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AEW COLLISION REPORT
APRIL 5, 2025
PEORIA, IL AT THE PEORIA CIVIC CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON TBS & MAX
REPORT BY JOSHUA WHITE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Don Callis
Ring Announcer: Arkady Aura
Attendance: This show was recorded along with Dynamite on Wednesday. WrestleTix reported that 2,511 tickets had been distributed as of showtime; the venue was set up for around 2,824 seats. The arena has a capacity of 12,036 spectators when configured for concerts.
[HOUR ONE]
-Elton John’s opening theme played followed by pyro and Toni Schiavone introducing the show. Nigel was out this week, so we got Don Callis all night!
(1) KYLE FLETCHER & KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs POWERHOUSE HOBBS & TOMOHIRO ISHII
Kyle Fletcher’s music interrupted Schiavone bringing out Fletcher and Don Callis. Takeshita had separate entrance music and joined his partner on the stage. They bumped fists and headed to the ring.
Don Callis hopped on commentary. Apparently, they called him “The Linguist.” Not sure who called him that.
Powerhouse Hobbs’s music blasted through the arena and Hobbs made his entrance through the crowd. Callis said Hobbs used to bully him when he was in the family. Ishii was the surprise tag partner for Hobbs and made his entrance with Rocky Romero. The bell rang five minutes into the hour.
Ishii requested Takeshita to enter the ring, and he obliged. After a shoving match, they hit each other with running shoulder blocks and then forearm strikes. They went back to shoulder tackles. Takeshita broke it up with a big boot before returning to shoulder tackles until both collapsed.
Powerhouse Hobbs and Kyle Fletcher both tagged in. We got a “meat” chant as Fletcher entered the ring cautiously. Fletcher and Hobbs locked up and Fletcher forced Hobbs into the corner. He flexed and said, “Meat, baby.” Hobbs was not impressed. Fletcher took control and stomped Hobbs down in the corner. Fletcher shrugged off a DDT attempt and threw Hobbs into the corner with ease. He followed up with some punches that dropped Fletcher to the mat.
Hobbs tagged in Ishii, and they double-teamed Fletcher with a combination forearm smash and a big shoulder block. Fletcher came back and put Ishii down with a scoop slam. Fletcher then hit the ropes and feigned a trip, claiming Rocky Romero had tripped him. Takeshita tagged in and joined Fletcher in a double shoulder block that knocked Ishii down. Both members of the Don Callis family flexed as we went to commercial.
Back from break, Fletcher and Takeshita attempted to double team Ishii, but the Stone Pitbull fought them off. Takeshita dropped Ishii to one knee, but he popped right back up and hit a brainbuster on Takeshita. Hobbs got the hot tag, busted through an attempted double clothesline, and nailed Fletcher and Takeshita with a flying shoulder tackle. Hobbs went back and forth between corners, splashing his opponents. He dropped the straps on his singlet and slammed Fletcher down with a Rock Bottom—or maybe a Book End.
Takeshita countered a spinebuster attempt and delivered a strong German suplex. He tried to charge Hobbs, but the big man hit a desperation spinebuster. Hobbs managed to crawl to his corner and tag in Ishii.
Ishii entered and took a big kick to the face from Fletcher. Ishii followed it with a German suplex. Fletcher came back and dropped Ishii with a half-and-half suplex. Takeshita joined in, and they knocked Hobbs out of the ring and hit a double running boot on Ishii in the corner. They set up for a powerbomb from the top rope, but Ishii reversed it into a hurricanrana on Fletcher.
Hobbs hit a powerslam on Fletcher, and Ishii followed it with a low running lariat. Ishii countered a brainbuster attempt with a stiff headbutt to Kyle Fletcher. He covered Fletcher for a two count. Both men attempted and blocked brainbusters until Takeshita assisted Fletcher in landing his successfully.
Fletcher went for the pin, but Hobbs broke it up (a bit late). Takeshita hit Hobbs with a Blue Thunder Bomb and they both rolled out of the ring, leaving Fletcher and Ishii alone. Fletcher hit a lariat that dropped Ishii, but Ishii came right back up—now bleeding from the face.
Fletcher stayed on offense, scooping Ishii up and driving him down with a tombstone piledriver followed immediately by the brainbuster Callis referred to as a ProtoDriver. Fletcher went for the pin and got the three count at 8:18.
WINNER: Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita via pinfall in 13:30.
