Dynamite
Date: July 29, 2026
Location: Masonic Temple Theater, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have Redemption out of the way and that means all roads lead to All In in about a month. Kenny Omega is still the World Champion after turning back Kevin Knight, leaving him ready to defend against Will Ospreay. As for Ospreay and Jon Moxley and the rest of the Death Riders….it’s complicated. Let’s get to it.

Here is Redemption if you need a recap.

Commentary runs down the card.

We look back at the Redemption World Title match, with Kenny Omega retaining. After the match, Will Ospreay shook Omega’s hand but Omega laid him out to end the show. Jon Moxley is NOT pleased.

A ticked off Ospreay arrives and runs into the Death Riders. Daniel Garcia goes after him and gets dropped with a single shot to the face. Pac has to be held back and Jon Moxley asks Ospreay if he really wants to do that. Ospreay gives Moxley the Death Riders patch back and they let him walk past.

He doesn’t want to talk to Renee Paquette but runs into Hangman Page, who offers his help in any way Ospreay needs. Ospreay says he can’t trust Kenny Omega so he can’t trust Page so while he appreciates the offer, he’s doing this on his own. Page stops him and says Ospreay is going to be the best at All In. He says Ospreay has this and Ospreay is appreciative before going inside.

National Title: Nick Wayne vs. Jack Perry vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade is defending and gets dropped by Perry to start fast. Wayne takes Perry down as well but Andrade is up to suplex both of them. Perry bulldogs Wayne on the floor but gets taken down by a diving Andrade. We pause for a photo with a redhead in the audience so Wayne grabs Sliced Bread off the barricade, only to bang up his knee in the process. Back in and Andrade suplexes Perry into the corner but charges into Wayne’s standing Spanish Fly.

We take a break and come back with Andrade powerbombing Wayne out of the corner. Perry snaps off a heck of a top rope hurricanrana to bring Andrade off the apron, only to get caught by Wayne’s Canadian Destroyer. Back in and Wayne’s Prodigy Plex (fisherman’s buster) gets two on Andrade, who gets up to clothesline both of them. The running Meteora in the corner gives Andrade two so he puts Perry up top.

A charging Wayne is launched up into a super hurricanrana to Perry….who spins into a tornado DDT to drop Andrade (sweet goodness). Perry is back up with a string of dives but Andrade takes Wayne down. The frog splash hits knees though and Wayne’s phoenix splash gets two, with Perry making the save. Perry charges into the Dia de los Muertos (the spinning back elbow) and the DM finishes Wayne to retain the title at 14:21.

Rating: B. That hurricanrana into the tornado DDT alone was awesome and moved the match up another notch on its own. It was a good, fast paced match that you would expect from these people, though I’m not entirely sure how this was set up. The challengers felt kind of out of nowhere, but putting Andrade out there for a successful title defense is a good idea.

Post match Andrade says he’s happy to have screwed over MJF (with the ring) and Don Callis (in general). He’s feeling tranquilo though and is ready for the Casino Gauntlet match at All In. Schiavone asks him about his qualifying match next week in his hometown of “Mexico” and Andrade hits the catchphrase.

The Brawling Birds are ready to beat up some Athena and her Minions on Collision.

Don Callis, with his Family, knows that you take losses on occasion but it’s time to move forward. This seems to include Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight teaming up, though Fletcher doesn’t seem impressed. He says the title will always stay in the Family but Kazuchika Okada comes in to agree, with Fletcher not being happy.

Don Callis Family vs. Brodido/Mike Bailey

Fletcher wants to start with King so Bailey gives him what he wants. King runs him over with a clothesline and grabs the arm so Bailey can come back in to stay on said arm. Everything breaks down and Bandido misses an Eddie frog splash, instead settling for a suplex on Fletcher. Cage pulls Bandido outside though and powerbombs him against the post as we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher slamming Bandido, who comes back with the very spinning DDT. Cage can’t get anywhere with a suplex and it’s back to King to knock Cage and Doyle into the corner. The Cannonball connects for two so Bailey comes back in, with Cage immediately giving him a buckle bomb. Everything breaks down again and Fletcher and Bailey trade rollups for two each.

Fletcher lawn darts him but gets kicked in the head to leave them both down. Bandido comes back in to forearm away at Doyle, setting up the frog splash (third Eddie tribute in two matches) but Bandido gets sent outside. Bailey gets kicked in the head but bounces back up with his springboard moonsault to take Fletcher out on the floor. Back up and Bailey gives Doyle the Ultimate Weapon into the arm trap sunset flip for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B. This got going and it was smart to give Bailey a bit more momentum into the upcoming title shot. It works well every time and they made it work again here. Other than that, Brodido can work well with anyone, even a less than regular team like Doyle and Cage. The match was more about Bailey though, with Bandido outshining him anyway.

We get a sitdown interview with Adam Copeland/Christian Cage and the Young Bucks, who are set for the All In match. The Bucks’ families are coming to England for the match and it couldn’t mean more for them. Copeland says it means that much to them too and they’re glad to see the Bucks and FTR bringing tag wrestling back.

Cage says they’re not here for a greatest hits tour and they’re still the best tag team of this generation. The Bucks talk about being the most accomplished team in AEW history but they had to fight their way back. Copeland doesn’t want this to be a comparison game because they lost a combined seventeen years of their careers and didn’t win a Tag Team Title for twenty five years.

Matt says the Bucks are going to be coming harder, faster and stronger than ever and the champs will be lucky to get on the board. The Bucks are used to being told that they’re too small and don’t do the right stuff. They’ve never had the machine behind them (uh……) so they’re ready for the title match. The champs are ready too. The idea of having the Bucks as these scrappy underdogs who are just trying to get their glory is a bit much to ask.

TBS Title: Persephone vs. Maya World

World is defending (Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line). World grabs a headlock to start and then cartwheels away before getting two off a rollup. A running wristdrag takes Persephone down again and she misses a charge out to the floor. Persephone is back up with an electric chair drop onto the apron though and we take a break.

We come back with Persephone grabbing a quickly broken ankle lock so World can get two off a rollup. Persephone fall away slams her out to the floor for the suicide dive but World uses the apron for a tornado DDT. Back in and a hammerlock lariat takes World down and we get a double breather. World is up for a moonsault so here is Hikaru Shida, only for Kris Statlander to cut her off. The tabletop suplex retains the title at 10:00.

Rating: C+. This was a way to get World a first title defense after winning the title just a few days ago. AEW obviously sees something in World (which isn’t shocking) and it’s nice to see her getting an actual chance. We’ll have to see where it goes, but at least they’re off to a good start. Hopefully the rematch with Shida is pretty quick, as there isn’t much of a point to having that go on for a long while.

Mark Davis is mad about his title loss and wants to get back on top by beating Will Ospreay next week.

It’s Shark Week so a dancing shark joins commentary.

Here is Willow Nightingale for her big celebration as champion. We pause for the YOU DESERVE IT chants and Nightingale is moved to tears. She’s not just living her dream but she’s living THE dream. People look at a girl like her and see someone who doesn’t quite fit because she’s quirky or chubby but the fans seem to appreciate her.

After saying the makeup artist worked very hard and it’s being ruined by her tears, she talks about how much she has accomplished this year, but she got hurt. Her mom told her to keep fighting so here she is, having gotten into the Casino Gauntlet and then beaten a toxic champion. She’s ready to go to All In but here is Mercedes Mone, with the contract, to interrupt. They both quickly sign and Nightingale talks about how Mone must be upset that she wasn’t getting attention for five seconds.

Or maybe it’s that Nightingale has the one title that Mone can’t get. Mone is sick of Nightingale always having her name on Mone’s story. The fans do NOT want to hear it but Mone keeps going, saying she made Nightingale. Cue Megan Bayne and Lena Kross and Mone takes out Nightingale’s knee. This brings out the Brawling Birds and the villains run. Mone taking the title would be totally deflating but Nightingale retaining would be a heck of a moment. Please don’t do this the wrong way again.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Komander

Moxley is defending against another rather random challenger. Komander takes him down by the arm to start and they pop up for a standoff. Moxley gets in a knockdown of his own but a quick small package leaves Moxley frustrated. Back up and a headscissors sends Moxley down and he’s smart enough to roll away from the rope die. That’s fine with Komander, who hits a running dive as we take a break.

We come back with Moxley holding a headscissors and pulling on the legs at the same time. That’s broken up and Komander strikes away, including a superkick to the back. Komander tries some flips and is immediately cuttered back down. Back up and Komander drapes him over the top for a guillotine legdrop to the back of the head. Moxley misses a charge and gets caught with a quick springboard 450 for a rather near fall. Now the rope walk flip dive connects but Moxley avoids Cielito Lindo and scores with a Stomp. The Death Rider into the bulldog choke retains the title at 13:04.

Rating: B. This got better once Komander was able to throw everything he could out there and it made for a good match in the end. The idea here was Moxley finally catching Komander when he was going a bit too hard and it wound up working out. Again, it’s not a match that was about a realistic title defense, but in this case just getting Moxley on the show. As always.

Mick Foley is with the Bang Bang Gang (minus Jay White), who want the Death Riders on Collision. Foley gets in a cheap pop as only he can.

Trios Titles: Conglomeration vs. The Demand

The Demand is challenging and jump them to start fast. That’s broken up and Cassidy drops an elbow (after taking his time getting down) on Liona. We get the bell and Kaun rams his own head into the buckle. Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets so Kaun grabs the hands and lifts him up for quite the visual. Strong comes in to strike away but Kaun picks Cassidy up to cut Strong off.

We take a break and come back with Strong giving Ricochet a half nelson backbreaker, allowing the tag off to O’Reilly. That means an ankle lock to Kaun, with Ricochet making the save. O’Reilly and Ricochet clothesline each other down but Ricochet gets up top, where Cassidy rakes his head.

Kaun gives Strong a top rope superplex before missing a diving headbutt. O’Reilly and Strong strike Kaun down and the High/Low gets two, with Ricochet making the save. Cue the Lethal Twist to offer a distraction, with Christian hitting a springboard belt shot to Cassidy. The Spirit Gun gives Ricochet the pin and the titles at 10:55.

Rating: B-. With all of the title matches they had on this show, they pretty much had to have at least one title change. The good thing is that the Demand is another regular team and it makes sense for them to get the belts. The Conglomeration did their thing long enough and it’s fine to switch the titles, as there are options to come after them.

Post match the double beatdown is on, with Brody King running in for a failed save attempt. Hangman Page comes out with a barbed wire steel chair for the real save.

The Death Riders are ready for Will Ospreay, who always tries to leave when things get hard. Jon Moxley is ready for the Continental Cup. Is that the Continental Classic under the wrong name or something new?

We’re a mere seventeen minutes into the overrun so here is Kenny Omega for a chat. Before he can get more than a few words out though, here is Will Ospreay to interrupt. Omega says what he has to say really doesn’t need to be heard by the people because it’s personal and just for Ospreay. It’s time for show and tell, because at Redemption, Omega showed Ospreay how he felt with the One Winged Angel.

Now it’s time for the tell part, because they had a promise to give it their best. That’s why Omega let Ospreay enter the Owen Hart Cup on his own but then Ospreay started hanging out with the Death Riders. Ospreay talks about coming back from the injury too soon and all he cared about was revenge. So who was he supposed to turn to? The only one was Jon Moxley, because he was the person who could get him to the World Title.

Ospreay liked the feeling of being a Death Rider because it was like being in Japan, but he doesn’t share their philosophy. That’s where it ends with the Death Riders, but Omega talks about how he was ready to be destroyed at Redemption. He got up and saw Ospreay holding the belt and the torn plastic bag. It took Ospreay so long because he was thinking about doing it and Omega slaps him in the face.

Omega says he thought Ospreay was his friend and Ospreay says he was. Omega accuses him of always crumbling under pressure and the fight is on, with Omega bailing from the threat of the Hidden Blade. With Omega gone, Ospreay talks about how this is what he has wanted the whole time and it’s so close that it’s time for the penalties.

If you know anything about England, you know they’re not great at them but he has the entire country on his back. Ospreay is going to pull the trigger and Omega is going to see it coming. They’re doing a nice job of turning this into a personal issue, which is impressive as they kind of had to throw everything together after MJF’s injury. I’m not sure how much sense the whole thing makes, but they’re certainly trying and this worked.

Overall Rating: B-. Well, on one hand, it was an effective show with good action and some rather strong pushes towards All In. You can see most of the card from here and we should be in for a big night in London. At the same time, my goodness they have got to get these shows lengths under control.

This was over two and a half hours long and it’s another case where it could easily be fixed by cutting out a match (Moxley vs. Komander didn’t need to be there). AEW/ROH is in the middle of a stretch where they have shows on six out of seven nights. If they absolutely have to have this many shows (they don’t), at least don’t have them go this long.

This was a good show, but after so much of AEW/ROH in recent days, I could go for a break from them. That’s not a good sign about a month before their biggest show of the year and we’re nowhere near done with this week. Anyway, good followup show to the pay per view and a nice build towards All In, but just trim things down a bit.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Nick Wayne and Jack Perry – DM to Wayne
Brodido/Mike Bailey b. Don Callis Family – Arm trap sunset flip to Doyle
Maya World b. Persephone – Tabletop suplex
Jon Moxley b. Komander – Bulldog choke
The Demand b. Conglomeration – Spirit Gun to Cassidy

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Redemption
Date: July 26, 2026
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s time for the stop before the really big show and that puts AEW in an awkward place. The show is perfectly decent on paper, but it’s hard to get interested in it when the much bigger show is coming in about a month. Hopefully they can overcome that issue, and with the roster they have, it’s not out of the question. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Lethal Twist vs. Conglomeration

The Conglomeration is defending and the Demand is on commentary. Strong takes Lethal into the corner to start and O’Reilly hammers away with right hands. That lets Strong do the same and everything breaks down, with an exchange of do-see-dos. Cassidy is thrown at Johnson and Christian for a double DDT.

It’s back to Strong, who gets taken into the wrong corner so Johnson can hammer away. Christian’s top rope clothesline gets two but it’s back to O’Reilly for the kicks. Lethal has to save Johnson from an ankle lock and Cassidy gets tied in the Tree Of Woe. Naturally Christian gets in his own lazy kicks into a 619, followed by a reverse DDT/apron splash combination to Strong on the floor.

O’Reilly is back up and it’s time for the string of dives, with Cassidy’s Stundog Millionaire being countered. The spinning DDT works a bit better though (Ricochet: “He got lucky.”) but Lethal is back with the Lethal Combination. Hail To The King id countered and Cassidy has to knock Christian away to avoid a belt shot. That means the Lethal Injection can connect for two, with Strong making a diving save. The End Of Heartache finishes Lethal to retain the titles at 11:54.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine match here with the champions getting in a nice title defense. Odds are the Demand is the next really big set of challengers for the belts and that’s not a bad idea. Save that for a better spot though, as having the Conglomeration turn back a somewhat dangerous set of opponents made sense.

