By Will Pruett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@itswilltime)
Assume a Power Rangers-esque pose and say it with me, “It’s Thinkin’ Time!”
– Chris Jericho and Tommaso Ciampa’s opening promo segment was one of the worst pieces of wrestling TV I have watched in 2026. Not only did you have the old, tired, nostalgia act version of Chris Jericho dressing down a newer wrestler in the company, but you also had that wrestler playing into Jericho’s bad jokes. Ciampa’s aura has been harmed already by this Jericho feud in a way Ricochet’s never was. This is counter-productive booking for the entire promotion. This version of Jericho is a net negative for anyone he interacts with and brings with him a failed idea of how wrestling should be presented. This segment left a really bad taste in my mouth that was hard to overcome for the rest of the show. RIP Psycho Killer.
– I am not in love with the MJF and Mark Briscoe six-on-six cage match for Forbidden Door, but I do understand the circumstances leading up to it. I assumed that Briscoe would be the challenger for MJF at Forbidden Door, but if MJF is not ready to have a one-on-one match because of his knee injury last week, this is a better choice. While the match is sure to be an exciting spectacle (like last year’s match before Will Ospreay left to get his neck repaired), the booking of it depresses me. Forbidden Door should have enough juice without MJF and Briscoe straight up, but it does hurt that card.
– Orange Cassidy vs. Andrade El Idolo looked like more fun on paper to me than it ended up being. The match was not bad, but it felt much longer than what we usually see on AEW TV. I was shocked when I read our AEW report, and it was only 15 minutes. It did give us the eternal and wonderful “Orange Cassidy tears away pants to reveal more pants” spot, and I loved that.
– Andrade currently has one of AEW’s most interesting stories. Are they running the Konosuke Takeshita playbook with him being a babyface within the Don Callis Family? He’s one of four wrestlers in that faction gunning for a title shot from MJF. Will the deal with MJF and the Callis Family going into Forbidden Door be a series of title matches from MJF for the wrestlers who team with him? This would be logical, but delivering five title matches and (we assume) a major match at AEW Redemption will be a lot of work for an already banged-up MJF.
– Jon Moxley vs. Shane Taylor did not get it done for me, and hearing about the inter-Ohio rivalry of it all did not motivate me. Shane Taylor is not a wrestler I want to see a lot on AEW TV. He mostly shows up and loses on Collision episodes that share time with ROH tapings. He is not interesting to me. Lee Moirarty would have been a better choice for this slot.
– AEW continues to be dealt a bad hand when it comes to its women’s division. Losing Sareee in the Owen Hart Tournament is a massive bummer. I would also argue that AEW did not handle replacing Sareee with Maya World the right way. Where was Maya’s promo earlier in the show? It could be a pre-tape if the emotions ran too high to do it live. Let the crowd know Maya’s story and that she is fighting for her late brother before the match even begins. The live crowd did not know and could not invest in Maya the way the commentators were encouraging. It was not great. Maya World and Skye Blue deserve a lot of credit for the match they had on short notice. It was good and well worked and worth the 12 minutes AEW invested in it. Again, the storytelling around it needed some tweaks, but the work the wrestlers did here was good!
– Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenny Omega is an interesting match for Forbidden Door. Both men were at the top of their game about a decade ago, delivering wrestling performances that influenced the entire industry. Both men also have a bit of a quiet reputation now – considered good-to-great but without the standout performances they once delivered. Ideally, at Forbidden Door, they get the chance to have a standout match.
– Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King in this show’s main event (and in the Owen Hart Semifinals) was a great match. These two have fun chemistry together and were able to do more here than they were in their Revolution match in March. Swerve winning his matches with The Vertebreaker definitely sets up a test of Will Ospreay’s neck for (what I assume will be the actual main event of) Forbidden Door. Swerve and Brody delivered together again.
– I hope there is a plan in AEW to give Brody King another big win or big moment as we get to the second half of 2026. Even if that win or moment has to come in 2027, it is necessary. I assume Brody will be in a Casino Gauntlet match at All In. What happens to him after that show? He’s an organically over young star, and AEW has him on the precipice of main events. It will soon be time to go with him.
– Mark Briscoe getting a win over the very protected Pac was not a surprise, but it did help cement Briscoe as a real contender for the AEW Men’s World Championship. I liked this match and really enjoyed both men’s work in singles matches.
Dynamite was not as good this week as it could have been. Hopefully, Collision will be better when I talk about that show on Saturday night!
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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