By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Collision (Episode 107)
Taped August 20, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland, at OVO Hydro
Simulcast August 23, 2025, on TNT and HBO Max
[Hour One] Elton John let us know that Saturday night is alright for fighting. Pyro shot off from the stage as Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni, and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary. Arkady Aura introduced Don Callis, who introduced Hechicero, Josh Alexander, Rocky Romero, and Lance Archer.
1. Hiromu Takahashi, Scorpio Sky, Dante Martin, and Darius Martin (w/Christopher Daniels) vs. Josh Alexander, Lance Archer, Hechicero, and Rocky Romero (w/Don Callis) in an eight-man tag. Callis left the ringside area for the match. The opening moments of the match featured Takahashi showcasing his move set against the heels. The babyfaces took turns tagging in and out, hitting various moves, mainly against Alexander. Archer choke slammed Darius on the apron, and the heels took over for a bit before Darius tagged out to Dante. Archer quickly regained the advantage over Dante. The heels worked over Dante for several minutes into the first commercial break….[C]
Dante hit a hurricarana and made the hot tag to Scorpio Sky, who cleaned house. Hechicero regained the advantage as Archer took out the babyfaces on the floor. The heels worked over Sky, who at one point was in the corner while the Takahashi and the Martins battled Hechicero and Archer. Sky made the hot tag to Takahashi. Takahashi picked up Romero so that Sky could deliver a cutter. Sky and the Martins then dove onto Alexander, Hechicero, and Archer on the floor. Back in the ring, Takahashi hit his Time Bomb finisher on Romero for the win.
Hiromu Takahashi, Scorpio Sky, Dante Martin, and Darius Martin defeated Josh Alexander, Lance Archer, Hechicero, and Rocky Romero in 13:31.
After the match, TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher came out with Don Callis and taunted Takahashi from the stage.
Don’s Take: The traditional AEW eight-man tag team match to start us off. Should the talent be insulted that it wasn’t labeled as “all-star?” It made sense to give Takahashi a spotlight match, considering he’s challenging Kyle Fletcher for the TNT Title at Forbidden Door. That said, I continue to hope that Josh Alexander breaks away from the faction. He’s too good to be a Callis underling.
A Hook teaser video aired…[C]
A video hyped the TBS Championship match at Forbidden Door with small blurbs on Alex Windsor, Persephone, Bozilla, and Mercedes Mone…
2. Megan Bayne (w/Penelope Ford) vs. Isla Dawn. This was basically an extended squash match with Bayne getting the majority of the offense and Dawn getting in some hope spots. Bayne finished off Dawn with her running tiger bomb finisher.
Megan Bayne defeated Isla Dawn in 4:44.
Don’s Take: Good to see Isla Dawn land in AEW even if it’s short-term for now. Of the WWE releases, I felt that she was one who could be of value in the right situation. AEW is always looking to expand its roster, and if they had an actual plan for her aside from being an enhancement talent (as she was used here), I think it would be a good get for the company.
After the match, Bayne and Ford crossed paths with Willow Nightingale in the entrance way. The other participants for the next match made their way to the ring..
3. Skye Blue and Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata and Willow Nightingale. Nightingale dominated both heels to start. Aminata kept the momentum until she went for the Devil’s Kisses on Hart and was stopped by Blue. The heels worked over Aminata while referee Rick Knox argued with Nightingale….[C]
Aminata made the hot tag to Nightingale, who worked over the heels. Aminata tagged in and continued the offense, hitting Blue with an air raid for a near fall followed by a spinning neck breaker. All four battled in the ring. Nightingale threw Hart to the floor. In the ring, Aminata delivered a headbutt to Blue, followed by her “off with her head” knee strike finisher.
Willow Nightingale and Queen Aminata defeated Skye Blue and Julia Hart in 9:30.
After the match, Thekla came out and attacked Aminata. Nightingale attempted to intervene but was taken over by Thekla and the emerging Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford. Harley Cameron attempted to help the babyfaces and had the upper hand on Bayne for a bit until she was overcome. The heels beat down the babyfaces until Kris Statlander came out to clean house. The babyface team stood tall in the ring…[C]
Don’s Take: More of the same with these teams seemingly trading wins and losses with the overall story going nowhere. The new Triangle of Madness faction hasn’t really done anything for me so far. Cameron continues to be over, and Statlander’s new character is somewhat interesting….
Lexy Nair was backstage with Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard. Nair asked Garcia if he had mixed emotions after losing the Technical Spectacle last week. Garcia said there was nothing mixed about it. He wasn’t happy, but Nigel McGuinness proved he was the better wrestler that night. Garcia said he was happy to be in McGuinness’s corner because sometimes being a better friend is more important than being a better wrestler. He asked McGuinness to promise to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from Zack Sabre Jr. to prove again that he’s the better wrestler.
Max Caster was in the ring for his open challenge and did his usual schtick, getting the crowd to chant his catchphrase. He called for 5:00 to be put on the clock and asked for his opponent, who was….Zack Sabre Jr.
4. Max Caster vs. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. in a five-minute challenge.This was another short one with Sabre Jr. getting most of the offense and winning with a cobra twist submission.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Max Caster in 2:38.
After the match, Sabre Jr. went nose-to-nose with McGuinness at the announce table. The two shook hands…
[Hour Two] Back in the ring, Anthony Bowens ran out and attacked Caster. Billy Gunn ran out and confronted Bowens, who eventually backed down and left the ring.