And now, the show proper.

Mike Bailey vs. El Clon vs. Jack Perry vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Nick Wayne

Ladder match for a future International Title shot. It’s a big brawl to start with Bailey (hometown star) and Komander being left alone in the ring. Komander is sent outside with a hurricanrana and it’s off to Clon vs. Perry. With Perry down, Mortos throws in the first ladder and slams Bailey onto it but gets taken down by Komander. Clon takes Komander down and rolls outside for a double DDT.

Perry and Bailey take down Mortos and Clon but Perry cuts off Bailey going for the really big ladder. Everyone goes up to the stage for the ladder and get in a fight, only for Perry and Bailey to go back and brawl on the apron. Wayne cuts Bailey off but Mortos throws Perry onto the pile. Komander has to make a save of his own and climbs but the ladder is shoved, meaning Komander has to do his own dive.

Back up and three ladders are set up with all six climbing at once. That means a bunch of crashes, allowing Perry to grab a bunch of tables, because of course he is. The series of dives, including Komander’s rope walk version to put Perry through a table, breaks them all, leaving Clon to cut Perry off. Clon and Komander fight on a bridged ladder, with Clon flipping Komander off for a big crash.

Wayne is back up with a phoenix splash to put Clon through another table before going up to slug it out with Perry. Naturally Perry would rather do a Canadian Destroyer through a bridged ladder rather than, you know, grabbing the contract that is touching his back. Bailey hits the Ultimate Weapon to Mortos onto the bridged ladder and pulls down the contract for the win at 20:04.

Rating: B. This was your standard, run of the mill multi person ladder match with the hometown star winning. I’d rather they do it here to get it out of the way, but it was violent and had everything you would want in something like this. They didn’t exactly re-invent the wheel out there, but there is only so much new stuff to be done in these things after so many years.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. the Death Riders. Will Ospreay has joined up with Jon Moxley for the sake of getting ready for All In and Moxley has had him attacking the Young Bucks. Therefore, it’s time for a tag match.

Young Bucks vs. Death Riders

Ospreay backs Matt into the ropes to start so Nick runs the rope for a twisting wristdrag. Matt comes in for a pop up hurricanrana and Ospreay is catapulted into an enziguri for two. An armbar has Ospreay in more trouble but he’s back up to send Matt outside for the slingshot forearm. Nick seems to be banged up on the floor as Matt head fakes Ospreay into a DDT.

Marina Shafir pulls Matt outside and sends him into the steps and it’s back to Moxley for a release Falcon Arrow. Nick is back up but Moxley pulls him off the apron for a piledriver on the floor. Matt fights out of the cross armbreaker and takes out both Riders, with a rather shaken up Nick getting back on the apron. The tag brings Nick in and he’s fine enough to clean house and the top rope double stomp sends Ospreay into the sitout powerbomb for a near fall.

The Meltzer Driver is countered into a Gotch Style piledriver and Styles Clash for two on Matt as the Bucks are in trouble again. Ospreay Phenomenal Forearms Moxley by mistake though and the Bucks get to kick away. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up so it’s a BTE Trigger to Moxley, only for Nick to miss a charge into the post. The Hidden Blade hits Nick and he’s all screwed up again.

Ospreay wants him to tag out but Nick swings away, with Ospreay hitting him in the stomach instead of the head. With Nick down, Matt comes in to cover him up as Ospreay wants to show mercy. Instead Moxley tags himself in and Stomps Nick, who of course kicks out again.

Matt is pulled outside so he superkicks Shafir by mistake (though he doesn’t seem to mind), leaving Moxley to give Nick back to back Death Riders into the Paradigm Shift. Moxley grabs a chair but Ospreay takes it away, only for Matt to superkick it into Ospreay’s face. The Bucks give Moxley a BTE Trigger so he flips them both off, meaning it’s 12 superkicks to give Nick the pin at 19:37.

Rating: B-. The lack of selling was driving me crazy here, as Nick kept popping back up despite taking all kinds of big moves. Ospreay showing mercy to Nick is the right thing for him to do and it should be interesting to see him take the skills from the Death Riders but not follow their ways. Odds are this puts the Bucks back into title contention, likely with Copeland, Cage, and some ladders at All In.

We recap Kyle Fletcher defending the International Title against Bandido. There isn’t much of a story here, other than Bandido needing to lose in another singles match on PPV.

International Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Bandido

Bandido is challenging/not defending and Fletcher has ordered that everyone else be banned from ringside. They stare at each other a lot and Bandido grabs a quick rollup for two, with Fletcher bailing out to the floor. Back in and a headscissors sends Fletcher outside but he’s right back with a slam. Bandido crossbodies him out to the floor and tries an Asai moonsault, which is cut off with a superkick.

Fletcher plants him down again and grabs a full nelson of all things back inside. That’s broken up so Fletcher hits a rather hard chop for two, with the knee on the chest serving as a cover. Bandido fights up and hits a corkscrew crossbody, followed by the big gorilla press to bring the fans back into it. They head out to the apron where Fletcher hits a brainbuster, leaving Bandido mostly out on the floor.

Back in and Bandido grabs a German suplex into a 21 dragon plex (ok then) for two more. A Code Red to the floor is blocked so Bandido settles for just a powerbomb onto the floor instead. Bandido tosses him back inside for a shooting star press and they trade superkicks. One heck of a tornado DDT plants Fletcher so they exchange headbutts on the mat. Fletcher’s running knee is countered into a pop up Downward Spiral for another near fall.

The super flipping World’s Strongest Slam gives Bandido two, with Fletcher having to put his wrist on the rope. Bandido’s 21 Plex connects for two more and they’re both down. Fletcher is back up with a running knee and another brainbuster for two, leaving him rather stunned. The brainbuster onto the buckle is escaped so Bandido charges…right into a super Michinoku Driver for a rather near fall. Another brainbuster onto the buckle retains the title at 26:15.

Rating: B+. That was pretty much exactly what I was expecting, with the action being rather intense, both of them looking sharp as usual, and Fletcher retaining. For the life of me I do not get why they bother keeping the ROH World Title on Bandido if he’s just going to lose over and over on PPV. He’s more than good enough to hang in here, but it’s another case of wasting the value of his title. Then again, ROH champions are 0-3 this weekend so it’s not just a Bandido problem. Either way, great match here.

We recap the Bang Bang Gang vs. the Dogs. This is something involving David Finlay vs. Jay White in Japan so it’s time to have the teams chained together.

Bang Bang Gang vs. The Dogs

Double chain match. The fight starts before the chains are attached and the fans want to know who let the dogs out. The Gang uses the chains to fight back and they all go outside, with White whipping Finlay. Stereo slingshot dives drop the Dogs again but White’s big chain swing only hits the post. White gets sent hard into the post and Robinson goes knees first into the steps.

Back in and the Dogs start choking with the chains but White fights up and takes out Finlay’s knee. Robinson sends Connors into a DDT but he’s up with a snap powerslam to leave all four needing a breather. Robinson gets choked until White wins a tug of war and makes the save.

Finlay gives White a Dominator, with White landing on his head, for two, as commentary sounds more than a bit scared by that one (though thankfully White seems fine). White is back up with a suplex and it’s time for the double whipping to Finlay. Cue the Death Riders to take White out so the rest of the Gang runs in for the save. A shillelagh to the face finishes Robinson at 16:35.

Rating: B-. Maybe this is the start of something for the Dogs, who have felt all over the place since debuting. It’s not like they’re a lost cause, but they’re a team who are just kind of there a lot of the time. Nothing they really does stands out so maybe this is where things get better for them. On the other hand, the Gang vs. the lower half of the Riders is only so interesting, but at least the Gang is all here for a change.

In the back, Will Ospreay is worried about Nick Jackson but Jon Moxley comes in to yell at him for not pulling the trigger. This is wrestling and Ospreay has one chance at the top and has to do it. If Ospreay won’t pull the trigger, Moxley will.

We recap Maya World challenging Hikaru Shida for the TBS Title. World made a heck of a run in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup and then stopped Shida from being her bullying self. A title match ensued.

TBS Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Maya World

World is challenging and it happens to be her birthday. They go to the early exchange of forearms with Shida knocking her outside. Shida drops her face first onto the apron and goes after the leg back inside. A stretch muffler in the ropes has World in more trouble and the banged up knee is rammed into the mat.

World’s headscissors doesn’t get her very far so she rolls Shida down and hits a double stomp, only to bang up her knee again. The knee is fine enough for a moonsault to connect for two but Shida pulls her into a half crab. With that not working, Shida goes up for a Meteora and another near fall.

World is back up with a running knee so Shida rolls outside to leave them both down. Back up and World scores with a suicide dive and they grab hands to slug it out inside. Three straight running knees knock World silly and the Falcon Arrow gets two, with World using the rope. World pops up and grabs a tabletop suplex to win the title at 16:40. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: B-. Well ok then. I wasn’t expecting World to actually win the thing but it’s great to see that happen, as she has shown a lot of potential but needed to win something. Shida did feel like a beatable champion and I kept going back and forth on this one. The good thing is they pulled the trigger though and that’s better than I was expecting.

The Demand wants the Trios Titles on Dynamite.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. Death Riders

Copeland and Cage are defending and Copeland gets jumped before the bell, with Cage running in for the save. That earns him a beating of his own and we officially start with Copeland in trouble in the corner. Cage is sent into the steps to keep him in trouble and Pac stomps Copeland down again. Castagnoli gets to work on the arm but Copeland fights up and it’s a double knockdown.

Cage gets to come in and hammer away, including the jumping right hand in the ropes. The spear is cut off though and Cage has to superplex Castagnoli, allowing Pac to drop a top rope elbow. The Sharpshooter (uh oh) goes on but Copeland makes the save, earning himself a running elbow over the barricade. Back in and the shooting star press gives Pac two on Cage as Copeland is crawling back to ringside.

A Killswitch gives Cage two and it’s back to Copeland to fire off the shots to the head. The Edge-O-Matic drops Pac again but Castagnoli is back in for a spike Neutralizer. Pac’s big lariat is countered into a Grindhouse though, with Castagnoli making the save. The Riders hit some running clotheslines in the corner but Cage cuts Castagnoli off with a spear. A pop up spear to Pac retains the titles at 18:42.

Rating: C+. This might as well have been Copeland and Cage sitting out there having a sandwich as there was absolutely no reason to believe that the titles were going to change hands. It was a thrown together title match and that’s not the most thrilling way to go. Copeland and Cage as champions is a cool idea but just get us to the match with the Bucks already, which is pretty clearly the big endgame to the whole thing. Chop a few minutes off of this and it’s better, but it’s just not that interesting.

Post match the Young Bucks come out and the match is officially on for All In. Cage won’t shake hands though.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa. Jericho returned again and seemingly doesn’t like bald people, with Ciampa trying to prove that he’s better. Ciampa beat him at Beach Break with some chicanery so now Jericho is back as the Painmaker in a No DQ match.

Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Jericho has his barbed wire baseball bat and wins a duel against Ciampa’s chair. Some sand to the eyes (how Ciampa won their first match) blinds Ciampa but he fights back and sets up an early table. That earns him a fire extinguisher to the eyes but Ciampa is fine enough to grab a Fairy Tale Ending through the table at ringside. This lets commentary mock a fan for wanting the table to be sat on fire but instead it’s time for a hockey stick.

After beating on Jericho, Ciampa throws on a Boston Bruins jersey and beats on a stuffed Canadiens mascot, with Jericho making the save for quite the nice save. Naturally Jericho throws out a bunch of hockey pucks and then pulls the jersey over Ciampa’s head for a suplex. Some puck shots to the head bust Ciampa open and it’s time for a barbed wire table. As usual that takes too long and Ciampa comes back with some tacks to the head to cut Jericho open.

The running knee gives Ciampa two but he takes too long grabbing a tack covered elbow pad. The Walls are broken up with the barbed wire bat, which cuts Jericho open even further. Naturally Jericho is right back with a Death Valley Driver through the barbed wire table, allowing him to stab Ciampa in the leg with a pencil. It’s time for a mirror (of course), with Jericho bridging him across two open chairs.

That’s reversed into a super Air Raid Crash through said mirror to give Ciampa two so let’s get a power drill. Schiavone: “This may end a career.” Fans: “THIS IS MURDER!” The green mist cuts Ciampa off though and the Judas Effect connects. Jericho grabs a….freaking barbed wire mirror, which is broken over Ciampa’s back. A Judas Effect with the tacked up elbow pad gets two and the drill to the head makes Ciampa give up at 22:11.

Rating: C+. Well, on one hand, it was nice to see Ciampa getting this kind of a focal point. It was a good example of Jericho giving someone a boost, though there is only so much to be gotten out of a match ending with a power drill. This got a bit ridiculous more than once and as usual, it went on way too long, but hopefully AEW has something else for Ciampa as he has earned the chance.

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne have Mick Foley sit down so they can interview him. He thinks the Crush Girls could give them a fight but also thinks the Brawling Birds could be a threat. They suggest he bow down, so Foley….barks. Because it includes “bow wow”. Even Foley admits this isn’t working and sends it back to the desk.

We recap Mark Davis defending the National Title against Andrade El Idolo. Last month, El Idolo turned on the Don Callis Family and now it’s time to take some of their gold.

National Title: Andrade El Idolo vs. Mark Davis

Davis is defending and Andrade comes out with a group of ladies. The spinning back elbow gives Andrade two at the bell but it’s too early for the DM. Davis gets in a knockdown of his own and drops a backsplash but Andrade gets in a cross armbreaker over the ropes. A running hurricanrana off the apron drops Davis and let’s pause for the photo with the fan.

Naturally that lets Davis fight back with a clothesline and a running forearm in the corner gets two. The chinlock and a half crab in the ropes has Andrade in even more trouble, followed by the abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and they chop it out until Andrade hits a running forearm to the chest. Davis gets in a clothesline but Andrade’s knee is fine enough for some rolling suplexes.

The running Meteora in the corner gets two, as does Davis’ quick piledriver. Andrade sends him into the post and is right back with the double moonsault for two of his own. That means Andrade can take off his pants but the frog splash hits raised knees. Back up and Andrade hits another spinning back elbow, setting up the DM for the pin at 16:15.

Rating: B-. This was fine and the right man won, as Davis has come a long way as champion but Andrade is on fire right now and needed to win something. I’m sure Andrade will do just fine, though hopefully Davis gets a chance to do something else. He’s earned the chance and it would be terrible to see AEW waste what he has built up.

Mike Bailey wants his International Title match at Grand Slam in Arena Mexico on August 5.

We recap Willow Nightingale challenging Thekla for the Women’s Title. Nightingale earned the title shot and Thekla is fairly crazy so it’s quite the interesting dynamic at play.

Women’s Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Thekla

Nightingale, with her taped up ear (after Thekla attacked her with a microphone), is challenging. We get the Big Match Intros and Nightingale snaps off an early spinebuster to hammer away. A Pounce sends Thekla crashing out to the floor and Nightingale grabs a suplex. The Cannonball only hits steps though and they get back inside with Thekla going after the bad ear.

