AEW Collision: Grand Slam: Australia Review - February 15, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay def. The Don Callis Family (AEW International Champion and NEVER Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher)

Unsurprisingly, Omega and Ospreay had instant chemistry as partners and I'd be down to see them team more in the future. Hey, if Omega and Chris Jericho could become a team for a time, I don't see why Omega and Ospreay can't do the same thing eventually, if only briefly. Nonetheless, this was a highly enjoyable opener. The crowd loved the babyfaces and hated the heels, so everyone played their roles remarkably well and the double-team finish was fantastic. Omega pinning Takeshita sets them up for a long-awaited rematch, likely at Revolution for the AEW International Championship at Revolution.

AEW TBS/NJPW Strong Women's/RevPro Undisputed British Women's Champion Mercedes Mone def. Harley Cameron (NJPW Strong Women's and Rev Pro Undisputed British Women's Championships Not Defended)

The quality of this match is exactly why Cameron not winning was the right call. She's obviously over and that was always going to be the case in her home country, but she's not quite at the level of being ready for a title run, even if it was short-lived. That's not to say this was bad, but it was solid at best and Mone has had better title defenses. The crowd being so behind Cameron added an extra layer of suspense to the outcome and she looked credible in defeat, but she can become champ down the road once she improves a bit more.

The Death Riders (AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and AEW Trios World Champion Claudio Castagnoli) def. Cope and Jay White in a Brisbane Brawl

The crowd signing Cope's entrance music word for word was a special moment. That alone was proof that Australia deserves more big events. At any rate, for as little as I've cared about a majority of the Death Riders stuff, this was a very fun brawl. They made excellent use of the stipulation and the interference actually added to the match for a change. My only nitpick is that Moxley caused Cope to pass out. Cope is challenging for the AEW World Championship at Revolution and probably isn't winning it, so I don't think that was worth it just to put more heat on Moxley before then.

AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada def. Buddy Matthews

Okada had those two memorable matches with Ricochet and Ospreay at Worlds End in December and it felt like AEW did very little to keep his momentum rolling after that. Thankfully, this served as a reminder of what he can do as well as Matthews. This was a blast. I never actually expected Murphy to win, but he was protected in defeat with Okada cheating to retain.

"Timeless" Toni Storm def. Mariah May to Win the AEW Women's World Championship

Although I liked their original encounter at All In slightly more, this was still a strong match and the perfect main event for this show given Storm being from New Zealand (which obviously isn't far from Australia) and the story they've told up to this point. There were too many finishers and that's why I especially hated the roll-up finish, but otherwise, this was great stuff and they ended the night on a high note.

Overall Show

For starters, let me make it clear that this was absolutely an episode of Collision. It may not have been advertised or branded as such, but it was listed as Collision on TV and on Max. Hell, the Elton John theme song for Collision even played at the beginning. While this wasn't officially a pay-per-view, it certainly felt like one. This was a terrific two-hour event with an electric atmosphere and above-average action. Downgrading to the smaller arena may have been for the best because they sounded super loud throughout. The title change at the end ensured that this wasn't a glorified house show, either. I'm looking forward to future installments because I loved this first one.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews