Column
By Zack Heydorn · July 26, 2026
It was bound to happen sometime.
AEW Redemption airs live on PPV on Sunday night from the Centre Bell Arena in Montréal, Québec, Canada and it’s the first real B-level PPV event that AEW has ever put on.
In 2026, AEW is one of the only PPV companies left. Not only does Tony Khan and Co. rely on PPV dollars as a key revenue stream, but they regularly deliver a product on PPV that is generally worth the $50 price tag attached to it.
Because PPV is important for the AEW brand, the company has worked to make each one a special, can’t-miss event going back to the first-ever AEW show in 2019. That’s a inordinate amount of A-level shows, but that streak comes to and end with Redemption.
AEW Redemption is filled up with filler content that checks a box of getting through an event rather than making it can’t-miss. No shame to Tony Khan and AEW. It’s unrealistic to hold the standard of “premiere show” each time out.
The crux of the B-level nature of Redemption is the fact that nearly every match on the card is relatively meaningless. Why? Well, All In looms in just about a month.
Remember about a decade ago when WWE squeezed in the Roadblock: End of the Line event ahead of WrestleMania 32? Redemption feels exactly like that.
The major matches at All In have been clearly forecasted by AEW at this point. There’s only one match on the Redemption card that could seemingly impact those All In plans.
In the AEW Redemption main event, Kenny Omega will defend his AEW Men’s World Championship against Kevin Knight. Knight has been angling for a title shot for months and he finally has one. Here’s the thing — Omega is going to be walking into All In as the world champion. We know this already. Omega vs. Will Ospreay inside Wembley Stadium is the major match that is being brewed up for the show, so there’s no chance that Omega is losing here to Knight.
This match has all the potential in the world to be wild good. Knight has proven to be able to go in the ring at the highest level and Omega is … Omega. There just isn’t much drama around this one and I could copy/paste that point to analyze most of the matches on the show.
Another example? Adam Copeland and Christian Cage vs. The Death Riders for the AEW Men’s World Tag Team Championships. A good match? Sure. Consequential? Not so much. The Young Bucks have been positioned as the tag title contenders for Copeland and Cage and All In. For that to happen, they can’t lose the tag titles to the Death Riders here and they won’t.
See where I’m going on this? Bandido vs. Kyle Fletcher? Andrade El Idolo vs. Mark Davis? Strong matches themselves, but with outcomes that are predictable due to the direction that All In has started to take.
The most intriguing match on this card from an outcome and impact perspective is Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s World Championship. Mercedes Mone looms as the challenger for that title at All In, but it’s unclear at this point which way AEW wants to take that match. Thekla vs. Mone is a marquee match and the one I’d choose to go with if I were Tony Khan, but technically they’re both heels. If you want the babyface vs. heel match at All In, Nightingale has to win the the world title here and then face Mone at the biggest show of the year.
This one is up in the air, but a strong promo segment with Mick Foley on Dynamite gave it extra sizzle. Thekla is on a helluva roll since winning the title. I’m not messing with that. She wins and faces Mone at All In. It’s the biggest women’s match they have at the moment.
AEW Redemption airs live on PPV on Sunday night. Preview and predictions from The Takedown on SI and the full card is below.
Kenny Omega vs. Kevin Knight - AEW Men’s World Championship
Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale - AEW Women’s World Championship
Adam Copeland and Christian Cage vs. The Death Riders - AEW Men’s World Tag Team Championships
Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay vs. The Young Bucks
Kyle Fletcher vs. Bandido - AEW International Championship
Mark Davis vs. Andrade El Idolo - AEW National Championship
Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa - No Holds Barred Match
Hikaru Shida vs. Maya World - TBS Championship
Ladder Match To Crown A Number One Contender for the AEW International Championship
The Bang Bang Gang vs. The Dogs - Double Chain Match
What will be the match of the night at AEW Redemption 2026? Let us know in the comments!
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