AEW Collision: Winter Is Coming Review - December 13, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Swerve Strickland def. Josh Alexander

Alexander hasn't won many matches that have mattered since signing with AEW earlier this year, so the outcome felt fairly predictable here, but it was a very well-wrestled match, nonetheless. The key was giving Strickland another notable win following his tag team win on Wednesday's Dynamite before he challenges for the AEW World Championship at Worlds End, which he established in his post-match promo.

Jamie Hayter and AEW Women's World Champion Kris Statlander def. Sisters of Sin

I'm not a big fan of feeding Sisters of Sin to Hayter and Statlander when Hayter and Statlander aren't a regular team and the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship was just introduced, but I understand what they were going for here with Hayter and Statlander proving they could coexist before facing each other for the AEW Women's World Championship at Worlds End. Plus, it was a quality contest while it lasted, so I can't complain too much, provided Sisters of Sin don't permanently become an enhancement team.

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita in a Continental Classic Blue League Match Ended in a Time-Limit Draw (Non-Title)

This was the first time-limit draw we've gotten in the Continental Classic this year, and I'm glad they saved it for when it made sense (I doubt either CMLL or New Japan Pro-Wrestling would've wanted their top champion to lose to the other). That didn't take away from my enjoyment of this outing whatsoever. Unsurprisingly, it was a strong match prior to that point given who was involved.

Timeless Love Bombs and AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone Interrupted AEW Women's World Tag Team Champions Babes of Wrath

I liked that no time was wasting in following up on Babes of Wrath becoming the inaugural AEW Women's World Tag Team Champions on Wednesday. Apparently they're going right back to Timeless Love Bombs challenging for the tag titles, but then again, what would they be doing otherwise? Mone entering the picture feels unnecessary, but maybe the upcoming multi-person tag team match will set up whoever her next AEW TBS Championship contender ends up being. I didn't love the mic work in this segment, but it accomplished what it needed to.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Kevin Knight in a Continental Classic Gold League Match

This was the battle of tag team partners, and both guys were tied coming into this contest. Bailey beat Kyle Fletcher in a shocker on Dynamite, so it was logical for him to win so he could maintain that momentum. The match was a blast for as long as it lasted. You'd think the crowd wouldn't have had an incentive to cheer for one guy over the other, but it sounded like they were more behind Bailey throughout.

AEW TNT Champion Mark Briscoe def. Daniel Garcia

We've seen these two face off before and they have really good chemistry together. I didn't think Garcia would end Briscoe's reign so soon after he won it, but it was a worthy main event for Collision and an entertaining encounter on the whole given an ample amount of time. I could've done without Marina Shafir interfering, but I understand that was done to make viewers think Garcia might actually win.

Overall Show

Although this didn't feel like as significant of a show as the Dynamite portion of Winter Is Coming on Wednesday night, it was still a thumbs-up edition of Collision with more Continental Classic action, an AEW TNT Championship main event and two big matches being made official for Worlds End. AEW seemingly isn't slowing down going into the final stretch of the year and I appreciate that they're not phoning it in with these shows.

SEE MORE: Collision Reviews