By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Collision (Episode 128)
Taped January 14, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona, at Arizona Financial Theater
Simulcast live January 17, 2026, on TNT and HBO Max
[Hour One] The Collision opening aired with a generic theme, apparently moving away from “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” Perhaps it’s a one-time thing, as the show is billed as “Maximum Carnage.” Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary. Arkady Aura was the ring announcer and introduced the opening match…
1. Andrade El Idolo (w/Don Callis) vs. Angelico (w/Serpentico). El Idolo started with a back elbow followed by a running double knee to the chest. El Idolo went for the pin but picked Angelico up before the three count. Later in the match, El Idolo hit the “Three Amigos” series of suplexes, which started with a superplex. Again, El Idolo picked Angelico up before the three count. After another back elbow, El Idolo finished Angelico off with a spinning double underhook suplex that he calls the DM.
Andrade El Idolo defeated Angelico in 3:57.
Don’s Take: A decent way to reintroduce Andrade. Hopefully, this go-around in AEW proves to be more successful for him. It will be tough to stand out among the 85 wrestlers in the Don Callis Family, but Andrade has the best chance when he has someone doing the talking for him, like Zelina Vega in WWE. Callis is a very good hype man, so he has a good shot here.
Backstage, Lexy Nair introduced the Rascalz, who came out of a smoke-filled room. The group consisted of Myron Reed, Zachary Wentz, and Desmond Xavier. Reed said they weren’t here to take part but to take over. Xavier said they’ve been the greatest group for the last decade and challenged any tag team or trio.
Don’s Take: I enjoyed the Rascalz in TNA, but I was hoping they’d drop the pot silliness. Trey Miguel was absent, so I assume he will be introduced at another time.
A video set up the next match featuring Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Eddie Kingston and Ortiz…
2. Eddie Kingston and Ortiz vs “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake. The babyfaces controlled the first several minutes of the match, primarily focusing on Drake. Drake and Gibson pulled Kingston into the corner and worked him over for a little bit. Kingston made the hot tag to Ortiz, who cleaned house for a bit but found himself in trouble. Drake knocked Kingston off the table and dove onto Ortiz on the floor while he was being held by Gibson. [C]
The heels continued to work over Ortiz. Eventually, Kingston hit Drake from the apron, allowing Ortiz to land a kick, push Drake away, and make the hot tag. Down the stretch, Kingston cleaned house before trading blows with Gibson. Gibson hit his Ticket to Ride finisher for a near fall. Drake locked in the Koji Clutch but couldn’t get Kingston to submit. The finish saw Drake roll up Kingston for a near fall. Kingston pushed Drake to the ropes, and Ortiz hit Drake with a slapjack. Kingston hit a DDT on Drake for the win…
Eddie Kingston and Ortiz defeated “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake in 13:40.
Don’s Take: The expected outcome. I continue to push for a greater focus on the tag team division. The addition of the Jake Doyle/Mark Davis team is a start, but AEW is missing the boat by not positioning GYV as a more prominent team.
A video recapped Thekla pinning AEW Women’s Champion Kris Statlander on Dynamite…
In a segment taped backstage at Dynamite, Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron apologized to Statlander, who said she would take a bullet for them if it meant competing with her best friends. Statlander invited Thekla to find her as she is a fighting champion and added that what Thekla thinks is toxic, Statlander likes the taste…
A video aired from August 9, 2025, highlighting when Hangman Page teamed with Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight to set up the AEW Trios Title Match later tonight… [C]
Tony Schiavone interviewed AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR and Stokely Hathaway at the top of the stage. Hathaway put over Jake Doyle and Mark Davis as the number one contenders to the titles. In a funny line, Hathaway noted that he would get in trouble for saying that Doyle and Davis have him longing for the days when wrestlers looked like wrestlers. Wheeler said that Doyle and Davis were good but not “FTR good.”
Harwood said hello to Nigel McGuinness and asked Schiavone to ask him what he hated most about the fans. The crowd chanted, “We have hair.” Fun. Harwood said that the fans build up anything new and exciting, but Doyle and Davis have only won one match, and now they’ll be facing the best team of all time. Harwood also noted that Doyle and Davis were no different from the teams they met in North Carolina and that the result would be the same.
Don’s Take: I am a fan of Jake Doyle’s work from his time in TNA, so I am happy that he’s found an opportunity in AEW. The team of Doyle and Davis should be a good “bruiser” team, though I do think AEW has rushed them into the title picture too quickly. The fans are also going to have a difficult time deciding who to support, given that both teams are heels.
Lio Rush, Action Andretti, and Lacey Lane were backstage and cut a promo on the Rascalz. Andretti said that they would give the Rascalz a welcome they would never forget…
Zayda Steel made her way to the ring and a video introducing her aired….
3. Marina Shafir vs. Zayda Steel (w/Christopher Daniels). Jon Moxley joined the commentary team for the match. Steel got in a few hope spots, but this was all Shafir heading into the commercial. [C] Steel had a bit of offense that was shrugged off by Shafir, who eventually overpowered her and locked her in Mother’s Milk for the win.
Marina Shafir defeated Zayda Steel in 5:33;
After the match, Don Callis came out with El Clon, Josh Alexander, and Kyle Fletcher. Callis joined the commentary team and exchanged words with Jon Moxley, who was still at the table. Moxley chased Callis to the ring. Moxley was attacked by Lance Archer and Rocky Romero, who were eventually joined by Clon, Alexander, and Fletcher. Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, and Claudio Castagnoli made the save, and the two teams brawled. Dante and Darius Martin, along with Scorpio Sky, joined the fight to set up the next match… [C]
Don’s Take: I can’t say that the Callis Family and the Death Rider feud excites me, but if it gets us closer to the Death Riders turning on Jon Moxley, I say let’s get it over with. As an aside, I’ve seen Steel’s work in both MLW and Evolve. There’s something there as she has a good look and decent mic skills. I hope AEW finds a way to help her develop her potential.
4. Kyle Fletcher, Josh Alexander, and El Clon vs. Scorpio Sky, Dante Martin, and Darius Martin (w/Christopher Daniels). Don Callis joined the commentary team for the match. The match was fairly even during the first several minutes. Heading into the second hour, El Clon worked over Darius.
[Hour Two] Fletcher continued to work over Darius as the show went to commercial. [C] Darius made the hot tag to Dante. A flurry of action ensued down the stretch. Alexander took out Sky with a slam on the apron. Dante cleaned house but was taken out on the ramp by El Clon, who hit a clothesline, followed by a moonsault, where El Clon appeared to drive his knees into Dante’s head. In the ring, Alexander worked on Darius’s ankle but couldn’t get him to submit to the ankle lock. Alexander hit the trapped arm piledriver for the pin.
Kyle Fletcher, Josh Alexander, and El Clon defeated Scorpio Sky, Dante Martin, and Drius Martin in 12:08.
After the match, Konosuke Takeshita came out. He faced off with Kyle Fltcher and hugged him, ignoring Callis, El Clon, and Alexander.
Don’s Take: A fairly standard match with the logical outcome of Alexander getting the pin since he is facing Kenny Omega on Dynamite. We also had the small storyline development with the Callis Family pointing toward Fletcher and Takeshita as the eventual babyfaces. I’m fine with this, and although I mentioned an upgrade of the tag team division, I’d prefer seeing Fletcher and Takeshita continue as singles. They can team up on occasion, but would rather it not be a regular thing. Down the road, we’ll likely see a reunion between Fletcher and Will Ospreay. That should be way down the road, and again, let’s keep Fletcher as a single for now.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong. Strong hyped his number one contender status for the CMLL World Title held by Claudio Castagnoli. Mark Briscoe joined the duo and offered El Clon a TNT Title match next week on Collision. Strong continued to not want anything to do with Briscoe and Cassidy…[C]
A video recapped MJF’s victory over Bandido on Dynamite and showed highlights of his match in Limitless Wrestling from Friday night. MJF compared himself to Ric Flair, Buddy Rogers, and Harley Race. MJF will appear live on Dynamite from Orlando…
5. Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Viva Van and Danielle Kamela Kamela is the former Vanessa Borne in NXT. This was a total squash match. Bayne held the majority of the offense with Ford tagging in at the end. Ford and Bayne performed the Doomsday Device finisher. During the match, El Clon vs. Mark Briscoe for the TNT Title and Roderick Strong vs. Claudio Castagnoli for the CMLL Title were made official for next week’s Collision.
Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford defeated Viva Van and Danielle Kamela in 1:32.
After the match, Toni Storm, Mina Shirakawa, and Luther came onto the stage. Storm and Shirakawa promised to get revenge on Shafir, Bayne, and Ford. Storm said the only difference between her and God is that God doesn’t wear lipstick…
Don’s Take: Good to see Ford recovered from injury. I am wondering if we’ll see a split of some kind between the three down the road. On the other hand, I am seeing a lot of women’s trios lately….could this mean?…. I’m not even going to put it out there in the universe.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana. Nair asked him about his plan to win back the AEW Title. Strickland says he has to win. Kevin Knight entered and said he was triggered when Strickland referred to him as the future and that he feels that the future is the present. Strickland told Knight to win the AEW Trios Titles and then come talk to him. Strickland said that Knight is a future main event but advised him not to take six years to get there.
6. Jack Perry vs. Anthony Bowens for a shot at the AEW National Championship. AEW National Champion Ricochet sat in on commentary for the match. The two shook hands from the start. Tony Schiavone announced that Tony Khan has booked Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford vs. Mina Shirakawa and Toni Storm for next week’s Dynamite.
The match was even for the first several minutes. Perry asked to scissor Bowens, but he ended up biting his fingers. Heading into a commercial, the action spilled onto the floor with Bowens dropping Perry on the apron and Perry landing a bulldog onto Bowens on the floor. [C]
After the break, Bowens hit a flurry of offense for several near falls. Perry countered with two running knees for the win.
Jack Perry defeated Anthony Bowens in 10:11 to earn a shot at the AEW National Championship.
After the match, Perry and Bowens embraced. Perry then attacked Ricochet at the broadcast table and the two brawled to the back…
Don’s Take: Perry and Ricochet should be fun. Can we fast forward to the part where Bowens and Max Caster officially reunite and re-enter the tag division? I am all for long-term storytelling, but it’s not needed in every case.
A video previewed the upcoming AEW Trios Title match….[C]
Jon Moxley and the Death Riders cut a promo on the Don Callis Family. Moxley spoke about knowing who Callis is. Garcia talked about family and Pac asked the Callis Family who they think they are. Moxley said he is the worst of the bad men when he has to be….
7. “The Opps” Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hangman Page, Kevin Knight, and Mike Bailey for the AEW Trios Titles. Hook joined the commentary team. Tony Schiavone announced Jon Moxley, Daniel Garcia, and Wheeler Yuta from the Death Riders vs. Lance Archer, Rocky Romero, and Hechicero from the Don Callis Family in a Street Fight on Dynamite. The match was even for the first several minutes with the heels gaining the advantage and working over Bailey heading into the final commercial break of the night. [C]
Bailey was still in trouble coming out of the break. Hook was actually unable to speak due to neck damage sustained on Dynamite. Nice touch. Bailey made the hot tag to Page, who cleaned house. Lots of action down the stretch. Knight tagged back in but was overcome by the heels. The finish saw Shibata and Joe tie up Page and Bailey in sleepers. Knight landed a sunset flip on Hobbs and got the surprise pin.
Hangman Page, Kevin Knight, and Mike Bailey defeated “The Opps” Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Katsuyori Shibata in 11:18 to win the AEW Trios Titles.
After the match, Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana came out and applauded the title win, particularly Knight’s role in the win. Strickland vs. Knight was made official for Dynamite. The show concluded.
Don’s Take: Not that the AEW Trios Titles are all that relevant, but it’s nice to see JetSpeed get a rub here in the main event scene. And it appears that with the loss, the writing is on the wall for Powerhouse Hobbs’ time in AEW. I’m interested to see what WWE can do with him. He’s always had potential, but the booking was just never there. It’s hard to say where the fault lies, but let’s see what a fresh start and a new company do for him.
Aside from the title change, this was another standard edition of Collision with a few minor storyline developments. This will likely be the way of it until we get to the annual Owen Hart tournament at the earliest and until we get to the next Continental Classic.
That’s all for me for tonight. I’ll be back in the coming weeks for another Collision review as well as predictions for upcoming premium live events/pay-per-views. Until then, enjoy wrestling! Will Pruett’s weekly AEW Collision audio reviews are available exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
Be the first to comment