The John Report: AEW Dynamite 02/04/26 Review
This week’s AEW Dynamite features Kenny Omega facing Andrade El Idolo and MJF in action against Brody King, along with other big matches.
There’s a big AEW Grand Slam Australia special on Saturday, February 14th, with some big matches. I don’t normally review Collision, but I think I’ll watch and review that show. For this episode, I’ll go summary style for most of the show and then full play-by-play for one or two matches.
On another note, I loved the AEW Collision match with Tommaso Ciampa beating Mark Briscoe to win the TNT Title in Ciampa’s first AEW match. It was around a 4-star level match. I enjoyed it, and I like how Ciampa has had a big impact already.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #331 from the Pearl Theater at the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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. I miss Bryan Danielson and Taz. Excalibur and Tony are cheerleader announcers who put over everything as if it’s the greatest thing ever. AEW needs a classic heel announcer.
There were quick promos from MJF, Brody King, Kenny Omega, Don Callis talking about the guys in his stable having matches, Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron, and Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford.
The venue is a theatre where there’s a stage and the ring is connected to it by a ramp. It looks small when you think of it that way, and I prefer buildings with a longer aisle, but I’m sure from where the fans were seated, it was a good venue. They still are running in smaller venues, though.
The Death Riders – Jon Moxley, Pac & Daniel Garcia (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Don Callis Family – Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & El Clon
Based on the teams here, you know either Garcia or Clon will lose the match. Moxley is like a babyface at this point, while teammates are not. Garcia and Josh started with Garcia getting the advantage with a shoulder tackle. Pac and Clon showed off their athleticism by going for moves and then landing on their feet. Moxley and Takeshita exchanged shoulder tackles, so then the other guys in the match went into the ring to brawl. The Death Riders made quick tags as they worked over Takeshita for a few minutes. Takeshita broke free by dumping Pac over the top and Takeshita suplexed Garcia onto Moxley. Clon hit an impressive jumping back kick that was barely sold since Pac hit a German Suplex right after it. Josh tripped up Pac and sent him into the barricade. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
It was Josh in control of Pac, who tried to fight back, but Josh hit a rolling senton slam. Josh missed a knee drop, so Moxley got the tag against Takeshita. There’s the “stand and throw forearms” exchange by Mox and Takeshita. Moxley tossed Josh out of the ring and hit a Cutter on Clon, who jumped off the top with nothing. Moxley hit a lariat on Takeshita. Garcia was legal with a Dragon Tamer submission on Takeshita and Moxley hit a Stomp, but it only got a two count because Josh made the save. The four non-legal guys all fought on the floor and took bumps. Takeshita countered Garcia and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Takeshita hit an impressive Wheelbarrow suplex on Garcia. Josh and Clon hit strikes on Garcia and Takeshita hit a knee smash on Garcia for two. Takeshita hit the Raging Fire (Falcon Arrow) for the pinfall win after 14 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Don Callis Family – Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & El Clon
Analysis: ***1/4 They used this to build up the Moxley-Takeshita rivalry, which is good because that will be an awesome match. It also makes sense to have Takeshita get a win to set up his Continental Title match against Moxley. Garcia loses most of the matches he has when his team is in a tag team match, so that’s the usual for him. The match was solid most of the way, but I wouldn’t say it became great or anything special like that.
Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana were interviewed by Renee Paquette. Swerve didn’t speak, but Nana said just because he lost a match to Andrade last week, doesn’t mean Swerve is losing focus. Nana said they aren’t going anywhere.
(Commercial)
A video package aired about Will Ospreay, who has been out of action since last August due to neck surgery. Excalibur said we don’t know when Ospreay will return, but we will see him return.
Analysis: I like Ospreay a lot, and I miss watching him. With that said, I hope he wrestles a smarter style whenever he comes back. Stop taking so many damn bumps on your head and neck. It’s not worth it. You can still have good matches without killing yourself.
Orange Cassidy & Toni Storm v. Jordan Oasis & Brittnie Brooks
The name Jordan Oasis is very 1990s. Just saying. Orange and Toni will face Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir at Grand Slam Australia, where the loser of the fall will have their head shaved.
Orange did comedy spots with Oasis and looked at his bald head. Storm did some hair tossing on Brooks, and Storm hit a German Suplex. Orange and Storm did a dance routine in the ring as they beat up their opponents with no chance. Storm hit a DDT on Brooks. Orange hit a DDT on Oasis. Storm hit a hip attack on Oasis, and Orange hit an Orange Punch on Oasis for the pinfall win. It went about 3 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Orange Cassidy & Toni Storm
Analysis: * A squash match to put over the comedic stylings of Cassidy and Storm.
Orange Cassidy did a promo saying he doesn’t know if this is a good idea because he likes his hair. Storm wondered why she made the match. Storm said she’d look grotesque and disgusting, so they showed disgusting Luther in the ring with his bald head. Storm fired up, saying they will win. Storm said Orange will give Yuta a cute combover, or Storm will make Marina look like Mox.
Analysis: The head-shaving match likely means Yuta loses, or maybe they go with the shock result by having Shafir shave her head. A bald woman would get some attention on social media, I guess.
Darby Allin was shown arriving earlier in the day on a skateboard. Allin was attacked by the War Dogs duo of Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd. They put Allin in the trunk of a car.
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Mark Davis
Mark Davis is in the Don Callis Family and is on his own for now since his tag team partner, Jake Doyle, suffered a torn biceps last week, so he’s probably out for about six months. Davis hit a body slam, but Page came back with a clothesline and a low dropkick. Page sent Davis over the top and hit a cross body block into Davis into the commentary table. Back in the ring, Davis hit a clothesline. While Page was against the barricade, Davis splashed him into the barricade. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Page pulled Davis off the turnbuckle into a Powerbomb for two. Davis blocked a Powerbomb from the apron to the floor by jumping on Page’s chest. Page avoided a charging Davis on the floor, so Davis hit the barricade. Page hit a moonsault off a railing onto Page on the floor. Back in the ring, Page hit a moonsault onto Davis for two. Davis hit a backdrop driver, but Page countered it with a hurricanrana for two. Davis hit a huge lariat that Page sold with a flipping bump. Davis hit a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Page got some offense going with a Deadeye slam for two. Page hit a Tombstone slam on the ramp, followed by Page hitting a Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: “Hangman” Adam Page
Analysis: ***1/4 A hard-hitting match with an obvious result. Davis got a lot of offense in and he looks believable since he hits so hard. The Tombstone on the ramp was a cool spot, even though it was more like a body slam with how it was executed. I also think this is the kind of match where Page should win more decisively because he’s a PPV main eventer and should look stronger in a match like this.
Post match, Page said that next week he heads to Australia for a number one contendership match for a shot at the AEW World Champions. Page said he hopes to see Kenny Omega there. Page said that if he wins that match, then at Revolution, he’ll stomp every future child out of MJF’s tiny little balls, and he’ll take back the AEW World Title that he never should have lost.
Analysis: I barely remember Page’s AEW World Title reign last year. It was way too brief.
A video aired about Kevin Knight showing highlights of him in action and how he has picked up some big wins recently.
(Commercial)
Andrade El Idolo (w/Don Callis & Lance Archer) vs. Kenny Omega
The winner of this match faces “Hangman” Adam at AEW Grand Slam Australia on February 14th. Whoever wins that match will get a shot at the AEW World Title at Revolution in March.
Omega and Andrade exchanged chops to start the match. Omega hit a knee smash to knock Andrade out of the ring, so Omega hit a slingshot dive over the top on Andrade on the floor. Andrade hit a suplex on the floor. Andrade chopped Omega a few times on the floor. They battled by the turnbuckle where Omega hit a superplex off the middle turnbuckle. Omega hit a rolling senton followed by a moonsault off the middle turnbuckle for a two count. Andrade hit a running forearm. Omega countered a move into an inside cradle. Andrade hit two vertical suplexes in the ring and a third suplex on the floor to complete the Three Amigos. Andrade checked out some hot women planted at ringside. Andrade jumped off the turnbuckle with a twisting cross body block onto Omega on the floor. Andrade posed with the ladies at ringside. They went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
Andrade was in control with a body slam. Andrade went for the double jump moonsault off the top, but Omega got his knees. Omega went for a knee smash, Andrade avoided it and Andrade applied the Figure Four Leglock that he has used since he used to be married to a Flair…woo. Omega countered it, and they went into the ropes to break the hold. Omega and Andrade exchanged strikes. Omega hit a Snapdragon Suplex two times in a row. Omega hit a spin kick to Andrade’s back. Omega hit a running knee to Andrade’s back against the turnbuckle. Omega set up Andrade on the top turnbuckle and Andrade countered a move with a Powerbomb off the top. Andrade hit a hammerlock DDT for a two count. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for them. Andrade hit a running double knee attack against the turnbuckle for a two count. They did the “stand and throw strikes” routine that we see in most AEW matches. Omega hit three chops, ran the ropes and Andrade hit a lunging boot to the face. Omega came back with a knee smash. Andrade came back wit ha spinning back elbow to the face. Callis tossed a screwdriver to Andrade while the referee checked on Omega. Callis distracted the referee, Aubrey Edwards, but Swerve Strickland was there to take the screwdriver away. Edwards saw Swerve, so as Omega tried to lift Andrade, there was a low blow uppercut by Andrade. Andrade hit his double arm suplex, the DM, for the pinfall win. It went about 17 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Andrade El Idolo
Analysis: ****1/4 Excellent match. A 4-star plus match (out of 5) to me. It’s one of the best AEW matches of the year so far. I also love the result because it elevates Andrade by beating Swerve last week and Omega this week. That tells the fans that this is the best Andrade has ever been, and he’s capable of beating the top guys in the company. It wasn’t totally clean, but that’s okay for a heel. I thought Omega would win just because he wins most of his matches, but having Andrade win was a nice surprise that I appreciate. I was very impressed with the counter wrestling throughout the match, with some big moves by both guys that worked as believable nearfalls.
The win means that Andrade El Idolo will face “Hangman” Adam Page at Grand Slam Australia on February 14th. The winner of that match gets a shot at the AEW World Title at Revolution.
After the match, Kenny Omega spun Swerve Strickland around and they argued. Swerve and Omega shoved eachother, so security guys went into the ring to stop it.
Analysis: That seems like a tease for an Omega-Swerve match, which sounds great to me and it makes sense to do that at Revolution next month.
A video package aired about Brody King to build him up for his match against MJF in the main event.
(Commercial)
Kris Statlander was interviewed by Renee Paquette, who asked about Kris defending her AEW World Title against Thekla. Kris gets to pick the stipulation for their match. Kris said she’ll tell the world on Collision.
Babes Of Wrath – Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Megabad – Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford
This is not for the AEW Women’s Tag Team Titles held by Babes of Wrath, so it’s an Eliminator Match to earn a shot at the titles. Willow slammed Harley onto Ford for a two count. Willow hit a suplex on Ford for a two count. Bayne and Willow exchanged some moves, Ford went after Willow on the turnbuckle and that led to Bayne hitting hurricanrana on Willow off the top. Bayne hit a suicide dive on Willow. Impressive two moves there.
(Commercial)
Willow hit a Pounce on Bayne and Harley tagged in with a Slingblade on Ford to take over. They did a spot where Harley hit a double DDT on both opponents. It didn’t look amazing, but they sold it anyway. Willow and Harley hit a double superplex on Bayne, then they had to wait for five seconds so Ford could hit a Blockbuster off the top. The four women were down. Willow hit a spinebuster on Bayne for two. Ford hit a Doomsday Device clothesline off the top while Bayne had Harley on her shoulders. Bayne pinned Harley to win.
Winners by pinfall: Megabad – Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford
Analysis: **3/4 The champions lose a non-title match to set up a title match. It’s classic pro wrestling booking. AEW doesn’t do that very often, but it’s certainly an easy way to set up a title match, so I get why they did it. The last two minutes had four people in the ring for way too long and the referee did nothing to attempt to stop it. It felt like an average match that was hurt by all the spots where four women were in the ring for far too long.
At AEW Grand Slam Australia on December 14, Babes of Wrath will defend the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Megabad.
A video aired about Tommaso Ciampa beating Mark Briscoe for the TNT Title on Collision this past Saturday. Awesome match.
Tommaso Ciampa appeared backstage in a promo talking about winning the TNT Title. Ciampa said he will not be hard to find. Ciampa called his title “Silvy” and said she doesn’t plan on going anywhere for a long time.
AEW National Championship: Ricochet vs. “Jungle” Jack Perry
The AEW National Title is a thing I forgot about. It’s the 5th most prestigious men’s singles title in AEW, so it’s not a big deal. Perry jumped off the ramp onto Ricochet on the floor. Perry worked over Ricochet with the 10-punch combo. Ricochet pulled Perry into the middle ropes, which led to some choking. Perry punched Ricochet out of the ring, but Ricochet caught him on the floor and Ricochet slammed Perry onto the commentary table.
(Commercial)
Perry got some offense going with a clothesline to knock Ricochet out of the ring and Perry hit a somersault dive over the top onto Ricochet on the floor. Ricochet hit an impressive sequence of moves with suplexes and a brainbuster on the apron. Ricochet hit a Death Valley Driver on the floor. They went back into the ring, where Ricochet hit a spinning slam off the shoulders for two. Ricochet tried a low blow after trying to outsmart the referee, but Perry blocked it. Perry hit a Poison Rana and a diving DDT. Perry put Ricochet on his shoulder and hit a Cutter for two. Perry applied the Snare Trap submission, but Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun showed up to distract the referee, so Liona put Ricochet’s hand on the ropes. The Young Bucks showed up to fight with the Gates of Agony guys. They fought to the back. Ricochet slammed Perry’s face into the National Title against the turnbuckle. Ricochet hit his Vertigo sitout slam for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Ricochet
Analysis: ***1/4 They worked hard and had a pretty good TV match. I still don’t think the National Title is necessary, but AEW loves having too many titles. It was another match with some interference to give a heel a win, similar to the Andrade win earlier in the show.
They showed Gabe Kidd and Clark Connors in the control room. They told them to play the tape they brought. They dragged Allin on a rope connected to the car, and they were in a desert area. They cut the rope and left, so Allin was alone in the desert. Poor guy.
(Commercial)
Brody King was up first for the main event and he was cheered. MJF was next as the World Champion, getting booed as usual.
AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Brody King
If King wins then he gets a shot at MJF’s AEW World Title at Grand Slam Australia.
The fans chanted, “F**K ICE” loudly to start the match since King has worn a shirt in the past against ICE, and I don’t mean the kind of ice you put in a drink. MJF responded with a stunned look. The announcers said nothing about the chant lol. Of course. “Hangman” Adam Page’s music played after the match, MJF went to the apron like a dumbass, so King choked him on the apron, so MJF bumped to the floor like he was out. King put MJF into the ring and hit a cannonball. King hit a Ganzo Bomb to pin MJF in just over one minute.
Winner by pinfall: Brody King
Analysis: * A surprising result to have King beat MJF so quickly. I like it because it’s different. MJF was distracted by Page being there. You don’t see those kinds of main events
The graphic was shown that at AEW Grand Slam Australia on February 14, MJF will defend the AEW World Title against Brody King.
King held the AEW World Title in the ring while MJF was down. Andrade attacked King from behind. Andrade hit a spinning back elbow to knock King down. Andrade hit his double arm suplex DM on MJF. Page hit a Buckshot Lariat on Andrade. MJF was back up, Page tried a Buckshot Lariat on him, but MJF kicked Page in the groin. King hit MJF with another Ganzo Bomb. King held up the AEW World Title. King posed on the ramp to end the show.
Analysis: That was a terrific ending with a lot of chaos, showing that there are numerous contenders coming after the AEW World Title. I thought it was booked very well.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Andrade El Idolo
- Kenny Omega
- Konosuke Takeshita, Jon Moxley
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 8 out of 10
Last Week: 7.75
2026 Average: 7.30
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
I thought it was a great show that was perhaps the best Dynamite episode of the year. It was very wrestling-heavy without that much talking. The Andrade/Omega match was a PPV-caliber matchup that was definitely the match of the night. I liked how other matches were booked as well, even though none of them were necessarily at that level.
The final match with MJF/Brody King was also booked well. I liked the post-match angle too. They are doing a terrific job of building the AEW World Title situation with so many contenders for MJF’s title. Well done.
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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Raptors, and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @johnreport