wrestling / TV Reports
Sambus’ AEW Collision Review 02.07.26
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Hey all! It’s Theo Sambus on hand for 411’s live coverage of Collision tonight, this time coming to you taped from Las Vegas earlier in the week. And it’s another week with quite the lineup, featuring Tommaso Ciampa making his first defense of the TNT title in a triple threat against Claudio Castagnoli and Roderick Strong. Battle of the ROH alumni! We’ll also see the Young Bucks take on Gates of Agony, plus thoughts from MJF after THAT massive loss to Brody King on Dynamite. And things are going to get wild as we have the 8-man Parking Lot Fight, where the team of Eddie Kingston, Ortiz and the Rascalz go up against the Grizzled Young Veterans, Big Bill & Bryan Keith. AEW’s Parking Lot Fights have been bloody and brutal affairs so we can probably expect this one to get a little crazy. Let’s go!
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Venue: Pearl Theater at the Palms
Commentators: Excalibur & Tony Schiavone
*We are live-to-tape from Las Vegas, and after our opening credits Arkady Aura welcomes the Young Bucks to the ring for our opening contest, where the winners will earn a spot in the Number One Contenders tag team three-way this coming week on Dynamite.
[Number One Contenders Match Qualifier] Young Bucks vs Gates of Agony
Liona and Matt Jackson start this off, with Liona showing his strength in the early goings. Liona does push-ups to show he isn’t even breaking a sweat. Nick Jackson in, runs into a body slam. Liona misses an elbow drop, Matt gets a blind tag, and the Bucks hit stereo dropkicks. Assisted sliced bread and a running knee strike connect as the Bucks take control. Both Bucks dive to the outside but are both caught on opposite sides of the ring, and GoA run them into each other. Back inside, double shoulder block knocks Matt down. The Gates apply a double nerve hold to him, so Nick comes in and slaps them on the head, and that gets their attention. Nick hits the elevated double dropkick and now the Bucks prepare for a dive. Tope con hilo, CAUGHT, GoA tosses Nick right back into Matt! Running senton to Matt on the apron, and Kaun follows up with a basement dropkick to send Matt flying.
Kaun catapults Matt into a biiiig headbutt from Liona, and covers for a 2 count. Matt Jackson escapes with a dropkick from the middle rope as the crowd rally behind him, but Liona knocks Nick off the apron to prevent the tag. Kaun drives Matt back into the GoA corner, and they continue the assault. Matt hits a blockbuster on Liona to the floor, slides through the legs of Kaun and makes the tag! Nick Jackson with back elbows and a running knee followed by a bulldog to Kaun. Running kick on the apron to Liona, X-factor and the moonsault connect, smooth as butter! Crossbody off the top, 1, 2, no. 15% kicks to Liona, stomp to the back of the head and the backstabber to Kaun. Opposite corners, the Bucks go up top….elbow drop/swanton combo, stereo pins, 1, 2, no. Liona sends Matt into the corner to block the More Bang for your Buck, and stacks both Bucks on his shoulders. Double Samoan Drop! Kaun crossbodies to take both Bucks out on the floor. LIONA WITH A MOONSAULT OFF THE APRON and my God he landed on his head…Bucks kinda caught him so I don’t think he hurt himself, somehow! Back in the ring, assisted cutter by GoA gets the 1, 2, NO, kickout! Open the Gates attempt, Matt knocks their heads together though. Kaun sweeps the legs of Matt, but Matt avoids an apron senton. Nick tags in, leaps to the buckles for the twisting dive. BTE Trigger avoided but they get Kaun into position and hit it. Liona breaks up the pin though! Matt tries a guillotine DDT, can’t get it until Nick superkicks the leg, allowing Matt to complete the DDT. TK Driver connects! 1, 2, 3!
Winners: The Young Bucks
Time: 13:54
Rating: ***1/2 – It’s semi-rare to see the Bucks on a Saturday night, and they made sure to shine here. Couple of off/telegraphed moments don’t take away too much, even Liona almost killing himself on that moonsault to the floor. Great sequence towards the end with the action coming hot and fast. Excalibur said the Bucks were almost rewinding the clock here, and it sure felt like it.
*Backstage, Big Stoke and FTR appear to address the Bucks. Stoke can’t believe in 2026 the Bucks think they can be champions. They want their boy Omega to be champion, they all want their moment and they want to relive the good ol’ days, but that’s the thing, they’re the old days. Dax says the Bucks have been chasing FTR’s legacy. What separates them is that FTR are 11 time World champions. He hopes the Bucks advance as he’d love to give them one more loss to remind them that the Bucks are good but they’re not “FTR good”.
*Brody King did what he said he was going to do and earned his title shot in Australia. It’s the biggest win of his career…until next week at Grand Slam.
*Renee Paquette is in the ring, ready to welcome the Women’s World champion, Kris Statlander.
Statlander makes her way out, and she’ll be facing Thekla for the World title in a rematch this coming week on Dynamite. Renee says she’s able to pick the stipulation – but WAIT, Thekla is here! Thekla hits the SPEAR and here’s the rest of the Triangle of Madness to hold Statlander on the canvas, allowing Thekla to whip her with a strap. I SMELL FOREBODING!
Thekla takes the mic and says she doesn’t care what the stipulation is. She keeps whipping her as she speaks. Thekla says the result will always be the same. Thekla reminds us that it will be Toxic. Ummm where’s the save? Willow and Harley are shit friends, jus’ saying!
Statlander takes the mic, still on the mat, and calls her a stupid bitch. Now, Thekla gets to meet STRAPLANDER. Wednesday, Kris and Thekla…STRAP MATCH. And it’s made official!
*Lexy Nair is with Kyle Fletcher backstage, where Kyle has made it very clear he wants the TNT title, and yet he didn’t answer the open challenge. Fletcher doesn’t respect what Ciampa’s doing…and here comes Kazuchika Okada, who says they are family, and he cares about his success. He wants Fletcher to walk into Australia as the TNT champion. He needs to make it clear that Fletcher is next, so he can take it back and be a champion…like him. Okada steps back into shot to say….PROTOKADAAAA! Nice.
Scorpio Sky (w/ Christopher Daniels) vs Kevin Knight (w/ Speedball Mike Bailey)
Fans chant SCU at Sky and Daniels, so Knight retorts that that’s all in the past. They lockup as we hear that Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega will have a face to face interview this week on Dynamite. Sky reverses some wrist control but Knight flips out of it and drops a knee to the elbow. Shoulder block from Sky connects but Knight avoids a stomp. Sky shows he’s still just as athletic as Knight by kipping up, and then they devolve into a chopping contest. Sky gets crotched on the top rope and Knight kicks him to the floor. He climbs back to the apron, and Knight hits a no-hands leaping lariat over the top rope! Sliding shoulder block connects, and Knight covers for a 2 count. Sky with a hard whip into the corner, and he stomps Knight down as we cut to commercial.
Back from break, Knight hits his leaping lariat in the middle of the ring, nails a scoop slam but eats knees on the splash. Sky with a rebound lariat, back elbow, and a Sky High! 1, 2, NO. Knight springboards in, gets caught with a cut-throat backbreaker combo. Fisherman buster attempt, Knight reverses into a rollup for 2. Backslide, no, leaping DDT connects! Knight covers, 1, 2, NO. Knight heads up to the top, Sky meets him there and hits a superplex. Double pin! 1, 2, no. Knight eats a boot in the corner but comes back with a hurracanrana to take Sky off the buckles. Flying lariat! He’s back up top, and this time Knight connects with the UFO Splash! 1, 2, 3!
Winner: Kevin Knight
Time:11:46
Rating: ***1/4 – Knight is doing such good work in these singles matches, growing his stock each time. I like that we’re slowly getting to see more of his in-ring personality too, as he was having a little fun at Sky’s expense here which was neat. Lovely to see a more extended match from Scorpio Sky too. Good stuff.
*Knight and Sky shake hands after the match in a show of sportsmanship.
*HOOK, on the streets, says it’s obvious, he’s in a different position to just a few weeks ago. He confirms Samoa Joe is out injured, but while he’s out recovering, HOOK is the defacto leader of the Opps. He’s a born leader, a born winner, he inspires people. You’re looking at the boss of the Opps.
*MINA IS HERE!!
Mina Shirakawa vs Viva Van
We see footage from Windy City Riot in 2024 where these two last faced off in tag action. Van flips out of an armlock, and she mocks the Mina shimmy. Slingblade connects from Shirakawa! Reverse DDT attempt, Viva powers her way out of it and delivers some knees to the chest. Duelling chants from the crowd! Snapmare from Van, and she applies a strait-jacket submission but Mina won’t give up. Mina stands up and counters with an arm drag. Van slowly flips over Mina from the apron and walks into a strike combination from Mina. Van misses a pump kick and Mina hyper extends the leg. Torneo back into the ring, 1, 2, no. Mina bashes the knee into the canvas repeatedly and signals for the Figure Four. Van kicks her away and delivers some chops. Cartwheel kick takes Shirakawa down, cover, 1, 2, no. Shirakawa runs at her in the corner, gets planted on the buckles, and eventually hits a Slingblade from the top. Roaring elbow strike, roundhouse kick and the Uraken misses! But then she hits another, rolls through into a Figure Four. Viva Van taps.
Winner: Mina Shirakawa
Time: 5:41
Rating: *1/2 – Viva Van was going in slow motion here for the vast majority of this match, not a great showing from her here at all. It’s a Mina sighting so I won’t complain too much!
*Marina Shafir shows up before Mina has even left, and Wheeler Yuta is with her as they prepare for mixed tag action. Good flow here, going right into the next match.
*Jon Moxley joins the commentary desk for this one.
Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta vs Zayda Steel & Dante Martin
Dante dives to the floor to take out Yuta, leaving Steel and Shafir battling in the ring. Kick to the midsection takes Steel down. Marina ties Zayda up into a pretzel and spanks her! Steel counters and has a sleeper hold but Shafir gets to her feet. Cradle from Steel gets a 2 count. Modified spinebuster by Shafir! Dante gets booted to the floor by Marina, she ain’t taking no prisoners! Dante tries to get back on the apron but she keeps running him off. Yuta in, and he grabs Steel! But here’s Martin to put a stop to that. Springboard dropkick gets a 2. Dante goes for another springboard move but Shafir holds the boot allowing Yuta to capitalize. German, bridging pin, 1, 2, Martin kicks out.
Marina takes Steel off the apron, as Yuta beats down Martin in the corner. Snap suplex connects, and Yuta follows up with a second rope elbow drop. Martin with a sunset flip reversal, but Yuta comes back with a shotgun dropkick. Yuta bends the elbow back and stomps on it, Danielson-style. Chops in the corner, Yuta sits Dante on the top turnbuckle and rakes the back. Dante slaps him down and hits a flipping senton to create some space. Hammer and anvil elbows from Yuta as Shafir once again takes Steel off the apron. Strikes back and forth, Yuta spills to the floor, and now Martin makes the tag to Steel. Louise Thesz Press from Steel! Yuta tries to interfere with Steel but she slaps him away. Crossbody by Steel, Shafir rolls through and picks her up, slams her down and locks in the Mother’s Milk. Busaiku Knee from Yuta to Martin! Steel is out.
Winners: Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta
Time: 9:20
Rating: **1/2 – Not the wildest or most engaging match but I appreciated it not being a total squash, for Steel & Martin’s sake. Probably didn’t need to be almost 10 minutes though.
*Post-match, Yuta grabs some clippers and he’s going to cut Martin’s hair, thinks better of it…and then grabs Zayda Steel’s hair!! But HERE COMES TONI STORM AND ORANGE CASSIDY! Storm has scissors and almost gets to take a chunk out of Yuta’s hair before they bail.
*Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor are drinking in a quiet bar, and some guy rocks up to try and flirt with them. They bash his head into the counter and it dawns on them what their name should be…the Brawling Birds. Well that sounds like a standard night out in Essex, England, so sure, that works.
*After Dynamite, MJF is screaming that Hangman is going to get handled. He prays to God that Hangman beats Andrade so that he can GET HIS. MJF says Andrade may be bringing the Latino Heat, but MJF is going to lay down the Hebrew Hammer. MJF wants to explain that tonight was a fluke. If it wasn’t for the crooked cowboy, Brody King wouldn’t have had a prayer. King doesn’t stand a chance. MJF’s back is up against the wall, and that’s when the devil is at his most dangerous. At Grand Slam he will make King his bitch.
Thekla vs Brittnie Brooks
Thekla is cool, calm and collected before dropping Brooks with an elbow. She hits the spider pose, nails the spear and covers for the 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Thekla
Time: 39 seconds.
