AEW Collision: Beach Break Review - May 17, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Megan Bayne def. Anna Jay

It's cool that Bayne got her original entrance theme from the independent scene back. I remember her using that when I first saw her in Northeast Wrestling a few years ago. Her against Jay has been a fine feud while she's away from the title picture. Their match was perfectly passable and it didn't need to last any longer than it did. Bayne winning decisively was the right call as well.

Kyle Fletcher def. AR Fox

Nothing against Fox, who is a fantastic athlete and a blast to watch in the ring, but I don't understand why it was necessary for him to have a competitive contest with Fletcher, who is levels above Fox at this point. Fletcher just took Adam Page to the limit on Dynamite a week or two ago, whereas Fox never wins when it matters most. Don't get me wrong, this was a nice sprint from them, but it should've been booked as a shorter squash for Fletcher in my opinion.

Brody King, Tomorhiro Ishii and ROH World Champion Bandido def. The Don Callis Family (Roppongi Vice and Lance Archer)

The Don Callis Family have had so many multi-matches this year that I honestly forget who they have issues with. In other words, this felt like a random match to me and just an excuse to get these guys on the show. On the bright side, it was a well-wrestled affair and the babyfaces winning was a refreshing change of pace. Granted, they got attacked afterward, but they were saved by The Outrunners. King and Bandido wrestle fairly regularly on AEW TV, yet they lack direction.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Blake Christian

Christian gets a ton of television time for a glorified jobber. I guess you can say the same for Fox, but I've always thought Fox had more potential than Christian, who's marginally better as a heel than he was a babyface. Thankfully, this didn't go through a commercial break and was basically booked as a showcase for Bailey. He challenged Kazuchika Okada to the AEW Intercontinental Championship but got attacked by La Faccion Ingobernable instead.

Big Bill and Bryan Keith def. The Gates of Agony in a Chicago Street Fight

This was the quietest I've heard a crowd for a Street Fight in some time, especially in Chicago. That said, I appreciate that we've even gotten this feud, if only because it's gotten Gates of Agony on television and given Bill and Keith something to do in Chris Jericho's absence. They put forth an admirable effort and the crowd came alive for some of the spots. They made the most of the stipulation, so props to them for that.

AEW Paid Tribute to Steve "Mongo" McMichael

It was a really classy move for AEW to pay tribute to McMichael in this way. McMichael had history on TNT as part of WCW and obviously played for the Chicago Bears. His widow Misty, Dean Malenko and even Ric Flair were all present. Flair spoke briefly about his friend and it was a sweet tribute. The whole thing was well done. This was actually Flair's first appearance on AEW TV since before Sting retired last year.

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Sons of Texas def. CRU in an AEW World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Match (Non-Title)

Genuinely, this felt like a lose-lose situation as I have minimal interest in seeing either team challenge for the AEW tag titles at Double or Nothing. CRU are heels and aren't threats to The Hurt Syndicate. Sons of Texas earning the title shot was the smarter outcome, but they haven't teamed on AEW TV that much (if at all) and have no chance of beating Hurt Syndicate, either. The ROH World Tag Team Champions facing the AEW World Tag Team Champions should be a lot bigger than it feels. This was a solid match, but the crowd understandably sat on their hands for a majority of it.

AEW World Trios Champion Powerhouse Hobbs def. Wheeler Yuta

On a show with a Chicago Street Fight and a number one contender's match, this had to be the main event because it had the most "star power" (that's more of a knock on Yuta than it is Hobbs). That's the state of Collision for you. I don't know if either of these guys will be taking part in Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing and I can't say I care. This was a well-worked main event, but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it whatsoever.

Overall Show

I didn't watch the show live (I never do), but apparently the feed cut out on TNT and on Max before the final half hour could air. The rest of it was eventually uploaded to Max, but not until hours later. That's a terrible situation and entirely the fault of Turner Broadcasting. It's not as if this was an overly eventful edition of Collision anyway despite the Beach Break theme. The Chicago crowd was largely flat (because they had just sat through Dynamite), and although AEW filled the two hours well enough, this was not an important show by any means. Next week's episode will air on Thursday night at 8/7c instead of Saturday night.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews