By Jake Barnett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@jakebarnett)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 354)
Boston, Massachusetts, at MGM Music Hall
Simulcast live July 15, 2026, on TBS and HBO Max
A video recap of the highlights from last week’s Beach Break edition of Dynamite was shown at the top fo the show. Excalibur announced a Kenny Omega title celebration, along with a trios main event of Willy Nightingale, Hyan, Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone and Divine Dominion. Also, Andrade can earn a title shot against Mark Davis if he defeats Jake Doyle later in the show. The opening match will be Cope and Cage vs. The Death Riders members Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia.
Backstage, Will Ospreay worked out with The Death Riders. Jon Moxley walked up and told him that the hard work is mostly done, but now mistakes can cost him everything. He told Ospreay that he earned it, and he can’t hesitate when the opportunities present themselves. Moxley told him that hard decisions will eventually be required, but he has to pull the trigger no matter who the target is.
In the arena, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage made their ring entrances, followed by Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia. Renee Paquette appeared at ringside and recapped a conversation with Adam Copeland where he described the Death Riders as pieces of shit. A picture in picture promo then aired where Copeland and Christian issued a challenge to the Death Riders for jumping them on Collision two weeks ago.
1. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage vs. Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia: Copeland and Yuta started the match. They battled back and forth a bit, and Copeland got the better of it. Cage and Garcia tagged in, and Christian flipped him a double bird. Copeland tagged in and they performed a double hip toss on Garcia. Copeland and Garcia traded chops and slaps to the chest. Yuta and Garcia used a ref distraction to pull Copeland into the ring apron and beat him down on the floor while Cage fumed from the apron…[c]
Garcia continued to control the match with a sleeper on Copeland. After a moment, Copeland fired back with a powerslam and crawled for a tag, but Yuta tagged in first and cut him off. They both ended up on the turnbuckle in the corner, but Copeland fought free and jumped over Yuta to make a hot tag to Christian Cage. He landed some punches in the corner and an inverted DDT for a two count. Cage then tripped a charging Garcia onto Yuta on the ground.
He then made a cover on Yuta after a diving headbut for a near fall. Everybody got back in the ring and brawled. Copeland took Garcia back out to the ramp with a lariat. Yuta delivered a German Suplex to Christian for a close near fall. Garcia and Yuta delivered rapid fire lariats to Cage in the corner and celebrated. Yuta tore at the turnbuckle pad, so Cage decided to kick Garcia in the balls. Cage and Copeland delivered a double team Spear on Yuta and got the win.
Adam Copeland and Christian Cage defeated Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia at 11:58
After the match, The Young Bucks were shown in the crowd and had a stare down with Copeland and Christian. The Dogs then appeared with Claudio Castagnoli and started a beatdown of Copeland and Cage. The Bang Bang Gang made their way out to even the odds. Finlay lined up to take a shot at Cage with a shillelagh, but Jay White managed to steal it from him. Christian and Copeland then argued about White, but cooler heads prevailed. Copeland and Christian left with their Championships.
Footage was shown of Hikaru Shida defeating Harley Cameron, who is apparently out of action indefinitely as a result. Shida will face Queen Aminata for the TBS Championship on Collision. We also saw footage of Mark Davis defeating Speedball Mike Bailey. Jake Doyle will face Andrade El Idolo up next. A vignette aired for Andrade where he called himself a man of destiny.
Backstage, Andrade was interviewed by Renee Paquette. He said his destiny was to become AEW World Champion, and if he has to take every title away from the Don Callis family to get there, he will. Andrade then revealed that he had a ring box with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Renee asked if he got it from Will Ospreay, and Andrade responded with “How you know?”
My Take: A decent opening match, but nothing particularly memorable. I still can’t get terribly invested in The Dogs and Bang Bang Gang chasing the tag titles. Hopefully they can win me over.
The Conglomeration were interviewed backstage. They were talking about the Trios titles when The Demand showed up and said they weren’t there to fight, but wanted to challenge them for the Trios Titles. Blake Christian and Lee Johnson attacked The Conglomeration from behind and Ricochet mocked them for falling into his trap. He said he promised The Demand wouldn’t attack them, but these guys weren’t in The Demand…yet.
In the arena, Jake Doyle made his ring entrance, followed by Andrade.
2. Andrade El Idolo vs. Jake Doyle: Doyle drove Andrade off the ring entrance as he got into the ring and sent him awkwardly to the floor. Doyle continued the assault in the ring and landed a big splash in the corner, along with some punches to the ribs. Andrade fired back with some strikes of his own and a flying hurracarrana from the apron to the floor. He then took time to snap a photo with a woman at ringside. Doyle fired back by tripping Andrade on the ropes, and then they traded heavy strikes heading into the break…[c]
Doyle landed several shoulder tackles as the show returned, but Andrade fired back on the fourth with a kick. Andrade then delivered a flying forearm that took Doyle off his feet. He then fired up the crowd, but got cut off by a body block from Doyle. Andrade avoided a charging Doyle in the corner, and then delivered a moonsault onto him out on the floor. Doyle fired back with a Liger Bomb for a near fall. Andrade then landed the The Amigos suplexes for a two count.
He followed up with a double knee strike in the corner for another near fall. Andrade went to the top rope, but got intercepted in the air by an elbow strike. Doyle then delivered a heavy elbow strike for a close near fall. Andrade fired back with a Dio De Los Meurtos Elbow and The DM for the win.
Andrade defeated Jake Doyle at 12:11
After the match, Mark Davis walked to ringside and threatened Andrade, but he pulled out the Dynamite Diamond Ring and scared him off. A video package then aired that recapped Kenny Omega’s AEW World Championship win last week on Dynamite. Kenny’s Championship Celebration is up next…[c]
My Take: A well worked match, but there’s really no good reason for Andrade to need 12 minutes to put away Jake Doyle in a match where the outcome was never in question.
Tony Schiavone stood in the ring with a big Omega symbol that was covered in photo clippings of Kenny Omega. He brought out Omega, who grabbed the microphone. Before he could speak, The Young Bucks made their way out to the ring. Matt Jackson congratulated Omega on winning the big one and doing it all by himself. He said Omega had proved that he’s still the best professional wrestler on this planet. He then said he didn’t like him wearing that particular belt, so they brought him something. Nick Jackson took the original AEW World Championship out of a bag and Omega held it up for the crowd.
Omega said it was unbelievable that it had been over 1100 days since he held the AEW Championship, and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever hold it again. He said the difference maker was his friends and fans believing him, because without them he would have given up on himself a long time ago. Omega then said there were less than 50 days remaining until Wembley Stadium, and as much as he’d like to say that he’s ready, he still has work to do.
He went on to say that with everyone believing in him, the best version of him that has ever been seen in AEW is going to show up at Wembley. Cue Will Ospreay, who made his way out to the ring. He asked The Young Bucks if he could have some one-on-one time with Omega, and they obliged. Ospreay said he really feared Omega had given up on himself, but last week proved that wasn’t the case. He said he thought it was over last week when he got hit with the belt, but then he kicked out at one.
Ospreay declared The Cleaner is back, and The Best Bout Machine is back. He then said it would be the two of them at Wembley, and he wanted to thank him for being a mentor and hero to him. Ospreay said all he ever wanted to be was a fraction of Kenny Omega, but he’s locked in right now and won’t be satisfied with being second place. He made reference to the two of them being a real life Goku vs. Vegeta, and said that they would be out there every week to show the world that this is where the best wrestle.
Kevin Knight made his way out to the ring, and said he didn’t want to break up the love fest, but he had some words he wanted to have with the champion face to face. Knight said he was owed a world title shot courtesy of MJF, and he was here to collect his debt. He called Omega a Wrestling God, but that’s meaningless to a non-believer, and issued a challenge at Redemption for the AEW World Title.
Omega thought it was funny that Knight would hold him to a promise that MJF made to him. He said he might give him a title shot because he’s a nice guy, and he saw something special when he first laid his eyes on him. He complimented him for having the it factor that’s required to be a star. Omega said that ended when he aligned himself with Don Callis. He said he’s not a hypocrite, and acknowledged that he has fallen victim to Don’s siren song at one time. Omega recalled his time with Callis and said his value of self worth plummeted and no one believed in him anymore.
He told Knight that he didn’t need Callis. Omega said Knight could have made all of his accomplishments without Callis, and he believes through all of his lies and bullshit he’s still a good guy. He said MJF was a lot of things, but a fraud wasn’t one of them, because he defended his championship and did exactly what he said he was going to do. Omega then told Knight that if he was going to give him a title shot, he wanted it to be Kevin “The Jet” Knight and not Kevin “Don Callis’ Bitch” Knight.
