AEW Collision 3/8/2025

Tonight’s Collision is the go-home show for AEW Revolution, and it is coming to us live (to tape) from Sacramento, California. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call as always.

The Opps (Hook, Katsuyori Shibata & Samoa Joe) defeated Jack Banning, Starboy Charlie & Titus Alexander

**1/4

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Starboy Charlie & Titus Alexander have spent time in Pro Wrestling NOAH recently. Unfortunately, that time in Japan didn’t help them here, as The Opps wrung them out in short order. Poor Tony Schiavone got put on the spot to try and explain what Opps mean. I wouldn’t call that Schiavone’s area of expertise. For those who don’t know, an “opp” is your opposition, basically someone in competition against you. Shibata scored the fall with the Penalty Kick.

Cope was backstage, one night ahead of his AEW World Title match against Jon Moxley. Cope recapped the feud to this point before realizing that Moxley was a coward and a false messiah, only having control over the Death Riders because he’s the World Champion. Cope wanted the Jon Moxley who set the wrestling world on fire when he came into AEW, not the coward he stands in front of now. Cope had been in hundreds of World Title matches and knew this could be his last chance, but there was no expiry on heart or grit. He was going to make this shot count because he had to.

(A solid go-home promo, with Cope putting over his need to win the title on Sunday.)

TBS Champion Mercedes Mone came to the commentary desk with all of her title belts to scout her opponent at Revolution.

Momo Watanabe defeated Serena Deeb

***

Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Down

This was a fine showcase of Watanabe’s hard strikes, as well as making sure the fans know what her finisher is ahead of her title challenge.

Tony Schiavone brought up the match from NJPW Capital Collision last year between Mone & Watanabe, wondering if Watanabe used her International Women’s Cup win to get a measure of revenge on Mone. Deeb won the opening exchange, locking Watanabe in a seated surfboard to Mone’s delight. Watanabe came back with a dropkick to a charging Deeb before scoring with a hesitation dropkick in the corner.

Watanabe landed a few heavy mid kicks before Deeb caught her leg and hit a Dragon Screw. Deeb worked on Watanabe’s leg throughout the commercial break before Watanabe drilled Deeb with a heavy kick. Watanabe landed the Three Amigos, pointing at Mone after the second, before landing a penalty kick for a nearfall.

Deeb locked Watanabe in the Octopus Stretch, but Watanabe escaped and dropped Deeb with a suplex for a nearfall. Billie Starkz was watching from backstage. They traded waistlocks before Deeb scored with a German suplex, and a hammerlock lariat got her a nearfall. Watanabe came back with a running Meteora for a nearfall, but Deeb countered the B Driver into a single leg crab. Watanabe fought out, hit a head kick, then landed the Peach Sunrise suplex for the win.

After the match, Mone got in the ring and piefaced Watanabe with the TBS Title. Watanabe responded with a head kick before dropping Mone with the Meteora. Watanabe stood tall with the TBS Title to end the segment.

We got a recap of the Don Callis Family beatdown of Will Ospreay after his match on Dynamite. In footage from after Dynamite, Will Ospreay said that the pain he felt physically didn’t match the pain he felt mentally. He was spent physically and emotionally ahead of a match he’s never participated in against a man who he cared about. He wore a United Empire armband that he found in his bag in the hopes that Kyle Fletcher would come to his senses seeing that symbol of brotherhood they shared. That wasn’t the case, and a year after Fletcher welcomed Ospreay into AEW, they would be locked in a cage. He still loved Fletcher, but he had to fight, and he would take every knife Fletcher put in his back and cut him with it.

Harley Cameron defeated Tatevik

**

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Tatevik jumped Cameron before the bell and beat her down as the crowd chanted Feel The Wrath. Cameron fought back and landed Her Finishing Move for the win.

Kyle Fletcher was backstage. He said that his favorite thing in the world was dropping people on their heads, and the only things that made it sweeter was looking like he did and doing it to Will Ospreay. Ospreay thought that Fletcher was a stepping stone to the World Title, but Ospreay was the one in the way. He took the United Empire armband off of Ospreay’s arm on Wednesday, as that group was only a vehicle for Ospreay’s ego. The crowd could chant his name all they wanted, but he would paint the canvas with Ospreay’s blood and repay all of the pain Ospreay caused tenfold.

