SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
To help add context, my “Hits” are ordered from best to worst. With that said, let’s move into the high points of this week’s episode.
HIT — Kofi vs. Lee Moriarty
The New Day continue to show they aren’t coming into AEW complacent or expecting their WWE name and reputation to do the work for them. If you’re going to come to AEW, where some of the best wrestle, you have to be willing to wrestle.
This was Kofi’s first singles match in AEW and his first singles match anywhere since March. It was also his first singles victory since August 2025. AEW didn’t just give him a quick showcase win, either. Kofi and Lee Moriarty went over 13 minutes and were given the opportunity to have an actual wrestling match.
Kofi doing a moonsault legitimately caught me off guard. For someone who has accomplished as much as he has, he certainly didn’t wrestle like someone simply going through the motions. That’s what has stood out to me about The New Day so far. They aren’t relying on nostalgia. They’re putting in the work to establish themselves with a different audience and roster.
Kofi challenging Bandido for the ROH World Title afterward also gave the match a purpose beyond getting Kofi his first AEW singles win.
HIT — Queen Aminata vs. Julia Hart
The fans got extremely into this match as it went along, and Queen Aminata and Julia Hart worked really well together. There were stiff shots throughout, and the physicality made this feel different from everything else on the show.
More importantly, Aminata getting the win continues the title-shot story AEW has been building with her over the past few weeks. That’s something I’ve wanted to see more of on Collision. Give the women consistent television time, give their matches a reason to matter, and then follow up on it the next week.
Aminata continues to build momentum, while Hart was able to have a strong match without the loss hurting her. The crowd buying into the match as much as they did was an added bonus.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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HIT — Clockwork Carnage comes to AEW
I’m intrigued by the announcement of Clockwork Carnage for the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream, but I’m even more interested in where the idea came from.
The concept was created by Will Ospreay and actually debuted just one night earlier for Pro Wrestling EVE in London. After seeing the match work there, Ospreay wanted to bring the concept to AEW. Tony Schiavone explained on Collision that Tony Khan asked Ospreay what he wanted for his World Title match at WrestleDream, and this was the result.
There are a lot of rules here, and on paper, it’s a lot to process. But I’m giving AEW credit for trying something different. More importantly, I like that an idea Ospreay developed outside of AEW was successful and AEW was willing to bring it onto a much larger stage almost immediately.
Now they have to make all those rules as easy to follow in execution as they were on the graphic.
HIT — Jon Moxley
Jon Moxley and Jake Doyle had the type of hard-hitting match you would expect from these two. Doyle’s size and power gave Moxley something different to work against, and I thought Doyle came out of the match looking better despite taking the loss.
But my biggest takeaway here really isn’t about the match.
I think Moxley deserves some acknowledgment for the week he just had. He was part of Wednesday’s tribute to PAC and then came back three days later to work a physical 13-minute main event on Collision.
Before the match, AEW showed the Death Riders backstage with a chair and towel marked “Property of Ben.” Renee Paquette also acknowledged what the last few days had been like for the group.
At a time when AEW needed him the most, Moxley was there. Whatever you think about the Death Riders creatively, I think that deserves to be acknowledged.
FINAL SCORE
- HITS: 4
- MISSES: 0
FINAL THOUGHTS
Let’s be honest. It’s only been seven days since the stunning and sudden news of Ben Satterley’s passing, and personally, I still haven’t shaken it.
With WrestleDream two weeks away, normally this would be the time when you would expect AEW to start turning up the heat with major angles. Outside of what they are doing with Thekla and Mercedes Moné, that really wasn’t this show.
And honestly, that’s okay.
After everything this locker room has gone through over the last week, I don’t know how you could expect otherwise. Collision moved some stories forward, gave us good wrestling, and continued the build toward WrestleDream.
Sometimes getting through the show is enough.
WRESTLING HISTORY
On this day in 2016: Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte in the main event of WWE Raw in Los Angeles to win the Raw Women’s Championship for the second time.
