‘AEW: Collision’ Review (Jan 3rd 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, AEW’s official recaps are getting rather long, so we’ll be abbreviating them where we can to save your eyes! With that, let’s get into the review…
Match #1: El Clon def. Angelico
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
El Clon’s debut had an ominous feel to it, as it came in the same building where Hologram, the man to whom El Clon has many parallels, made his AEW debut. Clon showed a level of intensity not typically seen with such lucha tactics. His speed was too much for Angelico, over and over from the jump, including a springboard DDT that was executed with perfect precision. Clon even calmed the crowd down to get the most impact out of a huge chop across Angelico’s chest. Angelico struck back and sent Clon to the corner, but Clon escaped and seemed to pause in midair to hit a Pele kick to Angelico’s head! Clon followed with a tilt-o-whirl lungblower and his take on the Portal Bomb to defeat Angelico for a successful debut!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Timeless Love Bombs (“Timeless” Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa) def. Hyan & Maya World
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Shirakawa and World opened for their teams, with Mina narrowly avoiding a thrust kick before things broke down into a brief stalemate. Storm and Hyan soon tagged in, and Storm took control with a shoulder block, dropkick, and German suplex. Shirakawa re-entered to keep the pressure on, and Storm nearly scored the win after an assisted tornillo. Hyan and World briefly turned the tables with double-team offence, but Storm countered and sent both to the floor, setting up a crossbody from Shirakawa. Isolated in the wrong corner, Shirakawa absorbed a double-team gutbuster before fighting free and tagging Storm. Storm fired back with a big boot and DDT, only for World and Hyan to survive another near fall with quick-fire combination offence. After Shirakawa broke up a double-team blockbuster, Mina leveled both opponents with a top-rope dropkick, followed by stereo hip attacks. Shirakawa wiped out Hyan on the floor, and Storm put World away with Storm Zero to secure the victory.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #3: MegaProblems (Megan Bayne & Marina Shafir) def. Rache Chanel and Londyn Dior
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Shafir quickly took Dior to the mat and knocked Chanel off the apron. Shafir brought Dior to the corner to tag in Bayne, who lit up Dior with gut checks followed by an overhead throw. Bayne missed a charge in the corner, so Chanel tagged in. Chanel missed a clothesline to Bayne, but ate one from Shafir. Bayne picked up Dior for a tornado slam and dropped her onto Shafir, who locked in Mother’s Milk for the immediate tap-out victory.
My Score: Squash out of 5
Match #4: Hechicero def. Komander
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The match opened with rapid pin attempts before settling into a technical exchange, with Hechicero targeting Komander’s arm and knee. Komander answered with dazzling escapes, including a headscissors, hurricanrana, and an inverted rope flip into an armdrag to the floor. A mistimed dive saw Komander powerbombed into the guardrail, allowing Hechicero to take control with methodical offence and inventive submissions, including a bow-and-arrow transitioned into a cross armbreaker. Momentum swung when Hechicero missed in the corner and crashed shoulder-first into the post. Komander capitalised with a running dropkick, then stunned the crowd by sprinting across the top rope to deliver a twisting body press to the floor. Back inside, Komander kept the pressure on with an enzuigiri and sunset-flip bomb, but Hechicero fired back with a hammerlock swing backbreaker. As Komander climbed the ropes, El Clon interfered, shoving him to the mat. Hechicero pounced with a knee strike combination and secured the pinfall.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #5: JetSpeed (“Speedball” Mike Bailey & “The Jet” Kevin Knight) def. Big Bill & Bryan Keith
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Bailey and Keith opened with stiff strikes before Keith isolated Bailey in the wrong corner, allowing Bill to get involved after Knight was knocked from the apron. JetSpeed briefly turned the tide with stereo planchas, but Bill and Keith regained control, punishing Bailey in and out of the ring while cutting off the tag. Knight finally broke free with a big dropkick, leading to a hot tag that saw Bailey explode with a missile dropkick, rapid-fire kicks, and a near fall. Bill and Keith answered with double-team boots, only for Knight to make the save and send Bill crashing to the floor. JetSpeed connected with a perfectly timed combo—Knight’s flying clothesline on Keith as Bailey moonsaulted onto Bill—to swing momentum back in their favour. Keith countered Bailey’s aerial attack with a top-rope exploder, but after a flurry of reversals and near-falls, Bailey struck with moonsault knees. Bailey cleared the apron, and JetSpeed sealed the win with a triangle moonsault from Bailey and Knight’s UFO Splash for the pinfall victory.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: Shelton Benjamin def. Dante Martin
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Benjamin easily powered Martin down and then decided to toy with him a bit more until Christopher Daniels got in Martin’s ear to talk him up. Martin started to use his quickness to his advantage with some inhuman athleticism, although Benjamin’s brute strength quickly powered Martin back down to the mat. Martin avoided Benjamin twice in the corner and hit an enzuigiri, but when he tried to springboard to the top rope, Benjamin shoved him to the floor, where Martin hit rib-first on the guardrail! Medical came over to check on Martin, as this match could be over just as quickly as it began. Martin was defiant and demanded to continue, bringing up Benjamin’s mother, so Benjamin got all over him on the outside. Benjamin continued to dominate in the ring with a rib breaker to Martin across his knee. Martin fought back with a boot from the corner to stop Benjamin and followed with a tornado DDT! While clearly in pain from the ribs, Martin still found his way to the top and nailed a crossover splash to get a two-count. Martin bounced from one side of the top ropes to the other for a beautiful moonsault into a pin attempt, but Benjamin powered out and held onto Martin. Martin answered by putting on a sleeperhold until Benjamin shoved him off with authority! Benjamin threw Martin across the ring and back again with a pair of German suplexes. He nailed a third that put Martin on his head and followed with a rising knee in the corner, followed by a thrust kick on the jaw of Martin to get the 1-2-3
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #7: Darby Allin def. Wheeler Yuta
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Yuta entered flanked by Marina Shafir and Jon Moxley, with Moxley joining commentary. Allin outwrestled Yuta early, sending him outside, but Shafir’s interference allowed Yuta to turn the tables and drive Allin into the barricade. Back inside, Allin countered a suplex for a near-fall, but a distracted Coffin Drop attempt saw Yuta crotch Allin on the ropes and spike him with a neckbreaker on the apron. Yuta stayed in control with a German suplex and further punishment on the floor, until Allin fired back with a Code Red for a near-fall. Shafir again interfered, tripping Allin in full view of the referee, earning her ejection—only for “Timeless” Toni Storm to chase her off. With the referee distracted, Daniel Garcia blindsided Allin, allowing Yuta to score another near-fall. Allin avoided a top-rope splash, wiped out Garcia with a dive, and survived more knee strikes from Yuta. After escaping a Scorpion Death Lock attempt, Allin stomped Yuta from the ropes and delivered back-to-back Coffin Drops before trapping Yuta in the Scorpion Death Lock himself to force the submission victory.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3/5
This week’s Collision was a solid, if slightly uneven, Saturday night offering that leaned heavily into in-ring quality over big storyline swings. The undercard delivered plenty of variety, with El Clon making an intriguing debut and Hechicero vs. Komander stealing the show through sheer creativity and technical flair. The women’s tag and JetSpeed bouts were enjoyable without ever quite hitting top gear, while the MegaProblems squash did exactly what it needed to do. The main event, however, anchored the show nicely—Darby Allin and Wheeler Yuta brought intensity, chaos, and meaningful faction involvement, giving Collision a strong finish. Not an essential episode by any means, but a consistently entertaining one that rewards fans who tune in for good wrestling rather than must-see angles.
