AEW Collision is back inside the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday.
Mark Briscoe defending the TNT Championship against Hechicero of the Don Callis Family is set for the show. Hechicero earned the title shot by defeating Komander on last week’s episode, following interference by fellow Don Callis Family member El Clon.
Also scheduled for Saturday, Komander will have a chance at revenge for what happened last week when he wrestles El Clon in singles action.
Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, and Harley Cameron, who collectively hold every AEW women’s title available, will wrestle in a trios bout on the show. Their opponents have been announced as Hyan, Maya World & VertVixen.
Saturday’s show will be the second of four upcoming AEW Collisions scheduled for the Esports Stadium in Arlington. Next week’s Collision will take place in Phoenix, but AEW returns to the venue on January 24 and 31 to close out its residency.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
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The Death Riders (PAC, Daniels Garcia, Wheeler Yuta (w/ Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir) vs. Sky Flight (Scorpio Sky, Dante Martin, & Darius Martin) (w/ Christopher Daniels and Zayda Steel)
Jon Moxley joined the commentary desk, and he said he was offended that Sky Flight thought they could compete with the Death Riders. He did acknowledge that they are good enough to beat anyone at any time, but that the Death Riders are a different animal from everyone else. Darius Martin showed some fast offence, hitting an arm drag on Daniel Garcia. Sky tagged in and continued the attack on Garcia’s arm, but PAC tried to change the momentum by running into the ring and knocking both Martin brothers from the apron allowing Garcia to turn Sky around and tag out to PAC.
As the Death Riders got the heat during the break, Tony Schiavone noted that with the Don Callis Family expanding, was there going to be new members of the Death Riders? Moxley said that the Callis Family had 216 members, and that he thought the Opps Dojo was charging $49.99 a month for new members, while the Death Riders is a very high bar to clear, and they are more focused on quality instead of quantity.
Yuta hit a nice delayed vertical suplex on Dante Martin. Moxley noted that Yuta’s strength is increasing, and he is starting to throw people around the ring. The crowd really hated Yuta, and popped huge when Dante Martin hit a back suplex on Yuta, but Yuta and Garcia hit a double team move to drop Martin and tagged out to PAC, but Dante Martin hit a dropkick and tagged out to his brother.
Darius Martin tagged in and hit a standing Spanish Fly and a tope on Garcia on the floor. Moxley marvelled, asking where they came up with that stuff, as Darius Martin hit a capture fisherman suplex for a 2-count. Marina Shafir and Zayda Steel argued on the apron, but it did not stop Sky Flight from their offence, as Scorpio Sky and Dante Martin hit dives onto PAC and Garcia. Darius Martin sent Yuta crashing into Shafir and hit a cutter on Yuta for a 2-count. Shafir distracted Martin, getting a measure of revenge, allowing Yuta to low blow Martin and tag out so all 3 men started crushing Martin in the corner. PAC and Yuta crisscrossed in the middle of the ring as Garcia choked Martin out. Yuta did a flip dive to the floor, but Dante Martin did not get up to catch him, so Yuta just flipped and landed on his feet on the floor and started stomping on Dante Martin. PAC hit Darius Martin with lariat for the pinfall.
Result: Death Riders defeated Sky Flight
–After the match, Marina Shafir and Zayda Steel faced off, but Megan Bayne came down and attacked Steel, hitting a running Liger Bomb to lay her out.
–The Conglomeration were backstage, and Roderick Strong loudly announced he was not with them, but that he was not done with the Don Callis Family. Mark Briscoe cut a promo about all the success of the Conglomeration, ignoring Strong, and Orange Cassidy nodded along as Briscoe called out Hechicero. Cassidy and Briscoe tried to say the same thing at the same time (When two or more conglomerates are in the same place, you have a full conglomeration), and Orange just says, “Yep.” Hilarious and awesome promo.
Brody King vs. Barrett Brown
Brody King crushed poor Barret Brown in about 15 seconds.
Result: Brody King defeated Barrett Brown
–Bandido came out to celebrate with Brody King, and the announcers noted that as Bandido faces MJF on Wednesday, if he wins the AEW World Championship, he promised to give a shot to King.
–Josh Alexander was walking around backstage as Lance Archer was murdering random backstage crew members, noting that Don Callis was still in Japan celebrating with Kazuchika Okada for his victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi. Alexander also said that Hechicero would be taking the TNT title to the family later tonight. Notably, Alexander did not talk about Konosuke Takeshita losing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Yota Tsuji. Good promo from Josh Alexander here.
El Clon vs. Komander
This match started fast with quick lucha counters, arm drags, and pinfall attempts. The action did not stop, and was a bit hard to recap as they kept doing amazing things. Komander ran up the ropes, did a twisting dive, and landed in a hurricanrana. Komander tried a tope suicida, but Clon caught him used the momentum of the dive to dump him on the entrance ramp. Clon hit a vertical suplex on the ramp as they went to an ad break.
