Saturday’s All In aftermath edition of AEW Collision from Chicago will feature Bandido in the night’s featured bout.
The current ROH World Champion will team with CMLL’s Mascara Dorada and JetSpeed (Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight) against Josh Alexander, Lance Archer, Rocky Romero and Hechicero of the Don Callis Family.
With no interference, Megan Bayne will go one-on-one with Tay Melo in her first singles match since December 2022.
In a four-way $200,000 tag team match, it will be The Gunns vs. Gates of Agony vs. CRU vs. Big Bill & Bryan Keith.
New TNT Dustin Rhodes will be on hand to celebrate his title win as will Max Caster who will hold another Best Wrestler Alive challenge.
Ricochet will face AR Fox, and Rush will take on Katsuyori Shibata in a highly-anticipated match.
Following her re-debut of sorts at All In, Alex Windsor will return to AEW TV against Taya Valkyrie.
**********
Dustin Rhodes opened AEW Collision, saying that he wished his day was with him right now as he celebrated his win of the TNT Championship. Rhodes talked about how his dad always told him to keep stepping, getting up every time he is knocked down. It is hope that things can and will get better as you keep get back up. Rhodes said that he spent 37 years in the wrestling business, reaching the highest of heights, and hitting rock bottom, and he experienced a lot of failure. He said he was waiting to say this for 30 years: “I am now the face of TNT.” Rhodes promised that he would give his all week in and week out because he wanted to be a fighting champion, and that he will keep fighting into the future.
Don Callis came out with Kyle Fletcher, and Fletcher said that Rhodes’ story was crap, and the celebration that they were having tonight was supposed to be his. Fletcher was angry that his one-on-one title shot was ruined by Cole getting injured, and that Rhodes was lucky to win the title in a four way match. Fletcher said that he was going to take everything from Rhodes, and take his title.
Rhodes put Fletcher over as a great wrestler, and talked about his own times falling short at winning the title, from Lance Archer, to Sammy Guevara, to Christian Cage, and Brodie Lee, but Rhodes wrestled 3 times in 24-hours, and all Fletcher does is make excuses, while Rhodes pulled it off and Fletcher didn’t.
Don Callis calmed Fletcher down, and said that Rhodes was a legend, and that he has known him since 1997, going on the road together. He wanted Rhodes to think about what will happen when he loses the TNT Championship, and offered him a place in the Don Callis Family, as that was a better than being a 3rd wheel in the Rhodes family. At this, Rhodes attacked Callis. Fletcher attacked Rhodes, but Rhodes fought back and sent Fletcher to the floor, fleeing the ring. This segment was great, especially Dustin Rhodes.
–Mark Briscoe was narrating the recent actions of the Conglomeration, with Ishii, Willow Nightingale and her feud with Kris Statlander, and Briscoe, Hangman, and Hobbs standing tall over the Death Riders on Wednesday, with Briscoe leaving the last word for MJF, saying he was coming for him.
–A recap of Ricochet and AR Fox’s issues aired, with the announcers reminding us that Ricochet turned on Fox in their tag match, and how he recruited the Gates of Agony. This was a small story playing out on TV, which I like when wrestlers don’t necessarily have a PPV level feud in the works at the moment. It gives both of them something to do that is mildly interesting, and keeps them both on TV until something else comes.
Ricochet vs. AR Fox
Ricochet tried to bait Fox into fighting at ringside, but Fox refused to do so, dodging and countered Ricochet at every turn, hitting a tope con giro to the floor and going to ringside on his terms. The Gates of Agony came down at this point, stalking Fox. Ricochet distracted the referee letting Liona slam Fox on the apron as they went to ad break. When the came back from break, Fox managed to dodge a shoulder thrust from Ricochet and hit a top con giro, and a senton bomb for a 2-count.
Ricochet and Fox went into a series of near falls, ending with Ricochet powering into a Death Valley Driver, which popped the crowd. Fox kicking out led to Ricochet going for the Spirit Gun, but Fox dodged it, and Ricochet ended up draped on the middle rope near the turnbuckle. Fox used the ropes and launched himself into a Canadian Destroyer on Ricochet, pulling him from the middle ropes. That was incredible. Ricochet dodged a 450 Splash and Ricochet hit a Spirit Gun for the pinfall.
