AEW Collision Review - January 3, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

El Clon def. Angelico

For those who forgot, El Clon debuted many months ago essentially as an "evil" version of Hologram. They were clearly set to feud before Hologram got injured, so instead of being featured and built up in Hologram's absence, he's been totally absent from AEW TV. As a result, it's difficult to care about him and him having Angelico as an opponent didn't help matters, but I guess this served its purpose him in giving him a win.

Timeless Love Bombs def. Maya World and Hyan

It was announced recently that World and Hyan are "All Elite", which was cool to hear since they've been impressive in the several matches they've had over the last month or two. The outcome was never in doubt here, mind you, but this was a successful showcase for Timeless Love Bombs and give them a momentum boost before their likely rematch with MegaProblems.

MegaProblems def. Rache Chanel and Londyn Dior

This existed for the exact same reason that the prior match did. I wouldn't have preferred to see two squashes positioned back-to-back, but at least this one was kept brief with Marina Shafir and Megan Bayne going over in dominant fashion. I assume whoever wins their rematch with Timeless Love Bombs will be next in line for a shot at the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship.

Hechicero def. Komander in an AEW TNT Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

This was a nice match between two talented luchadors and they were given an ample amount of time. Komander is fun to watch, but Hechicero is better booked and tends to be slotted higher up on the card, so I was happy he went over. Granted, I don't at all see him beating Mark Briscoe for the TNT title on next week's Collision, but I appreciate getting a number one contender's match for a change since AEW usually just does Eliminator matches.

Eddie Kingston and Ortiz Challenged Grizzled Young Veterans

Kingston has been feuding with Grizzled Young Veterans for a few weeks now, so it was logical to reintroduce Ortiz to television as his partner so they can take on Grizzled Young Veterans together. This was a short and sweet promo establishing that, but as I've said before, I really don't want Kingston in the tag team division indefinitely, especially since he still has unfinished business with The Opps.

JetSpeed def. Bryan Keith and Big Bill

It is officially 2026 and all signs point to Chris Jericho having left AEW or soon no longer being under contract. If his crap with the Learning Tree remnants isn't going to be revisited, then there's no real reason for Keith and Bill to still be teaming. JetSpeed is the more interesting duo of the two, so it made more sense for them to go over. The match itself was solid for the time allotted.

Shelton Benjamin def. Dante Martin

The Hurt Syndicate shared the ring with Top Flight at least once in 2025, but I believe this marked their first one-on-one encounter. Benjamin stepped up as Jon Moxley's next opponent on this week's Dynamite, so this gave him a win before he faces Moxley on Wednesday night. This was well wrestled, but it probably didn't need to last as long as it did considering the outcome was obvious.

Darby Allin def. Wheeler Yuta

Allin said on Dynamite this week that the only member of The Death Riders he has yet to beat is Pac, but Yuta said Allin has to go through him first, hence why we got this match. Of course, Yuta is hardly a threat, but this was a quality contest and I can see why it was saved for the main event since it had the most storyline stakes. I'm just ready for Allin to be done with Death Riders because this feud has been going on for what feels like forever.

Overall Show

This was an extremely inconsequential show, especially coming off what I thought was an enjoyable edition of Dynamite on New Year's Eve. If Allin vs. Yuta is the biggest bout you can deliver, then the show isn't worth seeking out in the slightest. That said, they did a decent job of building toward some stuff coming up on Dynamite next week as well as setting up an AEW TNT Championship clash for next week's Collision.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews