-A very strong match to start the show this week between Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega. Not a surprise. Part of the Omega character on television right now is that he’s “back.” The thing is, he truly looks like it. He’s smoother, a step quicker, and more intense. I’m a fan of matches being constructed around opponents working to hit their finisher. It seems like obvious psychology to include in a match, but rarely is it truly chased down. Omega chased the One Winged Angel all match, hit it, and won.
Get Will Ospreay the mic
-I love Will Ospreay matches like everyone does. That being said, the pre-tape promo he did on the show this week was one of the best things he’s done in the last year. That was a top guy promo and a money piece of business. Ospreay was viciously serious and drew a roadmap for his revenge against Jon Moxley. Well delivered.
-Moxley responding and accepting the Will Ospreay challenge for a match at AEW Dynasty was nearly as good. Certainly compelling. The Ospreay and Moxley match has been well built, but feels stranger than it should because of how ill-defined Moxley and The Death Riders have been. Ospreay may save the entire story. Because he’s so over as a babyface, fans should play along and boo Moxley when they finally fight.
-More promo time and another win for Mike Bailey this week. The match against Mark Davis was solid, but not spectacular. The promo? Gold. Bailey has found the perfect tone as a white meat babyface.
Rising tide lifts all boats
-We need to see more MJF promos like the one we got this week. It wasn’t overly cute or meta and it was concentrated on getting heat. He’s so good at doing that job. Kenny Omega played off of MJF well too. Omega has a quirkiness to him that can sometimes be off-putting. Opposite MJF it was endearing. It’s Omega vs. MJF at AEW Dynasty. Huge match.
-What does everyone think of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage right now? Look, I’m not a nostalgia junkie, but in this case, AEW has more mileage in that tag team if they lean into the silliness that their gimmick revolved around. It’s clear both Copeland and Cage want to stay inside of their current characters while tagging in 2026, but they leave a lot on the table in doing so. Looking back and redoing what worked in 2000 has it’s own problems, but at least you present the tag team in a special way. Copeland and Cage have gotten nice crowd reactions, but I don’t think we’ve truly seen them reunite as of yet.
-FTR nailed their promo. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood didn’t reinvent the wheel or anything, but they got heat. Thumbs up.
Again?
-The Dogs defeated The Conglomeration … again. It’s always good to get The Dogs a win, but this feud is and has been finished. Time to move on.
-Hmmmm … what to make of the Kyle Fletcher promo? He didn’t have an altered look, but the content of the promo ran counter to Don Callis Family business. Fletcher not only disagreed with Callis, but he undercut Kazuchika Okada by befriending Konosuke Takeshita the way he did. If it was anyone but Fletcher, I’d say watch the babyface turn. Because it’s Fletcher and Takeshita, though, this feels like a red herring and Fletcher will betray Takeshita in favor of his group.
-A solid win for Thekla and why not? She’s the champion. Thekla continues to have a special aura out there. She’s an act that’s totally clicking right now.
-A fuck ICE chant? Good for you, Minnesota.
An odd main event
-Darby Allin vs. Rush was an odd main event. Not bad, just odd because neither guy has much relevant history with the other, nor are they feuding together. This didn’t have a big angle either. The lack of one leads to questions on why this was in the slot it was.
What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments!
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