‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Apr 2nd 2026)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Collision, which brings wrestling back to Saturday nights. We’ve got the commentary team of Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness calling the action. Also, as usual, we’ll be abbreviating AEW’s huge match recaps where we can to save your eyes and your time! With that, let’s get into the review…
Match #1: AEW Continental Championship Eliminator – Jon Moxley def. Anthony Bowens
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Under Continental rules (20-minute limit, no interference), Jon Moxley and Anthony Bowens started with intensity—Mox taunting early before Bowens fired back with strikes and relentless offense. Bowens controlled stretches, even taking the fight outside, but Mox slowed things down by targeting the arm and shoulder. Back inside, the two traded heavy shots, with Bowens landing a superplex and near-falls, while Mox answered with a cutter and submissions. Bowens pushed through a rear choke and armbar, even attempting to use a chair outside, but Mox avoided it and regained control. In the closing stretch, Bowens hit multiple Mollywhops and looked close, but Mox countered into a bulldog choke, then transitioned smoothly into the Death Rider to secure the win.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) def. Kristara and Ava Lawless
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Bayne and Kristara started this match off in the center of the ring, with Bayne quickly grabbing Kristara and slamming her to the mat before taking her down again with a shoulder tackle. Bayne dragged Kristara to the corner and continued to beat down her opponent, tossing her back to the opposite corner with a huge belly-to-belly suplex. Kristara tagged in Lawless, while Kross tagged in for the tag champs, as Bayne and Kross smashed their opponents into one another, then crushed them in opposite corners and finally took both down with huge lariats. Kristara rolled to the outside, as Kross and Bayne double-teamed Lawless. They looked to end things with Divine Intervention, but Kristara tried to stop them – in vain. Bayne and Kross took her out with a big boot/German suplex combo, then flattened Lawless with the Divine Intervention for the win!
My Score: SQUASHARAMA out of 5
Match #3: TBS Championship Open Challenge – Willow Nightingale def. Hikaru Shida
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Willow Nightingale and Hikaru Shida opened with a respectful handshake before trading counters, strikes and suplex attempts in a competitive back-and-forth. Willow’s power gave her the edge early, highlighted by a huge Pounce and cannonball to the outside. Shida responded with submissions and sharp strikes, even using a chair-assisted flying knee for a near-fall. Back in the ring, both women pushed the pace, trading big moves including a spinebuster, Death Valley Driver and multiple running knees from Shida, all for close two-counts. In the closing stretch, Willow’s shoulder gave out on a powerbomb attempt, but she dug deep, dodging Shida’s strikes and countering into a sudden backslide to steal the win and retain.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #4: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) def. Mo Jabai and London Lightning
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Harwood and Lightning started this match, with Dax backing Lightning into the corner and lightly slapping him across the face before knocking Lightning to the mat with a shoulder tackle for a one-count. Harwood followed that up with another shoulder tackle and a huge lariat, then took Lightning back into the corner for more punishment. Lightning briefly reversed the momentum, taking Harwood to Lightning and Jabai’s corner and tagging in Jabai. As soon as Jabai tagged in, however, FTR double-teamed him in their corner, as Wheeler tagged in for the tag champs. Jabai fought off FTR when they tried for some double-team offense, then tagged in Lightning, who was ready to clear house, but FTR were playing opossum. When Lightning went to pick up Harwood, Dax leapt into motion, setting Lightning up for the Shatter Machine and the three count!
My Score: SQUISH-SQUASH out of 5
Match #5: Tommaso Ciampa def. Juice Robinson
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Juice Robinson and Tommaso Ciampa opened with technical exchanges before things quickly turned scrappy—hair pulling, biting, and plenty of trash talk. Juice took early control with a flurry of offense, including a senton and repeated turnbuckle smashes, but Ciampa turned things around with eye rakes and brutal strikes. The fight spilled outside, with Ciampa using dirty tactics to stay in control, including biting and throwing Juice into the barricade. Back inside, the pair traded heavy shots and near-falls—Juice landing a spinebuster, cannonballs and a jackhammer, while Ciampa answered with knees and counters. In the closing stretch, Ciampa resorted to a low blow and Willow’s Bell for a near-fall, then survived a powerbomb before targeting the knee. He followed up with consecutive running knees to finally put Juice away.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #6: Don Callis Family (Andrade El Ídolo & Mark Davis) def. The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The Don Callis Family jumped The Rascalz before the bell, with Andrade and Davis taking early control. The Rascalz fired back with dives and quick tandem offence, but Andrade’s cheap shot swung momentum back in the Family’s favour heading into the break. After the break, Xavier battled out of Andrade’s submissions, tagging in Wentz, who lit up Davis with strikes, a somersault knee and a tornillo for a near-fall. The Rascalz kept the pressure on with double-team offence, but couldn’t put Davis away. In the closing stretch, Davis countered Hot Fire Flame with knees, Andrade cleared Xavier out, and Davis hit Close Your Eyes and Count to Nothing. Andrade followed with The Message to seal the win for the Don Callis Family.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #7: Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong and Místico & Kevin Knight def. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta and David Finlay & Clark Connors
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Chaos from the jump, as The Dogs and Death Riders attacked before the bell, targeting Místico and Strong early. Once things settled, it turned into a frantic multi-man brawl, with dives, double-teams and constant momentum swings. Highlights included Místico’s high-flying offence, Knight’s explosive bursts, and Cassidy’s trademark chaos alongside Strong’s power spots. After the break, the heels controlled Cassidy until he fired back, leading to another wild sequence with bodies flying both inside and outside the ring. Eventually, the action split, leaving Místico and Knight to deal with Castagnoli and Yuta. In the closing stretch, Claudio and Yuta nearly finished Místico with a giant swing/dropkick combo, but he survived and finally locked in La Mística. That opened the door for Knight to fly in with the UFO Splash on Yuta for the win.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
This week’s show was a tale of two shows – one half packed with solid-to-great in-ring action, the other leaning heavily on squashes that didn’t add much beyond padding the runtime. Moxley vs. Bowens set the tone with a gritty, hard-hitting opener, while Willow vs. Shida delivered the night’s best pure wrestling—competitive, hard-fought, and with just enough drama down the stretch. Ciampa vs. Juice and the main event multi-man chaos both kept the momentum going, offering variety and energy, even if neither quite hit that next level. But the double dose of squash matches (and very squashy squashes at that) dragged the overall pacing down, making the show feel uneven rather than essential. Still, when Collision hit, it hit. It just didn’t do it consistently enough.