Rating: N/R – We saw Thekla beating the hell out of the World champion earlier, so of course this was to keep her looking strong in the run up to the World title shot next week.. Perfectly done.
*The Sisters of Sin are back to hold Brooks down, and Thekla grabs the strap once more. She whips the heck out of Brooks and signals for the belt, beforhitting the spider pose OVER the fallen carcus of Brooks.
*Jon Moxley in a video package says he doesn’t believe in failure, he believes in iteration. Eventually, he will success again. Takeshita is not the same fresh faced kid from DDT of a few years ago. He’s evolved. In Sydney, it will be both men at their absolute best. Both chasing the dragon, but only one will find it.
*We cut to the parking lot as a car pulls up beeping its horn, and it’s the car with Kingston, Ortiz et all and immediately on!
[8-man Parking Lot Fight] Grizzled Young Veterans, Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs Eddie Kingston, Ortiz & The Rascalz
The parking lot appears to be on top of the mall, this is a pretty damn cool visual looking out on Las Vegas! Trash can shots galore. Bill misses a big boot and kicks a wing mirror off a car, He grabs a brick and throws it through a window, narrowly avoiding Wentz. Ortiz smashes the car bonnet on Gibson and hits a back suplex into it. Hot Fire Flame off the car, damn! Big Bill grabs Ortiz, swings him into a limo and slams him on the boot. Bill grabs Xavier and presses him, throwing him over the limo! Kingston charges in but gets booted. Drake and Wentz slug it out. Gibson tosses Ortiz onto the hood of a car. Drake drives a rod into the forehead of Ortiz. Gibson screams at Kingston that this is what he wanted.
Back from a break, Xavier has a hammer and goes to hit Keith but Keith has one of his own and smacks Xavier in the arm with it! The limo door opens and there;’s a lot of smoke. Xavier and Wentz are in the back of the limo with Keith, no doubt up to SHENANIGANS. Kingston goes wild with a kendo stick haha. Bill puts a stop to that Bryan Keith emerges from the limo coughing, and and Wentz calls him a light weight. Xavier with a shooting star press off the limo! Double superkicks from the Rascalz. Kendo stick shot to Drake. The Rascals are on top of a car with Drake but Bill pulls them off. Big Bill goozles Wentz, chokeslam into the windshield, and we get a view from within the car showing the glass shattering. Eddie comes in taking it to Gibson. Kingston and Ortiz nail a suplex on Big Bill on the limo. Hahaha Eddie Kingston: “OH GOD THAT SUCKED.”
Kingston and Ortiz now tee off against Gibson and Drake, with all four men coming to blows. Low blows from GYV! Gibson has the scarf to choke out Eddie. Gibson says this is how it started and this is how it will end. Ortiz comes from behind to choke them out, but Isla Dawn shows up to crack him over the head with drywall. Dawn has a pipe as GYV hold him back. But Myron Reed is here to swanton onto them. Dawn takes a shot at him, so he picks her up and shoves her in the boot of a car. Ortiz powerbombs Drake onto the hood of a car. Eddie Kingston with a DDT to Gibson on top of a car. 1, 2, 3.
Winners: Eddie Kingston, Ortiz, & The Rascalz
Time: 12:29
Rating: *** – At face value, sure, it’s basically a bunch of weapon shots and slamming each other into cars, but it didn’t go too long and was fun for what it was. Pretty even in terms of who got to shine; The Rascalz are obviously the new kids on the block and they got to impress with a little high-flying offense as well as furthering their 420 gimmick so it all works out. I will say, it looked awesome having the Vegas strip skyline in the background.
*Kingston’s team tend to their wounds as held each other to their feet. Kingston tells Wentz they won as he pulls him out of the windshield. Together, all four walk off arm-in-arm.
*Lexy Nair speaks to Roderick Strong, and Strong says lately things haven’t gone the way he expected. That’s why he answered the TNT Open Challenge. Mark Briscoe shows up and says he totally gets it, and it’s going to be a great match tonight. Briscoe believes Strong has what it takes to become champion…just like he believes he can become champion again when he gets a rematch opportunity. Briscoe wishes his fellow Conglomeration friend good luck for the match, and Strong appreciates it…but reminds him that he’s not in the Conglomeration.
[AEW TNT Championship] Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs Claudio Castagnoli vs Roderick Strong
I love that Castagnoli comes out with a mask on now as the CMLL champion, such a neat little touch. Perhaps interestingly, Strong enters wearing a plain black tshirt, no logo or anything. Hot start with Roddy immediately going to Claudio. Ciampa sends Castagnoli to the floor, allowing Strong and Ciampa to come face to face. Chop battle, and Ciampa tosses Strong to the outside right on top of Castagnoli, but Claudio catches him! Castagnoli tosses him aside, and now it’s Castagnoli and Ciampa going blow for blow. Uppercut from Claudio, big boot from Ciampa. Met with a dropkick from Strong! And Castagnoli takes him down with a lariat. Claudio stacks them up in the corner to hit some running uppercuts. Strong takes over with stries, but no, here’s Ciampa to take both men out with a reverse DDT and flatliner! HARD slaps and chops from Ciampa and Castagnoli now. Claudio looks for a double suplex on both men, they put the brakes on and work together to suplex Claudio themselves. Roddy gets Ciampa on the apron…Claudio sweeps the legs and gets him on his shoulders, but Strong with a basement dropkick kicks them both away. Strong tries to backbreaker Castagnoli onto the barricade, Castagnoli counters and delivers a gourdbuster to the guard rail. Ciampa tries to hit a running kick to Castagnoli, but Claudio catches him and PRESSES HIM ABOVE HIS HEAD, dropping him to the announce table! Seriously, he just pressed him up mid-run, Claudio is so damn strong!
Little battling into the crowd, Claudio hits a stomp on Strong and then returns to the ring to tackle Ciampa. Neck crank on the TNT champion, targeting the SuRgIcAlLy RePaIrEd NeCk! He drops the hold to turn his attention back to Strong, continuing to take him out on the outside. Uppercuts from Castagnoli to Ciampa, and he goes for the superplex from the apron, but Ciampa blocks it and lands on the turnbuckle. Strong cuts him off with a mat return! And Strong meets Ciampa with a dropkick, tiger driver! 1, 2, NO! Straight into the Stronghold! But here’s Castagnoli, big boot…Strong won’t let go though! Oh, uppercut did it, that floored him. Castagnoli delivers a double suplex to both Strong and Ciampa as we get the call that 10 minutes have passed. Running uppercut from Castagnoli on the outside, but Ciampa meets him with Widow’s Bell! Underhook driver, like an Angel’s Wings! Ciampa drops the kneepad, runs in, but Castagnoli catches him for the Big Swing! Strong is for the running knee! Pop-up uppercut to Strong, Claudio covers, 1, 2, NO. Rising knee, and again, Strong covers Castagnoli, 1, 2, CIAMPA WITH A KNEE OUT OF NOWHERE!!! 1, 2, 3!
Winner and STILL AEW TNT Champion: Tommaso Ciampa
Time: 11:40
Rating: **** – Oh yeah, give me this every week! Playing the triple threat stipulation to a tee, these guys kept the pace up for the entirety of the match, with no weak link. Timing on that finish (and the camera work to boot!) was absolutely glorious. Ciampa’s reign is off to a tremendous start.
*PROTOSTAR! Kyle Fletcher makes his way out before Tommaso Ciampa has much of a chance to celebrate. Fletcher enters the ring and grabs the TNT title, taking a good long look at it. He passes it back to Ciampa, and Ciampa clutches it tightly to his chest. Fletcher grabs a mic and asks how it feels to be All Elite. Fletcher asks how it feels to know Ciampa will never fill his shoes. They haven’t bee introduced yet – he is the greatest TNT champion of all time. The Protostar Kyle Fletcher. He was more than happy to take the title back off that delinquent Mark Briscoe, but Ciampa has thrown a spanner in the works. He wants to walk into his home country one week from tonight as the TNT champion and get the heroes welcome he desires. Next week on Dynamite, for the first time ever…Fletcher vs Ciampa for the TNT championship.
Ciampa holds up the title and kisses him on the cheek. Fletcher says to wait a second. Ciampa came here because it’s where the best wrestle? Next week, Ciampa finds out what the best looks like. Ooooof, Ciampa vs Fletcher, sign me the heck up. That’s all folks! I’ll see you next week for Grand Slam Australia!
