AEW Dynamite – September 16, 2026: They Have To Hurry
Dynamite
Date: September 16, 2026
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
We’re rapidly closing in on All Out and that means the card needs to start coming together. The top of the card is already set but there are still a few spots left to fill in. That’s what we’ll likely be doing this week, as there are several stories that are likely all but set for the show. Let’s get to it.
Here is Collision if you need a recap.
We look back at the end of last week’s show, with Darby Allin and Steven Borden saving the Young Bucks from FTR.
Adam Copeland thanks Allin and Borden for their help. Christian Cage comes in and apologizes for the loss of Borden’s father…..’s career. Allin isn’t impressed with Cage because this isn’t over between them.
Stokely Hathaway says FTR and the Don Callis Family are ready for their eight man tag tonight.
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Steven Borden/Darby Allin vs. Don Callis Family/FTR
Copeland and Fletcher start things off with Fletcher working on the arm. That’s broken up and Allin comes in, only for Cage to tag himself in instead. Allin tags himself right back in and everyone comes in for the big staredown. We settle down to Harwood shouldering Borden down but accidentally knocking the Family off the apron. Borden gets back up to scare Harwood outside, where Allin is ready to jump him. Everything breaks down and we take a break.
We come back with Allin fighting out of a chinlock with a jawbreaker but Fletcher cuts off the tag attempt. Allin and Fletcher collide though and it’s back to Borden to clean house. Borden can’t get the Scorpion Death Drop and gets crotched on top as everything breaks down. Harwood gives Borden a top rope superplex and his partners add in a top rope splash, a top rope elbow and a UFO Splash for two, with the other three good guys making a save. Harwood teases the Scorpion Deathlock on Borden but it gets broken up, with Copeland spearing Knight out of the air. The Coffin Death Drop finishes Harwood at 14:34.
Rating: B-. This was a pretty standard eight man tag, with some of the people not really getting to shine. The good thing is that Borden is getting his chance to get elevated in a hurry, which almost has to be done given how old he is when he finally started. The athleticism is certainly there and it’s worth a try, though he has a lot of things working against him. Copeland and Cage are set for their not-TLC match and that’s…well it’s a thing that is happening.
Naturally Cage poses with the TNT Title, because he’s that kind of a guy.
Jon Moxley is impressed by how far Will Ospreay has come in the last year. Just because you’re the champion though, it doesn’t make you a top star. Moxley never wanted Ospreay to follow him and the Death Riders are ready to destroy Ospreay tonight.
Video on Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Brawling Birds.
Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne
Wayne armdrags him down and brags a lot, only to get armdragged right back. The bulldog out of the corner takes Wayne down but he breaks up the Lionsault attempt. The butterfly backbreaker drops Wayne again and they’re quickly on the apron, with Wayne’s Spanish Fly being broken up. Instead Jericho hits a Death Valley Driver but gets sent into the steps. That lets Wayne grab a running Canadian Destroyer off the steps and we take a break.
We come back with Jericho hitting a backdrop and adding the triangle dropkick to the floor. The fans seem to approve of Jericho, even as Wayne ties him up in the ropes for a Swanton. Wayne goes up again and dives into a Codebreaker as the counters continue. A standing Sliced Bread gives Wayne two but Jericho puts him on top for ten right hands and the super hurricanrana.
The Judas Effect misses and Wayne’s World connects for two more. They chop it out from their knees and Jericho breaks Wayne’s necklace. Wayne is so incensed that he gets caught in a Walls attempt, which is almost reversed into a rollup as Jericho sits down on him for the pin at 13:55.
Rating: B. They were going nuts with the back and forth counters here and it wound up being a good match. I’m not sure what the point is in having Jericho win here but odds are they’ll run it back. The necklace being broken feels like a personal issue, though it doesn’t exactly make Wayne look like the biggest heel.
Post match Wayne is so upset over the necklace that he ignores the offer of a handshake and beats the fire out of Jericho, including some chair shots.
Mercedes Mone is injured and can’t wrestle at All Out, so Willow Nightingale and Thekla will face each other with the winner challenging Mone at WrestleDream.
Video on Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale, with Thekla mocking Nightingale and Mone for being so fragile.
The United Empire, now with Andrade El Idolo, is ready for a six man tag tonight. Will Ospreay is ready to face Andrade through the contract but Andrade says they’re a team tonight.
Conglomeration vs. Hangman Page/Brodido
For a Trios Title shot at All Out. Page and O’Reilly start things off with Page shouldering him down but not being able to get in a sunset flip. Back up and Page takes over on the arm before handing it off to Bandido for some armdrags. O’Reilly takes Bandido down for a running basement dropkick from Cassidy. King comes in and Cassidy tries his usual but realizes that King is behind him.
Cassidy turns around and the big chop has him crashing into the corner. Strong and King chop it out and we take a quick break. We come back with Cassidy suplexing Bandido and Page coming in to fire off the right hands. Strong tries to throw Cassidy at Page, who catches him for a fall away slam. King is back in to fire off the chops but Bandido and Page are backdropped out to the floor.
Cassidy’s dive is pulled out of the air by King, who sends him crashing down. Bandido lifts Cassidy up with the one armed gorilla press into a cutter but the frog splash misses. A Stundog Millionaire and Strong’s Angle Slam give Cassidy two so Page and Strong forearm it out. Cassidy and Page take turns getting on each others’ backs for some rodeo action (yep) and it’s time for the parade of knockdowns. Page is back up with a heck of a Buckshot Lariat to finish Strong at 13:25.
Rating: B. This was the regular “we’re not going to bother tagging” six man tag and it was another fast paced match. I like the idea of Page and Brodido sticking around as it’s not like he has anything else going on at the moment. At the same time, it lets Bandido keep moving towards the record for longest reigning ROH World Champion in history, mainly by not really defending the thing. Whatever works.
We look at the tribute to Andy Williams on Collision.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Myles Hawkins
Hawkins takes his sweet time removing his jacket and gets kneed in the head (only move of the match) for the pin at 53 seconds.
Ciampa storms off after the win.
Tony Schiavone brings out Swerve Strickland and the New Level for a chat. And never mind as the Demand jumps them on the way to the ring. Austin Creed’s knee is taken out and both he and Kofi are planted. Strickland is part of the team so he gets a beatdown of his own.
Jack Perry talks about how he wants the World Title and wants to face the best. This involves painting a challenge to Samoa Joe on a wall.
Lena Kross vs. Jamie Hayter
Kross kicks her in the face to start fast but Hayter is back up to forearm away in the corner. Hayter sends her to the apron but gets dropped face first to put her in trouble again. An apron powerbomb has Hayter in more trouble as we take a break. We come back with Hayter hitting a running clothesline, followed by a running dropkick into the corner.
A missile dropkick gets two but Hayterade is blocked. Hayter has to settle for an AA and they’re both down. One heck of a knee to the face gives Kross two more so Hayter is right back with a basement dropkick. The Haytebreaker gets two so Megan Bayne offers a distraction, allowing Kross to hit Hayter with a pipe. The Jackhammer gives Kross the pin at 11:03.
Rating: B-. They beat on each other rather hard here though the ending came out of nowhere, with Kross winning because Alex Windsor wasn’t there to even things up. It’s something of a preview for the street fight, though it doesn’t exactly make the champions look smart. At least Kross gets a big win though, which is easily the most important of her singles career.
Post match Windsor comes in to chase the villains off.
Video on Andrade and his history/family in wrestling.
Kazuchika Okada calls Tommaso Ciampa a b**** and gets jumped. Ciampa wants a title shot at All Out, Psycho Killer vs. Rainmaker.
The Brawling Birds are ready for their street fight at All Out.
Death Riders/Gabe Kidd vs. United Empire
Ospreay and Moxley start things off and of course never mind as we’ll go with Kidd taking over instead. Ospreay takes Kidd into the corner and Akira is brought in to get dropped onto Kidd for a big crash. We pause for Andrade to take a photo with a woman at ringside and Moxley takes over on Akira by sending him into the corner. Moxley chops him down into a half crab and we take a break.
We come back with Akira still in trouble as Kidd chokes him in the corner. Akira finally rolls over and stomps Pac in the ribs, allowing Andrade to come back in. Ospreay’s top rope elbow gets two on Pac but he misses a charge and gets caught in a German suplex. Now Moxley comes in for the exchange of the forearms and Moxley grabs the choke.
That’s broken up and Kidd is sent outside and Akira hits a big moonsault to the floor. Back in and a cutter gives Akira two on Moxley, meaning it’s time for the exchange of strikes (including Kidd ramming his own head into the turnbuckle). Moxley boots Akira in the face and Pac plants Andrade with a poisonrana on the floor. Moxley’s bulldog choke finishes Akira at 16:45.
Rating: B. It was the usual wild match and it was nice to see a little tease of Moxley vs. Ospreay, though it still feels like it’s a rather quick turnaround after the big title win. At the same time, it’s nice to see an established AEW name on Ospreay’s team. I get the idea of the New Japan guys coming in but they’re just kind of people being brought in with only so much recognition. At least Andrade feels like a bigger deal and that helps a good bit.
Post match Andrade runs in for the save but the Dogs come out to beat him down. Ospreay is back up to prevent Akira from having his neck Pillmanized.
Overall Rating: B. This show had an important job to cover and they did it well enough, with All Out being built up as fast as possible. There is only so much time between All In and All Out and a week of that was spent on the tribute shows last week (which were far more important). They had to go through this one rather quickly and it did a nice enough job. It’s a case where the calendar is causing them issues and they’re doing well at fixing the issue, which is nice to see.
Results
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Steven Borden/Darby Allin b. FTR/Don Callis Family – Coffin Death Drop to Harwood
Chris Jericho b. Nick Wayne – Cradle
Hangman Page/Brodido b. Conglomeration – Buckshot Lariat to Strong
Tommaso Ciampa b. Myles Hawkins – Running knee
Lena Kross b. Jamie Hayter – Jackhammer
Death Riders/Gabe Kidd b. United Empire – Bulldog choke to Akira
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“Jon Moxley is impressed by how far Will Ospreay has come in the last year. Just because you’re the champion though, it doesn’t make you a top star”
Even if this is true, should someone on the show say something like this? Why would you try to sell your champion as less than a top star? I really don’t like the whole Moxley is the master and Ospreay the apprentice angle they went with.
Also, do we need Jack Perry going after the title again?
I really liked the last Dynamite episode, but there are still so many decisions they make that I just don’t get.
They shouldn’t be, but given all of the praise they give to champions of other promotions, it’s hardly new. heck ROH champions are little more than glorified jobbers in AEW.
And I don’t know if this goes towards Perry going after the title. It feels like some twist is coming.