By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Collision (Episode 158)
Reading, Pennsylvania, at Santander Arena
Simulcast August 22, 2026, on TNT and HBO Max
[Hour One] Tony Schiavone and Ian Riccaboni checked in on commentary. Schiavone ran down the evening’s lineup and introduced a video package recapping Dynamite and the events between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay. The announcers then spoke about the Continental Challenge Cup tournament and went over the rules…
Don’s Take: Earlier today, WrestleTix reported that 2,165 tickets were distributed for the event, which was set up for 2,666. The general capacity is around 7,000.
Ring announcer Arkady Aura introduced the opening match….
1. Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a Continental Cup tournament quarterfinal match. O’Reilly offered a fist bump, and Cassidy responded by putting his sunglasses on O’Reilly. Some decent chain wrestling to start. This carried all through the opening segment with the two trading vertical suplexes. [C]
The suplex battle went on all through the break and continued coming out of it. The two shook hands and traded strikes. The action picked up in intensity down the stretch. O’Reilly attempted the ankle lock, but Cassidy got to the ropes. The theme down the stretch was each wrestler blocking the other’s hold and move attempts. The finish saw O’Reilly lock Cassidy in the ankle lock but hesitate to stomp on the ankle. This allowed Cassidy to roll up O’Reilly for a near fall. O’Reilly then locked in the hold again for the submission.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Orange Cassidy in 14:34 to advance to the semifinals of the Continental Cup tournament.
Cassidy raised O’Reilly’s arm in victory, and the two left together…
Don’s Take: The suplex battle went on a little bit long for my liking, but I liked the story they told where they each knew each other so well that they were prepared with a counter for each other’s moves. O’Reilly in the semifinals makes sense.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Nigel McGuinness. Paquette asked him about his current status, but before he could answer, he was interrupted by Will Ospreay. Ospreay put over McGuinness as one of the greatest of all time and said that he had more confidence in McGuinness winning the tournament than he has in himself. McGuinness put over Ospreay and said that he was one of the best there is and he’s done everything there is to do except win the title. McGuinness asked him to think about what his career would be if he doesn’t win…
2. AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions “The Divine Dominion” Lena Kross and Megan Bayne vs. Erica Leigh and Tiara James in a 5-minute challenge. Bayne hit a double German suplex on both opponents. Kross and Bayne then hit the Brawling Birds finisher (two birds, one stone) on James, followed by their own Divine Intervention double chokeslam finisher…
AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions “The Divine Dominion” Lena Kross and Megan Bayne defeated Erica Leigh and Tiara James in 1:34.
Don’s Take: A good showcase win for the champions.
Jack Perry cut a backstage promo and challenged Swerve Strickland to a match on Dynamite from Glasgow, Scotland. Perry said, “Kill or be killed.” A graphic made that match official. [C]
A video package recapped the events on Dynamite between Kevin Knight and Darby Allin…
3. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Daniel Garcia in a Continental Cup tournament quarterfinal match. Similar to the first match, some chain wrestling between group members to start the match. But this one picked up in intensity a little faster. The action quickly spilled to the floor where Garcia attacked Castagnoli against the guardrail. Castagnoli fired back with a running European upper cut, followed by dropping Garcia’s neck over the barricade and throwing him into the crowd. [C]
Castagnoli held the advantage, but Garcia powered up and mounted the comeback. The back half of this match was excellent, with Garcia being relentless in trying to get Castagnoli to tap out to a sleeper and trying to hit him with his own finisher, the Neutralizer, which he finally did. Castagnoli tried to get Garcia to submit to the sharpshooter, including one attempt where he removed Garcia’s boot.
In the end, Castagnoli hit Garcia with a giant swing on the one leg without the boot, followed by a running European uppercut for a near fall. Castagnoli followed up with a power bomb into the sharpshooter for the submission.
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Daniel Garcia in 15:36 to advance to the semifinals of the Continental Cup tournament.
After the match, Castagnoli left through the crowd…
Don’s Take: An excellent match and arguably Garcia’s best to date. Plus, another example of good in-match storytelling.
A video package recapped the events of Dynamite between Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone… [C]
[Hour Two] Tony Schiavone announced Kyle O’Reilly vs. Nigel McGuinness and Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli in Continental Cup tournament semifinal matches for Wednesday’s Dynamite…
David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, and Clark Connors cut a backstage promo. Kidd hyped up the group and seemingly accepted Hangman Page’s open challenge for the Trios Titles at All In…
4. Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, and Lee Moriarty (w/MVP, Shawn Dean, Shane Taylor, Carlie Bravo, Trish Adora, Christyan XO) vs. Ryan O’Neill, Nic Nolan, and Matt Mako. Similar to last week, Lashley and Benjamin laid out the opponents and left the ring for Moriarty to finish the job. Moriarty locked in the Border City Stretch on Mako for the submission…
Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, and Lee Moriarty defeated Ryan O’Neill, Nic Nolan, and Matt Mako in 2:33.
Don’s Take: I repeat – I can’t believe this is what the Hurt Syndicate has become. They deserve better.
After the match, Shane Taylor took the mic and put over the faction. He then issued an open challenge to anyone in the back. This led to…
5. “The Bang Bang Gang” Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn vs. Shane Taylor, Carlie Bravo, and Shawn Dean (w/ Trish Adora, Christyan XO). Austin Gunn had the advantage over Bravo and Dean until Taylor came in and hit a lariat. [C]
The heels continued to work over Austin, who eventually made the hot tag to Colten. Colten cleaned house until Taylor also hit him with a lariat. Taylor held the advantage on Colten and White for a bit. The Gunns hit 310 to Yuma on Taylor, while White hit the Switchblade on Bravo for the win.
“The Bang Bang Gang” Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn defeated Shane Taylor, Carlie Bravo, and Shawn Dean in 9:49.
After the match, Jay White took the microphone and threw the Gang’s hat into the ring for All In to compete for the AEW Trios Titles against Hangman Page, Brody King, and Bandido. White also said they’d take on The Dogs, The Demand, and any other trio team who wanted to get involved…
Don’s Take: This was filler, and it was fine. I suspect we’re getting some massive trios match for the titles at Wembley. It does nothing for me and basically serves to get more wrestlers on the card.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Orange Cassidy, Willow Nightingale, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong. Nair informed O’Reilly that he was facing Nigel McGuinness in the semi-finals of the Continental Cup tournament. He said he beat his two best friends and the tournament was his for the taking. Nightingale said that she may think the world of Maya World, but nothing was stopping her from going to Wembley to face Mercedes Mone… [C]
An extended video package previewed Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the AEW World Title at All In…
6. Nick Wayne and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mike Bailey and Komander. During the entrances, a brief video played of Ciampa telling Wayne that this was just business. Early in the match, the babyfaces cleared the ring of the heels and dove onto them on the floor. [C]
Wayne worked over Komander, who eventually made the hot tag to Bailey.
It was announced that both MJF and Andrade El Idolo will appear on Dynamite. Jack Perry vs. Swerve Strickland was also made official for Dynamite.
Tons of action down the stretch. At one point, Wayne accidentally hit Ciampa. The finish saw Komander hit a Destroyer for a near fall. Komander went to climb the ropes, but Ciampa grabbed him and attempted to remove the mask. Bailey intercepted Ciampa, which distracted Komander long enough for Wayne to hit a “Proto Plex” for the win.
Nick Wayne and Tommaso Ciampa defeated Mike Bailey and Komander in 9:57.
After the match, Ciampa shoved Wayne down, but the camera cut away from it to show Komander and Bailey on the floor…
Don’s Take: This was fine and was used as a vehicle to sell the “no friends” aspect of the Casino Gauntlet.
A video package recapped the events from Dynamite between Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, and AEW International Champion Kyle Fletcher… [C]
Wheeler Yuta, Jon Moxley, Pac, Marina Shafir, Daniel Garcia, and Claudio Castagnoli were backstage. Yuta said that Castagnoli vs. Moxley in the semifinals of the Continental Cup sucks, but it can serve as an opportunity to show the world that the Death Riders can step up no matter who the opponent. Moxley told him to shut up. Castagnoli asked Yuta, “Sucks for who?” Yuta asked Garcia how his ankle was, and Garcia said, “It sucks”…
7. Willow Nightingale vs. TBS Champion Maya World for the AEW Women’s Championship. The match was even early on. World dove onto Nightingale on the floor. Nightingale quickly retaliated and hit a pounce in the ring.
Down the stretch, both competitors traded moves and near falls. The spotlight was particularly on World, who got several close ones on Nightingale, even though the outcome was never in doubt. World rolled up Nightingale for a near fall, and coming out of it, Nightingale caught World in a backslide for the win.
Willow Nightingale defeated TBS Champion Maya World in 11:27 to retain the AEW Women’s Championship.
Nightingale celebrated and gave props to World as the show came to an end…
Don’s Take: While this was a good main event, I question the decision to run with this before All In, as the outcome was highly predictable. Perhaps this is a sign that Nightingale will be dropping the title at All In, which I hope is not the case. World continues to show a decent upside.
This was another good episode, as the path is getting clearer to All In. I look forward to seeing how the semi-finals play out on Dynamite. It looks like we’re getting a Nigel McGuinness/Jon Moxley final at All In, which should be fun. As an aside, I don’t follow ROH, so it was nice to hear Ian Riccaboni again.
That’s all for me for tonight. Will Pruett has the night off, so Jason Powell’s audio review of tonight’s episode will be available for Dot Net Members (including Patreon patrons. And I’ll be back next week with another review and my All In predictions. Until then, enjoy wrestling!
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