AEW Collision: Summer Blockbuster Review - June 13, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kenny Omega def. Bad Dude Tito

We found out via a vignette on Wednesday's Dynamite that Omega will face Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door (the first time on American soil I believe), so that's why Omega battled a member of TMDK here. The outcome was obvious, so I'm glad they kept this on the shorter side. Omega briefly addressed Sabre in a post-match promo and mentioned how beating him will get him back to where he needs to be.

Hikaru Shida def. Zayda Steel to Qualify for the AEW TBS Championship Survival of the Fittest Match

Steel has been getting a ton of opportunities since signing with AEW and I thought she was once again impressive here. That said, it would have been silly for Shida to lose coming off her loss to Kris Statlander in that Street Fight. This was a perfectly solid match with the right person going over. I wouldn't at all be opposed to Shida becoming AEW TBS Champion.

The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier) def. Austin and Aaron Atlas

It feels like The Rascalz have largely been utilized as stepping stones so far in AEW, so it's important that they win every once in a while. Granted, they defeated a pair of enhancement talent here, but it was an encouraging sign that they picked up a victory. Hopefully that means they're headed for something significant sooner rather than later. This was what it needed to be.

AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight def. Myron Reed

I liked that this immediately followed The Rascalz' match. I never bought into the idea of Reed taking the title from Knight (I have no doubt Knight will remain champ until he gets to Darby Allin), but I'm all for Knight continuing to have regular title defenses against quality competition. This was quite the sprint from him and Reed and I'm glad they were given an ample amount of time.

ROH Women's World Champion Athena def. Tiara James (Non-Title)

Maya World advancing in the women's Owen Hart Cup was a pleasant surprise, and now she'll face Athena in the semifinals. They had a pair of great matches in Ring of Honor earlier this year, so I'm looking forward to that one. At any rate, this served as a showcase for Athena, who went over quickly and decisively as she should have. Her match with World will go down on Collision next week.

The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay) def. The Young Bucks

The Dogs basically had to win here if they were going to be considered any sort of a threat to the AEW World Tag Team Championship. They've been racking up wins lately, but none of them really meant anything. Beating the Bucks, however, has value. This was a top-notch match from these teams. It's still difficult to take The Dogs seriously, but this was a step in the right direction for them.

AEW Women's World Champion Thekla Addressed Stardom

The Forbidden Door concept is pretty played out by this point, but Thekla feuding with the promotion she was "fired" from is a cool concept going into this year's installment. Although this promo was more of the same from her, it was entertaining and it served a purpose. I'll never complain about Thekla getting mic time as she never ceases to make the most of it.

CMLL World Women's Champion Persephone def. Julia Hart to Qualify for the AEW TBS Championship Survival of the Fittest Match (Non-Title)

From a storyline standpoint, Hart was responsible for Persephone being pulled from the Survival of the Fittest match for the ROH Women's World Championship at Supercard of Honor last month, so it made sense for Persephone to get her revenge here. I'm also glad she'll be challenging for the vacant TBS title. This was a nice bout between the two of them.

Jake Doyle def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey

Bailey said in a pre-taped promo beforehand that he intends to take out as many members of The Don Callis Family as possible in order to get another shot at Kevin Knight. Well, he's not exactly off to a hot start with a loss to Doyle here. That said, this was the correct outcome because Doyle just returned and it would have been stupid for him to lose his first singles bout back. This was a good match, and I'm sure they especially enjoyed themselves as they used to team up on the independent scene.

The Death Riders (AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Pac, Daniel Garcia and Marina Shafir) def. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, The Infantry, ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty and Trish Adora) in a Cincinnati Street Fight

In addition to Death Riders beating Shane Taylor Promotions in a six-man tag team match on last week's Collision, Moxley knocked off Taylor to retain the AEW Continental Championship on Wednesday's Dynamite, so Shane Taylor Promotions didn't have much credibility coming into this contest. In other words, the finish was a foregone conclusion, but the crowd had fun with it, which was expected given this show emanated from Moxley's hometown of Cincinnati.

Overall Show

There was a lot to like about this edition of Collision. There were some meaningful matches, Forbidden Door was built up a bit, and the Cincinnati Street Fight closed out the night on a high note. You can't ask for much more than that, specifically when it comes to Collision. There's always a lull during Forbidden Door season and this year is no exception, but AEW is still putting forth an admirable effort with Dynamite and Collision, nonetheless.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews