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AEW COLLISION SLAM DUNK SUNDAY REPORT
MARCH 22, 2026 (recorded 3/18)
FRESNO, CALIF. AT SAVE MART CENTER
AIRED ON TNT & HBO MAX
REPORT BY JOSHUA WHITE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcer: Arkady Aura
Attendance: WrestleTix reported 3,584 tickets distributed and the arena was set up for 3,848.
-Slam Dunk Sunday started as Orange Cassidy’s music played throughout the arena.
(1) RODERICK STRONG & ORANGE CASSIDY vs. LEE JOHNSON & JAY LETHAL (w/Blake Christian)
Roderick Strong and Orange Cassidy both made their entrance to Cassidy’s music. Jay Lethal and Lee Johnson were already waiting in the ring with their buddy Blake Christian. The bell rang to start the match two minutes into the show.
Strong was kind enough to let Lethal do his strut before bringing him down with a series of arm wringers. They traded strikes until Strong landed a single leg dropkick and tagged in Cassidy. Strong lifted Cassidy up and tossed him onto Lethal in the corner. Strong and Cassidy took turns chopping Lethal in the corner.
Strong set Lethal up in a backbreaker as Cassidy climbed to the top rope. Cassidy returned to the mat and delivered an unenthusiastic elbow. Lee Johnson got the tag and took Cassidy down with a running kick. Johnson rolled Cassidy up for a two count. They traded standing switches bordering on absurdity before Johnson tried to lock in a full nelson that Cassidy countered with his patented hands in the pockets.
Cassidy hit Johnson with a hands-in-pockets dropkick. Cassidy went for the dropkick on Lethal, but he blocked it and set up for a figure four. Cassidy kicked his way out of it and Lethal rolled to the outside. Strong went for the dropkick through the ropes, but Lethal dodged it. Blake Christian distracted Strong allowing Lethal to clobber him from behind.
Cassidy hit the ropes, setting up for a dive, but Johnson intercepted him with a big clothesline. Johnson lifted Cassidy to his feet and executed a stalling vertical suplex. Johnson floated over into the pin for a two count. Johnson tagged Lethal in as they went to commercial. [c]
Back from break, Johnson went for the pin, but Cassidy kicked out at two. Lethal and Johnson hit Cassidy with running strikes in the corner. Lethal set Cassidy up in the tree of woe and distracted the referee. Blake darter into the ring and nailed the upside-down Cassidy with a running dropkick. Lethal made the cover, but Cassidy kicked out at two.
Lethal set Cassidy up on the top rope and Christian went for another cheap shot, but Cassidy booted him off the apron. Cassidy crawled for the tag, but Lethal grabbed his foot. Cassidy shoved Lethal off and he collided with Johnson, allowing Cassidy to make the hot tag to the waiting Strong.
Strong came in with a high knee on Johnson and a running clothesline on Lethal. Strong hit a dropkick on Lethal, a backbreaker on Johnson, and then a knee and slam on Lethal. Strong hit Johnson with an Olympic slam and went for the pin, but Johnson kicked out at two.
Strong tagged in Cassidy who climbed to the top rope. Johnson shoved Strong into Cassidy who landed unfavorably on the top rope. Lethal hit Strong with a suicide dive to the outside as Cassidy went for a stundog millionaire in the ring that Johnson blocked. Johnson landed a German suplex, running boot and a brainbuster of Cassidy. Lethal flew in from the top rope with the elbow drop. Johnson went for the pin, but Strong shoved Lethal into them to break up the pin.
Cassidy caught Lethal with the stundog millionaire and Strong hit a series of running elbows on him as well. Strong lifted Cassidy up and tossed him toward Lethal where Cassidy planted Lethal with a DDT. Christian interfered again, grabbing Strong from the apron, but Cassidy hit him with an Orange Punch.
Strong nailed Johnson with a jumping knee as Cassidy connected with a suicide dive onto Lethal at ringside. Strong lifted Johnson up and hit him with The End of Heartache. Cassidy, the legal man, slid into the ring and Strong tossed him on top of Johnson to get the team the win.
WINNERS: Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong in 11:00
-After the match, Strong yelled “Orange” and then addressed crowd, saying he owes everyone an explanation. Strong said he only hung out with the Conglomeration because of Kyle. Strong said a change needed to happen, but the change was with him. Strong went on to tell Cassidy that he was officially a member of The Conglomeration.
Clark Connors appeared on the screen with David Finlay. Connors said they only held him down for three seconds. Finlay said it’s not over after three seconds, despite what their girls might be used to. Finlay said that they closer they are to death, the more they feel alive. Connors challenged Cassidy and Strong to a match, saying they’re “on dog time now.”
(White’s Take: Despite Strong’s weirdly-large pop upon his return, the ongoing clown car saga of the Conglomeration is too weak and irrelevant for even Collision. The match was absolutely and predictably solid. Strong’s in-ring work remains top-notch and they fit in a few spots that made Lee Johnson look great. The Dogs transitioning into feuding with Conglomerators could be a good opportunity to get them a somewhat meaningful victory after eating a loss in their first PPV match last week.)
-They showed a highlight video of Lena Kross and Megan Bayne winning the tag titles. It was intercut with Willow and Harley challenging them to a rematch for the titles.
(2) THE DIVINE DOMINION (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) vs. ALEX GRACIA & VIPRESS
Bayne and Kross made their entrance as a team, The Divine Dominion not being as bad as many tag team names in recent history. Gracia and Vipress were already in the ring. The bell rang to start the match 17 minutes into the show.
Gracia marched around Bayne while putting up her hair and then charged into a shoulder block from Bayne. Bayne tossed Gracia into the corner and nailed her with a combination of shoulder thrusts. Kross tagged in and landed a back elbow on Gracia in the corner. Bayne tagged in and she and Kross hit back-to-back running boots.
Bayne followed up with a German suplex. Kross dragged Vipress into the ring and set her up for a fallaway slam as Bayne did the same to Gracia. Kross and Bayne hit simultaneous fallaway slams and then crisscrossed the rings to hit running attacks on each in opposite corners.
Kross tossed Vipress through the ropes to the outside. Byne lifted Gracia to her feet where Kross and Bayne set her up and slammed her down with a big double chokeslam. Bayne made the cover and picked up the victory.
WINNERS: Divine Dominion in 2:00
(3) TOMMASO CIAMPA vs. LIO RUSH
The lights went dark and Ciampa made his dramatic entrance. The new Lio Rush, no longer a spiky-jacket-guy, but something more in line with Gollum with the bald head, white eyes, and all the crawling around. The bell rang 27 minutes into the hour to start the match.
Ciampa stared Lio down, not impressed with his creepy mannerisms. Ciampa booted away a handshake, which upset Lio. Lio hit the ropes and changed directions as Ciampa waited with a forearm. He repeated this four times before Ciampa gave up and stood in the center of the ring with his hands on his hips. Lio stopped against the ropes, but dodged when Ciampa charged, sending Ciampa tumbling to the floor.
Ciampa got back on the apron, but Lio knocked him off the apron, crawled around the ring like a cat and dove through the ropes to hit Ciampa with a dive. Lio stared down the camera before ramming Ciampa into the barricade. Lio charged Ciampa against the barricade, but Ciampa pulled a production guy into his path. Lio stopped short and Ciampa took advantage by lilting Lio up and dropping him chest-first across the top of the barricade.
As Lio hung on the barricade, Ciampa connected with a. running knee lift. Ciampa returned Lio to the ring, but Lio came back with a step-up hurricanrana from the second rope. Lio charged Ciampa in the corner, but Ciampa backdropped him to the apron and rammed him into the ringpost. Ciampa got a running start and blasted Lio with a running knee that knocked him to the floor as they went to commercial. [c]
They returned from commercial as Ciampa charged into a boot from Lio. Ciampa ducked a clothesline and went for the Fairytale Ending, but Lio slipped out and landed a spinning roundhouse. Lio tried to bounce off the bottom rope into a stunner, but Ciampa hit a knee instead. Ciampa went for a powerbomb, but Lio slipped out, attempted the bottom-rope springboard stunner again, but Ciampa blocked it and shoved him off back into the ropes where Lio went for it again, and this time actually caught Ciampa with the springboard stunner. Lio went for the pin, but Ciampa kicked out at two.
Lio climbed to the top rope and Ciampa slowly rolled across the ring, out of range. Rush seemed overly upset and Ciampa landed a forearm and set up for Project Ciampa, but Lio flipped out and landed a stunner. Lio held onto Ciampa’s head and stood back up to deliver a second stunner. Lio lifted Ciampa up into a back suplex and spun him down into a powerbomb. Lio made the cover, but Ciampa kicked out at two.
They traded forearms in the center of the ring and Rush hit a series of punches before Ciampa bit his hand. Lio returned the favor by biting Ciampa’s hand and then they traded overhand chops. Lio connected with a. low spin kick. Ciampa reversed a whip into the corner and Lio hit the turnbuckle hard. Ciampa followed up with the powerbomb into double knees he calls Project Ciampa. Ciampa made the cover, and even though he could’ve reached the ropes, Lio kicked out at two.
Ciampa lowered his knee pad and lined Lio up as he got to his knees. Ciampa charged and blasted Lio with the running knee. Ciampa made the cover and got the win.
WINNER: Tomasso Ciampa in 11:00
(White’s Take: The crowd was behind the heel Ciampa here, but they’ve been told nothing about this new iteration of Lio Rush. Rush’s schtick and acting was over the top and toed the line of coming across as cringey. Ciampa continued to look great and carries himself with authenticity, even as it takes him over ten minutes to beat a feline Gollum.)
