Collision Course - Collision recap for July 31, 2025

The show begins with The Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir) showing up and beating up a security guard. Moxley then gets in the ring and says that eight months ago, Darby Allin got himself thrown down a flight of steps and put in the hospital, yet he did not get the message to "get gone and stay gone." He then says that since Darby failed to get himself killed on Mount Everest, he is back in AEW. Moxley says he knows Darby is here and demands he show himself. Darby is seen standing on the barricade of the upper levels of the crowd, and Moxley calls him out so they can have a conversation. Darby leaves, and Moxley says they will have their conversation one way or the other. The Death Riders leave through the crowd to look for Darby.

Bandido and Brody King beat Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) to advance in the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament.

Backstage, Lexy Nair interviews Don Callis and Lance Archer. Callis says all of the preparations are for what happens after tonight's match, as his family will have all the titles, all the power, all the numbers and all the money that comes with it. Shane Taylor shows up and demands Callis pay what he owes, and Lance Archer has to stand between them. Callis, stating that Shane Taylor has a point, tells Shane Taylor that Sky Flight is becoming a problem and that if he takes care of them, they can talk about money later.

Backstage, Lexy Nair interviews Paragon (Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong). O'Reilly says that The Conglomeration is a lifestyle and that he never left, but Strong feels like he has lost his best friend again. O'Reilly says The Conglomeration is a group of misfits who just want the best of each other, then Willow Nightingale, Hologram and Tomohiro Ishii show up. Kyle O'Reilly thanks them all for helping on Roderick's birthday and Willow mentions her match against "The Toxic Spider" Thekla.

Backstage, The Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir) look for Darby Allin. Darby manages to get the upper hand on Moxley with a towel as soon as he is alone.

Kris Statlander beats Lena Kross by submission. After the match, Willow Nightingale shows up for the next match, much to Statlander's chagrin.

"The Toxic Spider" Thekla beats Willow Nightingale following the distraction by Skye Blue and Julia Hart. After the match, Triangle of Madness (Hart, Blue, Thekla) attack Willow, then Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne show up to join in. Queen Aminata shows up with a metal folding chair as Anna Jay and Tay Melo back her up. Kyle O'Reilly, Hologram and Tomohiro Ishii check on Willow at ringside.

Backstage, Lexy Nair interviews Billy Gunn. Anthony Bowens confronts Billy Gunn for throwing him across the ring last week, saying he busted a slump in "Platinum" Max Caster with everything he taught him, yet Billy Gunn was not there for him. Billy says he does not know who Bowens is anymore, and when he does, he will be at home.

In backstage footage from earlier today, we hear from Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana. Swerve says that The Young Bucks (Matthew and Nicholas Jackson) are no longer EVPs, but that does not mean they have to take their anger out on others. He says that as long as they abuse their power, he will be around to stop them. He also warns "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada that he will be around for him, too, if he keeps mentioning, and entertains the idea of beating him for the AEW Unified Championship.

Backstage, we hear from Don Callis and "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada. Callis asys Okada is the best bell-to-bell wrestler in the world and the best big match wrestler that he has ever seen, yet they have to keep listining to Swerve Strickland making wolf calls every week calling out Okada, and that Swerve is missing the class that Okada has. He also says Swerve takes strategic advices from an idiot while Okada takes advice for him, and Okada says that he and Swerve do not have to talk, they can just fight at Forbidden Door.

Daniel Garcia guests on commentary for the next match.

FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) beats The Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson and Austin Gunn) to advance to the finals of the AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament after Stokely Hathaway distracts the referee so that Dax Harwood can grab Austin Gunn's tights.

We see a Technique by Taz on Athena's O-Face.

Backstage, we hear from Athena, who explains what happened last night on Dynamite. She says that she does not respect "Timeless" Toni Storm and that it will be easy to beat her for the AEW Women's World Championship, which is why she did not cash her contract on her. She says she will sign her contract for a guaranteed title shot at Forbidden Door in London, where Toni "does not have the best luck" and she will be able to have "a super-spontaneous moment" when she beats her. Athena says no door is forbidden to her and that it is only a matter of time, for when she activates, no one is going to stop her.

"Platinum" Max Caster is in the ring. He calls Chicago "Chiraq" and gets the fans to do his chant, then says nobody in the city can hang with him and just get worse every week, much like Anthony Bowens, and says that he is not "a bland, crybaby bitch" like Bowens. He issues the five-minute open challenge, which is answered by Rush.

"Platinum" Max Caster vs. Rush ends after five minutes when it becomes obvious that Rush would rather beat Caster down at his own pace. After the match, Rush gets ticked off and hits Caster with The Bull's Horns before he, Dralistico and The Beast Mortos gang up on him. Security shows up, but they also get attacked. AR Fox, "Speedball" Mike Bailey and "The Jet" Kevin Knight show up to fight Rush, Mortos and Dralistico. Meanwhile, back in the ring, Caster is still on his back, but he raises his fist in defiance.

Skyflight (Scorpio Sky, Darius Martin, Dante Martin) beat Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, "The Captain" Shane Taylor, "Bad News and Tattoos" Carlie Bravo) in a trios match.

Backstage, Darby Allin takes Jon Moxley and tries to toss him off the top of a fire escape, but he is stopped by security.

Before the next match, "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes comes out to his old WCW theme. Don Callis guests on commentary for the next match.

"The Protostar" Kyle Fletcher beats "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes in a Chicago Street Fight to become the TNT Champion after Fletcher and Don Callis target Dustin's left knee with a screwdriver. After the match, Fletcher and Don Callis further attack Dustin's left knee. Dustin has to be taken out on a stretcher at the end of the show.

Here are the highlights from tonight's show!