5 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW Collision (May 25 - Results & Review)

3. What It Needed To Be For KOR

AEW Collision Kyle O'Reilly KM
AEW

It may have only been a short squash match victory, but it was still a win for Kyle O'Reilly at a time when the hugely talented Canadian needed it.

Since returning to action earlier this year, O'Reilly has come up short each and every time there's been a match with any sort of stakes. Against Roderick Strong for the International Title at Dynasty? Kyle lost. Against Adam Copeland for the TNT Title on Dynamite earlier this month? Kyle lost. A Casino Gauntlet to earn another shot at the International Title? Kyle lost. Against Malakai Black on last week's Dynamite? Kyle lost.

Given the trajectory of AEW storytelling, that's not to say O'Reilly should've won any of those four matches, but if you put someone in a position where they lose several notable matches in a row, the perception of them is that of a loser. Kyle tapping out KM in barely a minute clearly isn't any sort of game-changer, but it is at least a TV win that's not hidden away on the barely-watched AEW Rampage.

Kyle O'Reilly is a little in limbo right now, loosely tied to the ongoing Adam Copeland vs. House of Black rivalry, and the more wins the better for the former reDRagon man if he's to hopefully be featured in a meaningful way for AEW in the future - even if the win here was a non-event squash that merely served to keep Kyle in fans' minds.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.