(White’s Analysis: Good tag match with solid action. Kyle Fletcher and Takeshita looked like future superstars. Nice to see them get a clean win with the Owen Hart Tournament coming up.)
– Replay of the tornado tag match that opened Dynamite, with emphasis on Moxley dropping Willow with the Paradigm Shift. They focused on the Hangman interaction and then the Swerve beatdown. They didn’t show the extreme closeup of the obviously fake glass.
– Promo of wrestlers talking about All In Texas.
– The Cru were on screen and Action Andretti called out Top Flight, talking about beating them week after week. They were right—this program had become the longest running feud in AEW. Lio Rush and Andretti approached Nick Wayne, who was randomly sitting by himself backstage. They implied they could use a third man in case AR Fox backed up Top Flight. Nick Wayne said he was “too valuable” to help them out. They mocked him, saying Nick needed his daddy’s permission. Nick said he was his own man and did what he wanted. And if he did attack Fox, it would be for himself—not them.
(2) MAX CASTER vs. MARK BRISCOE
Max Caster was in the ring with his copyright for being the best wrestler alive. Caster said he had to drive through a tornado to get there, before throwing shade at an unnamed previous tag partner who didn’t make it to the show.
Max tried to get his chant going. The crowd didn’t get the chant right, but at least Callis quietly chanted on commentary. Max said Peoria was stupid for not being able to chant correctly. Caster said he’d be in Philly for the open challenge.
Mark Briscoe’s music played and he headed to the ring to get his win before heading into the Owen Hart Tournament to lose. The match started at the half-hour mark.
Briscoe dropped Caster with some Redneck Kung Fu and then a flying forearm. Caster crawled to the corner and managed to get his feet up, but Briscoe still knocked Caster out of the rope. Briscoe followed up with a dive through the ropes, so we got to hear Schiavone say “The chicken taking flight.” Briscoe high-fived fans at ringside.
Back in the ring, Caster went for a clothesline, but Briscoe turned it around and set him up for the Jay Driller. Briscoe hooked the arms and drove Platinum Max headfirst into the mat. He went for the pin and got the three count.
WINNER: Mark Briscoe via pinfall in 1:30.
(White’s Analysis: Quick squash like most of Caster’s open challenges. Good for Briscoe to get a win going into the tournament.)
– Video on Will Ospreay and Kevin Knight at Dynasty.
– Jay White was backstage with Lexy Nair. Jay said he was happy for Kevin Knight and called out Will Ospreay for dodging the Switchblade in the tournament. He called out the Death Riders for his injury. He said they didn’t take him out—oh no—they’d given him the gift of time to plan and prepare, and that they’d regret messing with him.
(3) CRU vs. TOP FLIGHT
Andretti and Rush entered in their weird spiky inflatable coats. So, they weren’t The Cru, they were just Cru.
Top Flight’s music played, bringing Leila Grey to the stage. Cru were confusedly waiting on their opponents. Dante and Darius came through the crowd and attacked them from behind. They beat down Cru on the outside and brought it into the ring as the match started at 38 minutes past the hour. Darius and Dante immediately dropped Andretti with a double team clothesline.
Lio Rush got the tag and ran into a dropkick from Darius. Lio reversed a whip into the ropes and jumped up but landed on a Manhattan drop from Darius. Rush knocked Darius out to ringside and Andretti took him down with an Arabian press. Dante hit a dropkick to the outside on Andretti. And then Rush took out Dante with a suicide dive through the ropes. Everyone was down on the outside as we went to break.
Back from commercial, Darius and Action Andretti were down. Rush and Dante got the tag, and Dante hit a high knee and a springboard dropkick on Rush. Dante went for the pin and got a two count.
Rush gouged Dante’s eyes and tagged in Andretti, who came in with a neckbreaker on Dante. Andretti and Rush dropped Darius with a series of strikes. Dante caught an enziguri from Rush, followed by Andretti coming in with a high springboard lariat that earned him a two count.
Andretti and Rush tried a double suplex, but Darius saved him. All four men traded punches in the middle of the ring. No idea who was legal or why the ref thought this was a tornado tag match suddenly.
Dante hit a rough dive on Rush to the outside while Andretti hit a falcon arrow on Darius in the ring. Dante snuck up behind Andretti and rolled him up in a crucifix for the three count and the win.
WINNERS: Top Flight via pinfall in 8:00.
(White’s Analysis: Athletic match as expected. Roll-up win guaranteed the feud would continue. Less a good match than a collection of decent spots. Of all the young talent here, I had the most hope for Nick Wayne.)
Cru attacked Top Flight after the match and AR Fox came out for the save. However, Nick Wayne attacked him from behind. It was made official—per Schiavone—this would be a trios match on the pre-show for Dynasty.
-Backstage with Lexy, Jamie Hayter and Billie Starkz backstage discuss their recent and future match. Jamie Hayter is impressed with Billie but warns her to watch out for Athena. Billie says she’s not a failure and is trying to prove that to everyone.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the “All Elite Conversation Club” with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
-Renee is backstage with Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard. The TNT title sits on a table with Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick strong on the other side. Renee asks about Danny defending the title for the first time on PPV. Adam Cole interrupts to say that he’s beaten Garcia before, and he will win at Dynasty for the TNT title.
Garcia says he’s only given Adam the shot at the title out of respect and this is his last chance. He says Cole has had 17 years of chances and opportunities and the next 17 years belong to Garcia.
Adam Cole asks everyone to leave the room. Alone with Garcia, Adam Cole says that the truth is Daniel isn’t ready to be a champion. Cole closes by saying he’s gonna whoop that ass. They stand up and stare each other down. Garcia knocks on the table, grabs his title, and leaves.
(White’s Analysis: This is ostensibly a babyface versus babyface match, but Adam Cole came off a bit heelish during this promo. He also didn’t look too yellow, but maybe the yellow shirt distracted from his skin color.)
(4) CASH WHEELER vs. PAC
Cash enters bathed in purple light without Dax to FTR’s music. Commentary comments on the issues between Dax and Cash as of late. Death Riders’ music plays and Pac enters through the crowd giving everyone the finger. Pac is a perfect 13-0 on Collision. The bell rings to start the match minute befor ethe hour.
They lock up with Pac getting control and then mocking the recent issues between Dax and Cash. Pac forces Cash into the corner and brings him out with a headlock takeover. Cash gets out with a pin attempt. Pac kicks out immediately. Back on their feet, Pac drops Cash with a shoulder block and goes back to the headlock takeover.
[HOUR TWO]
Back on their feet again, Pac performs a handspring into a hip toss into another headlock takeover. Cash works his way to his feet and Pac knees him in the midsection before throwing him face first into the corner turnbuckle.
Cash comes back with a backslide that gets him a two count. Cash hits a shoulder block and hip toss of his own. He lands a boot to the face of Pac, causing Pac to roll to the outside for a break.
Back in the ring, they repeatedly counter hip tosses until Pac tosses Cash onto the apron. Cash knocks Pac down with a forearm and goes to the top rope. Pac is up and meets him up there. Pac sets up for a superplex but Cash punches his way out of it and knocks Pac to the mat.
Cash goes back to the top rope, but Pac springs up and hits the ropes. Cash crashes down onto the apron. Pac hits the ropes and knocks Cash off of the apron, sending him flying into the railing. Cash gets up and walks into a kick from Pac on the apron. Pac then hits a beautiful springboard moonsault to the outside as we go to break.
Back to the show, Pac hits a running European uppercut in the corner. He goes for the pin and Cash kicks out at two. Pac locks in a crossface and Cash struggles out of the hold. Pac hits a spinning sole kick and a snap suplex. Cash crawls into the corner in pain.
Pac charges, but Cash dumps him up over the top rope. Cash hits the opposite ropes hard and takes out Pac with a suicide dive to the outside. Back in the ring, Wheeler goes back to the top rope and hits Pac with crossbody right into the pin. Pac kicks out at two.
Cash hits a European uppercut and a flying clothesline. He gets pumped up as the crowd cheers him on. He chops and punches Pac in the corner. Pac reverses a whip and tries for the leapfrog but Cash plucks him out of midair with a powerslam that gets another two count.
Cash goes back to the top rope and goes for a flying headbutt. Pac rolls out of the way leaving Cash to crash and burn into the mat. Now Pac makes his way to the top rope. Cash gets to his feet and rushes to the ropes and brings Pac down with a quick superplex. Cash goes for the pin again and Pac kicks out at two again.
Pac slips out of a fireman’s carry and hits a series of kicks and a release German suplex. Pac brings Cash to his feet and eats a desperation clothesline. Cash charges Pac in the corner but Pac gets his foot up for a thrust kick.
