By Will Pruett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@itswilltime)
I’ve been thinking about AEW Dynamite since watching it last night! Let’s all think about it together…
– The best big match performer in wrestling over the last decade has returned to AEW after missing the first half of 2026. Mercedes Moné is back as the Wild Card entrant in the Owen Hart Tournament, and she has ended Alex Windsor’s (Windsor) dream of winning a world title alongside her husband at Wembley Stadium. Mercedes returning is huge, not just for the Women’s Division in AEW, which has struggled with direction, but for the whole promotion. AEW has another bona fide main event star to work with and another story worth emotionally investing in. Mercedes looked good in the ring, and her tournament future (Persephone, then Athena?) looks solid. Will this begin Mercedes’ redemption arc, or will a loss in the finals cement the epic crash-out we know Mercedes is due for?
– Let’s stay thinking about AEW’s women’s division and talk about the Women’s World Champion, Thekla! Her promo on this show was confident and well-delivered. While I am not usually a “promotional war” guy around Forbidden Door (it feels a little too Raw vs. Smackdown to me), Thekla specifically working with a grudge against Stardom and the ability to act out that grudge is completely logical. Giving Thekla an opportunity to talk and a better story to tell than last month is a positive development.
– MJF vs. Rush was a fun opening to this show and a good AEW Men’s World Championship defense. Defending this title on TV seems to be a major goal here in 2026, as MJF and Darby Allin have both done so often. Rush was a fine first challenger with the opportunity to show what he can do in a big match without the real possibility of winning it. MJF’s future after this with Mark Briscoe and various members of the Don Callis Family will be interesting to see.
– Speaking of the Don Callis Family, Kevin Knight has been added to their ranks. While I don’t love that every heel in AEW needs a team, I do think this move won’t hurt Knight. Mr. Jet delivers an okay promo, but can ramble and have trouble truly making his point. Some time with Callis will allow him to develop heel promo skills naturally without being exposed as not ready every other week. He also gets the natural eventual story of leaving the family and those feuds. Knight will be in a better place in 2027 because of this move.
– Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis was a really solid, hard-hitting match right up until the cavalcade of run-ins during the match’s third act. This did not make the match bad, but it definitely made the match different from what it was looking to be for the first 10 minutes. AEW does not do this “everybody to the ring” approach often, so it worked as a fun dynamic here. Ospreay is now a win away from main eventing at Wembley Stadium. It’s time for AEW to tell us this story every moment of every week until All In.
– Mark Davis’ jacket with the AEW National Championship embroidered onto it was beautiful. More champions should have jackets with their titles on them. Embroidery needs to happen more in wrestling. Too many cheap screen-printed T-shirts are on TV when we could be seeing sweet needlework on jackets.
– Mark Briscoe is the only human I want to hear preach. I grew up on televangelists and grifters. Briscoe brings a sincerity to his promos that make this kind of preaching fun to see and hear on a pro wrestling show. This promo was one of the best Briscoe has ever delivered and the best of his singles career. There is a seriousness to his feud with MJF that I really love. MJF vs. Briscoe could easily be on the AEW Forbidden Door card – especially given that the Owen Hart Tournament finals tend to main event the show they happen on. Ospreay vs. Swerve (I assume) and MJF vs. Briscoe would be a hell of a 1-2 punch for Forbidden Door – and that is before any inter-promotional matches are announced.
– Andrade El Idolo looks to be on the slow burn path of leaving the Don Callis Family soon to pursue his own goals of taking selfies and ripping his pants off to reveal tiny shorts. Andrade has been an impressive main event-level player for the first time since he was NXT Champion during this AEW run. I hope he continues to perform at that level as he transitions out of the DCF.
– Kevin Knight vs. Mike Bailey is both a match and a feud that needed more time to cook. This match was not quite the heated, intense brawl of two former tag partners now motivated by hatred. It was also not just two impressive technical wrestlers going at it for the love of the game. It was in the middle, and it did not spark joy for me as a fan of both men. The final moments of this match were also scary and awkward, with whatever happened on the top rope leading (seemingly quickly) to the finish.
– Excalibur closing the show with the amazing David Lynch/Twin Peaks quote “Fix your hearts or die” brought my own heart a lot of joy. Trans rights are human rights. Happy Pride, friends.
And now my thought watch has ended. I’m off to listen to a new Death Cab for Cutie album and feel sad feelings along with my 10 thoughts…
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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