By Will Pruett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@itswilltime)
Now that’s more like it! After the worst AEW Dynamite of the year last week, we bounce back with a delightful little show from St. Paul, Minnesota. Here are exactly ten thoughts:
– AEW has quietly returned to something like the rankings they used for the first few years of the promotion, but they are not published. You can see it in the booking of the Men’s World Championship and who gets a shot at that title over the last couple of months. Bandido, Andrade El Idolo, Brody King, Swerve Strickland, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Kenny Omega have all been in contention for title shots (or have received them) and have had logical matches on their way to those shots. It’s been the best case scenario for both rankings lovers and AEW retaining mystery in how they book. I hope the momentum behind this can continue.
– Kenny Omega vs. Swerve Strickland was a blast of a TV match once again. This series has been really fun. These two have great chemistry and are giving us TV matches that don’t overstay their welcome. Omega is a logical challenger for MJF in Canada. If Kenny Omega is ready to be what he used to be capable of again, this will be a really fun month of AEW TV and main event of Dynasty.
– MJF and Kenny Omega had a better exchange on the mic here than they did leading into their match in MJF’s first title reign. They had more chemistry and seemed properly aligned here. Remember, when MJF took on Omega, he was already in his “oops I turned babyface” era. This was MJF at his height as a heel and Omega coming into his own as a babyface once again. Omega will always be awkward – it’s what makes his character work. I don’t love the “devil vs. god” final sell, but I do see why the wrestlers involved enjoy it.
– I was also confused watching Speedball Mike Bailey shake hands with Kenny Omega for what felt like 20 minutes.
– Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay was not fully announced as having anything to do with the Continental Championship. It would be for the best for that match at Dynasty to not involve that particular title. Why have Ospreay take a loss so early on in his comeback? Why have Moxley lose the Continental title that he has made a highlight of 2026? This match and program are both stronger with that title uninvolved.
– Adam “Cope” Copeland wants that cameras as close to his face as possible. Closer. More. Now he wants to deliver an exceptionally melodramatic promo. This kind of thing works when Christian Cage is by Copeland’s side smirking. FTR vs. Copeland and Cage II feels pretty big and should be pretty fun at Dynasty.
– Someday Kazuchika Okada and Konoske Takeshita will have a match to determine who truly loves Kyle Fletcher the most. Until that match comes (and it would have been best to get to that match in February), we will continue to see these wrestlers say “Proto-kada” and “Proto-shita” in very entertaining ways. I continue to be amused by members of the Don Callis Family disliking their association with MJF and by Okada, Takeshita, and Fletcher (the child they will eventually fight for custody of).
– At long last, Clark Connors and David Finlay finally got to win a match against Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong. It was not enough to make me think The Dogs are anything but dead in the water, but it was something. I fear this win for the heels means this feud will continue somehow and I will have to suffer through the worst feud of 2026 for another month.
– Thekla vs. Mina Shirakawa was entertaining, but one cannot help but feel AEW visibly flailing to figure out this division without “Timeless” Toni Storm. Thekla should not have needed brass knuckles to beat Shirakawa. These kinds of tactics make strong heel champions (which Thekla is supposed to be) seem weaker than they need to.
– Darby Allin and Rush felt out of place in a main event slot. I know AEW often puts their biggest matches up front on their shows, as the audience tends to decline as the night went on, but this match fell short of what I hoped we would see closing this one out. Allin eventually getting a title shot against MJF (maybe the Double or Nothing main event?) will be enjoyable, especially if they play up their history of having really great wrestling matches together. I’d love to see Darby Allin get back to straight up wrestling matches with out the wild stunts for at least a month or two. His horrible feud with Gabe Kidd has made me dislike the wilder side of Allin.
We did it! Another week and another 10 thoughts (confession: I had to delete two thoughts to get down to 10)!
Will Pruett writes about wrestling and popular culture at prowrestling.net. To see his video content subscribe to his YouTube channel. To contact, check him out on Bluesky @itswilltime, leave a comment, or email him at itswilltime@gmail.com.
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