‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Jan 25th 2025)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW’s, Collision, which brings wrestling back to Saturday nights and is now all alone in AEW’s weekend programming following the end of Rampage. We’ve got the commentary team of Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, and Nigel McGuinness calling the action, so let’s get into our review of this “Homecoming” special!
Match #1: Samoa Joe def. Nick Wayne
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Samoa Joe teased Nick Wayne, not even budging when Nick tried some running shoulder tackles. Samoa Joe cracked Nick with a thunderous chop. Samoa Joe went for a muscle buster, but Nick Wayne gouged Joe’s eyes to escape. Nick Wayne took down Samoa Joe with a dragon screw leg whip. Nick Wayne moonsaulted out of the ring and crashed onto Joe. Nick Wayne charged at Samoa Joe in the ring, but Joe countered with a side slam. Nick Wayne nailed Joe with a Code Red out of nowhere. Samoa Joe fired back with a lariat. Samoa Joe planted Nick Wayne with a muscle buster and picked up the pinfall victory!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Kazuchika Okada def. Komander
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Komander dropkicked Okada in the face. Okada raked Komander in the eyes. Komander rocketed out of the ring with a tope suicida to Okada. Okada kicked Komander and spiked him with a DDT on the arena floor. Okada blocked a hurracanrana, but Komander still face planted Okada. Komander followed up with a bulldog for a near fall. Okada rocked Komander with a neck breaker across the knee. Okada dropped an elbow off the top rope. Komander ducked the rainmaker lariat and clocked Okada with a thrust kick. Komander hit Okada with a poison rana. Komander walked the top rope, took to the skies, and moonsaulted onto Okada. But back in the ring, Okada crashed into Komander with a rainmaker lariat and pinned Komander.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #3: Undisputed Kingdom (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, & Roderick Strong) def. Daniel Garcia, Angelo Parker, & Matt Menard
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Garcia applied a headlock on Cole. Cole escaped and Strong tagged in. Roddy and Kyle swarmed Parker and double teamed him. Daddy Magic hammered down on Kyle with strikes, tagged Garcia, and Garcia continued to punch Kyle in the head. Cole and Garcia traded forearm shots. Cole pump kicked Garcia, but Garcia answered with a high angle back drop driver. Cole blasted Garcia with a neck breaker. Roderick Strong tagged in and cleaned house on Garcia, Parker, and Menard with back breakers! Kyle swept out Parker’s legs while Roddy knocked him down. Kyle covered Parker and pinned him, picking up the W!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #4: The Hounds Of Hell (Brody King & Buddy Matthews) def. Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Brody chopped Toa. Kaun grabbed a blind tag and the Gates of Agony double teamed Brody King in the corner. Buddy Matthews came in and wiped out the Gates of Agony with a dive over the top rope. Back in the ring, the Gates double choke slammed Buddy. Buddy crawled to Brody and made the tag. Big Brody came in and bulldozed the Gates of Agony down. Brody planted Toa with a Death Valley Driver. Toa fired back with a Samoan Drop. Brody blasted Bishop with a Bossman slam! Brody nailed Toa with a Gonzo Bomb. Matthews followed up with a meteora. The Hounds used a sliding dropkick cannonball combination on Toa and Brody picked up the win!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: Yuka Sakazaki def. Deonna Purrazzo, Queen Aminata, & Serena Deeb
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Deonna left the ring, taking in the sights with Taya, displaying an interesting strategy. Deeb used a drop toehold on Queen Aminata. Deeb nailed Queen Aminata with a draping neck breaker. Yuka came in with an explosive missile dropkick. “The Magical Girl” took down all three opponents with a dive off the steel post to the arena floor. Deonna cracked Queen Aminata with a pump kick. Deeb leveled Queen with a lariat. Deeb and Queen Aminata brawled on the ramp and up the stage. Taya and Deonna double teamed Yuka. Harley Cameron ran down and evened up the odds, but Deonna pump kicked Harley in the face. Deonna power bombed Yuka but Yuka rolled up Deonna and pinned her! Harley Cameron celebrated on the outside! Yuka will be facing Mercedes this Wednesday live on Dynamite for the TBS Championship!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: AEW International Championship Match – Konosuke Takeshita def. Katsuyori Shibata
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Takeshita dodged a PK from Shibata. Takeshita smashed Shibata in the face with a pump kick. Shibata battered Takeshita with chops in the corner. Shibata charged at Takeshita and rocked Takeshita with a running dropkick. Takeshita sent Shibata flying with a suplex. Shibata got to his feet and locked on a sleeper, body scissors and all! Takeshita transitioned and planted Shibata with a suplex. Shibata answered with a kick. Shibata applied an abdominal stretch. Callis left the broadcast position and walked down to the ring. Callis grabbed Shibata’s ankle. It wasn’t enough to stop Shibata. Takeshita blasted Shibata with a blue thunder bomb, but Shibata kicked out at the one-count! Takeshita rocked Shibata with his finisher and scored the pin!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
This was definitely an improvement over last week’s show, with matches that felt like a much bigger deal – which is understandable given that this was a “Homecoming” special, emanating from Jacksonville, Florida. It made sense that we got a title match in the main event, though what was odd was that the Okada/Kommander match was a “title v title” given that both men were champs. Love the women’s 4-way match for a shot at Mercedes Mone, and I was totally surprised, but pleased, to see Yuka pick up the win! All in all, this was a great week for Collision.