Cook’s AEW Collision Review 7.30.26

Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the latest edition of AEW Collision on TNT! It’s a special Thursday night episode and Jonothan Hunter isn’t available tonight, so you’re stuck with me. I was curious about when the last time I reviewed an AEW program was since I’m a nerd about stuff like that, turns out it was Battle of the Belts XII on October 19, 2024. Sadly, Anna Jay & Mariah May won’t be main eventing this broadcast with some Hot Girl Graps, but there are some other things on the agenda that look like fun.

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Cook’s AEW Collision Review 7.30.26

We’re in Detroit at the Masonic Temple Theatre! Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness & Paul Wight are our hosts.

It’s The Motor City Machine Guns! Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley are here! They didn’t make us wait long! The fans chant “Motor City” while Sabin & Shelley get microphones. Sabin asks if we really thought they wouldn’t be here. There is no place they would rather be than in the greatest city in the history of modern civilization, that they’ve loved and represented for twenty years. This is where the best wrestle. Shelley asks what up doe. Shelley says in more ways than one they’re home. It’s their immense pleasure to finally say the Motor City Machine Guns are All Elite. There’s a graphic on the screens! RJ City still waiting for his.

Tony, Nigel & Paul talk at the desk. A major announcement for All In is coming up!

AEW Trios Championship Match: The Demand (Ricochet, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) vs. The Rascalz (Myron Reed, Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier): The Rascalz won Mile High Madness five months ago, can they replicate that feat tonight? Ricochet & Wentz start as the fans chant Bald. Some back & forth, leg sweeps traded, Wentz sends Ricochet over to his corner. Ricochet sends Wentz into his partners, then dives onto them on the floor while Liona & Kaun work Wentz over. Kaun sends Wentz down with a throat thrust. Ricochet runs into a boot in the corner and Wentz hits a tornillo. Xavier tags in, hits a cutter. Reed comes in for some double teams. Kaun gets worked over and eventually rolls outside. Wentz with that tornillo again to the floor, Xavier dives, Reed dives, the Rascalz are rolling and the fans are cheering as we go to Picture in Picture!

Xavier gets the best of Ricochet early on but gets sent outside and Kaun whips him into the ring and the barricade. Liona hits a hilo over the ropes and chokes Xavier. Nerve hold! When we go back full screen, Ricochet and Xavier trade suplex attempts and near-falls. Xavier tags Reed, he kicks everybody down. Reed hits an F-5 into a draping DDT on Ricochet, avoids Liona & Kaun and hits a double cutter. Triple superkick to Ricochet, triple dropkick gets two. Liona takes them out, Kaun hits a brainbuster on the floor! Dropkick in the corner, running kick, a cutter by Ricochet gets two on Wentz. The 3 on 1 continues. The triple team gets broken up, Kaun gets kicked outside by Xavier. Reed dives onto everyone on the floor! Wentz with a swanton, Xavier with a 450, Reed gets blocked. Xavier gets a crucifix on Ricochet for two. Xavier gets kneed, sandwiched and then Kaun & Liona hit the T-Gimmick for three.

Winners: The Demand (11:26 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/4
This was really good, but also reminded me why I went on a break from reviewing AEW shows. The action moves a bit fast for me! Trying to take it all in and type about it at the same time is a little much at this point in life. The Demand are a good choice to be champions and should be able to face off with an interesting hodgepodge of contenders. Or lose the belts next week, either way.

Lexy Nair is with The Conglomeration. Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong all put their names into the Continental Cup. They will be doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge live later tonight.

The Continental Cup will culminate at All In with a new Continental Champion. It’ll be a 16 man tournament inspired by the FA Cup in that each round’s matches will be decided by a random draw. Jon Moxley will be a part of the tournament, of course. The Continental Classic will still be taking place in the winter. Nigel says he’ll be entering the Continental Cup as well. This all starts next week on Collision.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Nick Comoroto: There’s a blast from the past! Comoroto with a headbutt targeting Ciampa’s bandaged head. Comoroto chases outside and get stomped in the ring by Ciampa. Lots of stomps. Ciampa pulls his right knee pad down and hits a running knee strike for three.

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa (1:16 via pinfall)
Nice to see Comoroto’s still on the roster. Has he improved any in the years he’s been around? Tonight’s display wouldn’t tell me one way or the other.

Hangman Adam Page tells us that he didn’t expect what happened last night. Brody King shakes his hand and appreciates him having his back. Bandido then appears and expressed the same sentiment. Hangman is trying to figure out what to do with himself, and suggests that they challenge for the Trios Championship next week in Mexico City. Bandido wants to call the team “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”. Brody wants to know which one of them is ugly, no answer is provided.

Alex Windsor, Jamie Hayter & Hazuki vs. Athena, Billie Starkz & Diamante: Athena & Hayter start with some matwork. Athena gets Hayter into the corner and tags Diamante. Hayter takes Diamante into her corner, tags Alex. The Brawling Birds exchange tags and chops on Diamante. Diamante finally gets to her corner and tags Billie. Hazuki tags in, she hits a couple of moves to impress the crowd, then kicks Billie almost out of the ring. Billie tries to tag Athena, Athena ducks away but this leads to a Pier 6 Brawl! Hayter runs into a knee from Athena, then kicks her to the floor. Alex & Billie exchange shots and Billie falls off the ramp to the floor! Hazuki suplexes Diamante on the ramp, Athena suplexes Hayter off the steps to the floor. We go picture in picture! Athena works Hayter over in the ring with some kicks. Diamante tags in and throws some punches. Stomps in the corner by Diamante. Then we go full commercial!

Hazuki gets the tag and goes after all her opponents. Billie gets taken over with a headscissors. All six women are in now and getting suplexed. Windsor with a suplex on Billie. Diamante hits a Chaos Theory on Windsor for two. Billie & Diamante in the corner, Athena joins them and they all eat some strikes. Hazuki sent into Diamante by the Birds for a dropkick! Hazuki crossbody on the floor on Starks. Diamante gets high-lowed for two. Athena breaks the count. Assisted Sliced Bread gets two on Windsor, Hazuki & Athena face off. Athena cartwheels out of the headscissors, some reversals, they trade big shots! Pump kick by Hazuki, Athena with a superkick! Hazuki with a German suplex! Hazuki sent out, Diamante gets hit with the Bloodstone Hart Attack move for the three count!

Winners: Alex Windsor, Jamie Hayter & Hazuki (10:55 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***

Divine Dominion come down to attack the Birds while Athena, Billie & Diamante target Hazuki. The Birds get bodyslammed on the stage while Athena poses with the fallen Hazuki.

Grand Slam Mexico will feature Divine Dominion & Mercedes Mone vs. Brawling Birds & Willow Nightingale, along with Kyle Fletcher vs. Speedball Mike Bailey.

Ricochet accepts the challenge from earlier. Jay Lethal promises to crush Komander and his dreams later tonight.

Orange, Roderick & Kyle sit in a kiddie pool for the ALS Icebucket Challenge. Detroit wrestling heroes Rhino & the Insane Clown Posse are out to dump the water! Arkady Aura gives the countdown and the water is poured. Rebel Heart Dynamite takes place on September 9, and the fans chant “Rebel”.

Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Pac & Wheeler Yuta w/Marina Shafir) vs. Bang Bang Gang (Ace Austin, Juice Robinson, Austin & Colten Gunn): Yuta gets yelled at by the crowd early on while Austin Gunn faces off with him. Colten tags in for a double team, then Juice comes in for a running senton. Pac tags in and goes on the defensive right away. Ace tags in and hits a dropkick. Pac up top, he & Yuta end up on Ace’s shoulders for a squat and a Samoan drop! OK, didn’t know Ace had it like that. Pac takes Ace to the corner, then the Riders take Ace’s partners out and repeatedly hit him in the corner. The Death Riders take control as we go picture in picture. Mox chokes Ace on the apron, then Shafir rakes away at Ace’s face. Claudio with some stomps in the corner. Yuta tags in and hits a chop before kicking away at Ace. Ace fires back before getting dropkicked. Pac tags in and chokes Ace with his foot before tagging Yuta back in.

We go back full screen and Yuta has a submission in. Ace gets kicked onto the apron, Mox & Pac hit a double team backbreaker that results in a two. Ace finally escapes a resthold and Colten tags in. Claudio gets dropkicked down. Yuta gets dropped for a two count. Mox breaks up the Famouser, a Yuta rollup gets two. Juice hits a crossbody on Yuta for two. Austin gets uppercutted by Claudio, then Claudio gets dropped by the Gunns. Pac with a release German on Austin, Colten hits the Famouser. Mox sends Colten outside and dives onto him. Ace kicks Mox, hits a Fosbury flop onto Mox on the floor! Juice with some jabs for Yuta. Yuta bites the head, he goes for the O’Connor roll but Juice rolls through and gets the three count!

Winners: Bang Bang Gang (11:17 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
The Death Riders actually losing one of these surprised me a bit. I’m sure they’ve lost some of these matches before and people will list them for me, but it felt like a big deal that they lost here. The lack of Jay White is a bit concerning, hopefully he’ll be back sometime soon.

Juice gets attacked right after. The Dogs come out and target Juice, then the Motor City Machine Guns appear! Death Riders gather themselves on the floor, Mox decides they should leave even though Marina really wants to attack them. The Dogs try to attack MCMG & the Gunns take care of that. Bang Bang Gang & MCMG kind of ride the line of being friends or not, Sabin shakes one of their hands, Shelley doesn’t.

Tommaso Ciampa tells us about how he went through hell with the Painmaker and survived. His eyes are on the Casino Gauntlet at All In, and he will face Andrade next week at Grand Slam Mexico for the #1 spot.

Kris Statlander vs. Aurora Teves: Kris will face Persephone next week at Grand Slam Mexico. Teves with some kicks before getting taken down. Delayed suplex by Statlander, uppercut in the corner and a knee. Staturday Night Fever ends the match rather quickly.

Winner: Kris Statlander (1:28 via pinfall)
This was here to tell us that Kris Statlander has a match next week.

Lexy is with Kyle Fletcher & Mike Bailey to talk about their match next Wednesday. Kyle says he’s the best in the world and has nothing to prove to Mike. Mike says that Kyle won’t be at his best until he’s away from Don Callis. Kyle kicks Mike down and is quite upset at him. So upset, in fact, that Mike rolls onto the stage and gets kicked down the ramp. Mike avoids the belt shot, hits a kick before getting kicked by Kyle. They work a match in their street clothes now. Mike goes for the spin kick and Kyle ducks outside so Mike can pose with the International Championship.

Kevin Knight issues a challenge towards former champions for a trios match next week with Okada, Hechicero & himelf.

Komander vs. Jay Lethal: Imagine how many title matches Komander will get if he can actually win a match here! He might main event a PPV! Tony will reveal the Continental Cup field on YouTube tomorrow night with Tony Khan. Lethal works the arm to keep Komander from flying. Komander blocks Lethal’s strikes, Lethal goes for the figure 4, Komander rolls him up for two. Komander with an arm drag, then he walks the ropes and has to drop down because Lethal gets back in the ring. Lethal sent outside, Komander hits the springboard moonsault. We go picture in picture. Lethal sends Komander into the ringpost. Back into the ring, Lethal mounts and punches Komander. Finally we go full commercial.

Komander firing back with some kicks as we return. 619 to Lethal’s ribs, then a crossbody gets two. Komander evades Lethal, they exchange kicks, Lethal hits his Combination and heads up top. Hail to the King! Lethal hits the elbowdrop for two. Lethal with some chops in the corner. Komander runs from Lethal and gets him into a 450 for two. Well, it looked better than the clip I saw last night, premise is still kinda dumb. Lethal propped on the ropes, Komander ranas him to the mat before going up top and hitting the shooting star press for three!