Ciampa celebrated his win as Lio smiled on the mat. [c]
-They showed a video hyping up the Dynamite match between Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland and MJF’s return to the show.
(4) JETSET MISTICO (“The Jet” Kevin Knight & “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Mistico) vs. THE DON CALLIS FAMILY (Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander & El Clon) – Trios Championship match
Takeshita’s music played to bring out Takeshita along with Josh Alexander and El Clon. Mistico’s supersoft entrance music played to bring him out alongside Bailey and Knight, also wearing lucha masks in the style of Mistico. They made their way to the ring as an inset video played showing them winning the trios titles at Revolution. The bell rang to start the match 46 minutes into the show.
Mistico and Clon circled each other before Clon took a cheapshot at Knight and Bailey on the apron as Alexander and Takeshita blindsided Mistico. All six men brawled to the outside with Knight and Mistico getting slammed into the barricade before Clona nd Bailey returned to the ring. Bailey and Clon went back and forth acrobatically dodging each others’ attacks. Alexander grabbed Bailey from behind, allowing Clon to connected with a kick. Alexander hit an inverted suplex on Bailey.
Knight hit the ring and fought with Alexander and Clon until Alexander scooped Knight up and slammed him down on Clon’s waiting knees. Mistico went for a headscissor, but Clon countered it into a pin attempt for a two count. Mistico came back and hit the headscissor followed by a springboard hurricanrana.
Mistico took Alexander and Takeshita down with a springboard double back elbow. Mistico took Takeshita down with a headscissor and then hit Clon with a spinning headscissor, clearing the ring. Bailey and Knight slid into the ring and all three performed simultaneous dives to the outside onto Takeshita, Clon, and Alexander as they went to commercial. [c]
Back from break, Clon stomped of Bailey and tagged in Takeshita. Takeshita landed a few forearm strikes, hit the ropes, and ran right into a kick from Bailey. Bailey made the tag to Knight who leapt off Takeshita’s back and hit Clon on the apron. Knight went for a jumping clothesline but Takeshita blocked it and went for a blue thunder bomb, but Knight flipped out of it. Knight went for a back elbow, but Takeshita caught him and landed the blue thunder bomb. Takeshita held on for the pin but only got two.
Takeshita lined up a running knee, but Knight dodged it, then escaped a Raging Fire attempt and planted Takeshita with a jumping DDT, leaving both men on the mat. Mistico and Clon both tagged in and Mistico connected with a springboard crossbody. Mistico hit the ropes and Clon caught him with a tilt-a-whirl double knee backbreaker. Clon made the cover, but Mistico kicked out at two.
Clon went for a springboard, but Mistic caught him with a kick, stunning him on the ropes. Mistico hit him with a. springboard into a hurricanrana off the ropes. Mistico went for the cover, but Takeshita broke it up at two.
Bailey fought to the floor with Takeshita as Clon missed a springboard moonsault. Mistico executed a headscissors that tossed Clon out of the ring. Mistico climbed to the top rope and flew to the outside with a. crossbody onto Takeshita, Alexander, and Clon. Mistico trolled Clon into the ring and hooked the leg but only got two.
Knight tagged in and climbed to the top rope. Knight went for the UFO Splash, but Clon rolled out of the way. Knight managed to land on his feet, but Clon landed a Pele kick. Clon landed a springboard moonsault into a pin, but Knight kicked out at two. Knight came back with a clothesline that dropped Clon, but then Takeshita caught him with a running knee to the midsection.
Knight came back with a springboard clothesline onto Takeshita and made the tag to Mistico. Mistico came off the top rope with a crossbody to Clon and then planted Clon with La Mistica. Mistico held on with the armbar and Clon tapped out quickly.
WINNERS: Mistico & Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey in 13:00
(White’s Take: This match wasn’t quite as good as the trios match on Revolution, but it was still a very good multiman Collision main event. El Clon continues to impress and Mistico, despite his age, still moves great and is super over with the crowd. Takeshita looked a bit out of place, continuing the dissonance of a respected babyface teaming with his heel stablemates. According to my notes, Josh Alexander was involved in this match, but he was barely present. Bailey and Knight remain good babyfaces, and if they can’t be competing for the tag titles, the trios scene is a fine consolation prize. While the glut of titles in the company drags everything down, this kind of title match is still more prestigious than the Collision classic of random chunks of factions squaring off for eternity.)
JetSet Mistico celebrated their win as Schiavone breathlessly ran down matches from the upcoming episode of Dynamite and they went off the air.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Maybe it’s the one hour format that makes it slide by smoothly, but this was a good, fun, easy hour of Collision. Good in-ring action mixed with storylines nudged ever-so-slightly forward. I could’ve copy and pasted my review of the Saturday edition, and it would remain basically accurate. While you won’t lose much from skipping the show, it was worth watching. Whether or not it was worth staying up well past midnight for the second Sunday in a row…well, you’ll have to ask me tomorrow, but my gut says probably not.
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