The Undisputed Kingdom (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) defeated The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) (w/ Shane Taylor)

**1/4

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This follow-up from last week just makes it feel like they didn’t want to beat either Daniel Garcia or Adam Cole last week, so they sent in Shane Taylor Promotions to get out of it. It doesn’t feel like that group is in line for any kind of strong push.

Bravo & Strong started, with Strong answering Bravo’s trash talk with a big chop. O’Reilly got driven into the Infantry corner and clubbered on. O’Reilly ducked a corner charge and sent Bravo to the floor before tagging in Strong, who ran wild with backbreakers and dumped Bravo onto Dean as we went to commercial.

Back from the break, Bravo and Dean laid out Strong with a scissor kick into a frog splash for a nearfall. Strong made the tag out to O’Reilly, who ran hot and sent Dean to the floor with the axe and smash strikes. He caught Bravo in a guillotine choke, with Dean making the save by clawing at O’Reilly’s eyes. Strong tagged in and cleared Dean out before hitting the Total Elimination for the win.

Konosuke Takeshita & Don Callis were backstage. Callis refused to allow Kenny Omega to interrupt the ride they were on, and proclaimed Takeshita as the new God of Pro Wrestling. Callis asked how long before Omega’s guts exploded again, and promised that Takeshita wouldn’t just beat Omega again, but would end him.

We got a video of Chris Jericho giving Bryan Keith & Big Bill an ultimatum to step up and start getting the job done. We got footage of The Learning Tree laying out Bandido & his brother Gravity on Ring of Honor this past week. Bandido challenged the Learning Tree to fight them like men before Gravity challenged Jericho to a singles match at Revolution to Bandido’s surprise.

(Gravity vs. Chris Jericho? Alrighty then.)

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley was backstage. He said that himself and Copewere the last of a dying breed, people who were willing to fight for the impossible fantasy that was being a World Champion professional wrestler. They would sacrifice everything for one last chance to play the game. Moxley wanted to respect Cope, but he didn’t get what he was about. He promised to get his hands around Cope’s busted neck and show him the mercy that Cope showed the Death Riders. When Cope hears the sound of his spinal cord cracking, he will know what respect feels like.

Hologram defeated Dralistico

**3/4

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These two started fast before Dralistico hammered Hologram with a chop. Dralistico went after Hologram’s mask, but Hologram sent Dralistico to the floor and hit a torpedo dive. Dralistico cut off another dive with a springboard headscissors before launching over the top rope to Hologram on the floor. Dralistico pinballed Hologram around the ringside barricades before hitting a springboard senton for a nearfall. Dralistico hit a thrust kick in the corner and posed as we went to commercial.

Back from the break, Hologram slid to the floor on an Irish Whip and caught Dralistico with a Spanish Fly on the floor. The two men traded chops and strikes on the apron before Dralistico sent Hologram to the floor with a Frankensteiner. The two got in a forearm battle on the floor but dove in the ring on the count of nine to avoid the countout. Dralistico scored with a springboard Codebreaker for a nearfall.

Hologram came back with a pair of kicks and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. The two traded big moves in the ring before Hologram evaded Dralistico in the corner. Dralistico caught Hologram with a springboard destroyer, but had the count nullified when he tried to pin Hologram with his feet on the ropes. Hologram came back with the Portal Bomb for the win. After the match, The Beast Mortos attacked Hologram and went for the mask before Komander made the save. Komander went to dive on Dralistico, but Dralistico pulled Alex Abrahantes in the way. Mortos dropped Komander and Dralistico sent Abrahantes into the barricade to stand tall.

FTR & Daniel Garcia met with The Undisputed Kingdom backstage. Cash Wheeler said that they didn’t present themselves well last week, but Dax Harwood didn’t apologize and said that his only mistake was stooging himself off to the referee. O’Reilly and Strong challenged FTR to a rematch on Collision next week, which was accepted. Adam Cole stopped Garcia from leaving and said that Garcia knew he deserved a rematch, but he would have to see if Garcia retained tonight to get that rematch. Garcia blew Cole off, saying he had a title to defend.