Winner: Komander (7:59 shown via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
I thought Lethal did a good job of basing for Komander while reigning him in a bit.

Komander gets to join the match for the #1 spot in the Casino Gauntlet at All In now. He’ll face Andrade & Ciampa at Grand Slam Mexico!

Will Ospreay vs. Daniel Garcia: Jon Moxley joins commentary for the main event. Marina is there to hold his belt. Garcia avoids Will’s kick and goes outside. They run around for awhile. Will finally lands a chop on Garcia, and another one. Lots of chops on the outside to please the kids. Garcia goes to the throat, then gets ranaed to the floor. Will dives onto Garcia on the floor. Mistico, Chris Jericho & Darby Allin will accept Kevin Knight’s challenge next week. Ospreay will take on Mark Davis, but right now he’s got Garcia. Daniel drops him with a draping DDT on the floor, Will’s in a bad way as we go picture in picture. Daniel sends Will into the barricade headfirst. He does it again on the other side of the ring. Will gets sent back into the ring after some teased dancing by Daniel. Sliding kick gets two for Daniel.

Back to full screen and they’re working some submissions on the mat. Daniel maintains the advantage. Handspring into a flipping kick by Ospreay. Twisting splash by Will gets two while Mox is super excited about Nigel entering the tournament. Will hits a couple of big moves. Strikes are exchanged, Will with a couple of big kicks, Daniel flips out of a powerbomb and locks in a guillotine. Back into a sleeper, then a piledriver on that neck! Will kicks out at two. Daniel talks some smack and tells Will to get up. Will finally fires back and knocks Garcia out. Daniel avoids the Hidden Blade and locks in the Dragon Tamer! Daniel switches into a bulldog choke. Will drives Daniel into the corner, Daniel back to the sleeper, he blocks the Os Cutter and locks in a choke! Will’s eyes bug out but he’s still hanging on. Will takes that elbow pad off, slips out of the choke and hits the Hidden Blade for three!

Winner: Will Ospreay (13:18 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/2
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a Daniel Garcia main event match. They happened a bunch a few years ago and were mostly just like this one. He never had a chance of winning but people still seemed entertained. Will got to do a lot of his stuff and I like the fact that it took just one Hidden Blade to win it. Other reviewers insist on four or five Hidden Blades, one does the trick for me. A good showcase for Ospreay on his way to Wembley.

Ospreay wanders around ringside after, then Mark Davis attacks! He tries to powerbomb Will, Will gets out of it, but RPG Vice are here to help. Davis piledrives Ospreay on the floor! They take Will to the ring and Davis rams a chair into him. Davis says there’s no one coming to save him and rears back with the chair. Will kicks to avoid the chairshot and swings it at Davis as they escape. Will says that if Mark wanted to bring weapons in, all he had to do was ask. He needs to show everyone that there’s no hesitation left. Will suggests a Mexico City Street Fight for next week, and tells Davis to do or die. Ospreay’s music plays and he sits in the chair to face Davis & RPG Vice as our live event comes to an end. So long for now!

If you’d like to chime in with your own thoughts on tonight’s show, feel free to join your fellow 411 Maniacs down in the comment section! As the legendary Larry Csonka always said: Have fun and don’t be a dick. When I’m not here you can catch me on social media from time to time. To be honest, e-mail is a better option and you can reach me at [email protected]. I’ll be more likely to respond there.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

This didn't have the buzz of last night's Dynamite show that had everyone raving but was still a real solid night of wrestling action. Sabin & Shelley are good additions to AEW, would have been even better a year or so ago but I doubt they've lost much of a step. The in-ring action was good and they built a solid card for next week's Dynamite in Mexico. My next review is of another show that took place in Mexico, I'll see ya then!