Nightingale is bleeding from the ear as Thekla grabs a Rings Of Saturn. That doesn’t last long either and Thekla charges into a rather hard clothesline. Thekla is right back with a Black Widow, which doesn’t last long so she grabs a spider superplex. Nightingale pops up for a discus lariat and ties up the legs, followed by some clotheslines against the ropes. That doesn’t last long and Thekla is back up with a Muta Lock to rip at Nightingale’s face. They head out to the apron, where Nightingale gets dropped hard so Thekla can hit a big dive to the floor.

Back in and Nightingale counters the spear into a sunset flip for two so Thekla grabs a bridging rollup. That’s broken up as the referee catches Thekla grabbing the rope, meaning Nightingale can knock her down again. A moonsault misses though, leaving Nightingale to grab the gutwrench powerbomb. Cue Skye Blue to put the foot on the rope so Thekla hits the spear. That’s not enough either though and Nightingale grabs a backslide for the pin and the title at 15:13.

Rating: B. That’s great to see, but please tell me this isn’t just another way to set up Mone for her big win. Nightingale as the face of the star could be rather interesting and it would be nice to see it actually last longer than about a month. The match was a good back and forth fight and I’m curious to see where Thekla goes next, as she was rather awesome during her time with the title.

We recap Kevin Knight challenging Kenny Omega for the World Title. Omega is champion and set for his big title defense at All In. Knight is getting the shot and gone after Omega in an effort to step up to the next level, with Omega wanting to see if he still has it.

AEW World Title: Kevin Knight vs. Kenny Omega

Omega is defending while Knight’s TNT Title isn’t on the line. Knight jumps him from behind before the bell so the referee breaks it up, allowing the match to start and Omega to strike away. A running hurricanrana puts Knight on the floor but the Terminator Dive is cut off with a knee to the ribs. They head outside with Knight using the announcers’ table for a jumping clothesline, followed by a choke on the ropes back inside.

Both of them miss a splash so Knight’s running UFO Splash connects for two. Omega tries to chop away but gets caught with a super hurricanrana for two more. Knight starts in on the leg before clotheslining him into a chinlock. That’s switched into an abdominal stretch but Omega is up with a poisonrana. The snapdragon sends Knight to the apron, where another snapdragon knocks him silly.

The announcers’ table is loaded up for another snapdragon and Knight is rocked. Back in and Omega says Knight will never be him and hits another big knee to the face. Knight gets in a hard shot of his own so Omega fires off some forearms and tells Knight to fight back. Knight does just that with a Sky High and a clothesline to send him outside, only for Omega to go after the leg again.

Back in and they fight on top, with Omega’s sunset bomb and V Trigger combining for another near fall. Knight fights out of the corner though and knocks him into the Tree Of Woe for the Coast To Coast. Rather than covering, Knight goes to grab some belts, with a Crash Landing onto one of them planting Omega for two. The UFO Splash hits raised knees though and it’s a V Trigger into the One Winged Angel to retain the title at 25:00.

Rating: B. This was one of those matches that could have been great as a Dynamite main event but that’s about it. At the same time, it was nice to see Knight getting this chance, even if he felt like he had a grand total of no real shot at winning. Omega was in a glorified warmup match for All In and that’s all this was presented as being. It’s a fine match, but absolutely does not feel like a PPV main event.

Post match the Death Riders run in for the beatdown and cut off the Young Bucks before they can make a save. Will Ospreay comes in to stop a Stomp onto a chair though and even shoves Jon Moxley down. Moxley gets back inside and offers Ospreay a chance to hit him but the chair is thrown outside instead. Moxley pulls out the plastic bag (Ospreay’s eyes bug out) and hands it to Ospreay, who tears it up.

Ospreay knocks Moxley to the floor and the Riders go after him, only for Moxley to call them off. With the team leaving, Ospreay takes off his Death Riders kneepad and throws it away before handing Omega the title. We get a big handshake and they pose together….but Omega gives him a One Winged Angel. The Bucks pose with Omega, who leaves to end the show. I’m not sure if that’s a full on heel turn but it’s certainly a twist of some kind.

Overall Rating: B. This was basically a good In Your House style show as it had solid action and nothing bad, but there is pretty much nothing worth seeing save for maybe Fletcher vs. Bandido. The problem continues to come down to All In looming over the whole thing and there is only so much that can be done with this show as it was all about getting ready for next month. Overall, a completely good show but not something really worth your time. That being said, SWEET GOODNESS this was better simply due to having it be on an hour earlier. See how much good that kind of thing can do? Anyway, good but not great show.

Results
Conglomeration b. Lethal Twist – End Of Heartache to Lethal
Mike Bailey b. El Clon, Jack Perry, Komander, The Beast Mortos and Nick Wayne – Bailey pulled down the contract
Young Bucks b. Death Riders – Double superkick to Moxley
Kyle Fletcher b. Bandido – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
The Dogs b. Bang Bang Gang – Shillelagh to Robinson
Maya World b. Hikaru Shida – Tabletop suplex
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage b. Death Riders – Pop up spear to Pac
Chris Jericho b. Tommaso Ciampa – Power drill to the head
Andrade El Idolo b. Mark Davis – DM
Willow Nightingale b. Thekla – Backslide
Kenny Omega b. Kevin Knight – One Winged Angel

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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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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Dynamite
Date: July 22, 2026
Location: The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before this weekend’s Redemption pay per view and we have some titles on the line tonight as well. That includes Kevin Knight defending the TNT Title, along with the Women’s Tag Team Titles being on the line. We should have a good show here and let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega are ready to team tonight. Ospreay mentions they’re undefeated as a team (stunning Omega in the process) and they agree to tag out if they need the help. Jon Moxley comes in to say there is no tension in this room and things get quiet rather quickly.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight

Knight is defending but Allin jumps him before the bell and they fight into the crowd. Naturally Allin gets a running start and runs him over with a clothesline back to ringside. Allin climbs onto the top of the post and clotheslines him into the timekeeper’s area for the huge crash. They go inside for the opening bell and are almost immediately out on the ramp.

Knight sends him crashing into the barricade and a catapult sends Allin THROUGH the steps (with the top breaking off), which is only good for two back inside. Allin fights off the top though and grabs a pair of Code Reds for two. Knight’s arm is put inside of the post and then he is knocked outside for a Coffin Drop (from the bleeding Allin) as we take a break.

We come back with both of them down until Knight is up to send Allin into the referee. Knight grabs the belt but walks into the Scorpion Death Drop. The Coffin Drop takes too long though and Allin ties him in the Tree Of Woe for a Coast To Coast. That and the UFO Splash retain the title at 11:20.

Rating: B-. This was much more of a wild brawl than a typical match and that isn’t a surprise for Allin. Outside of the spot with the steps, it could have been a lot worse with all of the violence and carnage and stung show insanity. I was hoping Knight to drop the title here to avoid another champion vs. champion match at the pay per view but oh well.

Post match here are Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada for their tag match, with Knight seemingly not liking the two of them taking his moment.

Post break the Don Callis Family is in the ring, with Mark Davis not being worried about Andrade El Idolo at Redemption. Knight says he just won on his own, but Fletcher isn’t impressed, saying he hopes Knight wins another title on Sunday. Fletcher doesn’t need help either and he’s going to make sure that the title is banned from ringside at Redemption. And heck let’s do that again right now.

Kyle Fletcher/Kazuchika Okada vs. Brodido

The Family is banned from ringside, save for Don Callis himself, who is on commentary. Bandido and Fletcher go with the grappling to start until Bandido gets a wristdrag into a dropkick. King comes in for a suplex, plus the rather loud chops in the corner. It’s back to Bandido, who gets double flapjacked as we take a break.

We come back with Bandido slipping away from a double team and bringing King back in for some house wrecking. Fletcher is Death Valley Drivered onto the apron but Okada manages to hoist King up for an Air Raid Crash onto the knee. Fletcher is back in but runs into a swinging Boss Man Slam for two but Fletcher is able to superkick a moonsaulting Bandido out of the air. A pop up faceplant, followed by a frog splash (with Eddie Dance) give Bandido two each but Okada is back in with the Rainmaker. Unforgiven it hits Fletcher by mistake though and the 21 Plex gives Bandido the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B. The match was fast paced and kept a few things going at once, which is quite the use of what they had here. If nothing else, at least Bandido got a win to build him up a bit for Sunday and that was rather needed. Okada vs. Fletcher seems to be coming sooner or later and that should be….something.

Post match Okada begs Fletcher’s forgiveness but Fletcher yells a lot. Don Callis sends the team after Brodido but Andrade El Idolo comes in before the violence can start. The villains skedaddle.

We get a video on the Painmaker version of Chris Jericho.

Here is Mick Foley for a chat and yeah the fans like him. Foley brings out Thekla and Willow Nightingale for their staredown, with Thekla also showing off her new Stardom title (She has two belts, which comes after a segment involving four different champions staring at each other. Either unify some of the things or stop having everyone bring in their titles from elsewhere because good grief enough already.).

Thekla accuses Nightingale of hiding behind her smile and offers to beat the poison out of Nightingale at Redemption. Nightingale finds it interesting that Thekla accuses someone of wearing a mask and only cares about the AEW Women’s Title. Foley compares himself to Nightingale, as they both had smiles but Nightingale has more teeth.

Thekla tells Foley to shut up and that’s too far for Nightingale She calls Thekla a “dumb b****”, which has Thekla smiling as she tells Nightingale to smile anyway after she gets beaten up. Thekla hits her in the head with the mic and takes off her belt (the traditional kind, not the star shaped one), only to get Pounced.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Maya World.

Jay White vs. Clark Connors

The fans are behind White and they play a bit of chase to start. White gets behind him though and almost gets the Blade Runner. Instead White fires off some chops before grabbing an armbar. White sends him onto the ramp but Connors grabs the referee, setting up a spear through the ropes.

We take a break and come back with Connors going to the eyes and hitting a running shoulder. Another such shoulder only hits an open chair though and they get back inside, where White starts on the leg. Connors is fine enough to hit something of a Pounce but walks into a swinging Rock Bottom. The cutthroat suplex drops Connors, who is back with a powerslam for two of his own. Connors’ spear is countered into a guillotine choke, with White rolling over to choke him out at 12:33.

Rating: B-. I’m rather glad to see White get back in the ring as he has a style that makes him stand out for some reason. He’s good at what he does and feels like a star, though it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t stay healthy. At the same time, if the Dogs completely disappeared from AEW, I really can’t imagine I would notice.

Post match David Finlay runs in with the shillelagh shot to White so the Bang Bang Gang chases him off.

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage are jumped by the Death Riders, who can’t believe Copeland and Cage challenged them for Redemption. On Sunday, the Riders will remind them who they are.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Sisters Of Sin vs. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross

The Sisters are challenging and this is No DQ. That’s how they can get away with jumping the champions with kendo sticks before the bell and knocking them outside. Some running shots off the apron put Kross and Bayne down again and Blue unloads with the kendo stick shots back inside. Hart’s Old School hurricanrana is blocked with raw power but Blue is up for the save. Blue (bleeding from the head) is put in the corner where Bayne throws a chair at the chair on Blue’s chest and we take a break.

We come back with Bayne being put through a table on the stage and Kross being knocked down for two. Bayne is back up and it’s a string of shots to the face to leave everyone down. After Bayne takes off her hockey sweater, the four of them all grab a belt (yep) and miss a shot each. Blue is up to try…something to Kross but Bayne grabs her off the ropes for a chokeslam through the table at ringside. Back in and Bayne reverses Hart’s Octopus into a Tombstone and the Divine Intervention retains the titles at 12:45.

Rating: B. This got fun as the champs were having to fight to win for a change. You could definitely see Bayne getting more into this and showing a lot of emotion. That’s not something you often see from here and it could add something else to her future. At the same time, the Sisters gave them a good fight in a losing effort and I’ll take that for a match like this.

The Bang Bang Gang want a double chain match with the Dogs at Redemption. Well of course they do.

Jon Moxley/Kenny Omega/Will Ospreay vs. Don Callis Family

Ospreay and Hechicero go with the grappling to start with Hechicero grabbing a headscissors on the mat. That’s broken up and we’re already up to a standoff. Omega comes in to take over on Hechicero’s arm and the go….well the non-Callis guys take turns working on the arm. Omega gives Moxley a rather weak tag and Hechicero gets away for the tag to Doyle.

That means Moxley gets sent into the corner for the stomping but he’s able to send Doyle outside. There’s the suicide dive and Ospreay is back in for a Stundog Millionaire to Cage. Doyle runs Ospreay over though and Omega is knocked down as well and we take a break. We come back with Omega hitting a spinning kick to Cage, allowing the tag to Ospreay (and leaving Moxley hanging).

A moonsault hits Cage but it’s back to Hechicero to work on the knee. That sets up a kneebar but Moxley comes in for the save, even without the tag. Everything breaks down and Hechicero is left alone for some triple teaming, including the running shots in the corner. Omega knees Moxley by mistake though and Cage gives Omega a pumphandle knee to the face.

Moxley is back up to cut off a double Doomsday powerbomb and it’s a Hidden Blade/V Trigger combination to finish Hechicero at 13:19. Sidenote: Omega raises his fists in celebration right after getting the pin. I love little things like that as wrestlers are supposed to want to win. Be happy when you do.

Rating: B. The best thing here is that it went as it should have. There was almost no way, save for a total implosion, that Moxley and company were losing here as that’s a crazy lineup. At the same time, this match didn’t go too long and that’s great to see for a change. Sometimes the right call is for a match to do something like this and it worked well here.

Post match Omega apologizes to Moxley and offers a handshake but Moxley shoves him. They go nose to nose so Ospreay breaks it up, only for Omega to shove him down as well. Moxley is thrilled with the two of them fighting but here are the Young Bucks to go after Moxley and Ospreay. RPG Vice runs in so Omega tries to give them a V Trigger, only to get taken down by a very surprising diving clothesline from Kevin Knight to end the show. I appreciate the Knight vs. Omega stuff but I have a better chance of leaving Redemption with the World Title than Knight does.

Overall Rating: B. They were in a tough place here as Redemption feels as weak of a pay per view as any they have offered in a long time. It isn’t so much that the show is looking bad, but it doesn’t feel important. That makes building the show up very difficult and they did what they could here. It wasn’t a big time show but I liked it well enough, partially because it was almost twenty minutes shorter than last week. Believe it or not, a lack of overstaying your welcome can make a big difference.

