The John Report: AEW Dynamite 01/07/26 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite features Hangman & Swerve teaming up against The Opps, Jon Moxley facing Shelton Benjamin, and more.
It’s the first AEW Dynamite episode of 2026. Next week’s show is the Maximum Carnage episode featuring MJF defending the AEW World Title against Bandido, which should be an excellent match.
I’m going go with the quick review approach to this review. I didn’t get a chance to watch this show until Thursday evening, so it’s a day after it aired and I don’t feel like writing a detailed review. What I’ll do is use the results post from TJRWrestling, written by Faiz Ahmed, and then add my thoughts to it.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #327 from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means. Excalibur was on commentary with Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross. Good to see JR back.
Jon Moxley defeated Shelton Benjamin
Jon Moxley targeted Shelton’s arm, which had been injured during their fight, and managed to use the situation in his favor for a while, but the Standard of Excellence caught him by surprise with a quick superplex from the top rope. The two former WWE guys have been in the ring for 15 minutes now, and if the match ends in a draw, it’ll only work in Benjamin’s favor. The match went down to the wire as Shelton Benjamin caught Mox in a triangle hold with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Moxley prevailed by turning the hold into a pin and got the win with less than 5 seconds remaining, and the two men shook hands afterwards as a massive show of respect.
Analysis: ***1/2 I thought it was a great match that was given 20 minutes, and they pushed the idea that Benjamin could get to a draw, which would lead to a shot at Moxley’s Continental Title, but Moxley found a way to win as you would expect. They are trying to have Moxley evolve as a character who gets the respect of the fans because he gives it his all in matches.
“Jungle” Jack Perry was scheduled for a big trios match against The Demand on tonight’s episode of Dynamite. He was set to team up with JetSpeed to take on Ricochet’s group, but the duo was taken out moments before the show went on-air. The tag team was taken out by Jake Something, who has now aligned himself with the Don Callis Family, and Mark Davis, leaving Jack Perry without partners for his trios match against Ricochet and the GOA.
Analysis: Welcome Jakes Something to AEW as Jake Doyle. Talented guy.
Jack Perry was set to take on The Demand on his own before revealing the Young Bucks as his tag team partners for the night. The duo hadn’t been seen since the middle of December as a slight injury kept them out, but they returned in style tonight.
Analysis: No surprise to see The Young Bucks back in a spot like this since they are babyfaces again.
Jack Perry & The Young Bucks defeated The Demand – Ricochet, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona
It was a close match as Toa Liona turned the tide in his team’s favor as he hit a Samoan Drop with all three members of the opposition on his shoulders. Jack Perry kicked out of a Springboard 450 from Ricochet before the Bucks broke the pin after Ricochet looked to win with the Vertigo. The trio took out GOA with successive superkicks, and Jack Perry pinned Ricochet after hitting him with a Doomsday Device, BTE, and a running knee.
Analysis: ***1/2 It went about 14 minutes. This was one of those typical AEW 6-man tag team matches with fast-paced action and guys illegally going into the ring to do moves. The Young Bucks have so many matches like this and it just feels so repetitive. Having Perry pin Ricochet sets him for a shot at the AEW National Title that Ricochet has, so that’s likely why that was the finish.
The Young Bucks and Jack Perry weren’t able to celebrate their victory for long as the Don Callis Family attacked them following their match. The attack was led by Mark Davis and Jake Something, but they had some help.
JetSpeed, who were taken out by the duo, came out with hockey sticks despite their injuries to turn the tide, but that’s when the lights went out. When they came back on, a masked figure stood in the ring and took out JetSpeed. The masked man revealed himself to be Andrade El Idolo, who had aligned with the group during the sixth anniversary episode of Dynamite last year.
Analysis: Welcome back, Andrade, to AEW again, likely for good this time. The Don Callis Family is way too big with far too many wrestlers in it, but Andrade is so talented and is a nice addition for the group.
The TBS Champion Willow Nightingale invited the former TBS Champion, Mercedes Mone, to her championship celebration, as she expected her to crash it anyway.
Mercedes came to the ring mourning the loss of her title as Willow listed her achievements of 2025, but Mone proceeded to trash the ring as she fell face-first into the cake before being powerbombed by the champion on the cake before celebrating the win around her.
Analysis: This came off as cheesy overacting more than anything. I get that they wanted to make the fans happy by having the heel Mone get humiliated. It just felt like bad comedy, which AEW does far too often. Willow is a very likable babyface, at least.
Bandido defeated Sammy Guevara
The two exchanged some high-flying moves as they both of them tried to take control of the match. Guevara even hurt his nose in the process as he wrestled the match with a bleeding nose. Ultimately, it was the ROH World Champion Bandido, who scored the win as he hit Guevara with a 21-plex Suplex to get the three count, but wasn’t able to celebrate his win.
Analysis: ***1/4 This went about 12 minutes. Bandido getting the win was the obvious result. Bandido is a guy who has become one of my favorites in AEW (I don’t watch ROH), and he’s so fun to watch. Sammy used to be pushed regularly in AEW, and in the last few years, he hasn’t been used that well. Just a fine TV match here with some cool moves from two good athletes.
MJF Confronts Bandido
The AEW World Champion MJF came out to the ring as soon as Bandido got the win tonight, interrupting his celebration. MJF brought a translator with him to deliver a message directly to Bandido, following which, MJF asked the ROH World Champion to hand over the Dynamite Diamond Ring to him.
They got in each other’s faces before MJF kicked Bandido between the legs and took the ring from his finger. He tried to take him out as the translator held Bandido in place, but MJF took out his translator instead. Bandido took advantage of the situation and hit a low-blow of his own on MJF before taking his ring back, and then stood tall after hitting MJF and his translator with the 21-plex.
Analysis: It’s MJF against Bandido next week on Dynamite, so it was a way to build that match. Once again, some of the comedy aspects of this didn’t work that well in my opinion, but they got through it fine and Bandido stood tall. I fully expect MJF to win next week.
“Timeless” Toni Storm defeated Marina Shafir by disqualification
Shafir dominated much of the match and seemed to be heading towards a win. However, Wheeler Yuta broke up a Toni Storm pin attempt by pulling out the referee, which led to the referee calling off the match and declaring Storm as the winner.
Analysis: *3/4 It went about 8 minutes. It was more about continuing the angle instead of putting on an amazing match.
After the match, Shafir took out Storm and her partner, Mina Shirakawa. Along with the rest of the Death Riders, Shafir was going to take out Luther as well, but he was saved as Roderick Strong and Orange Cassidy, who made their way to the ring. Cassidy held Storm and Shirakawa to continue that story.
Analysis: More of the AEW “comedy” that I mentioned earlier. It doesn’t feel like the best way to use Storm, but she is a very silly babyface at this point.
This was written by AEW’s website: Renee Paquette was in the back with PAC and asked when he would give Darby Allin a rematch. PAC said he beat Allin twice, so there’s nothing left to do. Allin showed up and demanded the match, which PAC denied multiple times. PAC went to walk away, so Allin sprayed him with a fire extinguisher and threw him into a garage can before nailing PAC with his skateboard. Allin put PAC’s ankle in the door frame and threatened to break it if he didn’t agree to the match. PAC agreed, so Allin left the scene as the Death Riders arrived to run him off.
Analysis: It’s one of those stories where the heel Pac wins matches, then denies wanting another match and then has to agree to the match. Allin will likely win the final match to end the feud.
Lights Out Match: “Hangman” Adam Page & Swerve Strickland def. The Opps’ Hook & Powerhouse Hobbs
Hangman Page took control of the match again as he sent Hobbs face-first into a steel chair before using a staple gun on Hook and stapling various parts of his body. He then used the same on Hobbs and used the gun between his legs to incapacitate him for a while.
Page and Swerve then introduced a pile of cinder blocks from under the ring. Hobbs overpowered the duo with a steel chair and looked to squash Swerve’s face between the chair and the cinder blocks,, but Prince Nana sacrificed himself to save Strickland. It didn’t keep him out of danger for long as Hobbs slammed Swerve back-first into the cinder blocks, before the Opps Dojo proceeded to ambush and attack Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland.
Nana proved himself useful once again as he threw hot coffee in Hobbs’ face to get his team in control of the match. Swerve and Hangman took out Hobbs with an assisted Deadeye on the cinder blocks and turned their attention to Hook.
They finished the match after Swerve hit a House Call on Hook and Hangman hit a Buckshot Lariat. However, instead of going for the pin, Page wrapped the chain around his neck and hung him from the ring as he tapped out.
Analysis: *** This went 20 minutes. I like everybody in the match, but did it need to go nearly 20 minutes? Absolutely not. It could have been better at 12 minutes if Page & Swerve just ended it because we all knew that Hook and Hobbs had no chance to win here, so why keep it going? It just dragged. This is an example of a problem AEW has where some matches are too long. Even the announcers were telling them to end the match. I also think Hook’s heel turn hasn’t helped him at all, which is similar to Daniel Garcia’s heel turn. Some of these guys turn and then they aren’t pushed in any way.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Adam Page & Swerve Strickland
- Bandido and Jon Moxley
- Jack Perry & The Young Bucks
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.25 out of 10
Last Week: 7.5
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
A typical AEW Dynamite episode with some good matches as usual. It was a night full of babyface wins, which felt repetitive by the end of the night.
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Thanks for reading. Go Los Angeles Rams, Toronto Raptors, and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @johnreport