ALL ELITE WRESTLING
DYNASTY 2026
APRIL 12, 2026
VANCOUVER ARENA
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Watch: HBO MAX / Prime Video / MyAEW / YouTube / & more!
Instant Reaction LIVE (FlagshipPatreon.com)
Meet our reviewer:
Sean Sedor: After watching Ty Gibbs pick up his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol, Sean is locked in and ready for another AEW PPV review! You can find Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994 and on BlueSky @sasedor2994.bsky.social. If you’re interested in some of Sean’s other escapades, you can watch him play the NASCAR and Formula 1 games on YouTube (just search his name and you’ll find the channel), and you can also go to the Be The Booker forums if you’d like to check out Sean’s EWR Diary, where he plays as WCW (started in 1998, currently in September 2004).
AEW Dynasty 2026 Zero Hour
Alex Windsor def. Marina Shafir
Kicking off the Zero Hour is a match that came together over the last few weeks as part of the budding feud between the Death Riders and the United Empire. After the initial brawl, Windsor connected with a dive off the apron, but Shafir would respond quickly with an armbar once they got back in the ring. Shafir was then in control for the next few minutes until Windsor connected with a series of shoulder tackles. From there, we got some pretty decent back-and-forth between the two, with Shafir nailing some big slams and kicks while Windsor refused to say down. Finally, Windsor connected with what looked like Made In Japan, and got the pin. This was a pretty decent match, all told. Maybe it’s just down to me not having much expectations for it, but I felt the closing stretch between these two was pretty entertaining for what it was. Interesting to note that Shafir has now taken two straight pinfall losses at the hands of the Brawling Birds. ***
AEW Dynasty 2026 Zero Hour
Kamille def. Big Anne
We’re getting an unexpected third women’s match on this Zero Hour, as the returning Kamille (who hasn’t been seen since that stint as Mercedes Moné bodyguard back in 2024) defeated somebody named Big Anne in what was a quick squash. Earlier in the show, Kamille had attacked Willow Nightingale backstage, which I guess will serve to continue the theme of Willow defending her TBS Title against returning wrestlers (Tony Schiavone had given Willow the nickname “Comeback Killer” in recent weeks). This squash just served as a backdrop for Willow to come out with her shoulder all taped up in an attempt to get back at Kamille. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out for Willow, as Kamille put her down once again. I presume we’ll be getting that match on AEW TV very soon. N/R
AEW Dynasty 2026 Zero Hour
AEW National Title
Jack Perry (c) def. Mark Davis
It’s been really cool to see Mark Davis continue to get showcased ever since his new tag team partner Jake Doyle went down with an injury. After having a brief run with the AEW World Trios Titles (alongside Kazuchika Okada and Kyle Fletcher), he’s now getting a shot at Jack Perry’s AEW National Title. Perry tried to use his speed in the early going, but Mark Davis was in firm control as he used his size and power to just toss Perry around. Perry was able to get in his first big shot of the match in the form of a moonsault off the top rope to the floor. It wouldn’t take long for Davis to regain control, however, as he destroyed Perry on the apron with an Orange Crush. Back in the ring, Perry countered Davis’ lifting piledriver with a DDT, and followed up with a piledriver of his own. Davis would then attempt to respond with his running lariat, but Perry turned it into a flash pin to score the victory. This match was an absolute blast to watch. With yet another strong performance here, Mark Davis continued this incredible run he’s been having over the last few months from an in-ring standpoint. As for Jack Perry, I know he’s certainly not the most popular guy on the roster in some circles of the fandom, but he’s still a very good wrestler, and works especially well in bouts like this where he’s the undersized babyface going up against a much larger opponent. A super fun contest from start to finish. ***3/4
AEW Dynasty 2026 Zero Hour
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles
Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) (c) def. Hyan & Maya World
Closing out the Zero Hour was another good women’s bout as Divine Dominion retained their titles over Hyan and Maya World. At the start of the bout, Hyan and Maya World were able to get some early shots in on both Bayne and Kross, but the champions managed to quickly regain their footing and spent a few minutes isolating Hyan. Eventually, Hyan was able to fight off both Bayne and Kross before making the hot tag to Maya, who ran wild. From there, much like Shafir vs. Windsor a little earlier, we got an entertaining back-and-forth exchange between the two sides. Maya was able to counter Divine Intervention (Megan and Lena’s double chokeslam) into a DDT, which led to a series of dives to the floor by the challengers. Ultimately, the power of Bayne and Kross proved to be too much, and they managed to connect with Divine Intervention to secure the win. A strong showing here from Hyan and Maya World, who’ve been very solid additions to the AEW women’s division, while Divine Dominion picked up another successful title defense. ***1/4