Results
Kevin Knight b. Darby Allin – UFO Splash
Brodido b. Kyle Fletcher/Kazuchika Okada – 21 Plex to Fletcher
Jay White b. Clark Connors – Guillotine choke
Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Sisters Of Sin – Divine Intervention to Hart
Jon Moxley/Kenny Omega/Will Ospreay b. Don Callis Family – Hidden Blade/V Trigger combination to Hechicero

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Collision
Date: July 18, 2026
Location: MGM Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight

We’re coming up on Redemption, whose card got a big boost earlier in the week on Dynamite. That should give this show some extra focus, along with whatever else we get added to the show. We already have two open challenges set for this week and that’s always the sign of a well thought out show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Jack Perry vs. Nick Wayne

Open challenge #1. Perry takes him into the corner to start and messes with his hair before going after the arm. Back up and they fight into a standoff as Wight makes jokes about Excalibur, which he’s sure Excalibur will appreciate. They go outside for Perry to fire off some chops as Schiavone says Perry has won four titles in AEW, as compared to his chyron, which said three. Wayne gets in a faceplant onto the steps and we take an early break.

We come back with Perry kicking him head first into the buckle and adding a middle rope legdrop for two. Perry powerbombs him onto the apron and out to the floor but Wayne is right back with a snapdragon. A big clothesline drops Wayne again but he sends Perry to the apron and grabs a running suicide Canadian Destroyer. That and a fisherman’s buster give Wayne two back inside but Perry suplexes him out of the corner. The running knee gives Perry the pin at 11:06.

Rating: B-. That was a hard hitting, back and forth match and it would have been even better if they had done some better selling off the big moves. A guy got powerbombed onto the apron and the other can a Canadian Destroyer on the floor but they were right back up. Such is modern wrestling, and that’s not the best thing in the world.

The Young Bucks are glad Kenny Omega is the World Champion again but they aren’t sure if they can trust the Death Riders. Therefore, they want a match against Jon Moxley/Will Ospreay at Redemption.

Video on Christian Cage/Adam Copeland vs. the Dogs.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. AR Fox

Knight is defending and jumps him from behind to start and knocks him outside. Back in and Knight misses a springboard, allowing Fox to grab a rolling neckbreaker. Fox knocks him outside for a change but misses a moonsault, allowing Knight to get in a knockdown of his own. We take a break and come back with Fox pulling him into a cutter so a Swanton can connect for two. A 450 gives Fox two more but Lo Mein Pain is blocked, allowing Knight to slam him down. The UFO Splash retains the title at 9:38.

Rating: B-. Fox is just so fun to watch and that has been the case for a long time. I could go for a lot more of him around here or even in ROH but at least he got his one big title win earlier in the year. Knight is loading up for Darby Allin next week and that means he needs this kind of a win, as I guess just “being the champion” isn’t enough anymore.

Post match Knight sits in on commentary to say he’s ready for Allin on Dynamite.

Don Callis Family vs. Gino Medina/Tome Filip/Nic Nolan

Hechicero knees Medina in the corner to start before Cage is in to power him around. Doyle plants Filip on the apron and Cage flips Nolan into a knee to the face for the win at 1:54.

Post match the Family comes in for the beatdown until Mike Bailey and the Conglomeration run in to clear them out.

Will Ospreay talks about training with Adam Brooks so they’ll have a match tonight. Moxley is fine with facing the Young Bucks at Redemption.

The Dogs mock the Bang Bang Gang’s mocking promos about fixing dogs. They want AEW to be a safe space so guns down.

Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks

Jon Moxley is on commentary. They hug to start and Moxley doesn’t approve, with Brooks’ cheap shot proving him right. Ospreay is right back with a running hurricanrana to the floor, setting up the slingshot dive (Moxley approves). Back in and the Oscutter is blocked, allowing Brooks to get in a dive of his own. The chinlock goes on but Ospreay is right back up. The standing corkscrew moonsault gets two and Ospreay wins a slugout. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but Brooks spits at him. That earns him one heck of a right hand and a bunch of heavy forearms to the back of the head to make Brooks tap at 8:18.

Rating: C+. I guess the idea here was to show Ospreay showing a more violent side, though it only has so much of an impact when Brooks has to spit at him to trigger things. Ospreay has shown he can get really physical before, but this was more anger. Granted I’m not sure how much you can expect that from Omega and the Young Bucks, but at least it’s something.

Darby Allin doesn’t like what Kevin Knight has become and burns a car to express his feelings.

Athena vs. Ava Everett

Non-title. Athena snaps off a German suplex to start and sends her outside for a kick to the chest. Everett gets two off a rollup so an annoyed Athena kicks her in the face. A powerbomb and running forearm set up the reverse Koji Clutch to make Everett give up at 2:07. The ticked off Athena is always fun to see.

Brawling Birds vs. Tiara James/Kayla Lopez

The Birds run into Athena on the way to the ring and glaring ensues. They also clear the ring to start and whip James and Lopez together on the floor. Back in and James gets headbutted into the corner, followed by more shots to the face. Two Birds One Stone finishes James at 2:49.

The Bang Bang Gang wants the Dogs on Dynamite.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Myron Reed

This is the second open challenge and Ciampa is the hometown star. Reed takes him into the corner to start and we actually get a clean break. Since that is a bad idea, Ciampa knocks him outside and stomps away but the running knee misses. A slingshot belly to back suplex gives Reed two but his charge is countered into Willow’s Bell onto the ramp.

We take a break and come back with Reed knocking him outside for a big dive. Ciampa is fine enough to hit a super Air Raid Crash, only for Reed to come back with the diving cutter to the ramp. They strike it out from their knees until Ciampa hits the Project Ciampa to take over. The running knee finishes Reed at 10:28.

Rating: B-. It’s another intense match as Ciampa knows exactly how to make that work. At the same time, it was another cold match designed to make Ciampa look good on his way to the rematch with Chris Jericho. I’m really not big on the open challenges and it was a bit much to have two of them on one show.

Post match Ciampa talks to Paul Wight, saying he wants to face Wight’s best friend Chris Jericho in a street fight at Redemption. Yeah that needed to be added to the match.

Andrade El Idolo has the Dynamite Diamond Ring but gets choked out by Jake Doyle.

Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. The hometown star Mone promises to leave All In as champion and it doesn’t matter if she’s facing Thekla or Willow Nightingale. She says the two of them hide behind something but they can’t hide after the bell rings. Either way, she’s leaving All In with the title.

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage are ready to face Claudio Castagnoli and Pac. The Young Bucks come in to suggest they want the titles back, though everything seems ok.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Adam Priest

Bandido is defending and flips away to start, meaning it’s time for the gun pose. Some kicks to the face look to set up the gorilla press but Priest slips out and sends Bandido outside. We take a break and come back with Bandido snapping off some German suplexes, with a one armed version dropping Priest again. The 21 Plex is blocked so Bandido just backflips over him and grabs a German suplex to retain at 7:47.

Rating: C+. That ending looked great as Bandido is almost turning the 21 Plex into a game as he tries to find new and more impressive ways to make the move look great. It’s nice to see Bandido get a win in AEW, even if it is to boost him up for another PPV loss. As usual, it’s just a random title defense, which is almost all he has most of the time.

The Sisters Of Sin are now 2/3 of the Stardom six woman titles. Next week though, they want a Women’s Tag Team Title shot in a hardcore match.

TBS Title: Queen Aminata vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending. They forearm it out to start until Aminata snapmares her down for a kick to the back. Shida is sent outside and put in a chair, with Aminata hitting a running double stomp. Another top rope double stomp (no chair this time) only hits ramp. Aminata misses a headbutt into the buckle as well and Shida gives her a belly to back piledriver onto the ramp.

We take a break and come back with Shida having to escape a Boston crab. Aminata kicks her in the head, followed by a fisherman’s neckbreaker. A middle rope double stomp gives Aminata two so Shida grabs the kendo stick. That’s quickly taken away, leaving Shida to hit a top rope Meteora, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two. They trade rollups for two each until Aminata hits a running knee in the ropes. Shida is fine enough to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: B. The ending came out of nowhere but they were rolling until the rather abrupt finish. Aminata didn’t feel like she had a chance of winning but she had me wondering if a miracle could have been in the cards. Shida’s title win was kind of out of nowhere, but she’s a successful enough star that she feels important as champion and that makes this a great use of her status.

Post match Shida stays on Aminata but Maya World runs out for the save. World vs. Shida for the TBS Title is announced for Redemption to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was about elevating some people who are competing at Redemption and adding a few more matches to the card. At the same time, Redemption is only feeling so important. It feels like a show that is being wedged in there for the sake of having a July PPV before All In. The show is likely to be entertaining, but they’re going to need something bigger to make the show feel like required viewing.

Results
Jack Perry b. Nick Wayne – Running knee
Kevin Knight b. AR Fox – UFO Splash
Don Callis Family b. Gino Medina/Tome Filip/Nic Nolan – Flipping knee to the face to Nolan
Will Ospreay b. Adam Brooks – Forearms to the head
Athena b. Ava Everett – Reverse Koji Clutch
Brawling Birds b. Tiana James/Kayla Lopez – Two Birds One Stone to James
Tommaso Ciampa b. Myron Reed – Running knee
Bandido b. Adam Priest – Lifting German suplex
Hikaru Shida b. Queen Aminata – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Dynamite
Date: July 15, 2026
Location: MGM Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with one of the bigger Dynamites of the year and now we have less than two weeks before Redemption. Last week saw Kenny Omega regain the World Title in a heck of a fight against MJF which means the title match at the pay per view (assuming there is one) could go in a few directions. The rest of the Redemption card needs to be set up as well so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Beach Break recap.

Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta warm up for their Tag Team Title match. Jon Moxley fires them up and then tells Will Ospreay that he has earned this but it is time for some hard decisions. Ospreay has to take the shot when he has the chance, no matter the target.

Tag Team Titles: Death Riders vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage

Copeland and Cage are defending. Yuta goes for Copeland’s leg to start before driving him down by the arm. That just earns him a big boot so it’s off to Cage vs. Garcia. Cage backs him into the corner and it’s back to Copeland to hammer away. The Riders tie Copeland up in the ring skirt though and pound him down to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Copeland grabbing a powerslam, allowing a tag back to Cage. That means house can be cleaned quickly, with Garcia having his neck snapped over the top rope. Everything breaks down and Yuta’s German suplex gets two on Cage. The Riders do their weird spinning circle thing and then go to take off a turnbuckle pad. That’s enough for Cage to get in a low blow, followed by the spear to pin Yuta and retain at 11:57.

Rating: C+. This was perfectly acceptable match and they didn’t stay out there too long, which makes sense as there was no reason to think Garcia and Yuta were winning the titles. There is nothing wrong with getting the champs out there for a simple title defense and at least it’s against a regular team. Not bad here, with Cage just kicking Yuta low to set up the finish being pretty funny.

Post match the Dogs run in and beat the champs down so here is the Bang Bang Gang for the save. The Dogs are cleared out and Cage and Jay White have a staredown but things stay peaceful.

We look at Hikaru Shida attacking Harley Cameron after their match and Queen Aminata making the save. Aminata gets a TBS Title shot on Collision.

Video on Andrade El Idolo.

Andrade is ready to beat Jake Doyle and move on to eventually win the World Title. Oh and he has the Dynamite Diamond Ring, seemingly thanks to Will Ospreay. How you know?

The Conglomeration tease an open challenge for the Trios Titles and the Demand interrupt. Don’t worry though because they’re not going to lay a finger on the champs….but here is the Lethal Twist to jump the Conglomeration instead. Ricochet: “They’re not in the Demand!”

Andrade El Idolo vs. Jake Doyle

If Andrade wins, he gets a National Title shot against Mark Davis. Doyle knocks him outside at the bell and then hits the running shots in the corner. Andrade gets a boot up though and an enziguri sends Doyle back outside. We pause for the photo with the woman before they head inside…and go right back outside, where Doyle chokeslams him onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Doyle knocking him down again. Andrade knocks him to the floor though and hits the middle rope moonsault, only to get powerbombed back inside. Doyle’s big right hand knocks Andrade out of the air for two but Andrade spinning elbows him in the face. The DM finishes Doyle at 12:15.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much the most obvious result in the world but it went fine, as the fans are WAY into Andrade at the moment. It makes sense too as he’s on fire and dripping with charisma. Keep going with him for the moment, as it’s working for the moment, though there is always the chance that Andrade could turn it off at a moment’s notice.

Video on Kenny Omega winning the World Title back last week.

Here is Omega for his World Title celebration. Hold on though as here are the Young Bucks to present Omega with the original World Title design. Omega didn’t think he was going to get back to this spot again and thanks everyone for believing in him. We have less than fifty days before All In and you are going to see the best version of Omega. This brings in Will Ospreay, who asks the Bucks to talk to Omega on his own.

The Bucks leave in peace and Ospreay is glad to see Omega as World Champion again. Last week Omega got hit in the face with the belt “and then you kicked out at once you cheeky slag!” Ospreay has wanted to be just a fraction of the wrestler Omega is and now he wants to show everyone what they can do at All In.

Cue Kevin Knight to interrupt, saying he wants to face Omega one on one. Knight wants the title shot at Redemption but Omega says no…but he’ll give Knight a title shot anyway because he thinks Knight has something. Then Knight listened to Don Callis, which Omega understands. Omega did that before and he bought into the idea, but Knight doesn’t need to be there.

Now Omega is saying the same thing that everyone but Callis believe: Knight doesn’t need Callis because he could be champion on his own. That makes Knight the only real fraud because there is a good guy in there who doesn’t need Callis. If Knight is getting the title shot, Omega wants him to get it on his own. Knight says there isn’t goodness in him, because it’s greatness.

With that, Knight decks Omega with the microphone and ducks the Hidden Blade to escape. Darby Allin runs in to jump Knight so here is the Don Callis Family to beat Allin down. The Death Riders come in for the save. Maybe a segment that was about Omega and Ospreay, with Knight coming in for his part, shouldn’t wind up having about a dozen people involved?

Jack Perry issues an open challenge for Collision. Luchasaurus is his tech guy.

Brodido vs. Nick Comoroto/Aaron Solo

Bandido gets to show off a bit with the gorilla press to Comoroto before King drops him onto Comoroto for an early two. King knocks them both down and Bandido’s frog splash gets a double pin at 2:16. That was efficient.

Post match Bandido runs into Kyle Fletcher and gives him a wanted poster. Oh sweet goodness Bandido is going to lose another singles match on PPV and no one is going to care about the Ring Of Honor World Title in the slightest isn’t he? It’s a rhetorical question because OF COURSE HE IS.

International Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Komander

Fletcher is defending and gets taken down for an early near fall, which has Fletcher thinking twice. Komander sends him outside but gets pulled out of the air, allowing Fletcher to boot him in the face. Back in and Fletcher knocks him to the floor, setting up the big rope walk flip dive as we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher laughing at Komander striking away until a superkick puts Fletcher down. An apron superplex is escaped and Komander flips him off the top for a roll to the floor. Komander hits a big dive and a 450 gets two back inside. Cielito Lindo is broken up so Komander goes with a super Destroyer for two. A Michinoku Driver gives Fletcher two and he grabs the brainbuster to retain at 11:02.

Rating: B. Good match here, which shouldn’t be a shock. Komander getting title shot after title shot became a running joke but his matches have been enough of a blast to shake a lot of that off. At the same time you have Fletcher, who works well with anyone. Again, they didn’t go too long in a match where there was no drama and that helps so much.

Post match Fletcher goes for the mask so Konosuke Takeshita runs in for the save. Kazuchika Okada is here too though and the Rainmaker drops Takeshita. Brodido run in to take out Okada and Fletcher.

Kenny Omega is ready to face Kevin Knight but Darby Allin comes in to say Knight isn’t changing overnight. Allin is ready to take the TNT Title and leaves. Jon Moxley comes in to agree that some people cannot change.

Here are the Brawling Birds for a chat. They want the Women’s Tag Team Titles and All In is coming up so let’s consume alcohol.

Chris Jericho wants a rematch with Tommaso Ciampa at Redemption but he’ll bring the Painmaker.

Ciampa is in and issues an open challenge for Collision.

Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage

Cage jumps him to start fast and drops him onto the ramp as Taz talks about making the mistake of paying for Cage’s dinner before. Allin is sent flying with a fall away slam and we take a break. We come back with Allin hitting a running dropkick off the steps and grabbing a super Code Red for a near fall. Allin’s suicide dive connects but Cage is right back up with a gorilla press toss to send Allin head first into the post. Naturally Allin is up again with a Coffin Drop onto Cage onto the steps, followed by a regular one to pin Cage at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Have I mentioned that I’m sick of Allin doing stupid stunts in a match and then popping back up to win? It’s just been a few years of the same thing now and that’s a bit irritating. Allin vs. the Don Callis Family isn’t exactly an original story but at least he has a feud with Knight already built up and he very well may take the TNT Title next week.

Kyle Fletcher is ticked off and ready to defend against anyone. For now, he wants Bandido and the title shot is offered for Redemption.

Kevin Knight and Don Callis are ready to take out Kenny Omega. Mike Bailey comes in to say he’s ready for Knight to change back.

Maya World/Hyan/Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne/Mercedes Mone

Nightingale backs Mone into the ropes to start and the other four come in, with Hyan and World taking over in the corners. We settle down to Nightingale cartwheeling out of a whip into the corner but missing an enziguri. Kross is knocked down into the corner though, leaving Mone to get beaten up by Hyan and World. Mone is tossed onto Kross and Bayne and we take a break.

We come back with Mone hitting a Backstabber for two on World. Back up and World brings in Nightingale to clean house, including some elbows in the corner. A powerbomb gets two on Bayne and everyone knocks everyone else down for a big breather. Mone grabs Three Amigos to World and hits the frog splash with Hyan making the save. Bayne and Kross are back up but Nightingale breaks up the Divine Intervention. The Pounce sends Bayne flying and Hyan spears Mone, who is right back with the Mone Maker for the pin at 13:54.

Rating: B-. Well that was….long. It came at the end of a rather lengthy show but we needed every single bit of Mone’s stuff in there. After all, it had been a full what, hour or so since the last Eddie Guerrero tribute? Anyway, I’m not sure I get why Mone needed the attention here (yes it’s her hometown and Heaven forbid a heel not be the conquering hero in their hometown) when Nightingale is a week and a half away from her title shot, but I’m sure it made sense to Mone.

Overall Rating: B. They had to cover A LOT of ground here as there isn’t much time left for Redemption. While they managed to make that happen, which is rather impressive, they did it so fast that it was quite the packed show. It worked more than it didn’t, though it still had a lot of the same issues that tend to come up in AEW (inconsistencies with title shots, way too many champion vs. champion matches, so many people flying around, the obsession with Mone looking stronger than Superman). I’m beyond the point of believing those things are going to change, so all things considered, this show went pretty well.

Results
Christian Cage/Adam Copeland b. Death Riders – Spear to Yuta
Andrade El Idolo b. Jake Doyle – DM
Brodido b. Aaron Solo/Nick Comoroto – Double pin
Kyle Fletcher b. Komander – Brainbuster
Mercedes Mone/Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Hyan/Maya World/Willow Nightingale – Mone Maker to World

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Dynamite
Date: July 1, 2026
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Forbidden Door (thank goodness) and it’s time to get ready for Redemption, the pit stop in July, on the way to London for All In. Will Ospreay and Mercedes Mone are in line for title shots, but first up is Mark Briscoe challenging MJF for the World Title tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

We get a clip from after Forbidden Door with Will Ospreay being rather happy with his win. Ospreay then ran into Jon Moxley and asked what Moxley meant about seeing something in him. If Moxley could explain it in words, he would explain it to anyone. This place could be something special but if Ospreay wants the Death Riders’ patch, he has to ride with them

Ospreay went on to see Kenny Omega, who praised him for his win but not being wild on the Death Riders tease. MJF came in to mock them both, with Omega threatening to come after the title and MJF not really caring. With MJF gone, Omega seemed to suggest that everything was fine with Ospreay.

AEW World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and insists on being announced from the Best Coast, the east coast. Briscoe knocks him down to start but MJF is right back up to rip the bandage off of Briscoe’s head. MJF bites at the cut but Briscoe flips out of a backdrop, meaning it’s time for Red Neck Kung Fu.

Briscoe gets crotched on top but knocks MJF down, with the Froggy Bow getting two. Another shot sends MJF outside for the dive, followed by the chair step up flip dive for a bonus. The table is set up on the floor but Briscoe takes too long and knocks him off the top. That lets him return the table under the ring and we take a break. We come back with Briscoe winning a slugout and knocking him out to the floor, with Briscoe pulling the pads back.

MJF is able to backdrop him onto the concrete but can’t hit a Tombstone, instead getting slammed on the concrete. The Bang Bang Elbow on the floor and a Cutthroat Driver connect for two back inside, allowing Briscoe to set up the table again. Once again it takes too long but once again Briscoe cuts MJF and gives him a Blockbuster on the floor.

The Froggy Bow puts MJF through the table for two, as the foot on the rope saves the title. MJF goes to the eye but gets clotheslined for a double down. Another Froggy Bow connects and the Jay Driller gets a rather near fall. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Briscoe so he tries another Jay Driller, which is countered into an Alabama Slam. The Heatseeker retains the title at 18:23.

Rating: B. Well, that was quite the use of Briscoe’s title shot after building it up for a good while. I was expecting this to be at Beach Break but I guess they want to clear the way for Ospreay for the next month and a half. The match wasn’t an instant classic but it was physical and hard hitting, with Briscoe being so easy to cheer for to make it better.

Post match MJF loads up the Diamond Ring and knocks him silly. He loads up another shot but Kenny Omega runs in for the save. Omega wants a title shot tonight but MJF shoots that down, saying he’s beaten Omega before. MJF will face Omega next week, but if MJF wins, Omega can never challenge for the World Title again (note that MJF did not say Omega had to win the title). Omega has until the end of the night to decide.

Post break, MJF promises that payback is coming for Andrade El Idolo. With that out of the way, he lists off all of the names he has beaten, including Cody Rhodes, with Kenny Omega being 0-2 against him. He knows Omega won’t agree because MJF is gutless. Will Ospreay comes in to ask why the stipulation, with MJF saying it’s because he’s the champion. MJF will see Ospreay at Wembley.

He is Andrade El Idolo for a chat. He is done with the Don Callis Family and wants the World Back Title. How you know? Cue the Family to jump him from behind and the big beatdown is on. Don Callis wants Andrade out of here for Kevin Knight’s match.

Mercedes Mone brags about winning the Women’s Owen Hart Cup because she is the conversation no matter where she was going.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Lio Rush

Only Knight is defending. Rush scares him to start and throws Knight a backpack, containing…a black version of the ROH TV Title. Knight is freaked out so Rush sends him into the ropes, with Knight bailing to the floor. Rush does his run around the ring for the suicide dive and we take a break.

We come back with Knight hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but banging up his knee on a springboard attempt. Rush grabs a weird choke (as in Rush looks like he’s trying a cutter but just holds on when they’re on the mat) until Jake Doyle pulls Knight outside. Back in and Knight hits a sitout spinebuster, followed by a Rock Bottom to retain at 8:45.

Rating: B-. The match was fine, but did they really need to have Rush lose here? Rush is A, on fire with his new gimmick and B, a champion in ROH. Bandido and Athena have already lost recently and it would be nice for the ROH champions to be something other than jobbers to the main roster stars. I get that they’re beneath the AEW stars, but there are so many people in AEW/ROH who aren’t champions who could lose just as well.

Post match Darby Allin comes out to say he wants the TNT Title shot or the same things are going to keep happening to Knight. That has Knight ready to agree but Callis cuts him off because Allin was a criminal at Forbidden Door. Allin says that’s Knight digging his own grave.

We look at Chris Jericho beating up JD Drake and mocking Tommaso Ciampa.

Ciampa calls Jericho a bully but Jericho jumps him from behind. They go outside, where Ciampa rolls a shopping cart at him and then tries to stab Jericho in the head with a drill. Security tries to break it up but Jericho dives out of a truck to take out both Ciampa and some guards. The drill was dumb but I want to see these two fight.

Kenny Omega talks to the Young Bucks about the stipulation but Omega hasn’t made a decision just yet. He didn’t like what he had to do to win the title in the first place and wants to do it on his own. The Bucks have his back no matter what but Omega still hasn’t decided.

Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley vs. The Swirl

The Swirl jumps Moxley to start fast and seem to hurt his knee. Moxley fights back like he’s Jon Moxley and they’re the Swirl, allowing him to roll over for the tag to Ospreay. A running hurricanrana sends Christian outside and there’s the running flip dive to take the Swirl out again.

We take a break and come back with the Swirl’s Death Valley Driver/top rope double stomp combination getting two on Moxley. Marina Shafir beats up Jay Lethal on the floor and Moxley makes the comeback, allowing Ospreay to come back in. Johnson gets beaten up in the corner and Christian springboards into a cutter. The Paradigm Shift into the Hidden Blade finishes Johnson at 9:15.

Rating: C+. On one hand, I get the idea of Ospreay and Moxley as the unlikely super team, but at the same time, I’m still not sure why they’re together in the first place. In theory Ospreay got the help that he needed and now wants to see how far they can take him and Moxley is happy with getting the new member of the team. I guess that’s the story and while it makes sense, I’m not sure I buy Ospreay just suddenly being cool with the Death Riders. Or Moxley being cool with him for that matter.

After retaining their Tag Team Titles, Christian Cage and Adam Copeland weren’t sure about Jay White. Cage still doesn’t like him and Copeland isn’t sure what to think.

Here is the Bang Bang Gang for a chat. Jay White says they have waiting for well over a year to do this and he’s glad to get to say the catchphrase again. He remembered people not liking the Death Riders but now they’re hanging with the biggest fraud in wrestling. That aside, he wants to talk about the Dogs, who he doesn’t like because of things that happened in New Japan.

White remembers joining the New Japan Dojo with David Finlay, who is a fourth generation wrestler and raising a fifth generation star. Finlay has wrestling in his blood but he’s still a whiny little boy. White is still the catalyst of wrestling and this is still his era. If the Dogs, or anyone, has a problem with that, Guns Up. I still like White a lot and he can talk very well, but he has to prove that he can go more than a few months without a major injury.

Shane Taylor Promotions want the Bang Bang Gang in an eight man tag on Collision.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Maika vs. Harley Cameron vs. Persephone vs. Queen Aminata vs. Hikaru Shida

Survival Of The Fittest (six way elimination match) for the vacant title. It’s a brawl to start with Persephone standing tall but Shida takes her down with a rollup for two. Cameron is back in with a Shining Wizard to Maika before hammering on Aminata in the corner. Persephone sneaks up on Cameron for a Razor’s Edge and the elimination at 2:33. Well there goes the crowd favorite. Statlander Angle Slams Persephone and we take a break

We come back with Maika and Statlander slugging it out until Shida comes in with the kendo stick. Maika drops Shida with a discus clothesline but Statlander takes away the kendo stick. Shida hides behind the referee and rolls Maika up for the elimination at 7:52. We’re down to four and it’s Aminata coming back in to slug it out with Shida. Aminata’s fisherman’s neckbreaker gets two but she misses a top rope double stomp. The big headbutt sends Shida into the ropes for the running knee, only for Persephone to roll Aminata up for the pin at 9:49.

Persephone actually does the L on her forehead to mock Aminata as we take another break. We come back again with Statlander’s Blue Thunder Bomb getting two on Persephone. A bridging German suplex drops Statlander for two but Shida is back in, only for Statlander to chop Shida and Persephone. Staturday Night Fever is broken up but Statlander cradles Persephone for the pin at 15:30.

Shida kicks Statlander in the head, only for Statlander to grab the Falcon Arrow for two more. They fight over a rollup until Shida gets the ankle lock, with Persephone getting in a belt shot (fine with the referee). Shida grabs the leg and adds a choke to the out cold Statlander for the title at 17:27.

Rating: B-. This was kind of a strange match as there wasn’t a heavy betting favorite coming and a few different people could win the thing. Shida certainly fits the description, as she has a long history of winning titles so this is a nice fit. She might not be champion for a long time (though it wouldn’t be crazy), but beating her means enough that it could be a big moment.

Here’s what’s coming on Collision and next week at Beach Break.

Will Ospreay tries to talk Kenny Omega out of making a bad decision but Omega says if he’s going out, it’s with guns blazing.

Here is Omega for his big decision. Omega talks about how he has been doing this for over half of his life and he always gives this everything he has. He has a career that he could hang his hat on and be proud about but there is a part of him that believes he still has it. If the Elite can believe and the people can believe, then he knows he can be a champion AEW can be proud of one more time. At Wembley, against Will Ospreay.

All he has to do is put everything on the line against MJF, but Cody Rhodes and Hangman Page have done the same thing. He is still the best bout machine and yes the match is on and he’ll be ready for whatever MJF has for him. MJF runs in for the brawl but Omega fights back, with security breaking it up to end the show. That’s a huge match and they’re throwing it out there pretty quickly, but the result feels far from certain, which helps a lot.

Overall Rating: B. There was a lot on this show but the best part about it is that the show flew by. Nothing felt like it was dragging here and I had a good time with the show. It set up something big for next week and gave us the MJF vs. Briscoe match, even if it came and went rather quickly. There’s a new TBS Champion as well so that gap is covered, making this a pretty eventful night for the Forbidden Door follow up. See how nice it is when AEW can focus on AEW?

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Mark Briscoe – Heatseeker
Kevin Knight b. Lio Rush – Rock Bottom
Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley b. The Swirl – Hidden Blade to Johnson
Hikaru Shida won Survival Of The Fittest last eliminating Kris Statlander

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Forbidden Door 2026
Date: June 28, 2026
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Walker Stewart, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for the international show with guest stars from CMLL, New Japan and Stardom coming over. At the same time though, we have a bunch of #1 contenders matches, with the finals of the Owen Hart Cups and the 12 man cage match, with MJF having challengers on both his team and his opponent’s. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Daniel Garcia (AEW) vs. Drilla Moloney (NJPW)

Feeling out process here with Garcia taking him down and spinning up, which annoys Moloney. The running shoulders put Garcia down for a change and Moloney knocks him outside for a chop over the barricade. Back in and Garcia knocks him out to the floor again, this time for a running kick in the chair. Marina Shafir gets in some choking (of course) and Garcia locks up the ankle.

