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AEW COLLISION REPORT – EPISODE 82
MARCH 1, 2025
OAKLAND, CALIF. AT OAKLAND ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TNT AND MAX
REPORT BY BRIAN ZILEM PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard, Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcers: Arkady Aura
[HOUR ONE]
-Daniel Garcia, Adam Cole, FTR, Undisputed Kingdom, Julia Hart, and Bandido & Powerhouse Hobbs cut the traditional Collision hype promos.
-The Elton John Intro played.
(1) THE UNDISPUTED KINGDOM (Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)
-The match started with Strong and Wheeler facing off. The crowd had dueling chants of “Undisputed!’ and “FTR!” O’Reilly kicked Harwood in the chest, and Harwood countered with a chop to his chest. The match broke down, and all four men brawled on the outside. Strong went for a quick cover and only got one count. Harwood got the hot tag and ran wild. Harwood went for a small package pin and got a near fall on O’Reilly. Harwood drilled O’Reilly with a spiked power driver. The official made the three count, but O’Reilly had his foot out of bounds. Harwood was livid and told the official to restart the match. FTR doubled-teamed O’Reilly in their corner. [c]
After the break, Harwood had O’Reilly in a sleeper. O’Reilly finally reached his corner to get the hot tag into Strong and ran wild. Strong hit a side suplex on Harwood and got a near fall. The crowd chanted, “This is Awesome.” Strong hit an Angle Slam, which allowed Strong and O’Reilly to double-team Harwood. Everything broke down. O’Reilly put Wheeler in ankle lock, but he wasn’t the legal man. Harwood and Wheeler bumped heads, and O’Reilly had a fantastic transaction from a pin attempt into an ankle lock, but Wheeler broke up the submission. FTR hit the spiked driver onto O’Reilly, but Strong broke up the pinfall. The crowd chanted, “Fight forever.” FTR hit Power and Glory, but O’Reilly kicked out. The crowd chanted, “Holy shit!” In the closing moments of the match, FTR went for the Shatter Machine, but Strong nailed Harwood in the face, which allowed The Undisputed Kingdom to hit the High/Low finish to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNERS: The Undisputed Kingdom in 15:23
(Brian’s Thoughts: Great match from both teams. FTR, wanting the match restarted, keeps it open to run this match back again. The Undisputed Kingdom is a needed and welcome addition to the tag team division.)
-Post-match, The Undisputed Kingdom went for handshakes, but FTR walked away.
-A recap was shown of Willow Nightingale hitting a concerto on Marina Shafir.
(2) WHEELER YUTA vs. WILLIE MACK
WINNER: Wheeler Yuta in 3:47
-Post-match: Jon Moxley came to the ring to jump Mack and Yuta. Moxley grabbed a mic and told Oakland to shut up. Moxley told Yuta he must take out Cope this Wednesday. Yuta clocked Mack in the head with the steel briefcase.
-A recap of Mercedes Mone’s interaction with Billie Starkz and Momo Watanabe was shown.
-Starkz returned the TBS Title belt to Mone backstage and said Momo said she’s taking the title on March 9. Starkz splashed tea into Mone’s face and ran off.
-Toni Storm was filmed in her home in bed with a neck brace. She said: “Moments like this give you time to think and ask if the last 15 years have been worth it. My dreams have been haunted by women who won’t let me wake up. Storm asked what do you want? My title? The spotlight? Did you like Australia because I consider it foreplay? Nothing ever ends in Tinseltown. There will be one ruler. I hope you believe in god because now you are going to meet her.” Storm ripped off her neck brace.
(Brian’s Thoughts: This match’s gravity and finality mean a lot to both the women involved and the fans invested in this feud. Going into AEW Revolution, my primary concern is where this match will be slotted on the card and whether it will get cut for time. It would be a nice change of pace if the AEW allowed the women on the roster to set the tone for the PPV going into a loaded show.
(3) SWERVE STRICKLAND (w/Prince Nana) vs. CLARK CONNORS
Connors charged Strickland, but Strickland ducked and drilled him with chops. Strickland swung Connors to the turnbuckle, which allowed Strickland to climb to the top rope and hit a flying European uppercut. Connors hit a shoulder tackle and got in the face of the official for getting in his way. Swerve no-sold some of Connors’ chops. Strickland picked up Connors with a back backer and allowed up by targeting the left arm of Connors. [c]
After the break, Strickland continued to work over Connors’ left arm. Connors used Strickland’s momentum to hit a snap power slam. Both men battled on the top rope. Strickland won the exchange and hit a belly-to-back suplex. Strickland went for a cover and got a near fall. Connors hit a headbutt and followed up with a suplex. Connors hit for a spear, but Strickland countered with a flatliner. Strickland went for the double stomp. Connors dodged it and hit a spear. Connors went for a delayed cover, but Strickland kicked out. In the closing moments of the match, both men countered with standing switches. Strickland slammed Connors to the mat and hit the House Call to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Swerve Strickland in 10:07
(Brian’s Thoughts: Styles make fights, and this felt like a struggle in a good way. Connors certainly brought the War Dog mentally into the match. Strickland’s star power was able to highlight himself and Connors throughout the match.)
– A backstage interaction between The Hurt Syndicate and the Outrunners from this past Wednesday.
-Harley Cameron joined the commentary team to discuss her win this past Wednesday. Cameron said her new finishing move will be called My Finishing Move.