The Young Bucks def. The Don Callis Family (Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita)
Talk about starting off your PPV hot. Of course, this was originally going to see Okada teaming with Kyle Fletcher against The Young Bucks, but the injury to Fletcher obviously led to some changes in the card (though honestly, this match loses nothing by replacing Fletcher with Takeshita). With Takeshita now being in the match, Don Callis added the stipulation that Takeshita can get a shot at Okada’s AEW International Title if the two of them can work together and win this match. In the early stages, Okada showed his willingness to work with Takeshita in the form of a handshake as the two of them went to town on one of The Young Bucks with elbow drops. Matt and Nick Jackson were quick to respond with some of their usual flashy tag team offense (including a fun little fakeout on Okada), but the Don Callis Family were soon able to regain the advantage. The Young Bucks were in incredible babyface tag team form as Okada and Takeshita worked over Matt and prevented him from making the tag to Nick. This included a very funny spot where Okada stole Nick Jackson’s headband and entrance jacket and taunted Matt in their corner (Okada stealing one of the Jackson’s gear backstage and putting it on has been a fun bit Okada and The Young Bucks have had for AGES, so it was kinda cool to actually see it in a match).
Nick Jackson ran wild after finally getting tagged in, and The Young Bucks managed to lock in double sharpshooters, which led to Okada and Takeshita slapping each other in the face to avoid tapping. From there, the action was fast and furious as both sides exchanged big moves and close nearfalls. These exchanges include Takeshita tossing Matt Jackson three quarters of the way across the ring with a Top Rope German Suplex, and then wild a four-way German Suplex spot. Okada and Takeshita then broke down into a brief strike exchange before The Young Bucks got involved, but then they each took turns accidentally hitting each other with big moves (Takeshita accidentally hit Okada with a massive knee strike while Okada accidentally hit Takeshita with the Rainmaker). This all built up to The Young Bucks going for the Meltzer Driver on Okada, and Takeshita had the chance to stop them. However, he backed off, and allowed The Young Bucks to hit the Meltzer Driver on Okada to win the match.
As expected, these two teams had an excellent tag team encounter, with incredible action throughout. If you’re comparing this to the FTR/Young Bucks match from Revolution last month, I think I would give the slight edge to FTR/Young Bucks, but it’s definitely close. The big difference between the two is that this one had a more story heavy/melodramatic finish, with Takeshita letting go of Nick Jackson’s leg so they could hit the Meltzer Driver on Okada. I’m sure the way they executed that might knock this match down a peg for some (and I totally get it). For me, it didn’t hurt the match much for me, though I hope this means we can finally get Takeshita away from the Don Callis Family, as this was a pretty clear turn against Okada (and in storyline, I don’t know how they can justify keep Okada and Takeshita in the same stable after that finish). That small point aside, this match was excellent and well worth checking out later if you missed the start of the PPV. ****1/2
Ricochet def. Chris Jericho
So based on his ring introduction, it seems like Chris Jericho has officially lost his last name, but some of the announcers still use “Chris” when talking about him, so I have no idea what’s going on with his name. Also, Jericho is wrestling in sparkly pants, which is certainly a choice (makes it look like he’s wrestling in street clothes like he forgot his gear or something, but he’s clearly wearing boots and knee pads underneath the pants). The match itself was a little slow to get going, as Jericho spent the first few minutes trying to get under Ricochet’s skin. Jericho finally went on the attack as he connected with a Codebreaker and a bulldog early, but Ricochet responded with a NASTY Death Valley Driver on the apron (quite the bump for a guy in his mid-50’s to be taking after not wrestling for almost a year). Jericho immediately started to sell the shoulder as Ricochet continued his assault. After a few minutes of being worked over, Jericho managed to fight back and connected with the Lionsault before attempting the Walls of Jericho. Ricochet managed to fight through it and distracted the referee so the Gates of Agony could get involved.
