The John Report: AEW Dynamite 01/14/26 Review (Maximum Carnage)

This week’s AEW Dynamite features MJF defending the AEW World Title against Bandido.

It AEW Dynamite “Maximum Carnage,” which means absolutely nothing other than a name for the show. I’m dealing with an illness, but writing this review as best I can. I will do play-by-play for the main event and opener, and then summary style for the rest.

This was AEW Dynamite episode #328 from the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 Bryan Danielson.

There was a ramp connected to the ring and it was a good venue for AEW.

Samoa Joe was backstage doing a promo earlier today. Joe issued a warning to “Hangman” Adam Page. Joe said that The Opps had to prepare for a match. Joe said he put out a bounty on Page and the “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith is here to claim his prize. Keith said he’s a different man than when Hangman beat him three years ago. Keith said he’s going to make it personal and tonight he’ll cash in.

Analysis: I don’t remember if Keith has ever won a match on this show, yet we’re supposed to think he’s a threat to Page? Not really.

Darby Allin vs. Pac

Pac made his entrance from the back part of the arena and told the rest of the Death Riders that he could do this himself. Allin hit a suicide dive on Pac at ringside before the bell rang. Excalibur said that Pac was 2-0 against Allin in a singles match. They went fighting up into the crowd with Allin walking Pac up the steps. They exchanged punches and did some eye gouging in the back part of the arena. There wasn’t much lighting where they were fighting. Allin climbed up some barricade about 10 feet high and jumped off with a Coffin Drop onto Pac. The lighting was terrible, but it was effective. Somebody was saying “Go” and they went running down to the ring. Pac avoided a charging Allin, who went into the barricade. Pac hit a German Suplex on the floor. Pac moved the steel steps on the floor. Pac grabbed Allin and gave him a belly-to-belly overhead suplex onto the steel steps! Ouch. That was loud and looked absolutely brutal. Pac put Allin into the ring, the referee, Paul Turner, checked on Allin, and he told him to ring the bell, so Turner called for the bell to start the match.

Pac ran the ropes and hit a lariat, so Allin did a backflip bump and Pac got a two count. Pac held Allin by the arms and gave him a slingshot into the middle ropes. Pac gave Allin a back body drop and a German Suplex bridging pin for two. They went on a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

Allin was on top, and he headbutted Pac to knock him down. Allin hit a missile dropkick. Pac jumped off the ropes and hit a back attack. Allin dropkicked Pac into the turnbuckle. Allin charged at Pac, who hit a belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckle. Ouch. They went to the top rope where Pac launched Allin with a belly-to-belly suplex into the ring. Pac launched Allin over the top with a Razor’s Edge onto the ramp that was connected to the ring. Ouch. Allin got back in the ring before the 10 count and flashed the middle fingers at Pac. Pac was selling a left ankle injury, so he left the ring and Allin hit a Coffin Drop off the top onto a standing Pac on the floor. Allin jumped off the top with a Coffin Drop on Pac while he was on the apron. That led to “Holy Shit” chants. Allin hit two running back splashes, and then Pac pulled referee Paul Turner in front, so Allin splashed Turner by accident. Allin applied the Scorpion Death Lock submission and Pac tapped out, but the referee Turner was still down. Wheeler Yuta went into the ring with a chair, so Allin dropkicked the chair into Yuta and hit a Scorpion Death Drop. Allin hit a Scorpion Death Drop on Pac. Allin put the chair on Pac’s left leg. Allin jumped off the middle turnbuckle with a Coffin Drop onto the chair that was on Pac’s left ankle. Allin applied the Scorpion Death Drop and Pac tapped out. It went about 11 minutes.

Winner by submission: Darby Allin

Analysis: ***1/2 A very good match as usual from two talented guys. Darby Allin is absolutely insane with some of the bumps he does in a match like this, but it’s also why he is so beloved. Since Allin is so fearless, it makes him stand out and it makes the fans love the guy. Pac is terrific as a midcard heel who wins some matches, but also can lose sometimes, too. Some of the bumps that Allin took in this match were absolutely dangerous and I think he needs to cut way back on them, but I also think he’s a guy who won’t listen to reason because he probably thinks he needs to do those bumps.

(Commercial)

Bryan Keith (w/Big Bill) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page

Poor Big Bill is still hanging around with Bryan Keith? The Learning Tree gimmick ended in April when Chris Jericho left and stayed home, yet they are still aligned? Please be more creative, AEW booking team. Anyway, Page was in full control early on in the match. Page sent Keith out of the ring and hit a cross body block on Keith on the floor. Page smashed Keith with an elbow strike to the head. Bill tripped up Page, which the referee didn’t see and Keith hit a headbutt to take control. They went on a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

Keith was in control with a knee strike and an Exploder Suplex. Page hit a fallaway slam and the kip up pop because he grew up watching Shawn Michaels, most likely. Page hit a clothesline for two. Keith gave Page a belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckle for a two count. Bill tried to get involved again, but Swerve Strickland showed up with a chain to choke Bill. Page hit a boot on Keith and a Buckshot Lariat got the pinfall win. It went about 10 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: “Hangman” Adam Page

Analysis: **3/4 This was an okay TV match. I don’t get why they needed 10 minutes, but it’s AEW where matches often go too long, even though they don’t need to go that long. Anyway, Keith had no shot here even though Bill interfered for him a few times. Page winning was the obvious result.

Hangman did a post match promo telling Bryan Keith to try to collect his bounty now, dumbass. Page called out Samoa Joe, saying he’s going to take everything from him. Swerve Strickland said if MJF keeps the championship, what it means is he actually lost, because “we” will be coming after you relentlessly. Swerve and Page stared into the camera together. Swerve mentioned it’s been a while since he had the AEW World Championship, and this year we’ll get back to the top of the mountain.

Kenny Omega joined the promo party by going into the ring with Swerve and Hangman. Omega said he could have had his promo time later, but why not now when three great challengers for the AEW World Title could be in the ring right now? Omega said it feels like all three of them have something to prove. Omega said that when the fans called him the God of Professional Wrestling, it meant something. Omega said if the fans still believe, then he still believes. Omega said that he knows he has to win a couple of matches here first, so whether it be friend or foe, he’s going for that belt.

Page said that it looks like there are three of them who want that championship. Page said, unfortunately, this is not a team effort, so if they cross paths on the way to the championship, may the best man win. They shook hands. Swerve had a staredown with Omega while Page left.

Analysis: They are doing a nice job of building up babyface challengers for MJF as the World Champion, because here we have Swerve, Page, and Omega wanting their shots at the title. One of these guys is probably going to be against MJF at the Revolution PPV in March, but they have a lot of time to go until they get there. I assume we’ll see an Omega-Swerve-Page triple threat match on Dynamite at some point to set up that title match.

Kenny Omega was about to say more, but he was interrupted by Don Callis and members of the extremely large Don Callis Family. Callis said he’s always been a big fan of MJF. Callis spoke from the entrance area while Omega was in the ring. Callis said that Omega wants to win some wrestling matches, so Callis said that Omega should wrestle the man who broke Ibushi’s leg and sent Omega to the hospital – Josh Alexander. Omega responded to “Uncle Don” saying he could barely hear him over all these people booing. Omega said that he knows he has to win matches. Omega claimed he had time tonight. Callis said that Omega does what daddy says, referring to himself, and said that next week on Dynamite, because what he says goes.

After the Don Callis Family left, Omega said that you were all witnesses to phase one of Omega once again becoming the AEW World Champion. Omega ended his promo with his “goodbye and goodnight, bang” line. It’s official for Dynamite next week with Kenny Omega facing Josh Alexander.

Analysis: If there was any logical sense in AEW, then Callis would not have the power to say when a match happens. It should be up to Tony Khan, but instead, the booking that Tony does makes him look like an incompetent boss sometimes. Anyway, Omega picking up wins makes sense to me.

Brody King was interviewed by Renee Paquette backstage. A guy named Jon Cruz walked up to King to talk trash and King said they had a standby match up next.

(Commercial)

Brody King vs. Jon Cruz

I don’t really know much about this Jon Cruz guy. Cruz is the Spanish-language mouthpiece of MJF. Anyway, Cruz ran at King and King knocked him down. Cruz jumped off the top, but King hit him with a forearm. King hit a Gonzo Bomb for the pinfall win in about 40 seconds.

Winner by pinfall: Brody King

Analysis: Squash city.

Brody King said he wants Bandido to beat MJF’s ass from pillar to post. King said after tonight, it would be an honor to step in the ring with Bandido, who will be the new AEW World Champion. King left.

A video package aired to set up the MJF/Bandido match for the AEW World Title.

Tornado Tag Team Match: Mark Davis And Jake Doyle (w/Don Callis) vs. Jetspeed – “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight vs. GOA – Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun (w/Ricochet) vs. The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson

The winners get a shot at the AEW Tag Team Titles. This is Davis and Doyle’s first match and they are already a match away from a title shot? I remember when AEW used to have tag team rankings and records. Those days are long gone.

It’s a Tornado Tag, so anything goes and you don’t need to tag in or out in a match like this. The bigger guys Toa and Davis were no selling the punches of the small guys. Bailey and Nick hit DDTs on Davis and Toa. There were three dives onto the floor in a row followed by Nick doing a somersault dive onto the three piles of guys. That looked so ridiculous and silly. Davis and Doyle used their power to hit double Powerbombs on the Bucks and Jetspeed. Toa hit a moonsault on some guys on the floor, which was a surprise. Ricochet was on commentary and he was impressed. They went to a PIP break.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Doyle smashing Knight with a clothesline and Davis hit a German Suplex on Bailey. The Bucks worked together to clear Davis from the ring and Nick hit a cross body block on Doyle. They did a spot where the Bucks and Jetspeed all hit top rope splashes on their heel opponents. That lead to the Bucks and Jetspeed doing moves on eachother, so that everybody could lay down and the fans can chant “AEW” for them. GOA hit their double team slam for a two count because Knight broke up the pin attempt. Toa put both Bucks on his shoulders, then Bailey jumped off the top with a double knee smash on that. Knight hit a UFO Splash on Toa off the top for a two count because Kaun made the save. The Bucks hit superkicks on five guys in a row. The Bucks hit the BTE Trigger on Knight, so Ricochet pulled the referee out of the ring during the count. Jack Perry dove onto Ricochet at ringside. The Bucks dove onto GOA on the floor. Perry fought with Ricochet into the crowd. Davis and Doyle battled Jetspeed in the ring as Doyle gave Bailey a Powerbomb over the top onto four guys on the floor. Davis hit a piledriver on Knight for the pinfall win after 15 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Mark Davis And Jake Doyle

Analysis: ***1/2 A chaotic tag team match that we see often in AEW. It’s hard to keep track of everything. A lot of this match featured guys standing on the floor doing nothing for minutes at a time, while others in the ring were fighting. I like Davis and Doyle as a team because they look the part of two similar guys who look tough. It was a surprising result since they are new as a team. With that said, I doubt FTR is losing their titles to Davis and Doyle any time soon. I find the Young Bucks way more tolerable as heels. They are so boring as babyfaces to me. Even though you could use weapons in a match like that, nobody really used them, so it was a Tornado Tag without much violence.

The AEW Tag Team Champions FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler – showed up with Stokely in a wheelchair. FTR and D&D got into a fight as security and referees went into the ring to stop it.

Analysis: It’s a way to tease that FTR against D&D will be a physical match when it happens.

(Commercial)

Sky Flight was backstage. It’s Scorpio Sky, Top Flight, Zeda Steel and Christopher Daniels in a suit as their manager. They did a bunch of phrases that are supposed to sound intimidating. I am not up to speed on any of their storylines since I don’t watch Collision, which is a show that exists with a small audience.

Triangle of Madness – Thekla, Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander and Babes of Wrath – Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron

Kris is the AEW Women’s World Champion. Willow & Harley are the AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions and Willow is also the TBS Champion. They took turns having different women tag in to do some spots, as you would expect. Willow worked over Blue with power moves. The babyfaces made quick tags and hit running strikes, including Kris hitting a knee attack. Blue tripped up Harley into the ropes and Thekla got a cheap shot. Blue hit a neckbreaker as the show went to a PIP break.

(Commercial)

The heel side was in control of Harley, who managed to break free, but Willow and Kris were attacked on the apron. Harley hit a weak-looking hair-pull takedown on Thekla. Kris got the hot tag against Thekla and then Kris beat up Hart and Blue after they went into the ring. Kris hit a running knee and a sitout slam for two. There was about a minute of illegal offense in the match from both teams. Willow hit a splash with Harley and it got a two count because the pin was broken up. Kris hit a double clothesline on Hart and Blue. Willow decked Thekla with a lariat. Kris made a tag, she pushed Willow out of the ring and Thekla hit a Spear on Kris. Thekla hit the Curb Stomp on Kris for the pinfall win after about 12 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Triangle of Madness – Thekla, Julia Hart & Skye Blue

Analysis: *** A solid tag team match to give Thekla a big win. When you have three champions teaming up in a match, the obvious booking is to have one of those champions get pinned to set up a title match, and that’s what we got here. The story was that Kris saved Willow from an attack, so then Thekla hit the Spear on Kris and then Thekla followed up with a Curb Stomp to win.

The Jetspeed duo of Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight were interviewed by Renee Paquette, but Swerve Strickland interrupted. Swerve said he’s a fan of them. Swerve talked to Bailey about their history together and told Knight he’s the future of this business. Swerve walked in. Hangman walked in to tell Bailey and Knight they are teaming up on Collision against The Opps because Hangman is taking everything from Samoa Joe, including the AEW Trios Titles.

Analysis: It’s AEW, where anybody can make matches at any time…I guess.

(Commercial)

A graphic was shown saying “The Rascalz” are coming to AEW. They are four talented wrestlers who will boost the tag team division.

It’s official for AEW Collision: The Opps defend the AEW Trios Championships vs. “Hangman” Adam Page, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey. It was taped after Dynamite.

Analysis: Powerhouse Hobbs’ AEW contract ended on Wednesday night, so he’s free to go and is headed to WWE. I’m happy for him because he was never pushed as a main event guy in AEW, so it will be interesting to see if he can reach that level in WWE.

The main event was next as the ROH World Champion Bandido made his entrance. It wasn’t a loud reaction, but the fans like him. The AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman was booed as usual as he made his entrance with the Triple B around his waist. Ring announcer Justin Roberts did the championship introductions.

AEW World Championship: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Bandido

There was a rollup by Bandido to start the match. Bandido got some more nearfalls after tripping up MJF a few times. Bandido did a sweep kick for two. Bandido did a press slam. MJF bailed to the floor, so Bandido hit a suicide dive into the barricade. MJF was on the apron, he grabbed Bandido’s left arm and pulled it against the top rope. MJF hit a sitout Powerbomb variation for a two count. Bandido tried to get some offense going off the top, but MJF tripped him up and slammed him down. Bandido avoided MJF going for a move and got a rollup for two. MJF kicked Bandido’s arm, followed by a shoulderbreaker. MJF flipped Bandido into the turnbuckle for a two count. They went to a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

MJF was in control with two vertical suplexes, but Bandido stopped a third attempt. After some strikes, Bandido hit a delayed vertical suplex. Bandido hit an impressive DDT, along with a press slam where he mostly used his right arm. MJF hit a double stomp on Bandido’s left arm, but Bandido countered it into a pin attempt for two. While MJF was on the floor, Bandido jumped over the top and hit a somersault dive onto MJF. After MJF went over the barricade, Bandido jumped off the top and hit a cross body block on MJF on the floor. That was an awesome leap. Back in the ring, MJF hit two knees to the left arm. Bandido jumped to the top and hit a twisting cross body block on MJF. Bandido hit a Reverse Rana, plus a Code Red for a two count. Bandido went for the 21 Plex, but MJF held onto the ropes. MJF hit a boot to the jaw. Bandido blocked a Heatseeker attempt, so MJF launched Bandido into a Cutter for two. Bandido was on the apron as he connected with a jumping kick. Bandido went up top and hit a Shooting Star Press for a two count. MJF avoided a suplex, MJF flipped Bandido over and hit a small package for two. Bandido and MJF took turns doing moves and getting two counts, and also some one counts. Bandido hit a pump kick to the jaw. Bandido hit a rising knee to the head. Bandido hit the 21 Plex, but he couldn’t complete the bridge, so Bandido did a delayed cover for a two count. MJF applied an armbar on the left arm. MJF let go of the armbar and MJF applied the LeBell Lock that Danielson used because Danielson called it. Bandido tried to fight it, but he passed out so MJF got the submission win. It went 19 minutes.

Winner by submission: Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF)

Analysis: ****1/4 It was an excellent main event between two of the best wrestlers in AEW. I always say MJF is my favorite wrestler in AEW and Bandido is right near the top. I like how MJF worked on the left arm throughout the match, and it played into the finish. Bandido showed a lot of heart in fighting back and the crowd believed in him possibly winning, so it’s fair to say to say the story of the match worked. I think Bandido is a guy who could be a main eventer in AEW even though he doesn’t do a lot of promos. The guy is so fun to watch in the ring and so easy to like as a babyface. A rematch down the road would be great to see because these guys are so talented.

MJF sat up against the turnbuckle and did a promo. MJF said when they said Bandido would be Athe EW World Champion, Max laughed, but after wrestling him, it’s apparent that they are right. MJF said that it pains him to admit this, but he thinks Bandido will be a World Champion one day in AEW. That led to MJF attacking Bandido with the AEW World Title. The fans booed. MJF punched Bandido a few times. MJF teased unmasking Bandido, so that was the cue for Brody King to run out there to make the save. MJF ran to the back. Brody King picked up his buddy Bandido and they posed in the ring together to end the show.

Analysis: I’m not sure if Brody King will become an AEW World Title contender, but I would support that move because he’s a guy that I want AEW to push.

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Three Stars of the Show

1. MJF
2. Bandido
3. Darby Allin

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The Scoreboard

This Week: 7.5 out of 10

Last Week: 7.25

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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite

A good wrestling show, thanks to the quality of the matches. I enjoyed the MJF/Bandido match a lot and Allin/Pac was a lot of fun too. The non-wrestling segments weren’t that interesting to me, but AEW is always going to be about the matches more than the promos and non-wrestling segments.

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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