Don’s Take: A fun way to preview the IWGP World Title match at Forbidden Door. I get a kick out of Caster, but Bowens and Gunn do nothing for me, especially when Billy Gunn is positioned so strongly.
In the weird backstage segment of the night, Kris Statlander and Harley Cameron were standing in front of a door labeled “Male Extras.” Statlander complained that she hadn’t received her $100,000 yet. It was supposed to come from the Young Bucks, but it kept showing up as insufficient funds. Cameron went into the room to try to get the money and was told that it wouldn’t be ready until next week. Jon Moxley and the Death Riders showed up. Moxley went into the room and emerged with an envelope and handed it to Statlander…
5. Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis) vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Callis joined the commentary team. The two exchanged forearms. Ishii hit Takeshita with some chops and clotheslined him over the top rope. The two battled on the floor and made it back into the ring. Heading into a commercial break, Takeshita hit a draping DDT on Takeshita from the apron to the floor…[C]
Ishii hit a superplex from the second rope as the two exchanged forearms again. Both hit some impressive moves down the stretch, including a powerbomb by Ishii and a blue thunder bomb by Takeshita – both for near falls. The fans really got into this during the closing moments. Takeshita hit a knee strike for a near fall, followed by his Raging Fire finisher for the win….[C]
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tomohiro Ishii in 10:35.
Don’s Take: Hopefully, with Takeshita winning the G1, the plan is to finally do something with him. This was the match of the night, albeit short and predictable. The fans really ate up the offense down the stretch, and with the right booking, Takeshita can be a top star.
6. Big Bill (w/Bryan Keith) vs. Mark Andrews. Andrews got a little offense in, but this was all Big Bill, who won with a sidewalk slam.
Big Bill defeated Mark Andrews in 1:47.
After the match, Keith set up two chairs in the ring facing each other. Bill chokeslammed Andrews on the seats of the two chairs and left through the crowd with Keith.
Don’s Take: You may remember Andrews from his time in NXT UK and TNA. He’s better than an enhancement talent, but that was his role here. Bill continues to spin his wheels, but as a fellow graduate from my high school, I’ll always be a fan.
7. “Gates of Agony” Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun (w/Ricochet) vs. “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake. Ricochet joined the commentary team. This match was even for the first several minutes until Ricochet distracted Drake while he was on the second rope. This allowed Kaun to knock him to the floor, where both Liona and Kaun continued the assault…[C]
Don’s Take: During this match, Tony Schiavone announced that Tony Khan shockingly booked two “all-star” eight-person tag team matches for the Forbidden Door pre-show. For the men, Action Andretti, Lio Rush, Hechicero, and Josh Alexander will face Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Yuya Uemura, and El Desperado. For the women, Megan Bayne will team with Thekla, Skye Blue, and Julia Hart to face Queen Aminata, Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, and Harley Cameron. These two matches didn’t make my Forbidden Door prediction piece, so let’s go with the babyface men’s team winning and the heel women’s team winning.
Drake made the hot tag to Gibson. Gibson cleaned house for a bit and hit several double team moves and near falls. The finish saw Liona launch Drake over the top rope and deliver a hip attack to Gibson in the corner. Kaun followed up with double knees, and then they both hit their Open the Gates finisher for the win.
“Gates of Agony” Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona defeated “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake in 9:08.
Don’s Take: Fine for what it was, but the Gates of Agony are still trying to win back all the equity they’ve lost from years of being defined down. Grizzled Young Veterans are always fun and could bring a nice boost to the AEW tag division if they were considered for a long-term deal.
Gabe Kidd was backstage with his War Dog faction from NJPW. Kidd talked about going after guys that were trying to take away his food and money while Chuck Connors challenged the Opps…[C]
8. “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly. Continuing the storyline of losing their EVP status, the Bucks did not receive a televised entrance. For the first half before the commercial, this was an even match with the Bucks tripping, making gaffes before having the advantage over both O’Reilly and Strong at different points. Heading into the break, the Bucks hit a spike tombstone piledriver on O’Reilly on the floor…[C]
The Bucks worked over Strong while O’Reilly climbed back onto the apron. Strong eventually made the hot tag, and O’Reilly went after the Bucks with kicks and strikes. A lot of big action down the stretch from both teams. As O’Reilly and Strong were gaining momentum to end the match, Don Callis came out and distracted the referee. This allowed Kazuchika Okada to come in and deliver the Rainmaker clothesline to O’Reilly. He also tried to do it to Strong. Strong ducked the clothesline but ate a double super kick from the Bucks. The Bucks then delivered another spike tombstone piledriver to O’Reilly for the win.
“The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson defeated Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly in 15:43.
After the match, the Bucks and Okada continued to attack O’Reilly and Strong. Swerve Strickland came out with Prince Nana. Okada left the ring. The Bucks went to attack Strickland. Strickland took care of Matt Jackson, but as he went after Nick, Okada clipped Strickland’s leg and dropped an elbow on it. He finished Strickland off with a Rainmaker clothesline to end the show.
Don’s Take: A fun TV main event, but can you imagine what this match could have meant if the AEW tag team division was better booked? A nice angle to end the show and continue the storyline of Strickland potentially being hurt heading into his match with Okada.
Say it with me…another “fine if you saw it, fine if you didn’t” edition of Collision. Some fine matches, but nothing to really move the needle in terms of interest for Forbidden Door. Speaking of Forbidden Door, Jason Powell will have you covered with his live review of that event. Check out my Forbidden Door predictions on the main page, and I’ll be by tomorrow with predictions for NXT Heatwave. I also plan to be back next week for another episode of Collision, so until then!
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