SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW COLLISION REPORT
FEBRUARY 8, 2025
ROSENBERG, TEX. AT FT. BEND EPICENTER
AIRED LIVE ON TNT AND MAX
REPORT BY BRIAN ZILEM PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Attendance: 2,879 per WrestleTix
Commentators: Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness
Ring Announcers: Arkady Aura
[HOUR ONE]
-Mark Briscoe and Kyle Fletcher did promos to hype their main event match.
-The Elton John intro played.
– Tony Schiavone welcomed everyone to show.
-The Death Riders jumped security as the commentators previewed the show. Jon Moxley grabbed a mic and said the show starts when he says it starts.
Moxley said he was “getting a little sick of the Rated-R Superstar, Adam Copeland.” He said he has a list of 1,000 reasons he won’t give him the title match he wants. He said he’ll stick with the simplest one: “I don’t like anything about you.” He said Copeland doesn’t know a single thing about him (Mox) or this place (AEW) or being AEW Champion. He told him to “take your challenge and stick it right up your ass.” He said if he wants a fight, he can do it anywhere and he can bring his “stupid, half-broken neck” and his “stupid friend” Jay White. He added: “If I decide it’s time to break your neck, you ain’t coming back from that. ”
(Brian’s Thoughts: Straightforward to the point. It’s a Death Riders promo that made sense and wasn’t undermined by saying he was fighting for the soul of AEW.)
(1) THE UNDISPUTED KINGDOM (Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) vs. ANGELO PARKER & DANIEL GARCIA & MATT MENARD & SHANE TAYLOR PROMOTIONS (Carlie Bravo & Shane Taylor & Shawn Dean)
Strong attempted to chop Taylor, but Taylor gave Strong a left hook to the face for his troubles. Strong lured Taylor into the corner, and Strong and O’Reilly doubled-teamed Taylor. Magic tagged himself in the match. The crowd chanted, “Daddy Magic!” Cole was tagged in and tripled-teamed by Shane Taylor promotions. Magic grabbed a headset to call the match. Garcia was dropped on the apron. Taylor nailed him with a huge leg drop. [c]
After the break, Garcia managed to get Taylor up for a side suplex. Garcia went to his corner to make a tag, but Dean and Bravo pulled the legs from under Magic and Parker. After giving Sean and Bravo neckbreakers, he made the hot tag to O’Reilly and ran wild. Cole hit a neckbreaker on Bravo for a near fall. The match broke down, and all nine men brawled in the ring. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome!”
The match broke down again. The Undisputed Kingdom triple-teamed Taylor, and he was sent to the outside. In the match’s closing moments, Adam Cole lowered the Boom to hit the running knee on Bravo to secure the pinfall victory for his team.
WINNERS: The Undisputed Kingdom in 13:12
(Brian’s Thoughts: The match itself wasn’t blown away, but the crowd injected so much energy into the match that it was contagious.)
-Post-match, The Death Riders jumped The Undisputed Kingdom. Claudio Castagnoli grabbed a mic and said we were out here to remind everyone who the best trio is. Adam Cole followed up and said, “You’re messing with the wrong trio. All six men brawled to set up a Trio’s Title match this Tuesday on AEW Dynamite.”
(Brian’s Thoughts: Adam Cole made a babyface promise that The Undisputed Kingdom would win the Trio’s Titles this coming Tuesday, and it’s time to refresh the division. )
-A FTR hype video was shown.
-Max Caster was backstage with Alicia Atout. Caster said Hangman Page chased him for no reason. Caster asked, “Who could survive the best wrestler alive?”
(2) BANDIDO vs. BRYAN KEITH
Keith threw his poncho in the face of Bandido to gain the early advantage. Bandido looked electric in the ring early and often and drilled Keith with a dropkick. Bandido climbed to the top rope, and Keith cleaned his clock with a back fist. The crowd chanted, “BK!” [C]
After the break, Bandido went for a roll-up and got a near fall. Bandido lifted Keith for a one-armed gorilla press. Bandido went for a cover and got a close near fall. Keith drilled Bandido with a lariat. Both men brawled on the top rope as Keith threw Bandido to the mat. The crowd gave a standing ovation and chanted “BK!” A countdown clock was shown to promote halftime Harley. Both men exchanged kicks and then went back to stare down at each other for a duel. Both men drilled one another with running knees and were both laid out. The crowd gave them another standing ovation and chanted, “Holly shit!” In the match’s closing moments, Bandido hit a modified spinning GTS and finished the match with 21 plex to secure the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Bandido in 10:00
(Brian’s Thoughts: This match was excellent. What an inspired pairing this was. Bandido looked like a star, and Keith was over in his hometown. He looked great throughout the match.)
