AEW Redemption 2026 Preview
So it’s time for Redemption and that means…I have no idea actually, as this show isn’t exactly feeling important. We are only a few weeks away from All In and AEW has made it clear that is the show that really matters. The thing is I’m sure the action will work and thank goodness it’s starting an hour earlier than Forbidden Door. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Trios Titles: Conglomeration(c) vs. Lethal Twist
This was added to the card on Collision this week and sure why not. The six man titles are a fine way to get a show going and the fans are going to get behind anything the Conglomeration does. It helps that the Lethal Twist are a regular team and it’s interesting to see an actual unit getting a chance like this. Granted they’re more regulars in ROH but it’s better than nothing.
There is no reason to believe that the titles are changing hands here so I’ll go with the Conglomeration retaining. It should be a nice seven to ten minute match to warm up the crowd and that’s what a Kickoff Show match is supposed to be. Just don’t do a bunch of them over and over and everything should be fine. But yeah for now, the champions retain the titles.
Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage(c) vs. Death Riders
The title reign has been kind of a weird one, but it still feels like we’re on the way to big ladder match with the Bucks at All In (possibly FTR as well). That leaves us with some not so thrilling title defenses, first with the Dogs and now this one. I’m sure the match will be fine, but it feels pretty thrown together without much of a story outside of the Riders attacking the champs.
At the end of the day, it’s Pac and Claudio Castagnoli challenging so I’ll say the champions retain. There isn’t much of a reason to believe that the titles are changing before All In, with the champions being set up for something bigger in just over a month. Castagnoli has been a jobber to the stars for a long time now and that is going to be the case for a good while, as he isn’t winning a title here.
International Title: Kyle Fletcher(c) vs. Bandido
It’s time to have Bandido face another singles champion on an AEW pay per view with almost no chance for him to win. As usual, the ROH World Title isn’t a factor here whatsoever, which is a great way to extend his title reign high up the ranks. I have no idea how Bandido is the only choice to take these losses and it’s not doing ROH any favors, but neither is a lot of the stuff done there.
So of course I’ll go with Fletcher to retain here, as there is no reason to believe that Bandido is going to snap his losing streak in these matches. The match will be rather awesome as both of these guys are outstanding when they’re given the chance, but that is only going to do so much good for Bandido when he keeps losing. Either let him win something or just don’t put him in these matches time after time.
Bang Bang Gang vs. Dogs
This is a double chain match and I continue to not get the appeal of the Dogs. It feels like a team I needed to watch for years in New Japan to really get as they’re just kind of there week after week. They’ve been feuding with the Bang Bang Gang for a few weeks now and that should at least lead to a good match. I’m just not sure why it needs to be in a double chain match.
The Gang is back to full strength for the first time in forever and Jay White needs the win to help establish himself a bit more so we’ll go in that direction. Hopefully the Gang is able to stay healthy this time around, as the injuries have just wrecked them. Let them get a win here, as I have no idea what the point is in boosting up the Dogs, who just don’t feel all that important.
Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley
So here we have one of the bigger stories in AEW, as Moxley has seemingly poisoned Ospreay’s mind and turned him to the dark side, just as he is on the way to the World Title shot at All In. There is a grand total of zero reason to believe that Ospreay is going to go into the title match in his home country as a villain, so the question becomes when Ospreay turns on the Death Riders.
I don’t think it happens here though, as I’ll go with Ospreay and Moxley to win a heck of a fight, as the Bucks can do rather well in this kind of a match. For now though, they need to lose to show that Ospreay has gotten better under Moxley, though I’m not sure where that leads. The Bucks lose now though, as Ospreay has something much bigger going on for All In anyway.
National Title: Mark Davis(c) vs. Andrade El Idolo
Now we get to something that has me intrigued, as this could go in a few different ways. Davis is on fire right now and having the singles run of a lifetime. At the same time, there is something to be said about El Idolo being this good as well. I could go for seeing him win the title on the way up to the main event, though it really is a match that could go in either direction.
I’ll go with El Idolo winning here, but I really hope that Davis gets another chance sooner than later. He’s doing far too well lately to just be left by the wayside. For now though, El Idolo moving up is the right way to go. I could see some interference costing El Idolo the title, though I’ll go with El Idolo winning the title here, which is the best of the good options that they have.
Jack Perry vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Mike Bailey vs. Nick Wayne vs. El Clon
This is a ladder match (because of course it is) for a shot at the International Title at some point in the future. As usual, there are a few names who just aren’t going to win here and that makes things a bit easier. You can pretty easily write off Mortos, Wayne and Clon, the latter of whom I had almost forgotten even worked here. That leaves you with three potential winners and one of them stands out pretty strong.
The key here is that this show is taking place in Bailey’s hometown of Montreal. That is a pretty easy way to set him up as a winner and while it seems that the big match is Bailey vs. Knight (ok not really big but AEW is presenting it as important because they used to be partners, which apparently makes any match important). I’ll go with Bailey winning here, as it is such a natural fit.
Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Willow Nightingale
This is where All In rears its head again, as Mercedes Mone is waiting on the winner at the biggest show of the year. Thekla is someone who has turned into one of the most entertaining stars on the AEW roster and it is fun to hear whatever insanity she has going through her head during any given week. On the other hand though, it’s asking a lot to have Nightingale lose again here, and that’s where this might fall apart.
With Mone set to challenge the winner, I’ll go with Nightingale winning the title here. I don’t want to see Thekla lose the belt here, but it’s hard to imagine Mone challenging Thekla for the title. We’ve seen Mone take a title from Nightingale before and I’m hoping that they don’t do it again. That means Nightingale has to win though, and I’ll say that’s what we get here.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Chris Jericho
This is No DQ and the big deal here is that it’s the Painmaker version of Jericho, which he’s used….oh at least a handful of times. Jericho has already lost to Ciampa in the first place but it’s time to see it happen again. This latest run hasn’t been the most successful for Jericho from a win/loss perspective and he is getting close to actually needing a win, which is hard to fathom.
I just don’t think that win comes here, as Ciampa losing in the big gimmick rematch would take a lot away from him. Ciampa has gotten somewhere with this run and I would hope that it doesn’t come crashing to a halt here. This should be a good fight with two people who work well together. Jericho will put up a great fight, but it needs to end up with a losing effort.
TBS Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Maya World
World got a heck of a push in the Owen Hart Cup, but she still hasn’t actually won anything. That creates a problem, as she has to actually get some kind of an accolade before it stops mattering all that much. Winning the title here would be a great moment, though it feels more like Athena and the Ring Of Honor Women’s Title are more her destiny. She does have a chance here though and that’s rather intriguing.
As much as I think it would make sense, I just can’t picture Shida actually losing the title here. She’s not the strongest champion in the world and having World win the belt here would be great, but I’m not seeing it happening. Hopefully they find something world World to do and it’s far from crazy to imagine her winning here. I’m expecting the win to be delayed again though, assuming it ever actually happens.
AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Kevin Knight
This is where I’m wondering if they have some kind of a swerve planned here, as while this might wind up as a great title match, it’s not something that feels like a major pay per view main event. I wouldn’t even be surprised if this didn’t headline the show, as it just doesn’t really fit in that spot. It doesn’t help that Knight doesn’t feel like any kind of a threat to winning the title, which would be the case even without All In.
So yeah there is no reason to believe that the titles is changing hands here, as Omega is already set for the big title match at All In. That’s what the majority of the promos have been about and it doesn’t feel like Knight is going to even give Omega a real threat. It’s rare to see the World Title match feel like the most obvious result but that is absolutely how it comes off here.
Overall Thoughts
The more I think about this show, the less interested I am in the whole thing. The thing to remember is that the show should be entertaining and the match quality won’t be a problem. AEW has long since proven that it can make any card work and I’m sure they’ll do it again here. This show still feels like Fully Loaded 1998 though and that could make for a rough night.
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