With that broken up, Garcia settles for a dropkick to the leg and the right hands in the corner to keep Moloney rocked. Moloney is right back with the AJ Styles drop down into a dropkick and it’s time to chop it out. Garcia charges into a powerbomb for two and of course pops up for a Sharpshooter, sending Moloney over to the ropes. Back up and Moloney grabs an over the shoulder backbreaker, with Shafir making the save. Garcia strikes away and grabs a rolling neckbreaker but charges into an over the shoulder piledriver for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: C+. Moloney isn’t a regular around here and it was a bonus match but I’ll take it for an opening match to a rather long night. If nothing else, seeing Garcia lose, even with the interference from Shafir, is kind of amusing. They kept this moving and it was about all you could have expected here.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Maika (Stardom) vs. Skye Blue (AEW)

Blue backs her into the corner to start and pulls Maika down by the air. Back up and Maika runs her over for a basement clothesline but misses a charge to the floor. The hurricanrana attempt is countered into a powerbomb onto the apron, which naturally doesn’t do much damage.

Back in and Blue kicks her in the face in the corner but Maika grabs some suplexes for two. A superplex gets the same but Blue Cheeky Nandos Kicks her into a powerbomb out of the corner. That and a tornado DDT give Blue two and they fight out to the apron, where Maika hits a brainbuster. Back in and a Michinoku Driver finishes for Maika at 9:20.

Rating: C+. It was nice to have this actually mean something, with Maika getting to qualify for the title match. While she isn’t likely to win, it’s perfectly fine to have her win here and get onto the bigger stage, as it’s a nice way to give Stardom a win. Besides, it’s not like Blue has any status in the first place.

Kickoff Show: Olympia/Persephone (CMLL/AEW) vs. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross (AEW)

Bayne and Kross are defending. Rosa hammers on Kross to start and is quickly dropped with a running shoulder. Everything breaks down and a pair of hurricanranas send the champs outside. Rosa’s corkscrew dive takes both of them out and Olympia adds a dive of her own. Back in and Rosa gets sent into the wrong corner for some shoulders to the ribs, setting up Kross’ basement clothesline for two.

Rosa fights up and gets over to Olympia, who cleans house as everything breaks down. A step up basement dropkick in the corner hits Kross and Olympia’s splash gets two. The parade of strikes leaves everyone down and it’s Olympia striking it out with Kross. Bayne is up with a super hurricanrana to Olympia, who is back with a gorilla press out of the corner. Bayne’s powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana for two but it’s a German suplex/running boot combination to put Olympia down. Divine Intervention retains the titles at 10:49.

Rating: B-. There was no reason to believe that a makeshift team was going to take the titles here but it was a fast paced match with both teams working hard. AEW has done a good job of building up the champions as a pair of monsters and it is going to take something special to get the titles off of them. I’m just not sure who that is going to be.

And now, the show proper.

Young Bucks (AEW) vs. Sky Team (CMLL) vs. Unbound Co. (NJPW)

Sky Team’s ROH Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Mistico and Titan start things off with Titan knocking him down and stomping away. Mistico is right back up with the great looking springboard hurricanrana and it’s already off to Dorada vs. Matt. Neither of them can make any contact and it’s a pair of dropkicks into stereo nipups for a standoff. Nick backbreakers Dorada so Matt can add a top rope double stomp but Dorada armdrags both Bucks without too much trouble.

Takagi comes in to add some power and Titan’s springboard splash gets two. It’s right back to Mistico to pick up the pace but the Bucks take over on Dorada again. Dorada is fine enough to hurricanrana Titan onto the pile at ringside and Mistico adds a springboard Swanton for two. Back in and Matt snaps off his rolling northern lights suplexes, at least until Takagi cuts him off with a DDT.

Mistico is in with his wristdrags and Dorada’s shooting star takes out the pile on the floor. Takagi comes back with the hard clotheslines but a bunch of superkicks take him down, followed by clotheslines to put everyone else down. That’s enough for a six way breather before Mistico catches Takagi up top with a super Spanish Fly.

Dorada shooting stars onto the Bucks but they’re back up to save Takagi from La Mistica. Takagi is back up to plant Mistico for Titan’s top rope double stomp, with the Bucks making another save. The Bucks and Unbound slug it out until the Meltzer Driver finishes Titan at 17:44.

Rating: B+. You had AEW vs. CMLL vs. NJPW and somehow, ROH lost. Anyway, this was exactly what you would have expected and it was as exciting as you would have expected, with pretty much nothing resembling a tag match for the most part. That being said, it was also rather entertaining, as the Bucks and Sky Team could do this stuff in their sleep and Takagi was there for the power. Good start to the show here and the right kind of match to get things going.

We recap Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenny Omega. There’s no real story here, other than Sabre wanted the match and Omega was in.

Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW) vs. Kenny Omega (AEW)

They actually go technical to start and that’s good for an early standoff. A battle over arm control goes to Sabre and he sends Omega into the corner, with Omega fighting out rather quickly. Sabre is sent outside and Omega hits a dive, followed by the chops to take over. The top of an announcers’ table is dropped onto Sabre and Omega adds a stomp but can’t superplex him through the table.

Instead Sabre gets an Octopus before being nice enough to put the cover back onto the table (how British of him). Back in and Sabre kicks away in the corner but Omega is back with the running Fameasser. Sabre is knocked outside again and there’s the big running flip dive, setting up the missile dropkick to the back inside. A Last Shot drops Sabre again and it’s time to strike it out. Omega gets the better of things and the knees to Sabre’s ribs set up some Snapdragons.

For some reason Omega tries to go to a cross armbreaker but Sabre slips out to kick him in the chest. Sabre pulls him into a Fujiwara armbar, which is broken up as well so they can trade some more hard strikes. Once again Omega gets the better of things and there’s a V Trigger to Sabre in the corner. Sabre grabs a sleeper but Omega climbs the corner and drops backwards onto the mat for a crash that probably makes Mick Foley cringe.

Another V Trigger is countered into an ankle lock, which Omega quickly escapes for a poisonrana. Omega misses the V Trigger yet again though and the European Clutch gets two. Back up and Omega smashes him with a V Trigger but Sabre’s Zack Driver connects for another near fall. Omega wins another strike off and tries the One Winged Angel, which is reversed into a triangle choke. A powerbomb into a knee to the head knocks Sabre silly though and the One Winged Angel finishes for Omega at 26:28.

Rating: A-. This was about Omega’s striking against Sabre’s technical style, which is pretty much exactly what you knew it was coming. They went with just that and it wound up being awesome stuff, with Omega getting to show that he still has it. Sabre is one of the big stars who does not show up around here that often and his reputation helped boost this up again. Outstanding match here and it was the dream match it was designed to be.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Bandido. There isn’t much to this one either, as Bandido just popped up and wanted to face Moxley. It should be noted that there have been rumors that this was going to be Moxley vs. Callum Newman but Newman got hurt, so there might be a reason for the complete randomness.

AEW Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Bandido

Moxley is defending. I would tell you that Bandido’s Ring Of Honor Title isn’t on the line too but you’re smart enough to figure that out by yourself. Bandido goes with a front facelock to start but Moxley is back up with a middle finger. Then it’s a double middle finger from Moxley before they trade flips over each other. The big exchange of chops lets Moxley send him outside for the suicide dive but Bandido is back up for a running flip dive of his own. Back in and Moxley gets his boots up in the corner to cut Bandido off again, followed by a piledriver onto the steps.

Bandido is busted open and sitting up less than a minute later so Moxley goes outside and bites at the mask. Back in and Moxley rips at the mask so Bandido slaps him in the face, earning one heck of a clothesline. Moxley hammers away in the corner but Bandido gives him a heck of a release running Liger Bomb. Moxley is nice enough to stay down for a full twenty seconds before Bandido hits a spinning high crossbody. The right hands in the corner wake Moxley up again so Bandido gives him a running knee for two.

The one armed gorilla press sets up Bandido’s frog splash, which only hits raised knees. They strike it out again until a snap German suplex…has Moxley popping up for a hard clothesline. Moxley goes up so Bandido catches him with the super flipping fall away slam. Bandido tries the 21 Plex and gets reversed into the bulldog choke on the apron. Moxley pulls him back inside and, even with Bandido standing up to drop back onto him, holds on until Bandido is out at 18:10.

Rating: B. It was a hard hitting match but my goodness it felt like Moxley would have kicked out of being hit by a bus. Bandido threw everything he had at him here but it never felt like Moxley was in any danger. This was also the third pay per view out of four that saw Bandido lose a singles match with zero indication that any of the people beat him cared about the ROH World Title. Why do it that way?

Post match Bandido shows respect to Moxley, just in case Moxley hadn’t taken everything from him yet.

We recap Shota Umino defending the IWGP Global Title against Pac. Again, it’s pretty much “Hey, want to fight? Yeah sure.”.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title: Shota Umino (NJPW) vs. Pac (AEW)

Pac is challenging and charges at Umino at the bell to stomp away. They’re already on the floor with Umino being sent into the barricade a few times, followed by a heck of a missile dropkick back inside. Umino finally gets in some offense with a dropkick and a fisherman’s suplex for two as we settle down a lot.

A slingshot DDT drops Pac onto the apron and Umino drapes him into the barricade for a hanging DDT. Back in and Umino gets two off a powerbomb but he charges into an overhead belly to belly into the corner. It’s time for a table (erg) but Pac cuts him off and hits a heck of a moonsault out to the floor.

Pac takes him inside again and hammers away, which wakes Umino up one more time. The strike off goes to Umino, who is quickly German suplexed and powerbomb outside through the table. Back in and a 450 sets up the Brutalizer but Umino makes the rope. Umino hits him in the face and nails a running knee for two of his own. One heck of a clothesline and a Paradigm Shift sets up a northern lights bomb to retain the title at 18:12.

Rating: B+. You had two guys beating the living daylights out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up again. That’s not a bad way to go and the reason this worked so well is because Pac has been established as a rather tough man to beat. This made Umino feel like that much of a bigger deal for beating him and it was a good fight to get there. I liked this a good bit, as Pac continues to be one of the more dependable stars on the AEW roster.

Post match Jon Moxley gets in the ring to stare at his former partner/student Umino but here is Hiroshi Tanahashi to put the belt on Umino.

We recap Thekla vs. Starlight Kid, which is more about Thekla vs. all of Stardom. I’m not entirely sure who I’m supposed to cheer for here but it’s one of the few stories on this show that feel like it’s actually promotion vs. promotion.

AEW Women’s Title: Thekla (AEW) vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom)

Thekla is defending and comes to the ring with some fire dancers. Kid flips over her to start and hits a dropkick so Thekla wants a breather on the floor. Back in and Thekla knocks her down before ripping at the mask, which has Kid slugging away. They’re quickly on the floor with Thekla sending her into the barricade and ripping at the mask some more, as we have a theme here.

Hold on though as Thekla needs to go yell at the Stardom president before stomping away back inside. Kid is back up with a springboard spinning crossbody before starting in on Thekla’s knee. The knee is fine enough for a hanging choke in the ropes, plus a spider superplex. They head out to the apron where Thekla runs into a heck of a knee to the face (that looked great).

Kid picks her up and spikes her onto the apron, followed by something like a fisherman’s suplex for two back inside. Thekla is right back up with a spear for two so Kid dropkicks her in the back. Another strike off goes to Thekla and a high crossbody drops Kid for two more. Kid is right back to grab a stretch muffler while grabbing the arm (geez) but Thekla uses the free arm to make the rope. Something like a Tombstone gives Kid two and her moonsault gets the same. Thekla escapes a tiger suplex and cuts her in half with another spear for another two. Back to back stomps finish Kid to retain the title at 18:40.

Rating: B. They had a good back and forth match, with Kid showing off some rather impressive and painful looking stuff. I could have gone without Thekla being dropped on her head on the apron but that’s almost tame given some of the ridiculous things people have popped up from tonight. The match was good, but I’m glad we’re back to the regular AEW roster getting a chance at the title, as it’s been missing for a few weeks.

Post match Thekla takes off the mask and hits the Stardom president with it.

And with that, the outsiders are done and the rest is all AEW.

We recap the Dogs challenging Adam Copeland and Christian Cage for the Tag Team Titles. The Canadians won the belts and need some challengers so the Dogs have mocked the Five Second Pose and are coming for the titles as well. Nothing wrong with a basic story.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. The Dogs

The Dogs are challenging. Cage, with his still injured arm, and Connors start things off with the latter missing a right hand in the corner. Connors charges into a boot to the ribs and Cage gets two off a middle rope sunset flip. Copeland and Finlay come in with Copeland grabbing a headlock to grind away. A side slam/reverse DDT combination puts Finlay down and Cage hammers on Connors in the corner.

Cage’s charge hits the post though and Connors posts him again for a bonus. Back in and Finlay slows things down by stomping on the bad arm, followed by Connors getting in some basic cranking. A backdrop doesn’t get Cage out of trouble and Connors goes lights a match to burn Cage’s head. As you do. Copeland finally gets smart by coming in to take both of them out and brings Cage over for the tag.

House is quickly cleaned but Finlay avoids the spear and Copeland is double shouldered down. Cage is up for the save but it’s a chop block/spear combination for two on Copeland. Back up and Copeland tosses Finlay into Cage’s spear, with Connors making the save by bumping the referee. Finlay and Copeland spear each other at the same time so Finlay grabs the shillelagh. The lights go out though and the Bang Bang Gang is here, complete with the returning Jay White. Finlay is taken out and the speared by Copeland to retain the titles at 16:46.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked, as they didn’t really try to do anything too complicated and just let the veterans work a match. It’s nice to see that they can still do it and without a bunch of shenanigans so this was kind of a treat. At the same time, it’s nice to see White back, though it’s also hard to believe that he’ll stay healthy for more than about 18 days.

We recap Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup finals, with World being the big underdog and in over her head against the star in Mone.

Women’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Mercedes Mone vs. Maya World

World backslides her for a fast two to start and Mone is thinking twice about this. Back up and World cartwheels over her and dances a bit before avoiding a charge to put Mone on the floor. Mone finally comes back with something like a 619 from the apron but can’t get the Statement Maker back inside.

With the hold not working, Money kicks her into the corner, only to get driven into another corner. Mone knocks her outside for the Meteora off the apron, followed by a middle rope Meteora for two back inside. A third Meteora (erg) gives Mone two more and she throws World outside before mocking the fans a good bit. Back in and World gets some boots up in the corner but can’t hit a Tombstone.

