AEW Collision Review - July 26, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW TNT/ROH World Tag Team/ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Dustin Rhodes def. ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty (ROH Pure Championship Was Not Defended)

There are three Ring of Honor championships between these two men, yet they were fighting for an AEW-sanctioned title. Not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. I like both guys and they had a good match, though this lasted a long time considering the outcome was never in doubt. Post-match, Rhodes granted Kyle Fletcher a shot at the AEW TNT Championship on next Thursday's Collision in a Chicago Street Fight.

Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson and Austin Gunn) def. Bryan Keith and Big Bill in an AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Robinson filled in for the now-injured Colten Gunn. It's nice to have Bang Bang Gang back in the tag team mix, and Bill and Keith are a talented team in their own right. This was a quality contest, but I could've done without the finish being so similar to what we got in the opener. Nonetheless, Bang Bang Gang will face FTR in the semifinals. This tag team tournament will give the division some much-needed focus.

Anthony Bowens def. Max Caster

Accepting Caster's open challenge was how Bowens returned back at Dynasty in April, but they've embarked on completely different paths since then. Caster hasn't won a single match to my knowledge, yet he's gotten more over than Bowens, who has struggled to find his footing on his own. The crowd reaction combined with the way this was booked seemed to suggest a double turn is coming, which I'm honestly not against if it ultimately helps Bowens get back on track.

The Outrunners, Hologram and Tomohiro Ishii def. The Infantry and The Don Callis Family (Hechicero and Lance Archer) in a $400,000 Match

AEW's excessive amount of multi-person tag team matches are bad enough, but now we're getting multi-man tag team matches with fake money on the line. Tony Khan must be stopped! The crowd certainly didn't seem to mind as they were into the action and it was enjoyable. Hey, at least it was acknowledged afterward in a backstage segment that Hologram and Ishii intend to use their share of the money on Roderick Strong for his birthday. Plus, The Outrunners needed this win before they battle The Young Bucks in the quarterfinals of the tag tourney on Wednesday's Dynamite.

Triangle of Madness (Thekla, Julia Hart and Skye Blue) def. Laynie Luck, Mazzerati and Rachel Ellering

I really dig this trio of Thekla, Hart and Blue. The latter two have largely been utilized as enhancement wrestlers since returning from their respective injuries, so this is a much better use of them. This was the one-sided squash that it should have been. Queen Aminata attempted to step up to them afterward, only to be laid out by Megan Bayne, so we'll see if Bayne vs. Aminata is the next program or if it'll just be a one-off.

ROH World Television Champion Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian def. Angelico and AR Fox

It's odd that Angelico would team with Fox and not his tag partner Serpentico. Fox never really wins anything, so I can't say I'm surprised this was essentially an extended squash for Wayne and Sabian (aside from a few hope spots for Fox and Angelico). It gave them a credibility boost before Christian Cage returns for revenge eventually. By the way, is The Patriarchy now The Matriarchy with Mother Wayne calling the shots?

ROH World Women's Champion Athena def. Alex Windsor

Although Windsor just made her official AEW debut at All In, she actually already unsuccessfully challenged Athena for the ROH Women's World Championship earlier this year in Australia. This was a hell of a hard-hitting affair with Windsor looking credible in defeat, but it would've been ridiculous for Athena to lose her title after two-and-a-half years on a random Collision. We also got the setup for a future tag team match with Athena and Billie Starkz against Windsor and Toni Storm.

Overall Show

Much like Wednesday's Dynamite, the lack of matches announced for this episode ahead of time pretty much told you this was going to be an inconsequential edition of Collision. It was cool to see the ROH Women's World Championship spotlighted in the main event, but aside from some solid wrestling, the rest of the show featured nothing of note. I'm still impressed by the intimidate venue AEW is at the moment, though.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews