By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Collision (Episode 94)
Taped May 21, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico at Rio Rancho Events Center
Simulcast on May 22, 2025, on TNT and Max
[Hour One] Tony Schiavone opened the show in the ring and announced that it would be him and Excalibur on the call tonight. He introduced TNT Champion Adam Cole, who came out to a decent ovation. Excalibur announced that Cole would be joining the announce team this evening.
Schiavone then introduced “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, who were accompanied by Stokely Hathaway. Daniel Garcia and Nigel McGuinness, who were accompanied by Matt Menard, came out next.
Wheeler told Garcia and McGuinness that they had one more chance to reconsider because no matter how much Garcia has hurt them, they still see him as a son and love him. He turned to McGuinness and said that he knows McGuinness gets paid to talk, but now he needs to be quiet and listen because he doesn’t understand how much trouble he’s gotten himself into. He added that McGuinnes likes to hide behind the commentary table and make jokes and say he’s retired while interjecting himself into matches. He asked McGuinness if he was sure this was what he wanted because there would be no commentary table to hide behind, and that he was a shell of his former self. Wheeler then signed the contract.
Garcia said he was having trouble hearing, but he still cares about FTR, and it’s not something that just goes away. But he now has to look at them for what they are – “two selfish, narcissistic sociopaths.” He added that they say he turned his back on them, but it was FTR that turned their back on anyone who ever cared about them. They’ve crossed too many lines to count, and now Garcia has to stand up for himself. He said he’s also standing up for Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard, Adam Copeland, and his family, as well as everyone else who has had enough of them. He agreed that FTR was the best tag team, but it wouldn’t be a wrestling match, it would be a fight. He told McGuinness that he knows he is worried, but no matter what, he sees the look in his eyes every week, and it’s the same look he had when he was in his prime. He added that no matter what anyone says, McGuinness still has it and if McGuinness doesn’t believe that, he doesn’t have to sign the contract. Garcia then signed for himself.
McGuinness said we’ll find out Sunday night whether he’s still got it or not. Before he would sign the contract, he asked FTR to guarantee that no matter what happens at Double or Nothing, they would no longer touch, talk to or look at him or Schiavone ever again. Because if they do, it will be “top guys out – for good.” Harwood took the mic and told McGuinness to look him in the eyes as he signed the contract to let him know that this is what he wants. Harwood said this isn’t 2009, it’s 2025, and McGuinness has a family. Harwood added that he knows that the wrestling business has taken its toll on McGuinness, but if he wants FTR to finish the job, McGuinness needs to know that if he signs the contract, it’s his blood on his hands and they hold no responsibility. He offered McGuinness the chance to go back to commentary and forget all of this and said that maybe they could all be friends.
Harwood patted McGuinness on the cheek as he said this. McGuinness told Harwood not to put his hands on him again. Harwood laughed and said that this was just business. If it were personal, he would have splattered McGuinness’s nose across his face. Harwood said on Sunday, they would be businessmen, and he hoped that McGuiness would be one too. Harwood patted McGuinness’ cheek again. McGuinness pushed him away and the four men began to brawl. Garcia locked Wheeler in a sharpshooter while McGuinness locked Harwood in an arm bar. Security ran out to force the babyfaces to break the holds.
FTR was on the floor, and McGuinness took the mic. He said that they wanted him to look into their eyes. He said on Sunday, he’ll look into their souls and that at the pay-per-view, “this ends.”
Don’s Take: A good opening segment. I’ve liked FTR’s heel run early on, and McGuinness returning to the ring should seem bigger, but I feel like something is missing here. Perhaps it’s the addition of Stokley Hathaway to the act or maybe it’s the aura of Matt Menard hanging around this. Then again, it could be that Garcia and McGuinness are an odd pairing. In any case, I’ll be interested to see how this plays out at Double or Nothing.
AEW Women’s Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm voiced over a video package on Mina Shirakawa. It was a little tough to follow but the gist was she put Shirakawa over and said that now that Shirakawa is here permanently, it’s tougher when “this pussy is on the prowl.” She asked Shirakawa to giver Storm her best so that when they’re in the wrestling retirement home giving Brutus Beefcake a lap dance, Storm can look at Shirakawa and say, “Dammit Mina! You lusty, busty, bastard – we lived!”
Ring announcer Arkady Aura introduced the first match…
1. Konosuke Takeshita, Rocky Romero, and Trent Beretta (w/Don Callis, Lance Archer) vs. Bandido and “The Outrunners” Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum. Don Callis joined the commentary team. Bandido and Beretta started off with some chain wrestling. Eventually, all six men were in the ring as the babyfaces lifted each of the heels up in a vertical suplex, making them retreat to the floor. Bandido dove onto the heels as we headed to commercial…[C]
Coming out of the break, Magnum made the hot tag to Bandido, who cleaned house. He eventually squared off with Takeshita and had a good exchange with several near falls. All six men began battling in the ring, with heels getting the better of Bandido. Bandido made a hot tag to Floyd, who went on the offense as the Outrunners hit their signature double elbow. Down the stretch, the Outrunners went for their double team finisher, but Magnum was grabbed from the outside by Beretta, causing the babyfaces to crash into each other. In addition, Archer took out Bandido on the floor. Back in the ring, Beretta held Magnum in a reverse tombstone piledriver while Takeshita held Floyd in a regular tombstone piledriver. Romero jumped off the top rope and spiked both to the mat. Takeshita covered Floyd for the win.
Konosuke Takeshita, Trent Beretta, and Rocky Romero defeated Bandido and “The Outrunners” Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum in 9:34.
Don’s Take: Fine for what it was, and at least Kyle Fletcher wasn’t part of a team comprised of the Callis Family’s “B Team.” Now we just need Takeshita to break away from this. No disrespect to Romero and Beretta, but Takeshita is better than the booking would suggest. And say what you will about the state of ROH, but this is the best you can come up with for their world champion?
A Gabe Kidd video package aired. He talked about joining up with the Death Riders and the Young Bucks. He also spoke about how Kenny Omega and the babyfaces want to save and protect AEW while he and the Death Riders are eating it alive. Jon Moxley added that they would paint a picture of the spirit of professional wrestling in blood…
2. Mercedes Mone vs. Reyna Isis in an open challenge for the TBS Championship. This was a quick match mainly featuring chain wrestling by both. The crowd basically went through the motions for series of near falls and a few clunky spots. In the end, Mone attempted a tombstone but couldn’t get Isis up quite right. Mone then went right into to the Statement Maker armbar for the submission.
Mercedes Mone defeated Reyna Isis in 5:20 to retain the TBS Championship.
After the match, Mone jawed at Jamie Hayter, who was in the aisleway. The two were separated by security…[C]
Don’s Take: AEW has done the best they could to make the Mone/Jamie Hayter match in the finals of the Owen Hart Cup Tournament finals at Double or Nothing feel important. And it will be fine but just didn’t hit the mark. That said, it was the right move to have Mone finish this one quickly.
A “Sons of Texas” Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara” video package aired. It was basically a repeat of Dustin’s promo on Dynamite, where he talked about his history. Sammy talked about how they were AEW originals. Dustin said that we should bet on the Day 1 guys…
3. Kyle Fletcher (w/Don Callis, Lancer Archer) vs. Jay Lethal. Don Callis joined the commentary team again. Cole noted that Lethal was his friend. A lot of back and forth between the two in the beginning. The action spilled to the floor, where Lethal had the upper hand and fist bumped with Cole. This distraction allowed Fletcher to power bomb Lethal on the apron and have a stare down with Cole…..[C]
There was a series of near falls down the stretch. Lethal went for the Lethal Injection which was blocked by Fletcher. Lethal immediately locked in the Figure Four, but Fletcher got to the ropes. Lethal went to the top rope. Fletcher tried to stop him but was knocked off. Lethal went for the flying elbow but Fletcher got the knees up. Fletcher hit the brain buster for the win.
Kyle Fletcher defeated Jay Lethal in 11:19.
After the match, Josh Alexander and Konsuke Takeshita joined Fletcher and began attacking Lethal. Cole stood up from the commentary desk and told them to stop.
[Hour Two] The Callis Family invited Cole into the ring. Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly ran out to even the odds and cleared the Family from the ring. [C]
Don’s Take: I can do without Jay Lethal in a match that lasted over ten minutes, but as I noted earlier, I’m happy Fletcher is getting a spotlight match and not lumped in with the undercard players of the Don Callis Family. If Tony ever committed to a brand split, Fletcher would be my top pick to be Collision’s top act. I smell a six man tag team match coming
4. “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake vs. Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly. Adam Cole returned to the commentary desk. The story of this match is that Strong and O’Reilly are in a slump. As such, the early part of the match was controlled by Drake and Gibson. Drake attacked O’Reilly on the floor headed into the break and jawed with Cole.
The heels continued to work over O’Reilly who eventually made the hot tag to Strong. Strong took on both men for a bit before all four men entered. The two teams traded forearms until the babyfaces gained the upper hand, hitting their double team clothesline/leg sweep move on Drake. O’ Reilly locked Gibson in a front face choke while Strong covered Drake for the win.
Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly defeated “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake in 9:07.
Don’s Take: This was a good match as anticipated and I’ve never said this about AEW, but I think these two teams could have benefited from five more minutes. Here’s the thing – AEW has the potential to have a very good tag team division if they took the time to build it. Right now, there’s the Hurt Syndicate……and there’s everyone else. I’d like to see the company take the time to build teams like GYZ and O’Reilly/Strong to make them mean something, so that matches have more meaning beyond just a showcase of talent.
A video recapped Big Bill and Bryan Keith vs. the Gates of Agony from last week’s Collision….
5. Josh Alexander (w/Don Callis) vs. AR Fox. Don Callis joined the commentary team….yet again. After the Jay Lethal vs. Kyle Fletcher match, Adam Cole challenged the Don Callis Family to a match at Double or Nothing. Callis accepted the challenge and noted that his team would be Josh Alexander, Kyle Fletcher, and Konosuke Takeshita.
This was a quick one with Fox getting in bursts of offense while Alexander largely controlled the tempo. Alexander blocked a cutter and hit a German suplex, followed by a power bomb, followed by a C4 spike for the win.
Josh Alexander defeated AR Fox in about 4:18.
After the match, Callis and Alexander jawed at Cole to further sell the match at Double or Nothing….[C]
Don’s Take: Similar to Fletcher, I’m glad Alexander got a spotlight match. He’s another one that would be a recommended top player if they were to make him exclusive to Collision. And he also doesn’t need to associate with RPG or Lance Archer. At this stage, he’s a credible mid-card if not an upper mid-card talent. And his work in TNA points to his ability to work well higher on the card.
Putting the Callis “A” Team together at the pay-per-view? Fine. I still would like to see each breakout on singles runs, but I’ll take it.
Fans gave their predictions for the Hangman Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay match at Double or Nothing…
6. Volador Jr., Magnus, and Rudigo vs. Mascara Dorada, Templario, and Mistico. The typical spot fest you’d expect. The heels worked over Mistico heading into the commercial….[C] There were more high spots and dives down the stretch. The finish saw Dorada hit Magnus with a shooting star press for the win.
Mascara Dorada, Templario, and Mistico defeated Volador Jr., Magnus, and Rudigo in 10:08.
Don’s Take: A fine lucha showcase featuring the former Sin Cara five talents that only about a tenth of the audience had any knowledge of. Forbidden Door can’t be far behind.
Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford vs Anna Jay and Harley Cameron was announced for the Double or Nothing Buy-In pre-show. The announce team ran down the rest of the pay-per-view lineup….[C]
Kris Statlander cut a backstage promo. She apologized for what she did to Willow Nightingale but told Nightingale that she’s a dangerous person. She told Nightingale to be careful who she pushed because they may push back…
7. Mike Bailey and Komander (w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. Rush and Dralistico. As Rush was making his entrance, Dralistico attacked the babyfaces from behind from the other side of the ring. The heels almost completely dominated the first part of the match until Bailey and Komander hit stereo dives on the floor. The heels regained the advantage heading into commercial….[C]
The heels worked over Komander. Komander made the hot tag to Bailey. Bailey cleaned house, including a nice exchange with Rush. Komander had tagged back in and was overcome by the heels. Komander tagged Baily back in, who hit Dralistico with a Top Adventure kick. Komander walked the top rope and hit a moonsault. Bailey covered Dralistico for the win.
Mike Bailey and Komander defeated Rush and Dralistico in 12:20.
After the match, AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada made his way to the ring to confront Bailey. Bailey offered him a handshake but Okada gave him the finger. Bailey sent Okada to the floor with a spin kick. Bailey celebrated with the Continental Championship as Collision went off the air….
Don’s Take: Given that Bailey is facing Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship at Double or Nothing, it made sense to have him look strong here. Is this where we see Rush disappear again, only to re-emerge strong in a squash match closer to Forbidden Door?
This was good for a “go-home” edition. You had to know they would add a few last-minute matches to make Double or Nothing super long. But on a holiday weekend, there will be less complaints. And as we’ve seen in the past, they made good use of video packages to preview the pay-per-view matches that weren’t featured on Collision.
That’s all for me for now. Will Pruett’s stellar audio review of Collision are available for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). And I’ll be back Friday and Saturday with a slew of predictions, including AEW Double or Nothing, WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, and NXT Battleground. Until then!
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