Mone stomps her down instead but World gets in a rollup into a stomp of her own. A springboard cutter gives World two and she connects with a Shining Wizard, only to get caught with Three Amigos. The frog splash hits raised knees but Mone is right back with the Statement Maker. Some rolling fall away slams result in Mone being tossed outside, followed by the suicide dive.

Back in and a Swanton gives World two but she can’t hit a Cheeky Nandos Kick. Mone can’t get her up for a powerbomb so she goes with a running sunset bomb into the corner. Another Meteora gets two on World and Mone is getting frustrated. Mone’s spinning faceplant drops World again but she’s back with her own sunset bomb to the floor.

A moonsault takes Mone out again and another gets two back inside. World gets her own Statement Maker but they roll into the middle of the ring (ala the famous Bayley counter) with Mone getting one of her own. World actually doesn’t tap…so Mone Backstabbers her into it again and this time World taps at 24:51.

Rating: B. Shockingly, Mone makes World tap after making her tap after winning the semifinals and in their tag match on Collision. I’m sure the idea here is that World gets elevated by getting close to beating Mone (close being a bit of a stretch) but unless she beats Athena or gets promoted to the main roster full time, it pretty much means nothing. The match also went a good bit too long and would have been much better served by chopping off about seven minutes. And probably two of Mone’s Meteoras.

Athena brags about being great and mocks World, her former student, for dreaming so many big dreams. The title match is coming and while it would make sense for World to win, Athena has seemed primed to lose about a dozen times now.

The cage (a big circular one) is lowered.

We recap the twelve man cage match. Mark Briscoe wants a World Title shot against MJF but MJF doesn’t want to give him one. Therefore, we’ll have a twelve man cage match (likely due to MJF’s knee being banged up) and if Briscoe’s team wins, he gets a title shot. MJF is teaming with the Don Callis Family, some of whom want title shots if they win too.

Team MJF vs. Team Briscoe

MJF, Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Andrade El Idolo
Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita, Darby Allin

In a big round cage, which thankfully has room to fight on the floor and the villains even have matching shirts for a nice touch. It’s a big brawl to start (as it should be) and a bunch of them head to the floor (as they should) with a bunch of brawls breaking out around ringside. Doyle powerbombs Allin against the cage and it’s already table time.

Briscoe fights back but it’s time for another table, complete with the MJF/Don Callis painting. MJF and Andrade stop for a pose off and have to be separated, allowing Strong to come back with a rather large bag. The good guys find their own backpacks, complete with an NES (and controllers) to hit MJF in the head. Briscoe pours out tacks but Doyle saves Fletcher from a suplex.

Briscoe takes Doyle out and O’Reilly is launched face first into the middle turnbuckle. Briscoe gets thrown onto the tacks so Allin is back up with the skateboard. That earns him a face first drop onto the tacks because Allin is not a well man. With the damage done, MJF grabs a broom to sweep the tacks out (rather on point for him, but him paying someone else to do the sweeping would have been perfect).

That’s enough for Cassidy to get up with a bag from Willow Nightingale…and everyone gets orange slices. Naturally the juice is sprayed into the cut on Fletcher’s head because we’re actually getting a spot involving oranges. Takeshita and Okada slug it out and Takeshita grabs a backpack containing…his middle finger. Fletcher is back in and accidentally superkicks Okada, allowing Takeshita to German suplex both of them.

Knight and Allin get in a brawl with Allin hitting a Code Red, only to get chaired in the back by Doyle. Knight’s Coast To Coast dropkick drives the chair into Allin’s face and MJF chairs Briscoe in the head (nope). MJF rakes at Briscoe’s bleeding head and Okada goes for the big bag…which contains Lio Rush. I guess he’s the new Orange Cassidy who has to appear in every random place possible.

Rush beats up the Don Callis Family and goes after MJF’s ring but Doyle and Knight manage to get him back in the bag and chain him up. Rush is deposited underneath the ring…and I guess he’s just staying there from now on. Briscoe finds a ladder to spin around, even when there is no one around to hit. Strong Angle Slams Doyle off the apron and through a table before Andrade hits running knees to drive a chair into O’Reilly’s face. Takeshita beats up Okada on the apron but gets superkicked by Fletcher.

The Blue Thunder Bomb drives Fletcher through the table at ringside, leaving MJF to punch Cassidy in the jaw. A Coffin Drop puts MJF down and Knight splashes him by mistake. Knight and Allin climb to the top of the cage…where some pyro goes off (apparently set up by Allin) to send Knight crashing through the cage. Allin Coffin Drops onto the pile and the Jay Driller hits MJF, with Doyle making the save. MJF wants Andrade to hold Briscoe but gets elbowed in the face. Andrade takes off his shirt revealing one saying “F*** MJF AND F*** DON”. Briscoe pops up with a Jay Driller to pin Doyle at 30:45.

Rating: B. It had its spots but this was the usual “and everyone gets to do everything they can think of” match. The cage was a nice feature as it kept them from running all over the arena, so at least it was somewhat different. The spot with Andrade was good and it gets the Family’s numbers down a bit, which is always appreciated. It was another wild match, but I’ve seen so many of them in AEW that they don’t mean as much anymore.

The winners are at least nice enough to drag Lio Rush away, albeit still in the bag out of fear. I’ll take that over them just standing still.

Mark Briscoe yells a lot but the audio doesn’t work so it’s even harder to understand than usual. Excalibur explains that Briscoe was challenging MJF for Dynamite.

We recap the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Finals. Will Ospreay had a broken neck but worked with the people who broke it to get back in the ring. Now he wants to go to Wembley Stadium and win the World Title, which means he has to win the tournament. Oh and Swerve Strickland is all evil and wants to hurt Ospreay and win too. Can’t you tell how much of a chance Strickland has here?

Men’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland

Ospreay looks like Bane from the Dark Knight Rising and Strickland is on a motorcycle, looking like Lobo. I’ve seen worse. Ospreay misses a springboard to start and a missed Hidden Blade sends Strickland out to the floor. Back in and Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana before kicking Strickland in the face.

Strickland’s rolling Downward Spiral gets two and he rolls some neckbreakers to stay on the obvious target. Ospreay comes up with a handspring kick to the head and a Phenomenal Forearm to put Strickland down again. The Styles Clash is countered though and Ospreay flips him up into a powerslam (that always looks good) for two. Strickland pulls the pad off one of the bars that holds the turnbuckle and sends Ospreay outside.

That’s fine with Ospreay, who grabs a cross armbreaker for the tap, which doesn’t matter as they’re on the floor but has Strickland in trouble. Strickland is right back with a shot of his own before catapulting Ospreay into the exposed bar. Ospreay is rather busted open but yells at Strickland anyway, earning himself a suplex. The House Call is countered into a Spanish Fly, followed by the Styles Clash for two.

The Hidden Blade connects but Ospreay is too weak so Strickland just hits him in the face to take over again. Ospreay breaks up the Swerve Stomp and the 630 Kick gets two. The Oscutter is countered into the Deadeye for two more but another Swerve Stomp misses, with Ospreay swinging him into the steps for a big crash. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Ospreay goes after Prince Nana, earning himself a House Call.

Ospreay is gushing so much blood that the steps are stained as Strickland loads up the Vertebreaker. That’s reversed into a Styles Clash onto the announcers’ table and the Oscutter gets two back inside. Ospreay hits him in the face a few times and Strickland seems a bit unconscious. Strickland gets counted but is up at nine, with the Hidden Blade connecting for two. Back up and Strickland ties him in the ropes for a Swerve Stomp to the back, followed by a House Call and Hidden Blade for one each.

They hit each other at the same time and both of them are down again. They both stand up, stare at each other, go to different corners, and Ospreay Hidden Blades him into the Stormbreaker for two. The referee almost gets hit so Strickland gets in a low blow, followed by the Vertebreaker for two. Strickland hits a Hidden Blade into a JML Driver and here are the Death Riders. A Buckshot Hidden Blade into the Death Rider into the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the pin at 34:45.

Rating: A-. I’m not sure how much drama there was to the result here, but it wasn’t so much about would Ospreay get there but how. That’s not a bad thing whatsoever and they beat each other senseless, thankfully without getting ridiculous like Strickland could do at times. The Vertebreaker was a perfectly logical spot for the match and Ospreay kicking out of it made for an awesome moment. This was a heck of a fight, with Ospreay bleeding buckets to make it feel that much more intense.

Ospreay says something to Strickland and the Death Riders celebrate with Ospreay to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The main event and Omega vs. Sabre are both rather awesome and the show as a whole is another great one. There was only so much drama to who was winning the main events (or most of the matches for that matter) but the action made up for the issues.

The problem here (aside from the show lasting nearly six hours of course) is more that it’s about setting up a bunch of stuff for the future rather than anything really happening here. You have to have shows like that at times and there was only so much that MJF could do given his injury, but it still makes the show feel a bit less important. Either way, awesome show, but could we maybe keep it on a single day?

Results
Drilla Moloney b. Daniel Garcia – Over the shoulder piledriver
Maika b. Skye Blue – Michinoku Driver
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Olympia/Persephone – Divine Intervention to Rosa
Young Bucks b. Sky Team and Unbound Co. – Meltzer Driver to Titan
Jon Moxley b. Bandido – Bulldog choke
Shota Umino b. Pac – Northern lights bomb
Thekla b. Starlight Kid – Stomp
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage b. The Dogs – Spear to Finlay
Mercedes Mone b. Maya World – Statement Maker
Team Briscoe b. Team MJF – Jay Driller to Doyle
Will Ospreay b. Swerve Strickland – Tiger Driver 91

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Despite the fact that so many wrestlers who would be a big guest star here are already signed to AEW/ROH, we’re getting another one of these shows. There are some stars here from New Japan, Stardom and CMLL, which doesn’t exactly make for a unique experience. In addition we do have some title (shots) on the line and that’s other big focal point, which is only so thrilling. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Women’s Tag Team Titles: Megan Bayne/Lena Kross(c) vs. Olympia/Thunder Rosa

This is Rosa and Olympia being thrown together for a random title shot because that’s what the titles have already reached. Rather than building up a team to be regular challengers, we’re getting a makeshift, thrown together team instead. At least this is just on the pre-show and not the main card so maybe this won’t get as much time otherwise. It’s another title match that feels tacked on for the sake of playing to the show’s theme and that’s hardly a great way to go.

Naturally I’ll take the champions to retain here, as they’re being treated as the monsters who shouldn’t be losing their titles anytime soon. That’s especially true with a team comprised of Rosa, who hasn’t won anything important in a good while, and Olympia, who tapped out clean in her match this week on ROH to really make her feel important. It should be fine as a warmup but that’s about all.

Zero Hour: Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Skye Blue vs. Maika

Here we have another guest star getting a random spot on the card for the sake of filling out the card. At least in this case it’s just for a spot in a six way match for the TBS Title rather than filling out a bracket, but it still only means so much. Maika hasn’t actually wrestled in AEW before but at least that means she hasn’t lost over and over again, which puts her ahead of some wrestlers.

I’ll take Maika to win here, as it allows one of the outsiders to get a victory that only means so much. Blue is hardly a big name but she has been around long enough that beating her might have a bit of an impact for Maika. It’s not like Maika is going to win the title in the end so let her get some kind of a victory and build her up a bit, as it’s not like anyone would buy Blue as a threat to win the whole thing anyway. Maika wins here.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Bandido

Let’s get this one out of the way early, as there is a grand total of no reason to think that Bandido has even the first chance to win the title. This is just what Bandido does, as he is put in matches against big AEW stars, none of whom give any indication that they care about the Ring Of Honor World Title, and then Bandido loses. That’s what we’ll be seeing here again, of course.

I’m not even bothering to suggest that this is up in the air whatsoever as there is just no point. Moxley is the most successful star AEW has ever had and he isn’t about to lose to Bandido, who might be talented but doesn’t win big matches. I’m sure the match will be good, but if Bandido is going to keep doing this kind of stuff, can he lose the title already to keep whatever value it might still cling to?

Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Starlight Kid

I’m going to make this clear rather quickly: I do not care about Thekla’s issues with Stardom. I do not care about Stardom. I do not care about Kid’s quest to defend Stardom from Thekla. She’s already the AEW Women’s Champion and that title reign has basically been put on ice for the last month while we deal with whatever issue she has coming out of a promotion she doesn’t work for anymore. It feels like a Stardom story which is coming over here instead and that’s not exactly must see material.

Naturally I’ll take Thekla to retain so we can move back to the women of AEW getting their chance at the title. The problem here isn’t Kid, who is a rather talented star. The problem is that the whole thing has been about Stardom and Thekla’s issues with its owner. That’s not what I watch AEW to see and it’s basically seen a title locked down for weeks while we wait on this show to be over. Stop doing that.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage(c) vs. The Dogs

So Copeland and Cage won the titles for their big moment and now they need someone to come after those titles. This is as good as anyone else for a first major title defense, as the Dogs have come after them more than once to set up the match. It’s a fine enough idea and that’s all it needs to be. This is little more than a pit stop before the champions are likely going to be climbing a ladder against the Young Bucks and FTR in Wembley.

Of course the champs retain here, as the Dogs are hardly a big enough team to get the titles off of them at this point. It’s not a bad thing to go with a title defense that will make the champions sweat for a bit and that’s what we’ll get here. This should work out well enough, as the Canadians are more than talented enough to get something out of the Dogs, especially if this doesn’t go on too long.

Young Bucks vs. Sky Team vs. Unbound Co.

This is the AEW vs. CMLL vs. New Japan match and that’s not a bad idea. It’s one of the few matches here that feel like it should be on a Forbidden Door card and that’s nice to see after everything else. If nothing else, it should be nice to see the Bucks and Sky Team fly around and do all of their stuff. It’s worked before on their own and it should work out rather well here.

I’ll take Sky Team to win, as Mistico is a big enough star that you do not want him losing in a match like this. The whole point of this match is to do a bunch of high flying and big spots and that’s going to work out rather well. Sky Team going over is the right call and they might even beat the Bucks to do it. If nothing else, at least we’ve seen the Sky Team a few times so they won’t be out of nowhere, which is a good attribute to have here.

IWGP Global Title: Shota Umino(c) vs. Pac

This is a match that could wind up being a potential show stealer, with Pac being able to work well with anyone and Umino being good enough most of the time. Pac has become someone you can depend on to have a heck of a match most of the time and while I’m not sure on him winning the title, at least it should come with one of the better matches on the show.

While I think Pac at least has a chance to win the title, I’ll take Umino to retain here. The good thing is they should beat the living daylights out of each other on the way there, as tends to be the case in Pac’s matches. I’ve only seen a bit of Umino but his time with Moxley was good enough and it might even tie into the match here. Hopefully this one does as well as it could, as the show could use the boost.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenny Omega

Here’s your dream match of the show and this should work out rather well. Sabre is one of the best technical wrestlers in the world today and Omega is AEW’s living legend. It’s not a match that needs much of a story and they haven’t given it one, which is how this should go. This is one of the matches where you just put the names up there and the match sells itself, which is how Forbidden Door worked back in its early days.

