‘AEW Collision: Fairway to Hell’ Review (May 9th 2026)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Collision, which was a live Saturday night special broadcast from the Sofi Center in West Palm Beach, Florida – the home of TGL! 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 National Championship – Mark Davis def. “Jungle” Jack Perry
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jack Perry defended the AEW National Championship against Mark Davis in a rematch from Dynasty Zero Hour. Despite the size disadvantage, Perry used his speed and striking early, even landing a moonsault to the floor, but Davis quickly took control with brutal chops, lariats and power offense. Perry repeatedly battled back with hurricanranas, strikes and high-risk dives, igniting the crowd with a huge rana from the turnbuckles to the floor. Both men traded near-falls, with Davis surviving Perry’s running attacks and Perry kicking out of Davis’ devastating Close Your Eyes and Count to Three. As Davis set up another piledriver on the turnbuckles, Perry countered once again, but chaos followed. Don Callis distracted the referee, allowing Ricochet to smash Perry across the back with what looked like a 6-iron. Davis capitalised, hitting Close Your Eyes and Count to Three a second time to score the pinfall and become the NEW AEW National Champion.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #2: Divine Dominion (Lena Kross & Megan Bayne) def. Ruthie Slay and Rachel Ley
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Slay and Ley each tried to kick Kross down at the bell to no avail. They attempted to take her to the ropes, but instead she sent them to the ropes and dropped Slay with a shoulder tackle. Kross spun Ley around for a huge sidewalk slam. She picked Slay back up and bodyslammed her on Ley! Kross sent Ley to the Divine Dominion corner and nailed her with a back elbow before tagging Bayne for the first time. Kross hit a running boot from one corner, and Bayne followed with a pump kick from the opposite corner. Bayne threw Ley out of the corner with a release German Suplex. Kross came back in and did the same. Bayne tagged back in and pulled Ley up for a deadlift release German Suplex. Bayne put Ley on her back, so she didn’t see Slay make a blind tag. Slay dove at Bayne, who caught her while still holding Ley! She launched Slay with a fallaway slam while dropping Ley with a Samoan Drop! Kross came back in for Divine Intervention on Slay to get the dominant victory.
My Score: SQUASH out of 5
Match #3: “Speedball” Mike Bailey def. Kiran Grey
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Before the main event, we had time for a standby match, and it was time for Speedball! He came to the ring with TNT Champion “The Jet” Kevin Knight. That didn’t seem to intimidate Grey, who pushed Bailey in the back before the bell. That fired Bailey up, as he quickly took off his entrance gear and kicked Grey in the face at the bell! Bailey followed with a kick to the chest of the seated Grey and then crushed him with a standing moonsault knee drop! Bailey measured for another kick, but Grey ducked out of the way and rolled to the floor. Bailey immediately followed with a triangle moonsault to Grey on the floor! Bailey went to the top, and Grey tried to follow, but Bailey knocked him back to the mat. Grey dove to the ropes to knock Bailey down on the turnbuckles. With Bailey trapped, Grey went up to stomp on Bailey. Bailey caught a foot and nailed Grey with a forearm before smashing him into the turnbuckles. With Grey bent over, Bailey flattened him with Ultima Weapon to get the pinfall victory!
My Score: SQUASH out of 5
Match #4: AEW World Championship (No Count Outs) – Darby Allin def. PAC
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Darby Allin and PAC took their AEW World Title fight far beyond the ring, immediately brawling around the golf course and into the sand bunkers. Allin hit a wild Code Red into the sand, but PAC responded with brutal suplexes and even locked in the Brutalizer inside a bunker before dragging the match back to the ring. PAC dominated stretches of the bout, targeting Allin’s neck and hip while repeatedly coming close to ending the champion’s reign. Allin fired back with a Scorpion Death Drop and Scorpion Death Lock, but interference from Marina Shafir, Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta shifted momentum back to PAC. Things escalated when PAC tombstoned Allin on the steel steps before throwing him from a balcony through four stacked tables in a terrifying 15-foot fall. Somehow, Allin kicked out, leaving PAC stunned. With chaos breaking out again, PAC tried to use the AEW World Title belt as a weapon, but Allin countered with a low blow and smashed PAC with the title instead. One Coffin Drop later, Allin retained the AEW World Championship in an unforgettable war.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
This live Collision special leaned heavily into spectacle and chaos, and for the most part it delivered exactly what it promised. The headline attraction was Darby Allin vs. PAC, a gloriously unhinged brawl that turned a golf course into a battleground and somehow escalated from sand bunkers to a terrifying balcony crash through four tables. It was the kind of wild main event that feels uniquely AEW. Mark Davis dethroning Jack Perry in the opener was another strong point, giving the show a meaningful title change and a hard-hitting match to kick things off. The downside is that the undercard was incredibly thin, with two outright squash matches offering little more than showcase victories. Still, the atmosphere of the live special, the memorable title bout and the sheer insanity of the main event carried this episode comfortably above average.