-Will Hobbs was backsatge with Lexy Nair. Hobbs said he’ll be in Texas all week if Big Bill wants a fight.
(3) LA FACCION INGOBERNABLE (Dralistico & Rush & The Beast Mortos) vs. ARES ALEXANDER & BRICK SAVAGE & JAY ALEXANDER
WINNERS: La Faccion Ingobernable in 1:24
-Post-match, LFI beat everyone down. Komander made his way to the ring only to be beaten down to the numbers given. Hologram made his return, and with the help of Komander, they held off LFI. Rush took out an official in the aftermath.
(Brian’s Thoughts: Hologram looked great in his return, and the potential pairing of Hologram and Komander in the tag team division sounds like a great idea.)
-Lexy Nair was backstage, and he tried to get a work with Megan Bayne, but she shrugged her off. Thunder Rosa asked for a high five, and Bayne ignored her.
-Harley Cameron’s halftime show. Harley started to sing but was interrupted by Mercedes Moné.
Mercedes said, “Harley, are you stupid or dumb? Nobody came out here to watch the Harley halftime show. No, everybody bought a ticket tonight to see me. Please say hello to your CEO.”
Cameron said, “You got four belts; I’ve got one dream, so what do you say? ”
Mercedes said, “Harley, look, I understand you are so talented. You’re super talented, but let’s get real. I mean, if there’s anything real about you. Look, I don’t understand why you wanna challenge me to a match when that little puppet on your back could probably run better than you. So, I think you need to get the hell out of my ring because you are not on my level loser. Do you know what this is saying?”
Cameron said, “You’re right. You know what, you’re right. I’m new to this, okay? And I could only ever dream of achieving what you already have in my career, okay? But I have fought so hard to be where I am today, and I’m not sorry. I would love nothing more than to face you in Australia in my home city in my own country for the TBS Title. You’re a game-changer. But I have to admit that in your whole career that the most entertaining that you’ve ever been is when I had my hand up your puppet ass.”
Mercedes slapped Cameron, but she followed up by nailing Mercedes with a mic to her face. Mercedes rolled out the ring and said you have your match for Grand Slam.
(Brian’s Thoughts: Cameron is a good challenger for AEW Grand Slam. The online discourse about Cameron is that she hasn’t earned this spot. They haven’t seen how much work she’s put in the past few months, nor have they considered that sometimes it is nice to do nice things for wrestlers in their hometown. The match will likely lead to an excellent near fall in their match next Saturday.)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
[HOUR TWO]
-Lexy Nair sat down with Buddy Matthews and Kazuchika Okada. Matthews said Australia stands with him, and he will beat Okada for his title next Saturday.
(4) DUSTIN RHODES vs. IZZY JAMES
WINNER: Dustin Rhodes 0:28
-After the match, Rhodes grabbed a mic and said MJF is not the devil. He said: “I’ve been to hell, looking at the devil in his eyes and kicked his teeth in. Next week in Austin, Texas, I’m going to drag you hell and give you a Texas Size ass whooping for the ages.”
-The Death Riders cut a backstage promo and accepted the Undisputed Kingdom’s challenge.
(5) THUNDER ROSA (w/El Toro) vs. PENELOPE FORD
WINNER: Thunder Rosa in 10:05
-After the match, Megan Bayne made her way to the ring. Ford jumped Rosa, allowing Bayne to pick up the pieces and give Rosa an F5.
-A highlight package was shown from Defy Wrestling where Swerve Strickland jumped Ricochet.
-Lexy Nair was backstage with rapper Bun B to promote his hamburgers when Ricochet interrupted the interview. Ricochet took a bite of the burger, spit it out, and then jumped B’s server.
(6) MARIAH MAY vs. SHAY KARMICHAEL – Non-Title Match
WINNER: 0:33
-After the match, May dressed Karmichael like “Timeless” Toni Storm. Luther returned and gave May a shoe. While May was distracted, Storm switched places with Karmichael. Storm looked to hit Storm Zero on the steel steps, but May got away.
-The Don Callis family jumped security backstage.
(7) KYLE FLETCHER vs. MARK BRISCOE
WINNER: Kyle Fletcher in 14:55
(Brian’s Thoughts: These two have off-the-charts chemistry together. What a fantastic main event.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Wonderful balance throughout the entire show. I’m glad Collision is slowly finding its identity. Also, it can’t go unsaid how great this Houston crowd was from start to finish!
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