Jericho would follow up with a top rope hurricanrana and another Codebreaker, while Ricochet responded with Vertigo for a close nearfall. That led to a beautifully timed spot as Jericho turned a Shooting Star Press attempt into a Codebreaker (the slow motion replay showed off how the timing was just perfect on that one). Further attempts by the Gates Of Agony to get involved led to Jericho diving onto all three members of The Demand on the floor. Unfortunately for Jericho, the outside interference proved to be too much. After Toa Liona bowled Jericho over, he threw him back in the ring for Ricochet to finish off. A Shooting Star Press, a Spirit Gun, and….at the behest of GOA….a Lionsault (just to rub salt in the wound) led to Ricochet getting the win over Jericho.
These two had a really good match, with Jericho in particular having a strong performance considering he hasn’t wrestled a match since last year’s Dynasty PPV in Philadelphia (a show I was in attendance for). I’m sure it will all be opponent dependent (Ricochet is a fantastic wrestler), but Jericho put forth a ton of effort here in terms of what he pulled off and some of the moves he took (I still can’t get over that Death Valley Driver bump on the edge of the apron). The result was certainly interesting. I wasn’t expecting Jericho to lose here in his return match, and I don’t feel Ricochet would’ve lost anything had he lost here, though at the same time, I didn’t have any issues with Ricochet winning here either. I suppose we’re in a “this feud must continue” situation, or perhaps this loss is just setting up a Jericho heel turn. Whatever the case might be, this was still a very solid return outing for Chris Jericho from an in-ring standpoint. ***3/4
Darby Allin def. Andrade El Idolo
This had the potential to be a pretty great match on paper, given how insane Darby is and given how (quite frankly) awesome Andrade has been since his return to AEW (say what you will about the guy being a backstage troublemaker in the past, but he’s been fully locked and invested so far in 2026, and it shows with his performances in the ring this year). When the dust settled, these two delivered an excellent match that, at times, resembled more of a car crash (and that’s meant as a complement, not an insult). Darby started this one off in a wild way, as he interrupted Andrade’s in-the-ropes Tranquillo post by just running into him, sending them both crashing to the floor (that was a cool spot). After breaking up another Andrade “flirting with a woman on the outside” spot with a coffin drop to the floor, a brawl in the crowd led to Darby dropkicking Andrade on the arena steps and, of course, Darby landed back first on the steps as well (doing his best Samoa Joe from TNA Bound For Glory 2008 impression). Once they got back in the ring, the insanity continued. While battling on the top rope, Darby connected with a bonkers counter as he essentially did a backflip off the top rope with Andrade into a choke. This was followed up with a crazy Darby dive to the floor before Andrade DESTROYED Darby with a stalling suplex from the apron to the floor. That was just nasty.
As Darby began bleeding from the mouth, the crowd popped big for Andrade slowly taking off his tearaway pants (he’s certainly no Taichi). More exchanges between the two followed from there, and Darby ultimately trapped Andrade in the Last Supper to get the three count! Thus, per the match stipulations, Darby will be getting a future shot at the AEW World Title. I always love when Darby busts out the Last Supper (a move that he did a great job establishing during his time in EVOLVE many years ago). Aside from one spot where Andrade stopped referee Aubrey Edwards’ hand from making the three count, this was an absolute blast to watch. Darby continues to prove why he’s easily one of the biggest maniacs in wrestling (and we absolutely love him for it, don’t get me wrong), while Andrade just continues to add to his impressive 2026 resume. Again, I totally understood the trepidation with bringing this guy back to AEW, but ever since he officially came back to the ring in January, this guy’s been nothing but a home run. In the big spots, he’s delivered time and time again, with this bout against Darby being yet another example. Following the bout, Andrade shook hands with Darby in a sign of respect, which further plants the seeds for Andrade’s eventual babyface turn. ****1/2
AEW World Tag Team Titles
FTR (with Stokely Hathaway) (c) def. Adam Copeland & Christian Cage
I was curious to see where this match would be positioned on the card. It ended up being pretty much smack dab in the middle of the show. What I was also interested to see was how Christian Cage was going to be selling the attack on his arm from Dynamite. I was a little worried that it might be a tad over the top (maybe his arm would be in a sling or something), but fortunately, it was more on the realistic side as he had tape wrapped around the injured right arm. Following the initial opening exchanges (which featured the crowd singing Oh Canada), FTR isolated Copeland for a bit before making the tag to Christian, who managed to run wild for a bit (including a dive off the top to the floor) despite the arm injury. He actually managed to connect with the Killswitch on Dax Harwood, but Cash Wheeler quickly broke up the pin, and the two went right to work on the injured arm.
After being worked over for a number of minutes, Christian Cage managed to hit a diving headbutt on Dax before making the hot tog to Copeland. The artist formerly known as Edge ran wild for a bit before we got Copeland and Christian’s attempt at the Power and Glory spot, which didn’t go according to plan with Dax getting the knees up (though Copeland in turn blocked Wheeler’s attempt at a splash). Vancouver popped big as Copeland managed to kick out after getting blasted with one of the tag team title belts behind the referee’s back, though the belt spot led to Copeland getting busted wide open. The two sides then traded Shatter Machines before we got shenanigans involving Stokely Hathaway (Christian used him as a weapon to break up a pin before Stokely got shoved out of the ring by referee Paul Turner). It was at this stage that Christian was seemingly taken out of the equation, leaving Copeland alone in the ring with FTR, who took this chance to mock The Young Bucks via stealing their offense, which did backfire on them as Copeland hit them with a double spear.
Despite Copeland’s best efforts, the two-on-one advantage proved to be too much, and another Shatter Machine sealed the deal. I was very happy to see that this match was (mostly) free of the smoke and mirrors we saw in the first meeting between these two at All Out last year. Aside from the stuff involving Stokely, this was a straightforward tag team match between these two, and it was pretty good! I don’t think it quite reached notebook level for me, but it had solid action throughout, and in a bit of a surprise, FTR retained. I’m not suggesting that FTR had zero chance of winning this one. However, given that they were in Canada, I was definitely leaning towards a title change. It still won’t shock me if Cage and Copeland end up with these titles, but for now, FTR remains on top of the tag team division (and with The Young Bucks winning earlier in the night, we’re definitely getting a three-wag tag at some point with these three teams). If there was one change I would make here, I would’ve actually swapped this match with the Okada/Takeshita vs. Young Bucks match. I get wanting to have a super hot opener, though having this tag come an hour and change after how awesome that opener just made this match seem a lot….slower by comparison (if what I’m trying to say makes any sense). Christian also chased FTR off with a chair after the match, and for a split second, they had me thinking that he was going to turn on Cope again. Alas, that didn’t happen. ***3/4
AEW TNT Title – Casino Gauntlet Match
Winner: Kevin Knight
With Kyle Fletcher sidelined for the next few months due to an injury he suffered on Collision a few weeks back, the TNT Title was vacated (thank goodness they’re not doing an interim title), and we’re busting out the Casino Gauntlet to decide the new champion. Tommaso Ciampa and RUSH started this one off (after winning the rights to these #1 and #2 spots on Dynamite and Collision respectively), and it was a mostly pedestrian start until Bandido entered the match at #3. He ran wild for a bit until RUSH cut him off and started ripping off his mask. Mike Bailey and El Clon were the 4th and 5th entrants respectively, with each getting moments to shine before PAC entered as the 6th Entrant (notable that the crowd popped big for the Death Rider music). He connected with a huge twisting dive to the floor, and then followed that up with a fun three-way exchange with Bandido and Speedball.