Result: Ricochet
This was a great match, but it would be nice for AR Fox to get some credibility by beating some lower card guys in the future. He is really good, and the fans clearly like him, so it is time for him to start winning.
–A recap of Hangman Page and Jon Moxley aired, and as Colt Cabana, Nigel McGuinness, and Tony Schiavone were discussing what happened, Marina Shafir emerged from the audience behind Cabana and started choking him unconscious. Moxley came out of nowhere and started punching Cabana in the face with a chain, busting him open. Yuta joined Moxley in the beat down. Moxley claimed he was only giving the fans what they wanted, and he choked Cabana with the chain, screaming that Cabana should tap out, and he threw Cabana over the ropes choking him out. Cabana tapped out, just like Moxley did at AEW All In, and then Moxley let go, and left through the crowd as the fans chanted “You tapped out!” at Moxley. Tony Schiavone noted that Cabana was very good friends with Hangman Page, and this couldn’t be interpreted as anything else but a message to him. This angle was awesome.
–Kris Statlander was with Lexy Nair, and she was talking about what happened at All In and her loss in the Casino Gauntlet. As she was talking, the Death Riders walked by, and Yuta, covered in Cabana’s blood, and said “Champions always make a comeback” before Marina Shafir pulled him away, and Statlander said that he was right. I loved this angle too. The Death Riders came across as very dangerous, yet very scummy, heels. Great storytelling in giving us a villain to boo.
Megan Bayne vs. Tay Melo
Everyone was banned at ringside for this, hopefully eliminating the Penelope Ford factor for Bayne in this match. Bayne dominated the opening portion of the match, but Melo countered a spear into a Fujiwara armbar, and transitioned into a triangle choke, but Bayne did a Rampage Jackson slam to counter out. Melo and Bayle shuffled for position at the ropes and Melo pulled Bayne to the floor with a head scissors. Bayne caught Melo as she jumped from the apron with a cross body and hit a fallaway slam on the floor.
As they came back from break, Melo hit a kick in the corner and several boot scrapes across the face of Bayne. Bayne stood up annoyed by it, hitting a belly-to-belly suplex. As Bayne did this, Tony Schiavone announced a match for Dynamite – Hangman Page vs. Wheeler Yuta because of what they did to Colt Cabana for Shark Week Dynamite. Poor Yuta is going to die. Melo locked on a guillotine choke, but Bayne fought out. Bayne went for Fate’s Descent, but Melo rolled out hit a running knee, and a Canadian Destroyer for a 2-count. Bayne responded with a flying lariat in the middle of the ring and hit a running Liger bomb for the finish.
Result: Megan Bayne
Nigel McGuinness had the call of the night that Melo was now a Marsh-melo.
–Don Callis walked up to Sky Flight, offering Scorpio Sky a place in the Don Callis Family. Christopher Daniels said that they were well represented, but they were looking for a fight, and if Callis was up for it, he could give the Callis Family a fight. Don Callis said he would think about it, which seems sinister.
–Alex Windsor cut a promo before the match, talking about taking Athena to the limit at Grand Slam Australia.
Alex Windsor vs. Taya Valkyrie (w/ mXm Collection & Johnny TV)
There wasn’t a lot to this match as they only got a few minutes, but it saw Windsor going for a sharpshooter, and Valkyrie reversing into a STF. Windsor hit a blue thunder bomb, a lariat, and then locked the sharpshooter on for Valkyrie for the win.
Result: Alex Windsor
–Athena appeared in the balcony that Toni Storm was in on Dynamite, and she mocked Toni Storm, and also dismissed Windsor, saying that her match with Windsor ended like all the others, with Athena winning. As Athena was making fun of Storm, Storm came out and said that no one was allowed to be in the balcony but her, and she dared Athena to fight her.
Athena refused, saying that she would fight her on her terms, as Storm had to face Billie Starks on Wednesday. Storm then said it was true that she was facing Starks, and that if Starks won, she would be granted a shot at Storm, which Athena did not like. Storm then ran into the crowd and ran up to the balcony, going after Athena, who ran away.
–Anthony Bowens was backstage with Lexy Nair, and he was talking about how he did not have success at All In. Billy Gunn walked up, and Bowens was confused, as Gunn said he would be there for him, but wasn’t at All In. Gunn said that Bowens has been confusing, saying he wanted him there, but didn’t want him there, and that they needed to get on the same page, and that Bowens needs to stop obsessing with Max Caster. At least they tried to fix that plot hole. Gunn said he had a match for Bowens next week, and all he needed to do was trust him.
Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs. Cru (Action Andretti & Lio Rush) vs. The Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) vs. The Gunns (Austin & Colton Gunn) (w/ Juice Robinson) in a $200,000 Tag Match
Austin Gunn started the match with Andretti, and was quickly forced to tag out to Colton Gunn, as they were so much faster. Colton hit a double clothesline, forcing Cru to leave the ring, letting the Gates of Agony to come in. Bishop Kaun ate a dropkick and fell backwards into the corner and was blind tagged by Bryan Keith. Keith and Colton started an exchange, but Keith quickly tagged out to Bill, who got a huge reaction from the Chicago audience.
It didn’t take long for the match to break down into all 4 teams brawling as they went to the ad break. Colton Gunn was isolated in this by Cru, and they came back from the break with Lio Rush doing handsprings into people causing them to fall from the apron. Rush tried to knock Bill off the apron, but Bill shrugged off his chop and Rush shook his head, indicating it was a mistake. Colton Gunn tagged out to Bill out of desperation, who ran wild, destroying everyone in the ring and hitting a black hole slam on Rush.
Colton Gunn tagged in, interrupting Bill’s rampage, but Bill launched him into the air and hit a punch. Colton Gunn went down holding his knee, which did not look good. I think this is where his injury happened. Bill ran around ringside dropping everyone, but as he was running in front of the announce table, Toa Liona came out of nowhere and hit a pounce that sent Bill flying through the air and over the announce table, causing Nigel McGuinness and Tony Schiavone to run away. Ricochet came out and grabbed the leg of Austin Gunn, allowing the Gates of Agony to destroy Andretti for the win.
Result: The Gates of Agony
While Ricochet still hasn’t won one of these money matches, his crew finally did, with his help.
–A recap of the Patriarchy turning on Christian Cage aired, with Adam Copeland clarifying that he was not saving Christian, but getting revenge on FTR, and Nick Wayne giving his reasons for the turn, saying that Christian never stuck with the plan.
Kyle O’Reilly (w/ Roderick Strong) vs. Max Caster
Kyle O’Reilly answered Caster’s challenge this week. Caster claimed that O’Reilly could not win the match if he couldn’t catch him, so Caster ran around the ring on the outside. Well, O’Reilly could win by allowing a count out, but that did not occur to either of them, and Strong tripped Caster, allowing O’Reilly to catch him. Caster tried to hit O’Reilly with his trademark for the Best Wrestler Alive gimmick, but O’Reilly kicked it away. Caster raked the eyes of O’Reilly, but O’Reilly turned a sunset flip into an armbar and Caster immediately tapped out.
Result: Kyle O’Reilly
–We were shown Tomohiro Ishii and Hologram watching backstage, and they were looking at the TV like normal human beings! A positive.
–Juice Robinson was backstage and he talked about Ricochet, wanting revenge for what he did in the 4-way tag match. Big Bill walked in, and said that Robinson was getting in his business during the match, and they started fighting, with Robinson driving Bill into the lockers behind him, almost knocking them over, before a bunch of referees and agents separated them.
Rush (w/Dralistico, & The Beast Mortos) vs. Kaysuyori Shibata
Shibata and Rush started the match exchanging hard strikes with very hard chops that delighted the fans. This continued for the first 2 or 3 minutes, as they kept returning to chops until Rush finally hit a punch that dropped Shibata and they went to the floor. As Rush sent Shibata back into the ring, Shibata stood up and hit a running kick that sent Rush to the floor. Shibata grabbed Rush by the hair and rain around the ringside area, driving Rush into the guardrails repeatedly.
Shibata locked a figure four leglock on Rush back in the ring. Shibata hit a dropkick in the corner on Rush as they came back from break, getting a two-count. Shibata went for a vertical suplex, but Rush countered into his own, hitting two suplexes, and then Shibata countering and hitting one. Both men went back and forth on the suplexes until Shibata hit the last one, and they were both down. Rush kicked out at one, but ate a German suplex. Rush stood back up and hit one on Shibata, and they started exchanging German suplexes like the vertical.
Rush hit a headbutt on Shibata, but Shibata hit a hard chop and locked on a sleeper hold in the middle of the ring, but Dralistico & Mortos ran in, but Shibata dispatched them. The referee did not end the match for some reason, as Nigel McGuinness claimed that LFI must have paid off the referee. Rush hit the Horns in the corner on Shibata for the win.
Result: Rush
Listen, I know people will say that the reason Rush wasn’t DQ’d was because they didn’t actually touch Shibata, but it was still right in front of the referee. This was no good. It does not make sense. The match itself was quiet great, but that finish was a mess.
–LFI attacked after the bell, indicating that they wanted the Trios titles. Powerhouse Hobbs ran down to make the save. It seems we’re setting up a match for later once Joe returns.
The Don Callis Family (Hechicero, Rocky Romero, Josh Alexander, & Lance Archer) vs. JetSpeed (Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey), Mascara Dorada, Bandido
Bandido and Hechicero started the match, with Bandido eager to get revenge for his loss as Hechicero eyes the ROH World Championship. Bandido rolled to the floor and Dorada hit a headscissors after a tilt-a-whirl from Hechicero. Dorada tried to hit a handspring, but Lance Archer was the one who was on the other end of it, and this quickly stopped that. The speed of the babyfaces still had an advantage, with it taking a triple dropkick from Dorada, Bailey, and Knight to drop Archer. Dorada, Bailey, and Knight all hit planchas to the floor on the heels as the party match continued.
Josh Alexander hit a reverse suplex on Mike Bailey as they went to the final ad break. Hechicero came in and locked on a series of violent submissions on Bailey, as they continued to isolate him for the heat. Tony Schiavone announced that there was good news though, as Don Callis was not at ringside. His hatred for the heels makes up for the occasional missed call. I love Tony Schiavone. As they came back from break, Bandido tagged in and hit a gorilla press on Alexander.
Rocky Romero hit a knee to the back of Bandido, allowing Alexander to tag out and Hechicero came in and swarmed Bandido immediately, hitting a flying knee in the corner and a went for a running powerbomb, but Bandido countered into a sunset flip bomb to tag out to Dorada. Dorada countered a chokeslam from Archer, who worked as a wonderful base for Dorada’s offence.
Archer went for the Black Out, but the Callis Family broke it up. Rockey Romero was launched off the shoulders of Archer onto Dorada which set of a series of big moves from everyone until Archer took out Bailey, Bandido, and Knight all at the same time. Archer clotheslined Knight into the ring from the apron, but Knight landed on his feet and hit a dropkick and Knight hit an assisted Asai Moonsault to Archer that finally dropped him. Romero almost finished Dorada with a sliced bread, but the the babyfaces made the save, and as Bailey and Knight hit dives onto everyone on the floor, Bandido hit the 21-plex on Romero allowing Dorada to hit the shooting star press on Romero for the win.
Result: Bandido, Mascara Dorada, & JetSpeed
Final Thoughts
I really like how Collision has been advancing the midcard stories on Collision lately. It is clear the show is not the A show, but having the midcard stories built on this show and given time makes them feel more important, and that also gives Collision a distinct purpose – it doesn’t always advance the A-show stories, but it will always advance the stories of several of the midcard wrestlers. The angle with the Death Riders and Cabana was tremendous though, and definitely plays into one of the A level stories with Hangman and Moxley.
AEW Dynamite – July 23, 2025
Hangman Page vs. Wheeler Yuta
AEW Collision – July 26, 2025
Athena vs. Alex Windsor
