12/25 AEW Christmas Collision Results – The show opened with a video setting up the state of the Continental Classic as it stands heading into tonight’s show. Following that, we were welcomed by Tony Schiavone, who led us into our opening bout.
Continental Classic Gold League Match: “Protostar” Kyle Fletcher (6 pts) vs. “Jungle” Jack Perry (6 pts)
As the bell rang for this opener, both men stood on opposite corners as the “sickos” chanted enthusiasically. Once things got going, Fletcher backed Perry into a corner with a lock-up and backed off before the two engaged in a technical duel. Fletcher took down Perry with a shoulder block and flexed as he deftly avoided a dropkick from Perry. The methodical pace continued between Perry and Fletcher as neither man got a clear advantage at this early stage of the match.
Things began to quicken as Fletcher paid homage to Lance Storm with a single-leg crab, but Perry was able to break the hold up by reaching the bottom ropes. Fletcher continued to target the ankle of Perry that was affected by the crab hold before the two traded chops. Perry quickened the pace further as he avoided a running Fletcher in the corner before he sent him out of the ring with a hurricanrana. On the apron, Perry tried to go for another hurricanrana, but was caught by Fletcher, who instead threw him fiercely on the apron with a powerbomb.
In the ring, Fletcher hoisted Perry up for an attempted suplex, but Perry bit at the left nipple of Fletcher to escape. Perry fought back with chops, but Fletcher threw him against the ropes with a scoop slam. Fletcher trapped one of Perry’s leg between the ring and steel steps as he stripped away the shoes from Perry’s damaged ankle, much to the protestations of referee Aubrey Edwards. With that ankle exposed and sat on the steps (but not before finally heeding Hangman Page’s advice on finding some socks), Fletcher stomped on it to cause maximum pain for Perry as we headed to a break.
As we returned from the break, Perry nailed Fletcher with a dropkick as he began to mount an attempted comeback. Perry tried to go for a leap off the turnbuckle, but he landed on the bad ankle, which momentarily stunned him. He did, however, manage to knock Fletcher loopy with a hard clothesline. Perry went for a baseball slide, but Fletcher caught him momentarily. Perry reversed that into a bulldog. Outside the ring, Fletcher lifted Perry up after a dive attempt and connected with the sheer drop brainbuster on the ramp.
Back in the ring, Fletcher hit a Michinoku Driver, but Perry somehow managed to kick out at two. In the corner, Fletcher blasted Perry with a running big boot and lifted him up to the top rope. Perry managed to avoid a grisly fate as he had Fletcher stunned long enough for a sunset flip powerbomb. Perry hyped himself up and attempted a running knee, but Fletcher blocked that move and turned it into a modified single leg crab that targeted the injured ankle.
Perry struggled, but he managed to break free from Fletcher’s hold and locked in the Snare Trap right in the middle of the ring with just under five minutes remaining in this match. Fletcher looked like he was about to pass out, but he recovered ever-so-slightly and got a single finger on the bottom rope to break the hold. Both men got back on their feet and traded back-and-forth strikes, but Fletcher hit Perry with a running knee against the middle rope. He lifted Perry up for a powerbomb, but got reversed into a piledriver. One, two… NO! With time soon running out, Perry tried for another running knee, but got reversed into a pin that he kicked out of. Fletcher flatlined Perry with a clothesline but couldn’t connect with the brainbuster from the corner. With one minute left, Fletcher hit the running kick in the corner before he hit his brainbuster to pick up the win.
Kyle Fletcher def. Jack Perry via pinfall (3 pts for Fletcher (9))
What an incredible opener on this massive night for the C2. Perry vs. Fletcher was a heck of a way to get this night going and they had me believing that we’d see a draw as I was on the edge of my seat for this bout. Stellar stuff.
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– Backstage, Renee Paquette was talking with Roderick Strong, who said that someone wanted to speak to him, that someone being Kyle O’Reilly. He told Strong that he wanted to see a Christmas miracle in the form of beating Claudio Castagnoli tonight and to remind people that he was “Roderick Effin’ Strong”.
Continental Classic Blue League Match: “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita (x – 10 pts) vs. Mascara Dorada (6 pts)
Takeshita went for a headlock, but Dorada used his agility to break out of it as the two faced off briefly before a chain wrestling battle ensued. Takeshita slammed Dorada down before he offered a helpful hand and lifted him back up with no issue. The match continued with the fast pace as Dorada stood up and now offered a hand of his own to Takeshita after a takedown. Takeshita accepted in a show of respect before we got into the match again.
Dorada tried to go for a running attack, but Takeshita absorbed the blow. Dorada avoided a lariat, and balanced on the middle rope and hit an amazing hurricanarana, which sent Takeshita retreating to outside the ring. Dorada headed up to the top rope for a dive to the outside, but it was high risk and no reward as Takeshita adeptly dodged at the last moment. Dorada ended up crashing into the barricade instead and we took a break at this point.
Our action picked up mid-move as Dorada hit a really nice hurricanrana on Takeshita, which again sent the Blue League leader out of the ring. Dorada headed up top once more, but managed to connect with the standing moonsault on Takeshita. Back in the ring, Dorada landed the 450 Splash on Takeshita, but his foe kicked out at two. Dorada avoided a back suplex and tried for a springboard move, but Takeshita turned that into a smooth-looking Blue Thunder Bomb for the close near-fall.
Takeshita caught a hurricanrana attempt by Dorada and wanted to go for a powerbomb, but that got turned into a poison rana instead. Takeshita quickly recovered and crushed Dorada with a running lariat. On the top rope, Takeshita and Dorada fought briefly before the masked man sent his foe down to the mat. A dive from Dorada got turned into a piledriver, but he managed a rolling pin that nearly won him the match. Things began to pick up even more here as the two again found themselves in a dogfight on the top turnbuckle. Takeshita hit an incredible standing lariat on Takeshita from the top rope, followed by the knee strike and the Raging Fire for the three. Wow.
Konosuke Takeshita def. Mascara Dorada via pinfall (3 pts for Takeshita (13); Dorada eliminated)
Even with the outcome not really in doubt, this turned out to be as good of a match as tonight’s opener. That’s just the testament to the talent of both Takeshita and Dorada in this one. The former is set for a huge 2026 regardless of how the rest of the C2 will turn out for him. For his part, Dorada has shown how excellent he can be in the ring and this match was no exception.
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Continental Classic Blue League Match: Claudio Castagnoli (7 pts) vs. Roderick Strong (0 pts)
Castagnoli did not waste time as he cracked Strong with a running uppercut followed by an early pin attempt. Strong roared back with multiple strikes on a stunned Castagnoli, but he got thrown over the top ropes. Castagnoli lifted Strong from inside the ring for a suplex from the apron, but that wasn’t enough. Castagnoli continued his relentless attack with another running uppercut inside followed by one more outside the ring. Castagnoli got back in the ring and tried to get the countout win, but Strong wasn’t going to stay down.
Incensed, Castagnoli slammed Strong against the barricade and threw him into the crowd in the hopes of the countout. Strong recovered and got himself back in the ring as he caught Castagnoli with a back suplex. Castagnoli threw Strong on opposite corners and hit his running uppercut. However, Strong hit him with a running knee, followed by one last running knee for the surprise three.
Post-match, the Death Riders’ Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta attacked Strong before Mark Briscoe warded him off, armed with a kendo stick. Marina Shafir stared down Briscoe before “Timeless” Toni Storm ran down the ramp and punched Shafir. As the Death Riders retreated, Storm offered a hand to Briscoe, who then gave that hand a kiss.
Roderick Strong def. Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall (3 pts for Strong (6))
This didn’t need to be a long sprint like the previous two C2 matches tonight, but the story of Roddy Strong looking to get a convincing win on the motivation of Kyle O’Reilly was a strong (heh) one and it was a good one to go with. The post match stuff with Briscoe and Toni Storm was a nice bonus.
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– We got a video setting up a Chicago Street Fight for Worlds End between AEW Tag Champs FTR and The Bang Bang Gang, as well as a promo from AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander ahead of her own match against Jamie Hayter on Saturday.
Continental Classic Gold League Match: PAC (6 pts) vs. Kevin Knight (6 pts)
PAC and Knight locked horns to start off and traded standing switches before Knight got ahead of PAC with some acrobatics. Knight targeted the arm of PAC with a submission, but a rope break forced Knight to let go of the hold. Knight went after PAC’s arm with some elbows, but as the technical start to this match continued. A clothesline from Knight sent PAC ot the outside, but the Newcastle native walked off to prevent Knight from hitting a dive to the outside. PAC slowly got himself back into the ring and threw Knight into the corner and began to take control of this match with chops.
Knight tried to fight back with some strikes of his own, but he got thrown face-first onto the mat by PAC, which brought an end to that rally. As PAC tried to mock Knight, his foe got back up and stepped up to him with his signature jumping forearm. On the outside, Knight avoided a PAC lariat and leapt off the apron to hit the forearm yet again. PAC rolled out of the ring and got hit with one more forearm by Knight, this time from a leaping over the top rope.
In the ring, Knight connected with a pendulum DDT for the near-fall. In the corner, Knight got the ten consecutive punches on PAC as we headed to break on a clear advantage for Knight.
The match resumed from break as PAC and Knight duked it out with strikes. One more leaping strike from Knight managed to ground PAC momentarily, but the Bastard of the Death Riders hit a scoop slam to stop that. Knight ran at PAC in the corner and didn’t connect with his forearm. PAC countered and hit a gnarly-looking overhead toss on a running Knight that caused him to hit the very top of the turnbuckle as he landed out of the ring.
Knight got back in the ring and immediately got thrown with an avalanche belly-to-belly suplex from the top rope by PAC for the near-fall. PAC attempted to lock in the Brutalizer, but Knight wisely got his foot on the rope to break the hold before it could be fully locked in. PAC avoided a Knight dropkick and began to ran across the ropes looking for a move, but he couldn’t avoid another Knight dropkick.
With under five to go, both men were outside the ring as PAC caught Knight from a running posiiton and hit a German suplex right on the outside. PAC rolled back in the ring and wanted to get the countout win, but Knight mustered up enough strength to barely get back in the ring. However, PAC tried for the Black Arrow right away. Knight sprang back to life and hit a superplex on PAC from the top rope.
Both PAC and Knight struggled to get back up as they exchanged strikes. PAC got the best of the barrage as he hit Knight with a boot. The young Knight responded with a running dropkick. On the top rope, Knight had PAC in sights for the Coast-to-Coast dropkick, and he connected. He then jumped up for the UFO Splash, but PAC reversed it for the pin. One, two… NO! PAC connected with his super lariat, but Knight kicked out. PAC headed up top for the Black Arrow, but Knight got knees up and nearly got the cover. Things turned frantic as time ticked down and PAC applied the Brutalizer. Knight refused to give up as time expired and the match was ruled a draw.
PAC vs. Kevin Knight ended in a Draw (1 pt each for Knight (7 pts) & PAC (7 pts))
These Continental Classic matches just continue to be amazing bouts and Knight vs. PAC was another to this list. I loved the sense of urgency that kicked in during the final five minutes and especially in the last minute of the match as both PAC and Knight desperately wanted to get the 3 points. Fantastic match.
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– Gabe Kidd appeared to address what he did to Darby Allin on Dynamite last night, when he threw him down a flight of stairs. Kidd talked about how the fans could not understand because they refused to listen. He mentioned how Allin was not indestructible and was now laid up in the ICU because of what he did. That means Allin might not be able to answer his challenge. Just then, the lights turned off and once they came back on, Allin was in the ring to confront Kidd. Allin pulled out Sting’s baseball bat and swung it to send Kidd retreating. Allin promptly accepted Kidd’s challenge for Worlds End.
Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron) vs. Hyan & Maya World
Cameron and Hyan got things going for this tag match, as the former connected with a Slingblade. Nightingale got the tag and hit a sidewalk slam on Hyan, who responded with a jawbreaker and promptly tagged Maya into the match.
The Babes of Wrath showed some nice teamwork as Nightingale assisted Cameron by lifting her with a dive onto Maya. All four women ended up in the ring as Maya and Hyan were sent to the outside by Nightingale and Cameron. On the outside, Nightingale leapt from the apron and hit a cannonball on both May and Hyan as we took a commercial break.
We returned from break as Nightingale crushed Hyan with a running hip attack followed by the spinebuster. We were informed that Maya and Hyan would be facing the Sisters of Sin in the Worlds End Zero Hour on Saturday. Back in the match, Nightingale countered an attempted double suplex from Maya and Hyan into a suplex on both of them.
Cameron was tagged in as she and Nightingale again showed a unique tag team move with a double senton, but Hyan broke up the pin. In the end, Cameron and Nightingale got the victory with a Sole Food/swinging neckbreaker combination.
After the match, Cameron and Nightingale began to tell the crowd a special Christmas story about two fans who went on a journey in New York that ended with the two meeting with Santa. The two said that they wanted peace and harmony throughout the world… except in Chicago, when they beat up Athena and Mercedes Mone and retain the AEW Women’s Tag Titles.
Babes of Wrath def. Maya & Hyan World via pinfall
It’s clear AEW definitely sees a lot of value in the team of Maya and Hyan World by giving them this match, as well as one on the Worlds End preshow on Saturday. I would not be surprised if they end up getting that #AllElite graphic sometime next year.
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Continental Classic Blue League Match: Orange Cassidy (6 pts) vs. Jon Moxley (6 pts)
Cassidy immediately went for the cover but Moxley kicked out. Cassidy tried for the Orange Punch, but Moxley attempted a Death Rider DDT in response to no avail. The match spilled outside as Cassidy pushed Moxley into the barricade and traded strikes with his foe before he threw him into the steel steps.
As the action got back into the ring, Cassidy punched away at Moxley in the corner, nailing three sets of ten-punches on his rattled opponent. Moxley recovered and sent Cassidy out of the ring with a dropkick, as he then threw him into the steel steps. Outside, Moxley set Cassidy on a chair and pummeled him with a boot to the face before he brought him into the ring.
Cassidy connected with a Stundog Millionaire and looked like he was about to hit an Orange Punch. Moxley got ahead of that and absolutely clocked Cassidy with a running elbow. Moxley clawed at Cassidy’s face and fought with him on the top rope. Cassidy scratched Moxley’s back and made no mistake with the DDT from the top rope as we took a break.
We returned from the break with Moxley and Cassidy teeing off on one anothert with strikes and daring one another to take their best shot. Cassidy went to his tried and true “hands in the pocket’ strategy and hit the dropkick on Moxley, who was reeling due to his hurt ankle.
Moxley scurried outside and fell victim to a tope suicida from Cassidy as the brawl broke into part of the crowd. Cassidy had Moxley stunned and hit a tornado DDT through a table placed near the barricade. As referee Bryce Remsburg began to count both men out, Cassidy and Moxley managed to beat out the count of ten through a tough struggle.
Casssidy kipped up and got immediately caught in a sleeper hold by Moxley. Orange escaped the hold and had Moxley in his sights for an Orange Punch. Moxley absorbed the punch and hit a massive Lariat, followed by the Gotch-styled piledriver. One, two… Cassidy kicked out! Moxley again tried for the rear-naked choke, but he couldn’t lock it in on the account of the hurt ankle coming back to hurt him. Cassidy trapped Moxley in a serious-looking single-leg crab, but kicks to the head broke up that hold.
A twisting DDT from Cassidy left Moxley open for another Orange Punch, followed by one more punch that left Moxley staggered, but not out cold. Cassidy connected with a Beach Break, but Moxley kicked out, and he managed to sneak away with the victory after a crafty roll-up pin.
Jon Moxley def. Orange Cassidy via pinfal (3 pts for Moxley (9); Moxley advances to C2 Semifinals)
Another great match in a long series of great matches we’ve had tonight on the C2 side of things for this Collision card. I love the running thread of whether or not Moxley’s time at the top is over and the battle on his end ot fight off that inevitability. I suspect the trigger, so to speak, with regards to that and Moxley’s fate with the Death Riders will be answered on Saturday at World’s End.
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Continental Classic Gold League Match: “Speedball” Mike Bailey (6 pts) vs. Kazuchika Okada (6 pts)
Okada went for a roll-up pin early, as Bailey responded with his spinning kick, that the reigning Continental Champion avoided. Bailey hit a dropkick that caused Okada to head outside. Speedball then followed that with as standing moonsault from the top rope. Bailey missed with a dive, with Okada answering that with a flapjack, then a neckbreaker.
Okada punched at Bailey in the corner, but found himself the victim of a dropkick from Speedball. Okada avoided a moonsault from Bailey as he dropped him on the knee with a neckbreaker. Okada hit a diving elbow as he then flipped off the audience. Things began to become hard-hitting between Okada and Bailey as we took a break just as the action escalated.
The Collision main event returned from break with both men hitting one another with their best shots. Bailey got the best of this exchange with a hard kick to the chest before Okada landed one of his trademark dropkicks. Bailey avoided a Rainmaker attempt, but failed to connect with his knee-first moonsault. With Okada outside, Bailey leapt from the apron and got him with a corkscrew twisting dive as the half-way point of the match was reached.
On the top rope, Bailey was knocked off his perch by another magnificent Okada dropkick. The battle was heating up at the top of the ramp as Bailey finally hit his knee-first moonsault on square on the chest of Okada. In the ring, Bailey blasted Okada with a spinning roundhouse kick to the head, but that only got a near-fall. Okada and Bailey fought on the top rope as the latter got the wind knocked out of him as he hit his head on the mat hard. Bailey was trapped in a perilous predicament, but he escaped emphatically and flipped Okada off. On the top rope, Bailey hit an avalanche hurricanrana before he hit his diving knees attack on the ribs of Okada.
Okada rolled out of the ring to escape the pin, as Bailey punched at him outside before both men found themselves back in the ring. The five minute warning was announced as Okada hit a Rainmaker clothesline without the setup. This allowed Bailey to recover and connect with Ultima Weapon. One, two… NO! A wild finish saw Bailey successfully counter the Rainmaker, but Okada managing to pick up the rollup pin for the victory.
Post-match, Konosuke Takeshita walked down and stared off with the man he will face in the Semifinals of the Continental Classic, with the winner set to face either Kyle Fletcher or Jon Moxley.
Kazuchika Okada def. “Speedball” Mike Bailey via pinfall (3 pts for Okada (9); Okada advances to C2 Semifinals)
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12/25 AEW Christmas Collision Results
