‘AEW: Collision’ Review (May 2nd 2026)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Collision, which brings wrestling back to Saturday nights. 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: Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & PAC) and The Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) def. Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) and The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Myron Reed)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Collision kicked off hot, with Marina Shafir slapping Jon Moxley as the Death Riders made their entrance—Mox looking unusually upbeat amid talk of Will Ospreay joining their ranks. Chaos erupted before the bell, with The Rascalz and Top Flight diving onto everyone, leaving a frantic, multi-man brawl. Highlights came thick and fast—Wentz’s tornillo, Xavier’s cutter flurry, and a string of dives and counters as momentum constantly shifted. Moxley and Shafir’s interference kept the Death Riders in control, isolating Reed for a long beatdown. The pace never let up, building to a wild closing stretch where everyone hit big moves in rapid succession. Despite a brief numbers advantage for The Rascalz and Top Flight, the Death Riders regained control, and PAC sealed the win by forcing Darius Martin to submit with the Brutalizer.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #2: AEW National Championship – “Jungle” Jack Perry def. Máscara Dorada
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Both men got a strong reaction and showed respect with a handshake before launching into a fast-paced, back-and-forth contest. Dorada’s agility gave him the early edge, but Perry grounded things, targeting him with chops and strikes. The pace quickly escalated, with standout moments including Dorada’s tornillo to the outside and a wild Destroyer on the barricade. From there, it became a sprint of near-falls and big moves—Poisonrana, Code Red, Blue Thunder Bomb, and a brutal moonsault to the floor from Perry. Dorada repeatedly came close, even landing a 450 Splash, but couldn’t keep Perry down. In the closing stretch, counters came thick and fast until Perry capitalised on a mistimed Shooting Star Press, finishing Dorada with a top-rope hurricanrana to retain the AEW National Championship. Both men shared a respectful embrace after an outstanding match.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #3: The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly) def. MxM TV (Mason Madden, Mansoor & Johnny TV)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The Conglomeration made a statement on arrival, revealing their Trios Titles from backpacks before getting straight to work. O’Reilly set the tone early with leg kicks, forcing quick tags from MXM as Johnny TV eventually took the brunt of the offence. MXM found an opening through distraction and posed mid-match, even dragging Cassidy into it before blindsiding him with a triple-team combo. That momentum didn’t last long, though, as The Conglomeration regrouped—O’Reilly and Strong dishing out stiff strikes while Cassidy added his usual offbeat flair. The closing stretch leaned into chaos and comedy, including a messy attempted chokeslam spot, before things settled. Strong and O’Reilly softened Johnny up, allowing Cassidy to finish things in typical fashion with the lazy top-rope elbow for the win.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: TBS Championship – Willow Nightingale def. Anna Jay
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Anna Jay received a strong welcome back, but Willow Nightingale stayed focused, looking to prove herself as the “Comeback Killer.” Nightingale controlled early with her power, taunting Jay to show some fire. Jay responded with a series of quick near-falls and bursts of offence, including a neckbreaker and basement dropkick. The momentum swung back and forth, with Nightingale hitting a cannonball on the apron and later a spinebuster and superplex combo, only for Jay to keep kicking out. Jay nearly stole it with the Queen Slayer, but Nightingale powered out and regained control. In the end, Nightingale capitalised on Jay charging in, catching her clean with the Babe With the Powerbomb for the win.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson & Ace Austin) def. Death Riders (Wheeler Yuta & Daniel Garcia)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
With Jon Moxley on commentary following the Death Riders’ earlier win, this tag quickly turned into the kind of “tornado” he described—chaotic and hard to follow. Yuta and Garcia worked well as a unit early, isolating Austin and taking advantage of distractions, even with Marina Shafir getting involved at ringside. Austin endured a lengthy beatdown, including a Peruvian Necktie, before finally breaking free and tagging in Robinson. Robinson brought the match to life, running through both opponents and even busting Yuta open at ringside. From there, it became a frantic back-and-forth, with near-falls, interference, and big counters on both sides. In the end, Robinson capitalised on an opening, blasting Yuta with the Left Hand of God before finishing him with The Juice is Loose to score the win.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: Skye Blue def. Nixi XS
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Blue came out of the corner with a big boot at the bell to the floor, Nixi. Blue kicked at Nixi and sent her to the apron before kicking her to the floor. She slammed Nixi off the steel steps repeatedly before dropping her with a spinning neckbreaker from the apron. Blue went to the top and played to the crowd, so Nixi met her with a running forearm. Blue quickly turned things around by trapping Nixi’s neck in the turnbuckle. She followed with a powerbomb out of the corner and a running knee right to Nixi’s face! Blue pulled Nixi up at two! She trapped Nixi in a dragon sleeper with a body scissors, which she called The Descent into Madness, and got the tap-out victory! Blue absolutely dominated in that match.
My Score: SQUASH out of 5
Match #7: TNT Championship – “The Jet” Kevin Knight def. HOOK
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The main event saw Kevin Knight look to notch a second TNT Title defence in a week, taking on HOOK, who had Katsuyori Shibata in his corner. It started as a technical battle, with counters and grappling exchanges, but quickly turned scrappy as HOOK used cheap tactics and outside interference to gain control. A big exploder into the crowd gave HOOK momentum, and he kept Knight grounded with suplexes and strikes. Knight fought back with bursts of speed and impact offence, including a hurricanrana and UFO Splash, but Shibata’s distractions repeatedly tipped the balance. HOOK nearly sealed it with REDRUM, only for Knight to escape and shift the momentum. In the closing moments, Knight neutralised Shibata, countered HOOK’s offence, and finished things with a jumping DDT followed by the UFO Splash to retain the TNT Championship.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3/5
Overall, this week’s AEW: Collision was a solid but uneven night of wrestling that never quite hit the heights it flirted with. The opener brought the chaos and energy you’d expect, while Jack Perry vs. Máscara Dorada easily stole the show with a fast, creative, near-fall heavy sprint that felt genuinely big-time. Unfortunately, the middle portion of the card dragged things down – The Conglomeration’s outing leaned too far into comedy, the TBS Title match felt serviceable at best, and the squash did little beyond padding time. The back end recovered somewhat, with a fun, messy tag and a perfectly acceptable main event, but nothing there truly elevated the show beyond “good TV.” In short, a night carried by one standout match and a handful of decent efforts, but lacking consistency across the full card.