Knight replied that he made some good points, but there is no goodness left in his heart, only greatness. He then blindsided Omega with a lariat and ran away before Ospreay could get a hold of him. Darby Allin then attacked Knight on the ramp, and The Callis family appeared to tilt the scales. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli then evened the odds and the fighting was over.
Backstage, Jack Perry issued a challenge for Collision to an up and comer who was in his shoes a few years ago. Aaron Solo and Nick Comorato were already in the ring. Brody King and Bandido then made their ring entrance.
3. Nick Comorato and Aaron Solo vs. Brody King and Bandido “Brodido”: We got an impressive showing of strength in the early going when Bandido gave Comorato a press slam. Bandido and King remained on offense and landed some double team strikes and offense on Solo. King bodyslammed Comorato onto Solo, followed by a Frog Splash from Bandido. He covered and got a double pin on both opponents.
Brodido defeated Nick Comorato and Aaron Solo at 2:23
After the match, Renee Paquette interviewed Kyle Fletcher backstage. He got a few words out when Brodido walked through the interview set and put a wanted poster for Bandido on his chest. Fletcher looked offended, but headed to the ring for the next match. He was followed by Komander.
4. Kyle Fletcher vs. Komander for the AEW International Title: Komander got some early momentum and sent Fletcher to the floor. Fletcher caught Komander on a dive attempt and slammed him to the floor. He then delivered a kick to the face and tossed Komander back in the ring. Fletcher then approached Callis and gave him a big hug. Komander avoided a running kick from Fletcher, who spilled back out to the floor. Komander then performed a rope walk and dove onto Fletcher with a dive…[c]
My Take: The Omega promo was good, but the Kevin Knight title match faces the impossible task of trying to make itself feel like anything more than a roadblock on the way to Ospreay and Omega. I hope they find a way to introduce some personal conflict between Omega and Ospreay through Knight, otherwise this will feel like little more than a diversion. I’m more confident than ever that weeks of Omega and Ospreay bro-ing out is not the path forward.
Both men battled back and forth with some heavy strikes. Fletcher got caught up in the ropes, and Komander took advantage with a flying hurracarrana. He then delivered a second one on the floor that sent Fletcher into the announce desk. Komander didn’t quite get all of a 450 for a near fall. He then followed up with a kick to the chest and climbed to the top rope. He then delivered a Springboard Super Destroyer for a close near fall.
Fletcher was cut on the chest by the announce table earlier and it was becoming more visible as time went on. He delivered a Michinoku Driver onto Komander and followed up with a big Brainbuster and got the win.
Kyle Fletcher defeated Komander at 11:21 to retain the AEW International Championship
After the match, Fletcher attempted to unmask Komander, but was quickly cut off by Konosuke Takeshita. Kazuchika Okada then showed up and delivered a Rainmaker to Takeshita. There was a tense moment between Fletcher and Okada where they both grabbed the International Title. Brodido showed up and took out Fletcher and Okada. Bandido ended the segment holding up the International Title.
Renee Paquette interviewed Kenny Omega backstage, and said he still hasn’t given up hope on Kevin Knight. Darby Allin walked up and said Knight needs to be physically humbled, and that he won’t listen to reason. He said he would challenge him next week for the TNT Championship next week and beat it out of him, while Kenny keeps wasting his time. Jon Moxley then walked up and said Darby was right. Some people are who they are, and can’t pretend to be anything else….even if they try. Moxley flashed a wry smile before walking away…[c]
My Take: Really fun match between Komander and Fletcher. I still think it’s insane that we’re seeing Super Destroyers go for two counts these days, but that’s AEW for you. Jon Moxley’s little tell to Kenny Omega at the end of that backstage promo was the most interesting narrative bit on the show thus far.
Renee Paquette interviewed The Brawling Birds on the stage. They talked about drinking down the street at Whitey’s and having their hearts broken by England losing in the World Cup. Hayter then said that “these two Brits with the tits” will never let you down. Windsor said they would fight anyone to prove they are the best tag team in AEW, and invited Renee to go get pissed at the pub.
We then got a Chris Jericho vignette where he said he wanted a rematch with Ciampa at Redemption, and adopted his Painmaker persona. Ciampa then appeared backstage to accept the challenge, and issued an open challenge for Collision to anyone who wanted to make a name for themselves. In the arena, Darby Allin made his entrance, followed by Brian Cage.
5. Brian Cage vs. Darby Allin: Cage was low bridged out to the floor, but Darby Allin bounced off of him like a pinball with the follow up dive. Cage then tossed Darby repeatedly into the ring barricade, and then picked him up and dumped him onto the ramp. He then used the ropes and performed a deadlift suplex from the ring back out to the ramp. He continued to flex and delivered another slam in the ring…[c]
My Take: I could not care less about Jericho’s Painmaker character. Feels like self parody at this point.
Darby fired back with a dropkick and a coffin drop to the floor. He then delivered a Code Red out of the corner turnbuckle for a close near fall. Cage fired back with a press slam from the stage to the floor, and it looked like his head bounced off the ring post on the way down. Darby managed to get back into the ring at a nine count. Darby used his belt to trip up Cage onto the ring steps, and then delivered a coffin drop into them.
Cage entered the ring on a nine count, but Darby followed up with two more Coffin Drops and got the win.
Darby Allin defeated Brian Cage at 9:57
After the match, Darby celebrated on the stage. Backstage, Fletcher and Okada were shown backstage, and Fletcher was incensed. He claimed he was scared of no one and would defend the title anywhere. Fletcher challenged Bandido for the International Championship at Redemption. Okada looked perpetually disappointed in the background…[c]
My Take: The Women’s Main Event ends up being entirely in the overrun. Darby continues to take astronomically stupid levels of risk in every match regardless of their importance in the grand scheme of things. He’s burning the candle at both ends with a blowtorch.
Kevin Knight was interviewed backstage by Renee Paquette. Don Callis piped up to call Kenny Omega a manipulator and said that Kevin Knight was going places under his leadership. Mike Bayley interrupted and largely repeated a lot of the points that Omega had said earlier about Knight putting on a facade and being a good person at heart. Knight refuted those claims and said he wasn’t going to let himself be defined by other people.
In the arena, Lena Kross and Megan Bayne made their entrance, followed by Mercedes Mone. Hyan and Maya World were out next, along with Willow Nightingale.
6. Willow Nightingale, Hyan, and Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone, Lena Kross, and Megan Bayne: Willow and Mercedes started the match, but Mercedes backed into the corner and tagged Megan Bayne. After a series of tags for both teams, everyone was in the ring squaring off. Bayne and Kross used their power advantage to take down Hyan and World. Willow tagged in and traded strikes with Kross. She landed an enziguri followed by a cannonball in the corner.
Kross rolled to the floor to regroup. World and Hyan then picked up Mercedes and tossed her through the ropes onto Kross and Bayne. All three women then dove onto the heels at ringside…[c]
Maya World and Mercedes were in the ring as the show returned. Mercedes controlled the action until Maya made a desperation tag to Willow. Megan Bayne also tagged in, but Willow landed a spinebuster. Mercedes broke up the pinfall attempt. Lena Kross delivered a big boot to Hyan. Willow took down Willow with a huge lariat. Maya and Mercedes ended up active again, and rolled around on the mat trading pinfall attempts.
Mercedes delivered Three Amigos suplexes, and then attempted a frog splash, but Maya got the knees up. Lena Kross tagged along with Hyan. She landed a flying cross body and a knee strike on Kross. Bayne tagged in and delivered a Falcon Arrow on Hyan, but Willow broke up the pin. Willow landed a pounce on Bayne, but Mercedes sent her out of the ring. Hyan delivered a spear to Mercedes and covered for a close near fall. Mercedes recovered and delivered a Statement Maker and got the win.
Mercedes Mone, Lena Kross, and Megan Bayne defeated Willow Nightingale, Hyan, and Maya World at 14:18
Mercedes, Lena, and Megan celebrated on the stage as the show closed.
My Take: A solid main event that was a bit disorganized and chaotic at times, but got the job done of establishing the threat posed by the partnership between Mone and Divine Dominion. Overall, this show felt a little overstuffed. There were a lot of matches on the show, and most of them got considerable time while the backstage segments and opportunities for character building seemed to be quite rushed at times. Overall, I think this episode landed at roughly average in comparison with recent Dynamites, but if you’re someone who enjoys shows that lean heavily on matches for consuming the bulk of the time then you may enjoy it more.
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