For this one, I’ll go with Omega as again, it makes sense for the star who is sticking around to get the big win. Sabre is an established name and beating him should get Omega ready for whatever his big deal is going to be this summer. Omega can put in the work to make this a success and Sabre can do various horrible things to Omega’s limbs in the process. At the end of the day though, Omega wins after a rather hard fought battle.

Team MJF vs. Team Briscoe

Here we have a twelve man tag inside a cage, because that’s an idea that is going to work. I’m assuming the idea here is that MJF’s knee is a bit too banged up and he can’t wrestle a singles match at the moment. That’s perfectly fine and understandable, though I’m not sure how that means we need to have twelve people in the same match. Then again if it wasn’t be stuffed to the gills, it wouldn’t belong in AEW.

There is no reason to think that Team MJF has much of a chance here so we’ll go with Briscoe and company winning. The win will give Briscoe the World Title shot at whatever the next pay per view (or maybe Beach Break) and that has to be set up somehow. The match is likely to be a big mess but at least it sets something up and can have other consequences in the Don Callis Family. Hopefully some of the people fight off here though, as the ring is going to need the extra space.

Women’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Mercedes Mone vs. Maya World

I’m not sure what to think about this one. In theory, Mone wins the tournament again because she’s Mone and has to win everything because she’s the biggest star in the history of ever. On the other hand though, I’m not sure I get why World would be put into this spot if she was just going to lose in the end. It’s not like Mone gets much out of beating World, who is playing with the house’s money, but I also can’t picture World going on to All In.

Therefore, I’ll take Mone winning in an underwhelming result. Mone has been here before and I don’t quite get the appeal of seeing her in this spot again, but I guess she hasn’t won a title recently enough so it’s time to set her up to do it again. World winning would be an absolute shock and I’d prefer to see it happen, but I just can’t picture that being the case here.

Men’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland

Finally we have the next step of one of the odder stories in a long time, as the Death Riders broke Ospreay’s neck but are now training him to get better from his neck injury. Therefore, he can have a rather physical match against Strickland with the winner moving on to the likely main event of the biggest AEW show of the year. That’s quite a way to go, but we have a few months between now and then to make it even stranger.

There is a grand total of no reason to believe that Strickland has a chance here and that has been obvious from the second Ospreay was announced for the field. This isn’t a subtle story and while that makes sense in theory, it could make for quite the lengthy wait before we finally get to the result. Ospreay wins here and while it should be a heck of a match, it really shouldn’t be in doubt.

Overall Thoughts

The biggest issue here is how little most of this show seems to matter. The three most important matches on the show are all about title shots which are going to happen later on, leaving this with a bunch of midcard titles matches and guest stars. It should be a good show as most AEW pay per views tend to be, but my goodness it does not feel overly important and that’s becoming a bigger issue with Forbidden Door year after year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Dynamite
Date: June 24, 2026
Location: Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before Forbidden Door and the finals are officially set for the Owen Hart Cups. That means we need to have the big hype segments for Sunday’s final showdowns. As for tonight, Zack Sabre Jr. is here again to face Jack Perry in his Forbidden Door warmup match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley gives the Death Riders a pep talk. Will Ospreay gets in their bouncing circle and falls down. Well of course he did.

Death Riders vs. Brodido/Mistico

Yuta grabs Bandido’s arm to start and they trade takedowns. Back up and Bandido snaps off a running headscissors before headlocking Moxley. That earns Bandido a trip into the corner, meaning Castagnoli can stomp him down. Bandido shrugs that off and brings Mistico in to get a rather spinning headscissors to take Castagnoli down.

It’s off to King for the big man slugout and of course King can run the ropes to springboard into a double wristdrag to Castagnoli and Moxley. The Riders are sent outside for a triple dive and we take an early break. We come back with Bandido still in trouble and Moxley getting two off a suplex.

Bandido gets in a running kick to the chest and Mistico gets the much needed tag. That means house can quickly be cleaned, including a quick sunset flip for two on Castagnoli. Bandido muscles Castagnoli over for a suplex but Marina Shafir offers a distraction. That’s enough for Moxley to get in a belt shot and roll King up for the pin at 12:19.

Rating: B. This was a good, hard hitting opening match with King getting to showcase his impressive athleticism. At the same time, this doesn’t make Bandido look strong going into his title shot and Mistico has his upcoming tag match and this…really had nothing to do with that either. It’s a weird way to go, though Bandido getting a pin here would have made a bit more sense.

Post match Bandido has a quick staredown with the Riders.

The Conglomeration is ready to fight in the cage at Forbidden Door. Darby Allin is ready to fight and the team promises to load up their backpacks. The rest of the team leaves and Orange Cassidy looks a bit annoyed but insists he’s fine. Renee Paquette doesn’t seem convinced.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Marina Shafir vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron is in Supergirl inspired gear and gets kicked in the ribs to start fast. Shafir mounts her but Cameron is right out into a half crab. That’s broken up as well and Cameron knocks her outside for a crossbody off the steps. Back in and Shafir gives her an AA and we take an early break. We come back with Shafir snapping off some judo throws but Cameron manages a belly to back suplex. Cameron hammers away in the corner until Shafir knees her right back. The half crab is broken up again so Shafir flips her into a choke, only to have Cameron backflip into a cradle for the pin at 7:52.

Rating: C+. This was a nice surprise victory for Cameron but what matters the most here is that Cameron is going to be in next week’s match. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title and she probably won’t, but at least she’s going to bring her rather amazing charisma to the whole thing. She’s a good bonus to the match and could even win the whole thing, which is kind of stunning considering where she was when she first came to AEW.

Video on Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup finals.

Will Ospreay vs. ELP

ELP (El Phantasmo) works on the arm to start and runs Ospreay over with a shoulder, earning him a nip up. Ospreay sends him outside without much trouble and hits a slingshot dive but ELP is back up with a quick drop onto the apron. One heck of a moonsault takes Ospreay down again and we take an early break.

We come back with Ospreay hitting an enziguri, only for ELP to grab a tornado DDT. Ospreay’s forearms make ELP laugh and they trade kicks to the head until Ospreay grabs a standing Spanish Fly. ELP gets in a superkick for two of his own but Ospreay flips over into a Styles Clash. The Hidden Blade pins ELP at 10:42.

Rating: B-. It was another entertaining match with Ospreay getting to do all of his stuff, though again I’m not sure how well this did to make Ospreay look great. It did a good job of building up ELP, who hung with Ospreay for a good while before getting taken out. That’s something that happens quite a bit during this season and it’s kind of annoying as Ospreay is in the likely main event of Forbidden Door and ELP isn’t likely going to be here beyond tonight.

Post match Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana come out for a staredown, with Ospreay leaving through the crowd.

Swerve Strickland vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia walks in from outside and…how long has he been waiting out there? Strickland runs him over to start so Garcia pops up to get in Strickland’s face. That’s not a good idea as Strickland shoves him down and stomps away, setting up a running boot to the floor. This time Garcia pulls Strickland down for a hammering but takes too long yelling at a fan. Strickland kicks him in the face again and we take a break.

We come back with Strickland missing a Swerve Stomp to the apron and getting his leg dragon screw whipped. Strickland’s leg is fine enough to roll over and drop Garcia with a suplex. Garcia’s clothesline is shrugged off so he kicks out the leg instead. The ankle lock has Strickland in more trouble but he backbreakers his way out. A powerbomb is spun into a powerslam (cool) to plant Garcia, who pops up with a Styles Clash for two of his own. Strickland House Calls him for two, followed by a Hidden Blade to finish Garcia at 12:25.

Rating: B. Much like the previous match, this was a good way to build up someone who has nothing going on while the person set for a big match on Sunday is going 50/50 with Garcia. If protecting Garcia is that important (and I’m sure it is for whatever reason), don’t put him in the match. Strickland and Ospreay should have looked like killers in their matches and instead they’re just out there taking 10+ minutes to beat stars beneath them.

Post match Strickland goes after Garcia’s arm so Ospreay runs back in for the brawl. Nana offers a distraction though and Strickland gives Ospreay the House Call. A Vertebreaker drops Garcia and Ospreay chases Strickland off with a chair.

Video on Team Ospreay vs. Team MJF.

Don Callis and his Family are ready to win but MJF cuts them off to rant about Mark Briscoe. The reality is that Briscoe has never beaten MJF and that isn’t going to change. MJF thinks the two sides haven’t been on the same page but Callis whips out a shirt for TEAM DCMJF and yes the image is of them muscular and in limited clothing. MJF and Callis love it but the Family is less than impressed.

Jack Perry vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre takes him down with a cravate and shrugs off Sabre’s attempt to go after the leg. They fight over a double arm crank until Perry rolls him up for some near falls. A very near fall sends Sabre outside but he’s fine enough to start in on the arm, including snapping it over the top rope.

We take a break and come back with Perry hitting a Sliced Bread but getting sent outside. Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker on the floor but has to let it go, allowing Perry to hit another Sliced Bread on the apron. A moonsault to the floor takes Sabre out again, only for him to grab a triangle choke back inside. Perry reverses into a sitout powerbomb for two and the Snare Trap has Sabre in trouble for a change. Sabre twists the arm around to escape so Perry grabs a package powerbomb for two more. That earns him a double arm crank, with Sabre using his leg to pull Perry’s arm down for the submission at 13:12.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of Sabre getting to take Perry apart, which boosts him up on the way to facing Kenny Omega on Sunday. Granted we saw Sabre do something similar in his most recent match around here so it was only so necessary. It’s certainly fitting the theme for the night though and we’ll get the big match with Omega soon enough.

Young Bucks vs. TMDK

Tito jumps Matt from behind to start fast but the Bucks are right back with their stereo running bulldogs. A double clothesline puts TMDK on the floor for the stereo dives, followed by some back elbows to the face back inside. Matt gets crotched on top though and Nick gets pulled out of the air, with a spinebuster getting two on Matt in a big crash. Matt flips away from both of them though and grabs a DDT, allowing the tag off to Nick. House is cleaned and the Superkick Party is on, setting up the Meltzer Driver to pin Nicholls at 4:20.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted and I’ll take this over the rest of the matches, as the Bucks get a pretty nice win over a team who doesn’t have anything going on. That’s a good way to go here as there was no reason to have the Bucks in any serious trouble. Nice enough job here and I’ll take that just about all the time.

Post match TMDK jumps the Bucks and Kenny Omega makes the save. Forearms are exchanged with Sabre and TMDK bails. Omega says may the best man win on Sunday and he certainly will.

We look at Thekla invading a Stardom show and attacking the owner.

Survivor Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Red Velvet vs. Queen Aminata

Velvet’s ROH Women’s TV Title isn’t on the line. Velvet rolls over her into a sunset flip for an early two and then wristdrags her down again. Aminata is right back with a snap suplex for one but the big headbutt misses. Aminata’s right hands in the corner are countered into a powerbomb and we take a break.

We come back with Velvet grabbing a sitout bulldog for two but Aminata gives her a slingshot reverse suplex to leave them both down. The running boot in the corner sets up a middle rope double stomp for two on Velvet. Back up and Velvet flips her off the top, setting up a frog splash to the back for two. Velvet kicks away and, after an apology, misses the big kick to the head. Aminata knocks her into the ropes and hits a PK for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C+. And of course a reigning champion loses clean in a qualifying match. I’m sure there was absolutely no one else available to take this loss, but it’s just Ring Of Honor anyway, which has been treated like nothing since it was brought back from the dead to create a promotion of cannon fodder. This is the kind of stupid stuff that drives me crazy in wrestling and it doesn’t need to happen but here we are anyway.

The Young Bucks are ready to superkick their opponents at Forbidden Door but Adam Copeland and Christian Cage brawl through with the Dogs. They brawl into the makeup area and Connors blinds Copeland with some hairspray to take over. The Dogs choke them both out. And we get a five second pose, complete with Cage’s old over the top sunglasses.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet

Takeshita is defending and the Gates Of Agony are here with Ricochet. An early cheap shot knocks Takeshita outside and the big flip dive hits him as well. Back in and a springboard 450 gives Ricochet two as he’s certainly starting fast. Takeshita is back up but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ricochet to hit a 619. The springboard clothesline and a running shooting star press give Ricochet two and we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet striking away in the corner and knocking him out to the floor. The shooting star off the apron is countered into a suplex though and they’re both down. Back in and a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two before they trade kicks to the head. The wheelbarrow suplex drops Ricochet, who is right back up with Vertigo for two.

A shooting star press gives Ricochet two but he flips out of a German superplex. Takeshita’s Last Ride gets two but Ricochet uses the referee to cut off the running knee. A kick to the head sets up a Ricosault for two and Ricochet is stunned on the kickout. Takeshita drops him with a clothesline though and it’s the running knee and Raging Fire to retain at 13:48.

Rating: B. I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised that these two had a fast paced match together and they made it work here. Ricochet getting a somewhat random title match is hardly a stretch and it’s fine as a main event for a bit of an odd show. Takeshita gets a nice title defense as well and that’s a good thing as he looks for his next big challenger.

Here is Mark Briscoe with something to say about MJF. He and his friends are ready to fight in the cage on Sunday and he brings up their history in Blood & Guts. That was all about the thrill of the fight but this has some more consequential implications. Briscoe agrees that he and MJF are nothing alike (and he thanks God for that) but he knows he can beat MJF if they get a chance. On Sunday, he’ll be fighting with his friends while MJF has some hired stars who don’t care about him.

Cue Don Callis for a distraction so MJF can jump Briscoe from behind. Briscoe fights back and we get the parade of people running in one at a time to hit a single big move. Andrade has to save MJF from the Jay Driller but they go face to face. Callis cuts that off and MJF loads up the ring, only to accidentally hit Andrade. The Jay Driller lays MJF out to end the show. This was pretty much what you would have expected, though they do have some stories in the big cage match, which does help things.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a good example of a show where it’s perfectly fine from a quality standpoint, but it’s not something that interests me. A good chunk of this show was built around setting up Forbidden Door matches for wrestlers who aren’t likely to be regulars around here in a few days.

They aren’t regulars coming into this show either and it made for a less than thrilling show. Forbidden Door isn’t doing much to get my attention this year, though they’ve done an effective enough job with what they had. Not a bad show at all here (though another champion losing in a qualifying match makes my head hurt), but not my taste for the most part.

Results
Death Riders b. Brodido/Mistico – Rollup to King
Harley Cameron b. Marina Shafir – Cradle
Will Ospreay b. ELP – Hidden Blade
Swerve Strickland b. Daniel Garcia – Hidden Blade
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Jack Perry – Double arm crank
Young Bucks b. TMDK – Meltzer Driver to Nicholls
Queen Aminata b. Red Velvet – PK in the ropes
Konosuke Takeshita b. Ricochet – Raging Fire

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6