Clon choked Komander on the ropes as they came back from the ad break, and Clon hit a hard chop on Komander. The announcers told the story of the break, with Clon sending Komander crashing into the steps. Komander managed to hit a dropkick to the knee of Clon before hitting a DDT that dropped him. Komander hit some hard chops of his own followed by a superkick. Komander hit a poisonrana on Clon after an exchange I don’t really know how to describe.
Komander went to run across the ropes to hit a dive on Clon, but El Clon moved away. Instead of letting that deter him, Komander decided to hop down, run across the ring, and hit a spring board into a moonsault on El Clon. Komander went for his rope walk shooting star press, but El Clon dodged and cut him off. El Clon went for Hologram’s Portal Bomb, but Komander turned it into a Canadian Destroyer for a 2-count. El Clon hit Made in Japan and then his own Portal Bomb for the pinfall finish.,
Result: El Clon defeated Komander
This was a spectacular match. If Komander was pushed better on AEW TV, this would have been an even hotter match, but the crowd was very into it nonetheless. Fantastic match.
–A recap of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom aired, hightlighting Okada and Tanahashi, primarily, but also noting Tsuji and Takeshita. They also showed many members of the AEW roster coming out to celebrate Tanahashi’s retirement. They wanted to make the match between Okada and Tanahashi look epic, and it was, so they did an excellent job recapping it.
Mina Shirakawa vs. Lady Frost
Mina Shirakawa was given flowers by a staff member, apparently indicating she has as secret admirer. Lady Frost superkicked Shirakawa, but faced a a twisting splash from Shirakawa soon thereafter. Frost dodged a corner attack and hit a hand spring into a cannonball. Frost hit a kick and went for another handspring, but Shirakawa hit a big forearm and a spinning backfist before locking on the figure four leglock, leading to Frost tapping out.
Result: Mina Shirakawa defeated Lady Frost
–In the post match, Shirakawa looked at the flowers and said, “Who?” but then announced, “I love flowers!” as she left with them.
–Mercedes Mone was seen backstage sitting in front of a mirror with the cake from Dynamite in her hair. She was furious and said that she held the TBS title for over 500 days because she was the best, and it was not a fluke. She said that no matter what happens, she is the greatest, and she is sick and tired of being disrespected, so she is taking a break from AEW for a time, and that when she is coming back, she is coming for more than just titles. I suspect we are going to see Mercedes travel to a few indie promotions to drop the rest of her titles before coming back to take the AEW Women’s World Championship.
Mark Briscoe vs. Hechicero for the TNT Championship
This started with a ton of fun grappling, and at every turn, Briscoe managed to escape the grasp of Hechicero. Hechicero went for a back body drop, but Briscoe flipped out of it onto his feet, which frustrated Hechicero again, so he just punched Briscoe in the face and hit a backbreaker before returning to strikes in the corner. Hechicero charged the corner but ate a throat chop and Briscoe pulled him to the floor, brawling around ringside, which is to his advantage.
Briscoe set a chair up in the ring and went for a dive, but was cut short by Hechicero knocking the chair over. Hechicero celebrated this, forgetting that Briscoe can hit more than just flip dives, and he hit a dropkick to the floor. Hechicero countered a Bang Bang elbow into an armbar on the floor, and drove Briscoe’s arm into the ring post. Hechicero continued to attack the arm over the next few minutes, and Briscoe made the mistake of chopping with his injured arm, allowing Hechicero to wrap the arm around the ropes and continue the attack.
Hechicero flipped Briscoe around with his legs, which always looks amazing, and locked on a submission, and Briscoe barely made it to the ropes. Hechicero went for a rear naked choke again, but Briscoe flipped onto the ramp to break it. Briscoe setup the chair again in the ring and hit a tope con giro to the floor. Briscoe hit a flying forearm while still selling the arm, so he hit a running kick in the corner instead and a fisherman’s buster for a 2-count. Hechicero hit a headscissors driver that was insane, and then used a double underhook suplex to dump Briscoe on his shoulder, attacking the arm again.
Hechicero put Briscoe on the top rope, and Briscoe bit Hechicero and shoved him off the ropes before hitting the Froggy Bow, but Hechicero countered it into a pinfall attempt, which Briscoe kicked out of and immediately transitioned into the Jay Driller for the pinfall.
Result: Mark Briscoe defeated Hechicero
This match ruled. Briscoe and Hechicero have great chemistry, and I would love to see AEW do more with Hechicero. If Hechicero was built up better this could have easily been a PPV match.
–Roderick Strong and Orange Cassidy came down to the ring to celebrate with Briscoe.
–The Grizzled Young Veterans were backstage facing off with Eddie Kingston and Ortiz, and they ranted about how Kingston didn’t do things the right way, but somehow kept getting chances. Kingston said that he kept getting chances because he keeps winning, and the Grizzled Young Veterans were going to reap what they sowed next week on Collision.,
–A hype video aired for Kenny Omega, hyping his return to AEW Dynamite next Wednesday, driving home that Omega is going to be a major part of the main event scene in 2026.
–A hype video aired for FTR, and reminded us their feud with Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, and everything they have done since then, including winning the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
Vertvixen, Hyan, & Maya World vs. The Babes of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale), & Kris Statlander
This was a more back and forth match than I expected, largely because I think AEW likes Vertvixen, Hyan, and Maya World a lot. I think it could have been interesting to give the lower card team a win here to setup a TV title match for one of the upcoming shows, but nonetheless, good showing here. I hope AEW starts to do something with these other women as they could contribute at a higher level. Putting them in there in a match that goes through the ad break with 3 of the top stars in the division is a good sign that they are confident they can be something.
Statlander hit a very impressive stalling vertical suplex on Maya World. When they came back from break Hyan and Vertvixen ended up knocking Nightingale and Statlander, allowing them to get heat on Cameron, and causing Nightingale to make the save at a pinfall attempt. Statlander came in and hit a double hurricanrana on World and Hyan, but Vertvixen laid out Statlander with a hard lariat. Cameron hit a kick on Vertvixen and tagged out to Nightingale, who ran wild, hitting a clothesline in the corner and a superkick. Nightingale and Cameron hit a backpack senton on Vertvixen, and Nightingale laid out Maya World and Hyan, before hitting a few double team moves with Statlander. Vertvixen soon ate the Staturday Night Fever from Statlander for the win.
Result: The Babes of Wrath defeated Maya World, Hyan, & Vertvixen
This match saw World, Hyan, and Vertvixen were given a lot. They looked quite good in this match.
–Harley Cameron announced with joy that her parents have gotten back together (referring to Nightingale and Statlander reuniting). Thekla said she was sick of the babyfaces celebrating, and that next week the Triangle of Madness was going to beat all three women.
–Don Callis was in Japan, celebrating that Okada put Tanahashi down. Kyle Fletcher walked up to Callis, and Fletcher told him that someone needed to talk to Okada, because Okada screwed both him and Takeshita at AEW World’s End. Callis said that Fletcher needed to worry about the TNT Championship more than he needed to worry about the C2 Tournament and what happened. Callis said that he was 3-3 with Briscoe, and that the energy he had should be directed to having a 7th match with Briscoe. Notably, again, Callis said nothing about Takeshita.
–A hype video aired for Bandido & MJF, with Bandido cutting a great promo about honour, and how MJF had none.
The Demand (Toa Liona, Bishop Kaun, & Ricochet) vs. Jet Speed (Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight), & Anthony Bowens
Before the match started, Jet Speed ran down to attack. This led to Bowens rushing down to make sure they were not beat down 3 on 2, and they signaled they wanted to scissor handshake with Bowens. They did so, but Kaun suplexed Bailey on the floor, and they started to beat down Bowens in the ring. Liona hit a senton on the apron as they went to ad break.
During the break the fans were chanting “We want Speedball!” and Ricochet loudly responded “No we don’t!” which made me laugh. Knight and Kaun charged each other, and hit a crossbody in the middle of the ring, causing both to tag out. Kaun tagged Ricochet while Knight tagged Bowens, and Bowens came in with the hot tag, attacking all 3 men. Bowens hit an inverted Olympic slam on Ricochet for a 2-count.
Unfortunately, all three members of the Demand laid out Bowens soon thereafter, hitting a series of hard hitting moves, ending with a powerbomb from Liona and a lionsault from Ricochet for a 2-count. Jet Speed made the save, and Bailey dodged a charge from Liona, which allowed Knight to hit a leaping DDT on Kaun. Bowens hit Ricochet with a spinning DDT in the ropes and went for a flying elbow, but he was distracted by Liona. Bailey hit a triangle moonsault on Kaun while Bowens hit a dive onto Liona before Knight hit a springboard clothesline on Ricochet, allowing Bowens to hit a running knee for a 2-count.
Liona ate two superkicks from Jet Speed, but he powered out of a DDT from Knight, and Liona put Jet Speed onto the shoulders of Kaun, who hit a big ending on both men. Bowens hit Ricochet with a Mollywhop, but Bishop Kaun blind tagged in, allowing them to prevent Ricochet from being pinned. The Gates of Agony hit Open the Gates for the pinfall finish.
Result: The Demand defeated Jet Speed & Anthony Bowens
–The Demand attacked Bowens and Jet Speed after the match, and while they were beating on Bowens, Max Caster came down to the ring slowly, indicating that he wanted them to beat on Bowens. However, as Jet Speed came back in to even the odds, Caster came in and started defending Bowens. As this was happening, the rest of the Don Callis Family came down and started beating on all the babyfaces until The Conglomeration ran down to make the save, and sent the Don Callis Family packing. Jet Speed, The Congomeration, & Komander all stood against the Don Callis Family and the Demand. Are we heading to a literal massive multi-man tag? Because that could be fun with around 10 guys on each side. Ridiculous, but fun.
Final Thoughts
This was not a big AEW Collision in terms of star power, but it was a fun show overall. If you are limited in time, I suggest watching Komander and El Clon, and Mark Briscoe vs. Hechicero. For the most significant angle on the show, I would suggest watching the Don Callis/Kyle Fletcher promo, as it advanced the storyline of Callis choosing Okada over everyone else quite well.
