AEW Collision Review - February 1, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Samoa Joe and Hook def. The Patriarchy (Kip Sabian and Nick Wayne)

It was clear that Sabian and Wayne would serve as stepping stones here, but it was a quality opener, regardless. Joe and Hook have great chemistry as partners and Sabian and Wayne played their roles well. The Patriarchy laid them out afterward to get their heat back, but all signs point to Joe eventually getting his hands on Christian. It's been basic booking so far, but Joe being involved has made the storyline slightly more interesting.

The Beast Mortos def. Adam Priest; Rush def. Max Caster

This was a quick squash for Mortos as it should have been. Unfortunately, I feel like the only purpose it only existed to give him a win so he can lose to someone else soon. Caster emerged afterward to issue an impromptu open challenge, which led to him getting destroyed by Rush. This was Rush's first appearance since November when he reportedly got heat for roughing up his opponent. For what it was worth, Jake Roberts wasn't with him and the rest of La Faccion Ingobernable.

Bryan Keith and ROH World Champion "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho def. The Outrunners

I'm so beyond tired of The Learning Tree crap that their matches absolutely nothing for me at this point. It's also apparent that Jericho wants to leech off the popularity The Outrunners right now and The Outrunners losing this match does more to harm them than help them. It was an okay outing, but the only thing I remotely gave a shit about was Bandido returning afterward to resume his rivalry with Jericho and company.

Harley Cameron def. Taya Valkyrie

Cameron had yet to win a match on AEW TV prior to this point, so this was treated like a big deal. The match was decent, but The Vendetta haven't meant a damn thing since they formed, so it wasn't exactly a shocking outcome, especially when you consider that they're building to Cameron challenging Mercedes Mone for the AEW TBS Championship at Grand Slam: Australia. She's undoubtedly getting over, I'll give her that.

"Timeless" Toni Storm Addressed AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May

This was the follow-up to the big angle with Storm and May on last week's Collision. Storm once again established that she was simply playing the role of an earlier version of herself to fool May, even though May never actually fell for it. Nonetheless, Storm has done an excellent job throughout this whole process and this was another example of that. She'll face Queen Aminata on Wednesday's Dynamite.

AEW TNT Champion Daniel Garcia def. ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty and Kyle O'Reilly in a Three-Way Match (ROH Pure Championship Was Not Defended)

I can't say I've cared about the three-way feud between Garcia's crew, The Undisputed Kingdom and Shane Taylor Promotions, but I'm glad we got an AEW TNT Championship defense out of it. No, the title didn't feel like it was in jeopardy of changing hands whatsoever, but it was a well-wrestled match with good work from all three guys. It was announced immediately afterward that we're getting the three-way trios match on next week's Collision.

Megan Bayne def. Hyena Hera

If it wasn't already obvious, Bayne is indeed "All Elite". She'll be a welcome addition to the women's division, provided they actually use her. I'm familiar with her work on the northeast independent scene, but I will say she needs to interact with the crowd more and show more signs of personality. I don't think acting stoic will get her over with the audience. With all of that said, this was a standard showcase for her as it should have been.

FTR def. The Death Riders (AEW World Trios Champion Wheeler Yuta and AEW World Champion Jon Moxley) in a Mid-South Street Fight

I'm conditioned to lose interest in anything Death Riders related, but to the credit of these four, this was a hell of a brawl. Yes, we see this sort of stuff way too often in AEW for it to feel truly meaningful or memorable, but they definitely beat the hell out of each other and made the most of the stipulation. I have no issue with FTR winning and giving Death Riders a bit of comeuppance, but why did Moxley have to be in there instead of Claudio Castagnoli?

Overall Show

I can guarantee you only the AEW die-hards tuned into this show while it was airing opposite of WWE's Royal Rumble event. This really should have aired earlier in the day. Despite that, this was a slightly-above-average show by Collision standards thanks to the main event, the TNT title three-way, Storm's promo and Cameron picking up her first AEW win. Everything else was fairly forgettable, but there was enough stuff to make this episode worthwhile.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews