08th Apr2025

‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Apr 5th 2025)

by Phil Wheat

Welcome to this week’s review of AEW’s, Collision, which brings wrestling back to Saturday nights. We’ve got the commentary team of Tony Schiavone, and Nigel McGuiness calling the action, so let’s get into our review!

Match #1: Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita def. Powerhouse Hobbs & Tomohiro Ishii

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Ishii and Takeshita duked it out with forearms at the start of the match. “The Alpha” booted Ishii in the face. They rammed into each other like a couple of trains colliding and knocked one another down. Fletcher and Hobbs tagged in and locked up. Hobbs backed Fletcher into the corner. Fletcher caught Hobbs off guard, kicking him and then stomping on Hobbs. Hobbs grabbed Kyle by the neck and hurled him against the turnbuckles. Ishii came in and was greeted by a body slam from Fletcher. Things broke down with all four men in the ring. Kyle and Fletcher double teamed Ishii with a double shoulder tackle, after Hobbs was knocked out of the ring. Ishii nailed Takeshita with a vertical suplex. Hobbs tagged in and cleaned house on the opposition with a double shoulder tackle. Takeshita grabbed Hobbs with a German suplex. Hobbs retaliated with a spine buster. Takeshita hoisted up Ishii and handed him into a power bomb position by Fletcher. But Ishii escaped with a hurracanrana. Hobbs powerslammed Fletcher and Ishii followed up with a running lariat. Ishii headbutted Fletcher and turned him inside out with a lariat. Fletcher spiked Ishii with a tombstone piledriver and followed up with the ProtoDriver to win the opening bout!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: Best Wrestler Alive Open Challenge – Mark Briscoe def. Max Caster

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Briscoe lit up Caster with some redneck Kungfu! Mark chopped Max and knocked him out of the ring. Briscoe took flight and jumped out of the ring, wiping out Caster. Briscoe decimated Caster with the Jay Driller and scored the 1-2-3!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #3: Pac def. Cash Wheeler

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Pac shoved Cash to the mat and chuckled, mocking the dissension between Dax and Cash in FTR. Pac used a shoulder tackle and a side headlock takeover. Pac hip tossed Cash. Cash went up to the top turnbuckle. Pac met him up there with a forearm shot. Pac was thinking superplex, but Cash knocked Pac down to the mat. Cash was about to jump from the top, but Pac knocked him down. Pac hit a moonsault onto Cash on the floor. Cash regained momentum with a tope suicida! Cash followed up with a big cross body press for a near fall. Cash clobbered Pac with some jabs and then a forearm, getting a second wind. Cash power slammed Pac, catching Pac as Pac attempted a leap frog. Cash went for a diving headbutt from Pac rolled out of the way and Cash crashed and burned. Pac climbed to the top rope, looking for the Black Arrow, but Cash got to his feet and superplexed Pac down to the mat for a two-count. Pac pump kicked Cash and then nailed him with a release German suplex. Pac climbed back up top and was about to do the Black Arrow, but Cash got to his feet. Pac jumped down but Cash stuck Pac with a piledriver. Claudio came down but Cope met him to even up the odds for Cash! Wheeler Yuta ran down next, holding a bell hammer but Dax tried to stop him. Wheeler hit Dax with the hammer. Cash grabbed Wheeler and planted him with a piledriver. Pac was waiting though, and he grabbed Cash and put him in a crucifix pin to pick up the victory.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #4: Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) def. CRU (Lio Rush & Action Andretti)

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Grey distracted the CRU on the ramp as Top Flight ambushed the CRU from behind. The teams brawled in the aisle, with Top Flight getting the upper hand. Back in the ring, Top Flight hit tandem offense on Andretti. Lio Rush tagged in, but Darius leveled him with a beautiful dropkick. Dante blasted Rush with a shotgun dropkick off the ropes. The CRU came in and double teamed Dante. Rush rocked Dante with a lariat. Action jumped off the top rope with a forearm for a near fall. Both teams slugged it out in the center of the ring. Action planted Darius with a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Dante jumped into the ring and rolled up Andretti for the pin!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #5: “Speedball” Mike Bailey def. Dralistico

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Bailey took down Dralistico with a hurracanrana and followed up with his educated feet, but Dralistico blocked the kicks. Speedball unleashed more kicks though, this time they met their mark. Out on the floor, The Beast Mortos distracted Speedball while Dralistico snuck up on Speedball with a thrust kick. Speedball and Dralistico traded chops on the apron. Bailey began to kick Dralistico. Dralistico retaliated with a knee strike. Speedball fire back with a missile dropkick. Bailey hit a running shooting star press for a near fall. Dralistico drilled Bailey with a lung blower. Bailey knocked out Dralistico with a spinning roundhouse kick and pinned Dralistico.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #6: Athena & Julia Hart def. Mercedes Mone & Harley Cameron

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Mercedes quickly tagged to Harley instead of facing off with Athena. Julia came in for her team and cradled Harley for a two-count. Mercedes grabbed Julia by the hair and yanked her to the mat. Mercedes tied Julia to the tree of woe and stomped on her in the corner. Julia escaped and applied a modified octopus submission. Harley threw the puppet into the ring. Meanwhile, Mercedes escaped and used a lung blower for a near fall. Athena dropkicked Mercedes. Mercedes tagged out to Harley. Athena had both ladies in her grasp and hurled them backwards with a fallaway slam. Athena wiped out Mercedes with a tope suicida. Harley spiked Athena with a DDT on the arena floor. Julia Hart jumped off the top turnbuckle with a big crossbody and crashed down onto Athena and Harley. Back in the ring, Athena power bombed Harley. Julia got a blind tag and went for a moonsault. Harley moved out of the way, but Julia landed on her feet. Mercedes rocked Julia with a back stabber! Athena caught Mercedes with a choke slam. Harley nailed Athena with a neck breaker. Harley flattened Julia in the ring. Julia countered Harley’s Finishing Move. Julia locked on the octopus and forced Harley to tap out!

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

This week’s episode of AEW: Collision had a fantastic line-up, and while the execution delivered a solid night of wrestling, it ultimately fell short of being truly memorable. As a go-home show, it carried a slightly underwhelming tone. The women’s main event served as an excellent preview for the upcoming Owen Hart Cup, showcasing the division’s momentum heading into the tournament. Meanwhile, the match between Cash Wheeler and PAC provided an engaging contest that effectively furthered the narrative of Rated FTR aligning – at least for now. If an eventual turn on Adam Copeland is indeed in the cards, this served as a well-timed swerve on the expected. The ongoing build between Daniel Garcia and Adam Cole continues to lack emotional weight, and their sit-down segment felt more like a placeholder than a significant step forward in their storyline. Overall, while not a standout edition, this episode maintained a level of consistency and offered key developments, unfortunately not with the impact one might expect from a go-home show.

Off

Comments are closed.