AEW has set a three-hour Dynamite and Collision special for Wednesday, May 20, from the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, ME, with the AEW World Championship on the line and an AEW Continental Championship eliminator added during the May 16 episode of Collision.
The headline announcement is that Darby Allin will once again defend the AEW World Championship just days before his Title vs. Hair match against MJF at AEW Double or Nothing on May 24. Allin retained against Sammy Guevara on Saturday’s Collision with the Coffin Drop and was rewarded with another challenger on Wednesday. Speedball Mike Bailey was confirmed as Allin’s next title shot, the second defense Allin has worked in under a week with a hair match looming the following weekend.
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly was the other major addition, set as an AEW Continental Championship eliminator. The match was set up by Mark Briscoe at the end of Saturday’s Collision, who said O’Reilly needed a tune-up match before his three-hour special obligations. The Conglomeration’s response was for O’Reilly to take a Continental title eliminator against Moxley, with the stipulation that if O’Reilly wins, he earns a future shot at Moxley’s Continental Championship.
Moxley opened Saturday’s Collision with a promo addressing the rematch, saying he is not making excuses for losing to O’Reilly twice before. The two have traded matches across the past 12 months, with O’Reilly winning their Full Gear bout and a televised Dynamite singles match shortly after. Moxley said the third meeting will be different.
The third announced match has its own stipulation. Mark Briscoe vs. Tommaso Ciampa is set for the special after the two brawled on Saturday’s Collision, with Ciampa countering a Briscoe Jay Driller attempt on top of a chair with a low blow before Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly came down for the save. Briscoe got on the microphone post-segment and set the stipulation for Wednesday.
The updated AEW Dynamite and Collision May 20 lineup as announced so far:
- AEW World Championship: Darby Allin (c) vs. Speedball Mike Bailey
- AEW Continental Championship Eliminator: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly
- Mark Briscoe vs. Tommaso Ciampa (with stipulation)
- Will Ospreay vs. Katsuyori Shibata
- 8-Woman Tag: Triangle of Madness and Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa, Thunder Rosa, and the Brawling Birds
- AEW Women’s Tag Team Title Eliminator series continues: Divine Dominion in another 5-minute round
- Swerve Strickland appearance, his first Dynamite appearance in months
Swerve Strickland returned at ROH Supercard of Honor on Friday in Salisbury, MD, attacking Bandido with a cop killer on a chair. His Dynamite/Collision return on Wednesday will be his first Dynamite appearance after months of absence, and is likely to come with a follow-up explanation of the Bandido beatdown.
Will Ospreay vs. Katsuyori Shibata is a one-night-only attraction match. The two have history in NJPW that has never been retold under the AEW banner.
The Cross Insurance Arena in Portland is the same venue AEW ran on October 25, 2025, for their Title Tuesday Dynamite. AEW Dynamite and Collision air live on TBS and HBO Max starting at 8 PM ET on Wednesday, May 20.
The May 20 special is the final episode of Dynamite and Collision before AEW Double or Nothing on May 24 in Flushing, NY, where Allin defends against MJF in a Title vs. Hair match.