Lexy Nair’s guests at this time were The Hurt Syndicate. MVP cut off Nair’s question about The Outrunners, saying that while they were entertaining, the Hurt Syndicate were about a different type of entertainment. The crowd was chanting We Hurt People in the background as MVP said the Outrunners were underdogs while Lashley & Benjamin were the top dogs. They would put the underdogs down at Revolution because they hurt people.

(It was very funny seeing MVP try to get heat as the crowd did their chant. The Hurt Syndicate really ought to be babyfaces, as they are one of the most popular acts in the promotion right now. Don’t fight the tide.)

The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) defeated The Premier Athletes (Ariya Daivari & Tony Nese) (w/Mark Sterling)

**1/2

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The Hurt Syndicate are going to kill the Outrunners, and I will enjoy every second of it. Don’t fight the tide, Hurt Syndicate is red hot right now.

FTR vs. Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong was official for next week. The Outrunners cleared the ring before the commercial break, even with Sterling slapping Magnum as the referee was distracted. Chris Jericho vs. Gravity for the ROH World Title was made official for the Zero Hour as we came back from the break. Daivari hit a big splash for a nearfall. The Outrunners ran wild and were loaded up for Total Recall, but The Hurt Syndicate came out for a distraction. The Athletes got a short bit of offense in before the Outrunners came back and finished Total Recall for the win. The champions and challengers stared each other down.

Toni Storm was on the red carpet for the Queen of the Ring premiere when Mariah May laid her out with a punch before getting dragged away by ex-Vice Principal Christopher Daniels.

We got a rundown of the Revolution card, leading to a hype video for MJF vs. Hangman Page. Any Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 players will get a flash of nostalgia at the use of Bullet With A Name by Nonpoint in this video package.

We got dueling promos from MxM Collection & The Conglomeration to hype the Zero Hour match. The Murder Machines were with MxM Collection, having wrestled Cassidy & Briscoe on Dynamite. They were confused by the whole situation.

AEW TNT Title Match – Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Lee Moriarty

**1/4

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Another quality defense for Garcia, as the crowd got into this match with Moriarty despite Moriarty’s lacking record on AEW TV. I’m glad this deal with Garcia, The Kingdom and Shane Taylor Promotions is getting a blowoff at the PPV, even if it’s the Zero Hour, as it makes these last few weeks of TV angles feel like they mattered a bit more.

Matt Menard was on the call in support of Garcia, as always. The two technicians started on the mat, with former Pure Champion Garcia winning the exchange. Moriarty snuck in a cheap shot on a rope break, but Garcia came back with a running boot. Moriarty dropped Garcia on the turnbuckle as he was laying in the ten punches, but Garcia came back with a big dropkick against the barricade.

After a commercial, Moriarty had Garcia in an abdominal stretch that forced the TNT Champion into the ropes. Moriarty focused on Garcia’s midsection before Garcia caught him with a flash pin for a nearfall. Moriarty came back with a crossbody for a nearfall, but Garcia scored with a suplex to get a second of reprieve. Garcia laid in with punches before landing a dropkick and firing up. He hit the ten punches and the Twist N’ Shout neckbreaker for a nearfall.

Garcia landed a high angle Backdrop Driver before bringing Moriarty all the way up and all the way down with a superplex. Garcia tried to score with a piledriver, but his bad arm allowed Moriarty to score with a flip slam for a nearfall. Garcia roared back with a lariat. Moriarty countered a piledriver with a jackknife pin, starting a pinning predicament that ended with both men dropping each other with clotheslines.

Champion and challenger traded strikes before Moriarty dragged Garcia into the Border City Stretch. Garcia transitioned into the Dragon Tamer, but Moriarty clawed at Garcia’s eyes to get him back in the Border City Stretch. Moriarty rolled to the middle of the ring, but Garcia finally got Moriarty up in the piledriver and scored with it to get the win and his sixth defense. After the match, Shane Taylor Promotions circled Garcia before The Undisputed Kingdom chased them off. An eight-man tag was signed for the Revolution Zero Hour, as it would be Daniel Garcia, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, & Kyle O’Reilly vs. all four members of Shane Taylor Promotions.

Overall: Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Down