More bodies began filling the ring as Daniel Garcia, Anthony Bowens, and Kevin Knight all entered the ring. We got a couple of close nearfalls involving El Clon, Ciampa, and Bandido, which I thought might signal that the finish was near, but that wasn’t the case, as Wheeler Yuta then entered the fray. What followed was another series of wild spots and near finishes. El Clon countered a Bandido dive attempt into a C4 onto the pile on the floor, and that was followed by a Ciampa superplex on Knight onto the pile on the floor. PAC then got a nearfall off an awesome Black Arrow on Speedball before that pin was broken up. The craziness ultimately culminated with Kevin Knight breaking up a submission attempt by Garcia on Speedball, and that was enough to get the pin! Kevin Knight is the new TNT Champion. You could’ve gone in a bunch of different directions with the result here, but I love the idea of putting this title on one of your young rising stars. Knight has had a couple of short runs with the Trios Titles over the last few months, but with Fletcher’s injury, this is a great opportunity to give Knight (who Tony Khan and AEW clearly see a bright future in) a run with a midcard title to further establish him as a singles guy. As they teased in the post-match, I’m sure we’ll get a battle between Knight and Speedball at some point during this title run (which should be awesome when it happens). As for this Casino Gauntlet, this was far from the best of the bunch, but it was still relatively solid for what it was. There were no real surprises, though there were several super fun spots throughout, and again, I thought the choice they went with for the winner here was perfect. ***1/4
AEW Women’s World Title
Thekla (c) def. Jamie Hayter
Before the match, we got a brief backstage skit where Alex Windsor wished Jamie Hayter luck at what was basically a makeshift Brawling Birds bar. This was very weird, as it basically made them come off like a female version of The APA (which those APA “office” skits they frequently did back in the day). This was actually a rematch from WrestleDream back in October, when Hayter handled Thekla her first pinfall loss in AEW. These two didn’t waste any time, as they went right after each other. The action quickly spilled to the floor, and while Hayter showed off impressive strength by carrying Thekla up the ramp in the suplex position, she never got the chance to hit the move, as Thekla countered with a DDT. Thekla then followed up with a high crossbody off the top rope to the floor, and from there, the champion was in firm control of the match.
Thekla worked Hayter over for the next few minutes as she attempted to get a submission, but Hayter managed to fight back with a suplex on the apron. She then went on an offensive flurry of her, as she got near three counts off a Liger Bomb and a Tombstone Piledriver. They had a few more exchanges before Thekla caught Hayter with a bridging pin, using the ropes for leverage at the very last moment to secure the three count. Even though I liked the match these two had at WrestleDream last year, it didn’t blow me away. This rematch was a clear step up in terms of quality. What made it work so well was the physicality, as these two just beat the shit out of each other. When given the opportunity to perform in a big singles match, Jamie Hayter almost never fails to deliver. As for Thekla, she continues to thrive as the AEW Women’s World Champion. The only thing that prevented me from going notebook on this one was the finish. I don’t have a huge issue with Thekla cheating to win their matches (it’s clearly been her thing during this title reign), but I just felt this match would’ve had a stronger peak if Thekla just beat Hayter clear. That minor quibble aside, this was still a strong women’s title bout on the whole. ***3/4
AEW Continental Title
Jon Moxley (c) def. Will Ospreay
To say that I was incredibly excited to see this match would be a massive understatement. That being said, going with the traditional twenty minute time limit here was an interesting call, only because I thought it was stated previously that the twenty minute time limit for Continental Title bouts gets bumped up on PPVs (though maybe I’m Mandela Effecting that one). The bell rang and Ospreay IMMEDIATELY blasted Moxley with the Hidden Blade, noting that he’s got twenty minutes alone with Moxley to do whatever he wants with him. He hit another Hidden Blade to Mox before following up with a neckbreaker off the apron. Ospreay then tried to introduce the steel steps, but it backfired, and led to Moxley hitting his first offensive move of the match as he dropped Ospreay on the floor with the Paradigm Shift.