Pac makes his way to the top rope and goes for the Black Arrow. Cash moves out of the way and Pac manages to land on his feet. However, Cash pulls him right into a piledriver. Cash goes for the pin and Pac just barely gets an arm up at two.
Claudio makes his way through the crowd to the ring. Cope charges to meet him at ringside as Wheeler Yuta sneaks in from the other side. Dax comes out to stop him, but Yuta clocks him in the head with the ringside bell hammer. Cash grabs Yuta and sticks him with a piledriver. During the chaos, Pac rolls Cash up from behind and gets the three count.
WINNER: Pac via pinfall in 15:00
(White’s Analysis: This was a good match, Cash usually performs as well in singles matches as he does in tag matches, and Pac is one of the most criminally underused wrestlers on the roster. Even with the end match shenanigans this was still the match of the night so far.)
-The Death Riders escape to ringside with the ring hammer and exit through the crowd. Cope and FTR are all in the ring, dejected. Cope and Cash help Dax to his feet and they have a trios hug in the middle of the ring.
-Video on Omega, Bailey and Ricochet match. This probably should’ve been on Dynamite.
-Ricochet’s music plays and he enters dressed in black, mocking someone in the crowd. Ricochet is headed to the commentary table and we’re getting a three-man booth with Callis, Schiavone and Ricochet. Dream team.
-Shane Taylor promotions talk to the camera, with Taylor talking about how he’s sick of people acting like they’re gangsters. I think they’re calling out The Ops. Ride or hide, ‘cause STP are outside. Weird stuff.
(5) “SPEEDBALL” MIKE BAILEY vs. DRALISTICO
Speedball makes his entrance as Ricochet settles into commentary. Dralistico enters with The Beast Mortos. The bell rings to start the match at 25 past the hour as Don Callis calls Bailey a “scumbag from Montreal.”
They start by playing to the crowd where Dralistico gets boos and Bailey gets cheers. Dralistico’s feeling are hurt so he starts to walk away but slides back into the ring. Speedball and Dralistico run back and forth, trading running hurricanranas.
Bailey hits some quick kicks and then bows to Dralistico, who meets him with the middle finger. Bailey drops Dralistico with a roundhouse to the chest.
Dralistico chops Speedball in the corner. Speedball handspring off the ropes and hits the rapid kicks on Dralistico.
Speedball runs into Mortos on the outside, which allows Dralistico to throw him into the safety rail and then slam him against the commentary desk. Dralistico connects with a thrust kick on the outside as we go to break.
Back from break and Bailey connects with a missile dropkick off of the middle rope. Bailey puts Dralistico on the mat with a series and kicks then lands a running shooting star press into the pin for a two count.
Dralistico rolls to the outside. Baily performs a moonsault to the outside, but Dralistco dodges and Mortos takes the hit. Dralistico takes advantage by nailing Bailey with a dive to the outside and then rolls him back into the ring. Dralistico springboards into an impressive Codebreaker on Bailey in the ring. The crowd cheers for Bailey.
Bailey comes back with a spinning heel kick. He then hits his spinning super ultra mega tornado corkscrew back heel roundhouse kick to the face. Dralistico goes down like a sack of potatoes and Bailey gets the three count.
WINNER: Speedball Bailey via pinfall in 8:30
(White’s Analysis: Bailey continues to look great. The winner wasn’t in doubt, but this was a fine match. Dralistico looked good even though this was another highlight match for Speedball.)
-Ricochet comes from behind and kicks Bailey below the belt immediately following the match. He follows up with the Spirit Gun. Ricochet heads to the back as his music plays leaving Bailey laying in the ring. We get Ricochet’s patented heel laugh before before Tony throws to Lexy.
-Thunder Rosa and Statlander in the back, discussing their opening round match. It’s their first ever match and they’re both kind of excited. Thunder Rosa said she needs to win and it’s nothing personal. Stat mocks Thunder for having to give up the world title. They bicker resulting in Thunder slapping Stat as she grabs Rosa by the neck.
-Rundown of Dynasty matches.
-Mercedes and Harley are stretching in the back. They argue while Mercedes criticizes Harly’s stretching. Mini Mercedes in the background speaks up, annoying real Mercedes. This was the most natural Mercedes has been in a non-wrestling segment in a long time.