-Alicia Atout was backstage with Big Boom A.J., and Big Justice. Johnny TV interrupted the interview and challenged A.J. to a six-man tag at AEW Revolution.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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[HOUR TWO]
(4) SHANE TAYLOR PROMOTIONS (Carlie Bravo & Lee Moriarty & Shawn Dean w/Shane Taylor) vs. DAVE DUTRA, NICK RUIZ & VINNIE MASSARO
WINNERS: Shane Taylor Promotions in 1:20
-Post-match, Adam Cole made his way to ring as Shane Taylor Promotions were celebrating on the ramp.
(5) DANIEL GARCIA vs. ADAM COLE – TNT Title Match
-Both men exchanged quick covers. After a stare-down, Garcia did his dance pose. Cole asked for a handshake, and both men shook hands. Garcia hit a nasty-looking Twist and Shout. Cole kicked Garcia’s hamstrings and followed up with a backstabber. Cole hit two neckbreakers, went for a cover, and got a near fall. While Cole had his leg in between the ropes, Garcia hit a dragon screw leg whip. Garcia set up Cole in a chair at ringside. Garcia charged and nailed Cole with a shotgun dropkick. [c]
After the break, Cole hit a pump kick and neckbreaker. Cole went for a quick cover and got a close near fall. Garcia hit another twist and shout, but Cole countered with another neckbreaker of his own. Both men brawled on the top rope. Garcia hit a superplex, held on to Cole, and followed up with a powerdriver for a close near fall. The crowd chanted, “This is Awesome!” Garcia went for another power drive, but Cole counted with a jackknife cover for a near fall.
Cole hit the Panama Sunrise, went for a cover, and got a near fall. Cole lured Garcia outside to hit a super kick, and then The Boom. Cole rolled Garcia back into the ring, but the additional time allowed enough time for Garcia to kick out. Cole went for a superkick and locked in a nasty-looking ankle lock. Cole struggled to get out of bounds, and the crowd willed him to rope the bottom rope to break the submission. While Cole laid out on the apron, Garcia hit a power driver. Cole made his way back into the way at nine count. The call was made that five minutes were remaining in the match. Both men were brawling, and Shane Taylor Promotions came down to jump both men, and the match was ruled as no contest.
WINNER: No contest in 15:16
(Brian’s Thoughts: It’s a shame the finish ended an excellent match. I hope this is more things to come with Cole because he looked and felt like himself in the ring for the first time in a long time. This was Cole’s best singles match since AEW All-IN 2004.)
-A hype package was shown for the OPPS.
-Big Boom A.J. was backstage and confirmed that Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe would team with A.J. at AEW Revolution.
(6) QUEEN AMINATA vs. JULIA HART
Before the match started, Serena Deeb was shown on screen and challenged Aminata to the first-ever women’s pure rules match. The crowd chanted, “Women’s Wrestling.” Both exchanged headlock takeovers. The crowd began dueling chants of both women. Hart hit a head scissors takedown and followed up with a running elbow in the corner. Hart went for a cover, but Aminata kicked out at one. Aminata took out Hart with a chop block and focused on Hart’s leg. [C]
After the break, Aminata had Hart in submission with her legs, but Hart countered with a backslide and got a near fall. Hart got a roll-through pin attempt for a near fall. Hart hit a judo trip and standing moonsault. Hart went for a cover but only got a near fall. The crowd had dueling chants again for both women. Hart went for the Hartless submission, but Aminata used her legs to break it up. In the closing moments of the match, Hart went for a moonsault from the top rope. Aminata dodged it, hit a headbutt, and followed up with a Shining Wizard while Hart was dazed in the bottom rope. Aminata stacked Hart in the middle of the ring for the cover to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Queen Aminata in 9:02
(Brian’s Thoughts: I can’t stress this enough, building up the women’s division matters. Look at the reaction from the crowd both women received. For all of its criticism AEW earns, they do a great job having feuds, not built around titles for the Women’s Division. When you take the time to feature and tell a story, the fans will react and care about the results.)
-Post-match, Brody King came to check on Hart. While King’s back was turned, Okada attacked King.
-Kenny Omega cut a promo from his home: “I had to hear Uncle Don every week, weekend and week out, talk about how Takeshita has beat Kenny Omega twice in one week. I’m not gonna lie; I’m a little pissed off as it is. But what I’m about to do to you isn’t about revenge. No, it’s not about you beating me twice in one week. This is about what you hold and what it represents – that belt. Because he who holds the belt is regarded as the best. And if you can beat me three times, maybe it’s time for me to admit something. Maybe it’s time for me to admit that you’re better. Maybe it’s time for me to admit that you really were Don’s real meal ticket. Maybe it’s time for me to admit that I can never challenge for a major belt again and that the old Kenny Omega is gone. But how I see it is that I’ve had an entire year to clear my mind, refocus, increase my training, and turn my weaknesses into strengths. Now, I don’t have the extra baggage of the friends that left me behind. I don’t have the extra baggage of being an EVP. My entire focus is on your belt. That’s not right. Revenge. It’s not because of Don, not even because of you. I want that gold. At Revolution, I’m taking it.”
(7) BANDIDO & POWERHOUSE HOBBS vs. THE LEARNING TREE (Big Bill & Bryan Keith
WINNERS: Bandido & Powerhouse Hobbs in 11:25
FINAL THOUGHTS: Collision was a lot of fun overall, and while it didn’t advance anything with the AEW Revolution PPV, it still provided great balance across the show. I would have loved Kenny Omega’s promo to be in the ring, but other than that, there was one thing missing from the show.
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