The Big Picture

The line between All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor is permanently gone. What started as Tony Khan buying a tape library has mutated into a massive shared universe where titles jump shows and pay-per-views bleed directly into weekly television. As Wrestling Inc reported ahead of the May 16 broadcast:

"AEW Collision" will feature many ROH stars after last night's Supercard of Honor

Some hardcore fans love the endless crossover, while others groan at the bloated rosters eating up precious screen time. Regardless of your stance on the booking, you cannot ignore the massive impact this acquisition has had on modern wrestling. Let's rank the top moments that defined this chaotic merger.

The Top 10 Rankings

10. The Supercard of Honor Fallout on Collision (May 2026)

Following a critically acclaimed Supercard of Honor event in May 2026, the immediate fallout spilled directly onto AEW Collision. We saw the World Title and TBS Title on the line in a single night, proving that ROH pay-per-views have actual, tangible stakes for regular television.

A high-stakes tag title eliminator match further blurred the lines between the two distinct rosters. It wasn't just a polite nod to promotional history; it was a full-blown invasion of AEW's Saturday night staple. But frankly, this aggressive crossover left the casual viewer alienated, wondering why so many unfamiliar faces were eating up prime television time at the expense of established stars.

9. Claudio Castagnoli's World Championship Debut (July 2022)

When Claudio Castagnoli finally captured a world championship by defeating Jonathan Gresham at Death Before Dishonor, it felt like a massive correction of a decade-long booking mistake. Castagnoli had been the most reliable worker in the room for years across multiple companies, yet he was always cast as the bridesmaid.

Watching him swing Gresham into oblivion to win the belt legitimized Khan's vision for the newly acquired brand. It was an undeniable feel-good moment for a veteran who deserved his flowers. Unfortunately, the subsequent booking of his title reign lacked the week-to-week urgency it required, leaving his run feeling more like a lifetime achievement award than a hot angle.

8. Chris Jericho's "Ocho" Era (Late 2022)

Chris Jericho deciding to win the ROH World Championship just to aggressively disrespect former champions was brilliant, infuriating heel work. He beat Bandido, Dalton Castle, and Tomohiro Ishii in a string of highly entertaining TV matches that routinely spiked Dynamite ratings.

The "Ocho" run forced stubbornly apathetic AEW fans to care about the belt because Jericho physically dragged it onto their screens every Wednesday. It was a masterclass in using an established, mainstream star to aggressively elevate a secondary brand. However, it arguably overshadowed the actual developmental roster, making the brand feel like a temporary prop in the Jericho Cinematic Universe.

7. The Briscoes vs. FTR Trilogy (2022)

You absolutely cannot talk about this corporate connection without mentioning the greatest tag team trilogy of the decade. FTR and The Briscoes put on three distinct, violent, and emotionally exhausting masterpieces across consecutive pay-per-views.

The dog collar match at Final Battle 2022 set a brutal, bloody standard that tag team wrestling still hasn't matched in the years since. It was tag team wrestling stripped down to its rawest, most visceral elements. Yet, it remains a massive, unforgivable shame that Warner Bros. Discovery executives reportedly kept Mark and Jay Briscoe off national television during the absolute height of this historic, industry-defining feud.

6. Eddie Kingston's Continental Crown Run (Late 2023)

Eddie Kingston winning the ROH World Championship and folding it into the Continental Crown was a deeply emotional peak for the "Mad King." Beating Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli to unify three belts felt like the hard-earned culmination of a 20-year independent wrestling grind. The crowd reactions for his victories were deafening, validating Kingston as a genuine main event draw.

He made the title feel important just by holding it and speaking passionately about its history. However, tying the title to a convoluted round-robin tournament belt ended up confusing the lineage more than it helped, diluting the prestige of the original championship.

5. Athena's Reign of Terror (2023-2024)

While the men's division awkwardly bounced between different television shows, Athena quietly became the best heel in North America on HonorClub. Her historic run as ROH Women's World Champion featured incredibly stiff matches, vicious backstage attacks, and utterly unhinged character work.

She managed to elevate unknown local talent and green rookies into compelling underdogs simply by beating them half to death in the ring. She carried the entire brand on her back for over a year. It's an absolute travesty that her incredible, career-best run was mostly hidden behind a monthly streaming paywall instead of being properly showcased on Dynamite.

4. Samoa Joe's King of Television Run (2022-2023)

Samoa Joe returning to his violent roots and capturing the World Television Championship was a perfect nostalgia trip that actually delivered between the ropes. He flattened opponents with brutal efficiency, reminding everyone why he was the most feared monster of the mid-2000s independent scene.

Joe dual-wielding the TV Title and the AEW TNT Championship made him look like an untouchable final boss. The run perfectly rehabilitated his aura after a frustrating, injury-plagued end to his previous corporate run. It proved that Joe still had plenty of gas in the tank, ultimately setting the stage for his eventual AEW World Championship reign.

3. Mark Briscoe Winning the Big One (April 2024)

Nobody in the arena had a dry eye when Mark Briscoe finally won the big one at Supercard of Honor 2024. Following the tragic, sudden passing of his brother Jay, Mark's emotional journey to the top of the mountain was the most organic, heartbreaking story Tony Khan ever told.

Defeating Eddie Kingston to win the belt his brother made famous was a beautiful, cathartic release for the entire wrestling industry. The post-match celebration, surrounded by his family and the locker room, was pure magic. It was a rare, transcendent moment where the harsh backstage reality and onscreen booking aligned flawlessly.

2. CM Punk and Samoa Joe Renewing Hostilities (August 2023)

Seeing CM Punk and Samoa Joe lock up in an AEW ring at All In Wembley Stadium felt entirely surreal. Their legendary trilogy in 2004 is the stuff of myth, defining an entire generation of independent wrestling and changing the style of the business.

To see them run it back in front of over 80,000 fans, nearly two decades later, was a bizarre and wonderful collision of past and present. The match itself was a bit clunky at times, showing their age and ring rust. But the immense historical weight of Joe locking Punk in a chokehold inside a massive European stadium made it instantly unforgettable.

1. Tony Khan's Purchase Announcement (March 2022)

The massive tectonic shift that started it all. When Tony Khan opened Dynamite to announce he had officially purchased the company, the business of independent wrestling changed instantly. It miraculously saved a historic, invaluable tape library from fading into corporate obscurity and kept dozens of hardworking wrestlers employed.

The pop from the hardcore fans in the building was massive. But it also opened a complicated Pandora's box of booking headaches. The subsequent years have been a chaotic mix of incredible pay-per-views and severely muddled television, proving that owning two major wrestling companies is infinitely harder than fantasy booking them on a spreadsheet.

Honorable Mentions

  • Katsuyori Shibata winning the Pure Championship and restoring honor to the technical division.
  • Dalton Castle's absurdly entertaining, theatrical entrances dragging the boys onto Collision.
  • Wheeler Yuta's bloody, star-making performance against Jon Moxley.