An entertaining two hours and lots of stuff set up here, and Daily’s Place is always a fun atmosphere.