AEW Collision Review - March 15, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricochet def. Katsuyori Shibata in an AEW International Championship Eliminator Tournament Match

Shibata taking part in this tournament gave it some actual international flavor, but there was never uncertainty surrounding the outcome to this contest. He's one-third of The Opps right now, whereas Ricochet needed to bounce back following his loss to Swerve Strickland at Revolution. This was a well-worked opener, but I could've done without those weak-ass looking slaps Ricochet hit Shibata with.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Griff Garrison

If you were wondering why Garrison had other goofs at ringside with him, it's because he's part of a new faction in Ring of Honor called The Frat Boys. Yes, it's AEW/ROH's latest jobber faction. Nonetheless, this was a total squash for Hobbs as it should have been and I appreciate that it was kept short and sweet. I also appreciate that Hobbs has been featured on AEW TV consistently this year and has won way more matches than he's lost.

Mark Davis def. Mark Briscoe in an AEW International Championship Eliminator Tournament Match

I thought the outcome would be as obvious here as it was for the opener, so Davis winning actually surprised me. That said, it makes sense to get someone else in the finals of this mini tourney that isn't American, not to mention Davis won with help from The Murder Machines. This was a solid match, but it doesn't sound like a majority of crowds have cared for Davis since his return.

The Murder Machines def. Bryce Saturn, El Fatal, Matt Vandagriff and Sonico in a 4-on-2 Handicap Match

I'm not sure if AEW announced Murder Machines' opponents by name, but I got their names from ProFightDB just in case. It doesn't matter either way because Murder Machines put them away almost immediately. This helped them establish their dominance, but this would've been a lot more effective had they not lost to The Outrunners a few weeks ago. Apparently, they don't want revenge on them or The Hurt Syndicate (who cost them that win), which is bizarre.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley Attacked Swerve Strickland

Strickland's promo addressing both Moxley and Cope was decent, but he's cut much better promos in the past. It was understandable in that he just doesn't have a whole lot to go off until he finds out who he's facing at Dynasty. That said, Moxley attacking him here all but confirmed it's going to be Moxley vs. Strickland, foreshadowing the finish of the Street Fight for the AEW World Championship on Wednesday's Dynamite. Oh well.

Top Flight and Hologram def. Shane Taylor Promotions (The Infantry and ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty)

Hologram was already in action on Dynamite this week where he had an equally-pointless tag team match, so I don't know what purpose this was supposed to serve. It gave the babyfaces a win, so there's that. Lio Rush and Action Andretti were shown watching from the stage, so I guess their feud with Top Flight isn't over. I assumed that ended a while ago. I can't imagine anyone is still invested in that at this point.

Megan Bayne def. Thunder Rosa

Bayne attacked Rosa backstage earlier in the episode and Rosa chose to compete anyway, so Rosa had an out for losing here. After Bayne also attacked Toni Storm on Wednesday's Dynamite, there was no way she was losing to Rosa. Speaking of Storm, she attempted to get revenge afterward but was thwarted by Bayne. This was a quality contest that told a good story with Rosa having to fight from underneath and ultimately falling short.

FTR def. The Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly)

This was a rematch from a few weeks ago and I enjoyed it as much as their original encounter, even without anything on the line. They have such strong chemistry together and it's nice to see a non-title tag team feud get some focus for a change. FTR continue to tease a heel turn, but it has yet to materialize. Adam Cole and Daniel Garcia faced off to close the show as they'll have a rematch of their own on next week's Collision for the AEW TNT Championship.

Overall Show

Aside from the advancement of the AEW International Championship Eliminator Tournament, there wasn't anything meaningful from this show that you need to seek out. I liked the last two matches, but everything else felt inconsequential. In other words, this was par for the course for Collision. There have been better episodes in the last month or two, so I wouldn't waste the time. Fine if you saw it, fine if you didn't.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews