AEW Collision Review - January 24, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Trios Champion "Hangman" Adam Page def. Katsuyori Shibata

We already saw Page vs. Shibata a few months ago and this was more of the same, but that doesn't mean this wasn't a well-worked opener. Page is always a treat to watch and Shibata is of course talented in his own right, so a quality contest was guaranteed, but it was hurt by the obvious outcome and the fact Shibata never wins when it matters most. This should be leading to Page settling his score with Samoa Joe soon and moving on.

AEW Women's World Champion Kris Statlander def. Isla Dawn in an AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Match

I'm just not a fan of the Eliminator concept, and in this case especially, it was unnecessary. It was already announced that Statlander will be defending her title against Thekla on Wednesday's Dynamite, so there was zero reason to believe Statlander was losing here. Then again, she was never losing here, regardless of the circumstance. This was a short and sweet showcase for Statlander.

Protoshita def. Austin Gunn and Billy Gunn

Due to Collision having to be taped Wednesday after Dynamite instead of live on Saturday as originally scheduled, Ace Austin wasn't available and Juice Robinson apparently isn't cleared to compete, leaving Gunn to team with his dad for the first time in several years. This was less about the match (which was decent) and more about giving Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita a win. That said, I don't think they'll be teaming regularly if Takeshita is going to continue feuding with Kazuchika Okada.

Davis & Doyle def. Jordan Oliver and Alec Price

I have to imagine Davis & Doyle were going to have other opponents and that Collision having to be taped after Dynamite forced Tony Khan to put them back in action again after already losing to FTR on Dynamite. Hell, they also lost on Thursday's ROH TV, so they're not exactly off to a strong start as official members of the roster. This was total domination from Davis & Doyle before they challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championship on Dynamite next week.

AEW TBS Champion and AEW Women's World Tag Team Champion Willow Nightingale def. Julia Hart

I'm glad they went back to this bout since Nightingale knocked off Hart for the AEW TBS Championship at Dynasty 2024 and they never ran it back because Hart was hurt and Nightingale lost the belt a month later. This was a good match that simultaneously served as a reminder of what Hart can do in singles competition. As for Nightingale, hopefully she can give both of her titles equal focus and not let either of them get lost in the shuffle.

Andrade El Idolo def. Magnus

Of all the CMLL guys that AEW uses, Magnus isn't one of the regulars. He has appeared before, but not enough for the average viewer to give much of a shit about him. Thus, this was serviceable yet nothing overly interesting. It only existed to give Andrade a victory before facing Swerve Strickland on Dynamite. That should be a banger if given the time it deserves, and Andrade needs that win a lot more than Strickland.

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion Claudio Castagnoli def. Roderick Strong

This match had to happen eventually after Strong beat Castagnoli in the Continental Classic last month. Personally, I don't care about the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship being defended in the main event of an AEW show, but I appreciate that they tried to make this feel like a big deal, including by having Tony Khan out there during the pre-match introductions. The crowd sounded quiet, probably because it was a long night of wrestling due to the double taping, but it was still solid stuff.

Overall Show

You could tell AEW had to adjust some plans for this show as a result of the taping getting shifted to this past Wednesday, but it didn't suffer too much if at all. There was the usual setup for Dynamite as well as the usual enjoyable wrestling, but it did feel slightly more important than your typical Collision. The various vignettes and backstage promos made a difference this week and the two hours were never boring.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews