AEW Collision: March 15, 2025
March 17, 2025 8:11 AM - Season 2, Episode 37 - Subscribe
Two matches determine the last finalists in the tournament to face Kenny Omega at Dynasty. Megan Bayne's monster run continues. Tag team matches are the main event and also an interesting mid-card ensemble drama.
(Quoted sections come from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
International Title Eliminator Tournament Match – Ricochet defeated Katsuyori Shibata
"Despite both men spending several years in New Japan Pro Wrestling, this is the first time these two have met in a singles match, and only the second time they’ve ever shared a ring together. [...] The two men traded suplexes before Shibata caught a flying Ricochet and put him in an STF that forced Ricochet into the ropes. Ricochet picked Shibata up and hit the Benadryller and a Lionsault for a nearfall, then hit a standing Shooting Star Press for another nearfall. Shibata locked on a sleeper hold, and after kicking out of a stacked pin, hit an Ushigoroshi in honor of his long-time friend and IWGP World Champion Hirooki Goto. Ricochet ducked the Penalty Kick and rolled Shibata up, then put his feet on the ropes as the referee was counting to score the tainted win.
This was a solid opener with good energy to kick off the show. Ricochet gets a nice win to bounce back after his loss at Revolution."
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Griff Garrison (w/ The Frat House)
"Hobbs walked out through the crowd. The Frat House is ROH’s newest stable, featuring Garrison, Preston Vance, & Jacked Jameson. Hobbs bumped all three of them and beat Garrison with a main event spinebuster. Vance and Jameson circled Hobbs, but The Outrunners came out to run them off."
International Title Eliminator Tournament Match – Mark Davis defeated Mark Briscoe
"Briscoe used his redneck kung-fu to get the jump on Davis, but Davis came back with a big back body drop. Briscoe ripped Davis over the ropes, then followed him to the floor with a dive. Briscoe sent Davis into the post, then launched himself off of a chair into Davis on the floor as we went to a commercial break. We came back to Briscoe biting Davis off of the top rope before landing a missile dropkick. Briscoe and Davis hammered each other with chops, but Davis wouldn’t drop after repeated lariats. Davis caught Briscoe with a Tiger Suplex and a running knee for a nearfall. Davis followed Briscoe to the floor, but Briscoe caught him with a running blockbuster off the apron. Briscoe then climbed the guardrail and hit a Cactus Elbow.
Briscoe hit a lariat and a Fisherman’s Buster for a nearfall. Davis backdropped out of a Jay Driller attempt before snatching Briscoe up in a piledriver for a nearfall. Briscoe smacked Davis off the top rope into a Death Valley Driver. Briscoe went up for the Froggy Bow, but the Murder Machines came out. Archer took the referee as Cage knocked Briscoe off the top rope into a boot from Davis. Davis hit his pendulum piledriver for the win. A surprising result here, as Mark Davis gets the win with some Callis Family assistance. Since Omega took the title from a Callis Family member, I wouldn’t write off Davis as a potential challenger, although that wouldn’t exactly be a marquee matchup.
After a commercial, The Murder Machines dragged four corpses to the ring and killed them all. I don’t even know which ones were in the match, and none of them got names. They pinned one with the chokebomb. They continued killing before Mark Briscoe came out for revenge after the last match. Powerhouse Hobbs came out to help, brawling with Archer to the back as Briscoe and Cage brawled through the crowd to the back."
Swerve Strickland Town Hall
"Strickland talked about his relationship with Cope, as a professional inspiration and as someone whose helped him to become more dangerous over the years. Strickland said that he would run through him if he was in his way, as champion or challenger. Strickland then talked about Jon Moxley, putting him over for being a four-time World Champion but noting his complete desperation to stay on top. Strickland said to catch a maniac, you had to send a maniac, and Strickland promised to take the World Title back at Dynasty. Jon Moxley made his way through the crowd and dropped Strickland with a crowbar. Moxley laid Strickland out with a Curb Stomp before leaving through the crowd."
Hologram & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) defeated Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty, Shawn Dean, & Carlie Bravo)
"The announcers said that this was a stand-by match. Lio Rush & Action Andretti, now known as The Cru came out to watch the match from the stage. Harleygram was also watching from backstage. Hologram and Moriarty started on the mat before Dante Martin and Dean tagged in. Andretti got in Dante’s face, allowing Dean to score with a suplex as we went into the commercial. After the break, STP had Dante isolated. In the back, The Beast Mortos found Harleygram and stared her down. Can’t blame him. We got a sight of Dralistico on Spanish commentary before Dante tagged in his brother. Darius ran wild before Dean and Bravo double teamed him. The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl before Top Flight got the win with a shotgun dropkick into a German Suplex. Top Flight stared down The Cru at ringside as Hologram stared down Dralistico at the Spanish commentary desk. There was a lot going on here."
Megan Bayne defeated Thunder Rosa
"Thunder Rosa came out with her ribs taped after the attack by Bayne earlier tonight. Bayne and Rosa were hammering each other with strikes as we came back from the break. Rosa sent Bayne into the corner, then knocked her down with a shotgun dropkick. Rosa sent herself and Bayne to the floor with a seated dropkick against the ropes. Rosa sent Bayne off the post and the stairs. They brawled onto the ramp, where Bayne dropped Rosa with the F-5. Bayne got back into the ring to take the countout, but Rosa beat the count. Bayne hit her with another F-5 to score the win over the former AEW Women’s World Champion. After the match, Bayne put Rosa in an Argentine Backbreaker when Toni Storm came out to make the save. Bayne dropped Storm with the F-5 as well, leaving the champion laid out as referees and Kris Statlander came out to ward her off. Bayne is getting the Monster of the Month treatment here, leaving everyone laid out. She’s been fine, but I wouldn’t call her impressive in her outings so far."
FTR (w/Daniel Garcia) defeated The Undisputed Kingdom (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) (w/Adam Cole)
"Strong dumped Wheeler to the floor, but Wheeler came back in to distract the referee on a tag, keeping Strong in the ring. Wires got crossed on a Hart Attack attempt, but FTR eventually got it as we went to a commercial. After the break, Strong dropped Harwood with an Olympic Slam to get the tag into O’Reilly. O’Reilly immediately got Wheeler in an ankle lock, then dropped Harwood with a side suplex when he tried to break it up. O’Reilly hooked Wheeler in the ankle lock again, with Strong locking Harwood in an ankle lock on the apron. Harwood shoved Strong into the post before breaking up the ankle lock with a diving headbutt. An FTR Doomsday Device was cut off by O’Reilly, but FTR got him in position for the Steiner Brother Bulldog for a nearfall. Strong cut off a Shatter Machine, then drilled him with a jumping knee for a nearfall.
The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl, with the Kingdom hitting the Total Elimination for a nearfall broken up by Wheeler. Harwood’s chest was bleeding as the four men got up and swung. FTR scored with the Shatter Machine on Strong, but O’Reilly pulled Harwood off the cover. Wheeler dove onto O’Reilly, but Harwood’s second cover only got a nearfall as the referee saw Strong’s foot on the ropes this time. [...] FTR went for the PowerPlex, but Strong got his knees up on the splash and rolled him up for a nearfall. The Total Elimination got cut off, and FTR hit a second Shatter Machine to score the win. Both Cole and Garcia went to the ring to help their friends and ended up staring each other down. Cole & Garcia shook hands, but when FTR were offered a handshake from the Kingdom, they refused. FTR continuing to refuse handshakes is a point of interest here, even with Garcia shaking Cole’s hand."
(Quoted sections come from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
International Title Eliminator Tournament Match – Ricochet defeated Katsuyori Shibata
"Despite both men spending several years in New Japan Pro Wrestling, this is the first time these two have met in a singles match, and only the second time they’ve ever shared a ring together. [...] The two men traded suplexes before Shibata caught a flying Ricochet and put him in an STF that forced Ricochet into the ropes. Ricochet picked Shibata up and hit the Benadryller and a Lionsault for a nearfall, then hit a standing Shooting Star Press for another nearfall. Shibata locked on a sleeper hold, and after kicking out of a stacked pin, hit an Ushigoroshi in honor of his long-time friend and IWGP World Champion Hirooki Goto. Ricochet ducked the Penalty Kick and rolled Shibata up, then put his feet on the ropes as the referee was counting to score the tainted win.
This was a solid opener with good energy to kick off the show. Ricochet gets a nice win to bounce back after his loss at Revolution."
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Griff Garrison (w/ The Frat House)
"Hobbs walked out through the crowd. The Frat House is ROH’s newest stable, featuring Garrison, Preston Vance, & Jacked Jameson. Hobbs bumped all three of them and beat Garrison with a main event spinebuster. Vance and Jameson circled Hobbs, but The Outrunners came out to run them off."
International Title Eliminator Tournament Match – Mark Davis defeated Mark Briscoe
"Briscoe used his redneck kung-fu to get the jump on Davis, but Davis came back with a big back body drop. Briscoe ripped Davis over the ropes, then followed him to the floor with a dive. Briscoe sent Davis into the post, then launched himself off of a chair into Davis on the floor as we went to a commercial break. We came back to Briscoe biting Davis off of the top rope before landing a missile dropkick. Briscoe and Davis hammered each other with chops, but Davis wouldn’t drop after repeated lariats. Davis caught Briscoe with a Tiger Suplex and a running knee for a nearfall. Davis followed Briscoe to the floor, but Briscoe caught him with a running blockbuster off the apron. Briscoe then climbed the guardrail and hit a Cactus Elbow.
Briscoe hit a lariat and a Fisherman’s Buster for a nearfall. Davis backdropped out of a Jay Driller attempt before snatching Briscoe up in a piledriver for a nearfall. Briscoe smacked Davis off the top rope into a Death Valley Driver. Briscoe went up for the Froggy Bow, but the Murder Machines came out. Archer took the referee as Cage knocked Briscoe off the top rope into a boot from Davis. Davis hit his pendulum piledriver for the win. A surprising result here, as Mark Davis gets the win with some Callis Family assistance. Since Omega took the title from a Callis Family member, I wouldn’t write off Davis as a potential challenger, although that wouldn’t exactly be a marquee matchup.
After a commercial, The Murder Machines dragged four corpses to the ring and killed them all. I don’t even know which ones were in the match, and none of them got names. They pinned one with the chokebomb. They continued killing before Mark Briscoe came out for revenge after the last match. Powerhouse Hobbs came out to help, brawling with Archer to the back as Briscoe and Cage brawled through the crowd to the back."
Swerve Strickland Town Hall
"Strickland talked about his relationship with Cope, as a professional inspiration and as someone whose helped him to become more dangerous over the years. Strickland said that he would run through him if he was in his way, as champion or challenger. Strickland then talked about Jon Moxley, putting him over for being a four-time World Champion but noting his complete desperation to stay on top. Strickland said to catch a maniac, you had to send a maniac, and Strickland promised to take the World Title back at Dynasty. Jon Moxley made his way through the crowd and dropped Strickland with a crowbar. Moxley laid Strickland out with a Curb Stomp before leaving through the crowd."
Hologram & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) defeated Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty, Shawn Dean, & Carlie Bravo)
"The announcers said that this was a stand-by match. Lio Rush & Action Andretti, now known as The Cru came out to watch the match from the stage. Harleygram was also watching from backstage. Hologram and Moriarty started on the mat before Dante Martin and Dean tagged in. Andretti got in Dante’s face, allowing Dean to score with a suplex as we went into the commercial. After the break, STP had Dante isolated. In the back, The Beast Mortos found Harleygram and stared her down. Can’t blame him. We got a sight of Dralistico on Spanish commentary before Dante tagged in his brother. Darius ran wild before Dean and Bravo double teamed him. The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl before Top Flight got the win with a shotgun dropkick into a German Suplex. Top Flight stared down The Cru at ringside as Hologram stared down Dralistico at the Spanish commentary desk. There was a lot going on here."
Megan Bayne defeated Thunder Rosa
"Thunder Rosa came out with her ribs taped after the attack by Bayne earlier tonight. Bayne and Rosa were hammering each other with strikes as we came back from the break. Rosa sent Bayne into the corner, then knocked her down with a shotgun dropkick. Rosa sent herself and Bayne to the floor with a seated dropkick against the ropes. Rosa sent Bayne off the post and the stairs. They brawled onto the ramp, where Bayne dropped Rosa with the F-5. Bayne got back into the ring to take the countout, but Rosa beat the count. Bayne hit her with another F-5 to score the win over the former AEW Women’s World Champion. After the match, Bayne put Rosa in an Argentine Backbreaker when Toni Storm came out to make the save. Bayne dropped Storm with the F-5 as well, leaving the champion laid out as referees and Kris Statlander came out to ward her off. Bayne is getting the Monster of the Month treatment here, leaving everyone laid out. She’s been fine, but I wouldn’t call her impressive in her outings so far."
FTR (w/Daniel Garcia) defeated The Undisputed Kingdom (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) (w/Adam Cole)
"Strong dumped Wheeler to the floor, but Wheeler came back in to distract the referee on a tag, keeping Strong in the ring. Wires got crossed on a Hart Attack attempt, but FTR eventually got it as we went to a commercial. After the break, Strong dropped Harwood with an Olympic Slam to get the tag into O’Reilly. O’Reilly immediately got Wheeler in an ankle lock, then dropped Harwood with a side suplex when he tried to break it up. O’Reilly hooked Wheeler in the ankle lock again, with Strong locking Harwood in an ankle lock on the apron. Harwood shoved Strong into the post before breaking up the ankle lock with a diving headbutt. An FTR Doomsday Device was cut off by O’Reilly, but FTR got him in position for the Steiner Brother Bulldog for a nearfall. Strong cut off a Shatter Machine, then drilled him with a jumping knee for a nearfall.
The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl, with the Kingdom hitting the Total Elimination for a nearfall broken up by Wheeler. Harwood’s chest was bleeding as the four men got up and swung. FTR scored with the Shatter Machine on Strong, but O’Reilly pulled Harwood off the cover. Wheeler dove onto O’Reilly, but Harwood’s second cover only got a nearfall as the referee saw Strong’s foot on the ropes this time. [...] FTR went for the PowerPlex, but Strong got his knees up on the splash and rolled him up for a nearfall. The Total Elimination got cut off, and FTR hit a second Shatter Machine to score the win. Both Cole and Garcia went to the ring to help their friends and ended up staring each other down. Cole & Garcia shook hands, but when FTR were offered a handshake from the Kingdom, they refused. FTR continuing to refuse handshakes is a point of interest here, even with Garcia shaking Cole’s hand."
For anyone else reading, or for my own reminder (or for the readers in the FUTURE), this coming weekend's NCAA tournament is going to play hell with AEW's schedule. To make up for it the network gave them a make-good of "Slam Dunk Saturday" AND "Slam Dunk Sunday", both to air following the games. So about 11PM or so Eastern, yikes.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:09 PM on March 17
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:09 PM on March 17
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posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:22 AM on March 17