-Toni Storm promo video with Renee on voiceover. Hyping the match with Megan Bayne at Dynasty.
(6) MERCEDES MONE & HARLEY CAMERON vs. JULIA HART & ATHENA
Mercedes is out first with her annoying music and annoying dance. Some fans in the front row mock her. Harley is out second and she receives a warmer welcome. She holds up the Mercedes puppet which also gets a bigger pop than real Mercedes.
Julia is out next and she sings her theme song as she walks through relative darkness with flames shooting up behind her.
We get a replay of Mercedes’ debut, which of course included Julia Hart, Skye Blue (MIA) and Willow. Athena is out last and gets a good reception despite being hidden in ROH for years. We even get an “Athena chant.” She immediately gets in Merecedes’ face.
The bell rings at 47 minutes into the hour with Mercedes and Athena starting the match. Nevermind; Mercedes immediately tags in Harley. Athena is not impressed by Harley. Harley takes Athena to the mat as Merecedes coaches her. Athena comes back with an arm drag before tagging in Julia.
Julia continues to work Harley’s arm. Julia rolls Harley into a small package for a two count. Julia whips Harley into the corner. She charges in but Harley dodges and lands a kick. Harley follows up with an enziguri and goes for the pin. Julia kicks out before two.
Harley tags in Mercedes and Julia immediately rolls Mercedes up for a one count. Mercedes hits a knee to the midsection and just throws Julia down to the mat face first. Mercedes hangs Julia by her feet in the corner and kicks her as she hangs. Mercedes goes for the running dropkick, but Julia pulls herself up to dodge. She drops back down and stares menacingly at Merecedes.
Mercedes charges again and Julia evades her again. Julia locks Mercedes into a flying octopus hold. Harley throws the puppet into the ring to distract Julia, allowing Mercedes to escape the hold. Mercedes sets Julia up into the tombstone lungblower. Julia is down as we go to commercial.
Back from break, Julia breaks out of a hold and reaches to tag in Athena. Mercedes throws Julia into the corner and tags in Harley. Harley runs into Julia’s boot in the corner, allowing Jula to make the tag to Athena as Harley tags in Mercedes.
Athena and Meredes counter each other back and forth before Athena lands a thrust kick. Harley tries to run in but Athena easily throws Harley on her shoulders. Mercedes goes for a crossbody but Athena catches her and slams Mercedes and Harley simultaneously.
Athena drops Harley with a hard forearm and goes for the pin. Mercedes makes the save and Athena throws her out of the ring. Athena hits the ropes and clobbers Mercedes with a suicide dive on the outside. Athena turns around and Harley grabs her from the apron and performs a tornado DDT to the floor.
Mercedes and Harley lift Athena as Julia climbs to the top rope and hits all three of them with a crossbody from the top to the outside. Athena and Harley end up back in the ring and Harley lands some punches before running into a powerbomb from Athena.
Athena holds the powerbomb, deadlifting Harley back up and tagging in Julia before delivering a second powerbomb. Julia goes for her moonsault but Harley rolls out of the way. Julia lands on her feet and rolls right into Mercedes, who drops her with a backstabber.
Mercedes go for a kick, but Athena catches her foot and slams her down. Harley catches the distracted Athena with a neckbreaker. Julia and Harley legal are the legal participants and they trade strikes in the ring as the crowd chants “this is awesome.”
Harley lands a weak looking Eat Defeat and then slams Julia down. Harley screams “feel the wrath” as sets her up for her Finishing Move. Julia escapes and looks up for a powerbomb. Harley counters, lifting her up for a backdrop, but Julia holds on and transitions into the flying octopus submission.
Mercedes watches ringside as Harley struggles trapped in Julia’s hold. Athena stands between them, daring Mercedes to come in the ring and help. But she doesn’t, and Harley has no choice but to tap out.
WINNERS: Athena and Julia Hart via submission
(White’s Analysis: There’s a little clunk that’s going to come with Harley in the ring, but she is athletic, improving and has a great character. Everything was smooth with Mercedes and Athena, leading to a very good back and forth match. Julia looked good too, securing the win for her team.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: And that’s your show. Classic Collision: a bunch of wrestling, loosely related to ongoing storylines, still nothing newsworthy. Not a whole lot of extra push for Dynasty tomorrow night, either. It’s been one of their most weak booked shows, although they were working with a short timeline. But that’s not much of an excuse, ‘cause who’s scheduling these things?
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