Back in the ring, Moxley followed up with a sleeper suplex, and just like that, the tide had turned in a major way. Ospreay would respond with some of his usual aerial offense, but he went to the well one too many times, as Mox just swatted him out of the air with an elbow strike. Moxley managed to lock Ospreay in a choke at the ten minute mark before transitioning into the Gotch-Style Piledriver. He continued to target the neck with another sleeper suplex, but Ospreay responded quickly with a sitout powerbomb. The intensity continued to pick up as the two exchanged finishers (in very quick fashion) and other big moves. After a nearfall off a Styles Clash, Ospreay hit yet another Hidden Blade, but it became clear that the neck damage that Mox had done up to this point was becoming a problem. That wasn’t helped by Mox dropping him with a piledriver on the steel steps. Ospreay barely beat the ten count, but then instantly ate a curb stomp and a number of Paradigm Shifts. While Ospreay managed to kick out after all that, the Death Rider finally put him down for the count.
Yet another awesome match on this PPV, and it should come as no surprise that these two deliver something at this level. The in-ring action was, of course, fantastic. No surprise there. These are two of the best wrestlers in the world. They also told an incredible story from start to finish as well. With those two Hidden Blades to start the match, Ospreay clearly had the chance to put Moxley away very early on, but his lust for revenge eventually proved to be his undoing, as once Moxley managed to drop Ospreay on his neck a few times, that totally changed the direction of the match. Even though Ospreay put forth a valiant effort, and still came close to winning the AEW Continental Title, he never came closer than he did in those opening few moments. As the match progressed, more and more damage was done to the neck of Ospreay, and it just added up to the point where he couldn’t overcome it. Having Ospreay lose so soon after his return was quite the call, but at the same time, this feud is clearly far from over. In fact, it just makes me more interested in where things go from here, and makes me more invested in seeing Ospreay finally getting that payback he’s looking for. As for Mox, he continues to have just an outstanding run with this title. It continues to be one of the best things in AEW in 2026, and after this win over Ospreay, Moxley just looks more and more unstoppable. ****1/2
AEW World Trios Title
The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, & Kyle O’Reilly) def. The Dogs (Clark Connors, David Finlay, & Gabe Kidd) (c)
Sean: What a dichotomy going from what we saw in Moxley vs. Ospreay to The Conglomeration doing a full sitcom-style entrance, complete with the return of Kyle O’Reilly, who was the clear and obvious choice once the mystery partner was first teased on Collision. The Conglomeration got in some early offense, but that was quickly cut off by The Dogs. Not only did they wipe out O’Reilly on the floor with the Full Clip (Connors and Finlay’s suplex/spear combo), but then Connors followed up with a wild spear on Orange Cassidy through the ropes. It was during this sequence that Gabe Kidd completely disappeared from the match. The last we saw of him, he was holding his arm/wrist pretty close to his chest. I didn’t even catch what specifically happened, but you could see in the background that Kidd was getting taken away by the ringside doctors.
That essentially turned this into a two-on-two match with O’Reilly still selling the Full Clip on the floor, and it quickly turned into a three-on-two match in favor of the babyfaces. A minute or two after O’Reilly tagged in, he locked Connors in the ankle lock, and with Finlay sent to the floor, Connors had no choice but to tap out. I don’t believe the Gabe Kidd injury impacted the finish at all. It was very obvious that O’Reilly was the mystery partner (like I mentioned earlier), and giving him a title win in his hometown seemed like the obvious result before the bell even rang. Now I’m sure Kidd going down clearly impacted some of the things they had planned here, and the match as a whole suffered because of it. Easily the worst match of the night up to this point, though again, this was very much impacted by that injury (Dave Meltzer tweeted that it’s feared to be a dislocated shoulder). Hopefully Gabe Kidd heals up quickly.
AEW has bounced these World Trios Titles around a bunch since the calendar turned to 2026, and honestly, I don’t mind that one bit. It finally feels like Tony Khan is booking these titles the way they should be booked (similar to how the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Titles have been booked for much of their history in New Japan). These should be titles that bounce around a bunch between all sorts of different trios teams. It just makes things more exciting in that division as a whole. **1/4
AEW World Title
MJF (c) def. Kenny Omega
Given how they’ve built this match, it should come as no surprise that both entrances featured God and Devil themes/motifs. The crowd in Vancouver chanted “You’ve got hairplugs” at MJF just before the two went into their opening exchange. The action soon spilled to the floor, leading to Omega hitting a moonsault off the barricade before bringing out one of the ringside tables. He then put the table on top of MJF before connecting with a double stomp off the apron (a spot he’s done before in New Japan). Omega’s attempt to then put MJF through the table proper backfired, and MJF then used that opening to take control of the match. MJF connected with a nasty Alabama Slam, but Omega was quick to follow up with a Snap Dragon Suplex, along with more of his usual offense. That all culminated in the Terminator Dive to the floor.
MJF managed to avoid the One Winged Angel in the ring, and then both men avoided potentially devastating moves off the top rope before trading reverse ranas in the center of the ring. Another offensive exchange led to Omega hitting a beautiful triangle moonsault to the floor (Kota Ibushi style), but from there, Omega started to sell his stomach/gut, and it was very clear that Kenny was beginning to struggle. He was able to power through the pain and hit the One Winged Angel off the second rope, though he was too injured to make the cover, and MJF had already rolled out of the ring. Omega’s attempts to hit a normal One Winged Angel in the center of the ring were thwarted by MJF, and he followed up with a Cross Rhodes and a Package Piledriver for a nearfall.
Eventually, referee Bryce Remsburg got knocked out. MJF frantically searched for the Dynamite Diamond ring (which Bryce took from him earlier) and went to use it, but Omega avoided it and hit the One Winged Angel. Paul Turner did run down to make the count, but it was only after MJF had been down for the count for a good fifteen seconds. As the two spilled to the apron, Turner was checking on Remsburg, and that gave MJF the opening to hit Omega in the gut with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. One Tombstone through the table and one Heatseeker later, and that was it. MJF had retained the AEW World Title.
This was such a strange main event. Was it a great match? Yes, I would say that it was. Did it reach the heights that I was expecting? Honestly….not quite. There was really good action throughout this one, and I thought they did a fine job with Omega selling the midsection when the time came to do that (it wasn’t over-the-top or anything like that), but for whatever reason, this just felt like it was missing something to take it to that next level. It just lacked a certain….energy, I suppose you can say. It felt like they were trying to go for this great epic (the kind of epic you would’ve expected from Kenny during his New Japan days). Was it a chemistry issue? I’m not so sure. I definitely recall thinking the first MJF/Omega match in 2023 was pretty great in real time (haven’t seen that match in years, but if you asked me to pick right now, I’d say their first match was better), so I’m not sure if it’s chemistry related. The effort was absolutely there. Both guys worked very hard. For whatever reason, this just didn’t get to that super high level that I was expecting. The way the finish played out with the referee bump and MJF cheating certainly didn’t help, but even if this match did get a clean finish, I would probably be saying the same things I’m saying right now. It easily gets in the notebook, but it just didn’t reach the heights that it had the potential (on paper) to reach. ****
Final Thoughts
The 2026 edition of AEW Dynasty was, surprise surprise, another excellent PPV outing from AEW. The opening tag team match, Andrade vs. Darby, and Moxley vs. Ospreay were easily the top highlights, though the bulk of the rest of the show (including the Zero Hour) was pretty strong as well. The only thing on the main that was below average was the Trios Title match, though that was likely down to Gabe Kidd’s injury. Even though a few matches didn’t quite hit the high mark I was expecting them to hit (mainly MJF vs. Omega), this was still an incredible PPV outing from top to bottom by AEW.
