AEW Collision Review - July 31, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jon Moxley Called Out Darby Allin

This was a logical follow-up to Allin preventing The Death Riders from getting involved in Moxley's match against Adam Page on Dynamite and preventing him from regaining the AEW World Championship. Thankfully, he kept it short and sweet and didn't drag on for too long. It led to a show-long storyline with Allin almost killing Moxley at the end of the night (yes, seriously).

Brodido def. The Gates of Agony in an AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament Semifinal Match

No, Matt Riddle didn't join AEW; Brodido is the team name for the makeshift duo of Bandido and Brody King. Unsurprisingly, they work really well together. Meanwhile, it's odd that Ricochet's alliance with Gates of Agony isn't off to a stronger start. Ricochet lost on Dynamite and Gates of Agony lost here. They're not dead in the water by any means, but you'd think they'd advance over a team that isn't a true team. Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable opener and Brodido's tag finisher was sick.

Kris Statlander def. Lena Kross

Let the record show that Lena is not related to Karrion Kross in any way. Stupid joke aside, this was a pretty standard squash for Statlander as it should have been. Both women were actually similarly sized, so it wasn't a total mismatch, but this wasn't very competitive whatsoever and I'm not complaining. She and Willow Nightingale briefly crossed paths as Nightingale made her entrance afterward.

Thekla def. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale had a much tougher task on this show than Statlander did. Thekla has been undefeated in singles competition so far in AEW and that streak remains intact with this win. She and Nightingale had a quality contest in the time they were given. Post-match, the other women's tag teams came out to add to the chaos. Tony Khan is clearly killing time until he introduces the inevitable AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship, which he said he had to put on hold temporarily due to injuries.

FTR def. Bang Bang Gang (Austin Gunn and Juice Robinson) in an AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament Semifinal Match

I'm all for Bang Bang Gang building momentum, but FTR advancing made the most sense since they're more of a team and belong in the finals after what was teased with them and The Hurt Syndicate at All In. This was an entertaining outing and I'm glad they received an ample amount of time to do their thing so the crowd could get into the nearfalls down the stretch.

Rush vs. Max Caster Ended in a Time-Limit Draw

This was the first one of Caster's open challenges to go the full five minutes. Technically, Rush could've won at any time, but he was apparently too much of an idiot to realize that there were only five minutes on the clock, so he kicked his ass the entire time instead. La Faccion Ingobernable brawled with AR Fox and JetSpeed afterward. The biggest issue with LFI is consistency, so if they can remain regulars on television (even if it's only on Collision), they should be the mix for a shot at the AEW World Trios Championship before long.

SkyFlight (Scorpio Sky and Top Flight) def. Shane Taylor Promotions (The Infantry and Shane Taylor)

Have I missed some stuff or have SkyFlight not gotten a ton of character development so far? I like the idea of the group and I want Sky to find success again, but I feel like we haven't seen a whole lot of him since he returned, even on Collision. That said, this was a good match and a nice win for the trio. Perhaps they'll be setting their sights on the AEW World Trios Championship soon, too.

Kyle Fletcher def. ROH World Tag Team Champion and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Dustin Rhodes in a Chicago Street Fight

Rhodes coming out to his old entrance music from when he first started out was cool, even though his AEW theme is far more badass. Anyway, as soon as this was announced, you had to know it would be where Fletcher finally took the title. To Rhodes' credit, though, he put forth a hell of an effort here before losing in what was a fun hardcore match. They certainly made the most of the stipulation, though I could've done without Fletcher stabbing Rhodes in the leg with a screwdriver multiple times. Here's hoping the belt stays in Fletcher's possession for the foreseeable future and he's able to elevate it.

Overall Show

This marked the end of AEW's residence at this awesome-looking venue in Chicago, and they went out on a high note. This was an above-average episode, especially by Collision standards. The title change in the main event was obviously newsworthy, but the pacing of the rest of the show was well done and we also got progression in the AEW World Tag Team Eliminator Tournament. It was far from must-see on the whole yet still worthy of a thumbs-up.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews