The John Report: AEW Dynamite 03/11/26 Review
This is AEW Dynamite, featuring The Young Bucks & Mark Briscoe facing FTR & Ciampa, plus MJF-Hangman, and more.
The AEW Revolution PPV is taking place this Sunday, March 15th, which is their first PPV of the year. It’s a strong card. I plan on it reviewing it live on TJRWrestling. During NFL season they do Saturday PPVs, but I’m glad it’s on Sunday this time of year.
For this review, I’ll go summary style for most of the show and then play-by-play for one or two matches.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #336 from the San Jose Civic Center in San Jose, California. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport. Let’s get to it.
It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means. Ian Riccaboni was on commentary replacing Excalibur with Tony Schiavone and Bryan Danielson. This arena looks a bit bigger better than some of the small places that AEW runs.
Death Riders – Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Don Callis Family – Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
Moxley is AEW Continental Champion and Claudio is CMLLL World Champion. Konosuke Takeshita is the NJPW TV Champion. Moxley is against Takeshita at Revolution. I don’t think Hechicero has ever won a match that I’ve reviewed on Dynamite, so you know what the result will be here.
There were some quick tags early on, and the fans were going crazy when Moxley locked up with Takeshita. After Claudio tagged back in, Takeshita hit a leg lariat to knock Claudio down. Bryan mentioned Takeshita had a black guy from a Claudio clothesline in the past. Hechicero did a headscissors takedown on Claudio. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
Hechicero used his legs to send Claudio over the top to the floor. It was back to Moxley and Takeshita again as Takeshita hit the Blue Thunder Bomb. Moxley and Takeshita took turns hitting forearms and kicks, until Claudio went into the ring with an uppercut. Moxley clotheslined Takeshita for a two count. Takeshita countered a Moxley move and hit a knee smash to Moxley’s face for a two count. Hechicero tagged in a did a neck twist on Claudio. Claudio got the advantage again after twisting Hechicero’s knee and hitting an uppercut on the floor. Hechicero stopped selling the knee quickly so he could use his legs to roll up Claudio for two. Moxley and Takeshita went into the ring to break up pins and exchange strikes. Claudio did the Giant Swing for a few spins that earned a two count. Hechicero slammed Claudio down and hit a leg drop for two. They did a spot with the referee where Claudio did an eye poke (while the referee didn’t see it), uppercut and inside cradle for the pinfall win. It went 14 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Death Riders – Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli
Analysis: ***1/4 A good tag team match with the Death Riders beating Hechicero as expected. AEW isn’t going to have Takeshita lose in a match like this when he’s against Moxley at Revolution, so of course, Hechicero lost the match. There wasn’t that much Moxley-Takeshita interaction in the match because they are saving it for Revolution. The finish was weak with the eye poke and the cradle, but it’s a way to show that Claudio is a crafty veteran.
After the match, Don Callis Family members Mark Davis and Lance Archer attacked Claudio from behind. Davis and Archer beat up Moxley. Archer knocked down Shafir with a shoulder tackle. Shouldn’t Roderick Strong be mad that a dude hit his wife? Sorry for using logic. Takeshita was handed a chair to use against Moxley, but Takeshita didn’t want to do it. Takeshita told the Don Callis Family guys not to do more to Moxley. Takeshita did the belt motion to Moxley and left.
Analysis: Konosuke Takeshita is a guy who could be a massive babyface in the future. Takeshita didn’t want to do a cheap attack on Moxley ahead of his match against Moxley at Revolution. I think they’ll turn Takeshita babyface in the coming months.
Willow Nightingale and Persephone were interviewed by Renee Paquette ahead of their match later in the show. They bonded over taking titles from Mercedes Mone. Willow said she can take Persephone’s best shots. Willow said let’s have a good one and they touched fists.
(Commercial)
The TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher was backstage with Don Callis, who hyped up Kyle. The AEW World Champion MJF wanted Kyle to beat the shit out of Mike Bailey because Bailey kicked MJF last week. Kyle said he’ll beat up Bailey for himself, not for MJF. MJF told Callis to teach his guys how to speak to the World Champion. Kyle wanted Callis to assure him they aren’t working with MJF and Callis said no to that.
TNT Championship: Kyle Fletcher (w/Don Callis) vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Kyle Fletcher is an AEW Trios Champion in addition to being the TNT Champion. Don Callis joined commentary. I’ll go play-by-play for this title match. They did a gymnastics routine of avoiding moves for a few spots and then Bailey applied an armbar, so Kyle went to the floor. Bailey went for an armbar on the floor as well until Kyle kicked Bailey to free himself. Back in the ring, the bigger man Kyle hit a body slam. Kyle hit a backbreaker, along with a belly-to-back suplex. Bailey ran the ropes and hit a hurricanrana to take Kyle down. Bailey worked over Kyle with kicks and a standing SSP for a two count. Kyle hooked the arms leading to a Tiger Suplex. Bailey and Kyle each connected with kicks, leading to Bailey hitting a spin kick that knocked Kyle down. They went to the apron and Bailey hit a Reverse Rana on the apron as they bumped to the floor. Great spot leading into a PIP break.
(Commercial)
They were back in the ring as Bailey countered a move into a backslide pin for two. Bailey hit a slingshot dive over the top onto Kyle on the floor. Bailey jumped off the turnbuckle with a moonsault onto Kyle as it was announced they were 10 minutes into this match. After Kyle was on the floor again, Bailey jumped off the top with a corkscrew plancha onto Kyle on the floor. Kyle countered a Bailey move and launched Bailey face first into the top turnbuckle like a lawn dart toss. Kyle hit a running kick on Bailey, but Bailey countered with a Sleeper hold to try to wear down Kyle. Bailey went for an armbar, but Kyle countered out of that. Bailey hit a backflip into a knee drop on the left arm. Bailey kicked Kyle in the head for a two count. Kyle got back up and hit a sitout Powerbomb on Bailey. The fans chanted “Fight Forever” for them. They left the ring, Bailey fought out of a move attempted by Kyle and Bailey hit a backflip knee drop on Kyle. They went to the apron when it was announced that 5 minutes were remaining in the 20-minute time limit. Kyle was in the ring and hit a jumping kick. Bailey managed to break free of a move and Bailey kicked Kyle a few times in the ribs. Bailey jumped off the top turnbuckle with a Reverse Rana. That was amazing. Bailey hit a spin kick to the head for a two count. Bailey continued with another flipping knee drop on the left arm. Bailey superkicked Kyle. Kyle caught Bailey and hit a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Kyle hit a lariat that led to Bailey doing a flip bump. Bailey countered a move into a pin attempt for two. Bailey hit a spin kick on Kyle against the turnbuckle. Bailey tried a flipping knee attack off the turnbuckle, but Kyle moved and Kyle got a cradle pin for two. Bailey got a sunset flip while holding onto the arms for two. Bailey hit another spin kick to the head. Kazuchika Okada appeared on the apron so the referee was distracted by that. That led to Kyle doing an eye gouge while the referee didn’t see it. Mark Davis handed Kyle a Trios Title and Kyle hit Bailey with it. The belt shot looked bad because of the angle they shot it from where you can see it was really just Kyle hitting Bailey’s hands, but Bailey had to sell it. If you shoot it from a different angle, it will look better. That’s something they need to work on earlier in the day. Callis: “What happened?” Kyle hit a Brainbuster for the pinfall win after 18 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Kyle Fletcher
Analysis: **** It was an awesome match that I think was 4 stars (out of 5), and with a better finish, I may have gone higher. It’s certainly a PPV quality match. There wasn’t a point where I thought Bailey might win, but Bailey is very entertaining to watch and I enjoy all of his matches whether he’s in singles or a tag. I’d like to see these guys sell bigger moves for longer instead of getting up so quickly and going on to the next thing. It’s AEW, so these guys are all about doing spot after spot and so on. Also, Kyle doing the eye gouge behind the referee’s back is similar to Claudio doing that earlier in the show, so it felt repetitive. The belt shot didn’t look good either. For the sake of the story, it makes Bailey look like a tough guy to beat since Kyle needed a distraction and a weapon to beat him.
After the match, they showed Okada applauding on the floor and there’s the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer in the front row. I’m sure Dave got free tickets for all the AEW PR work he has done over the years.
(Commercial)
Brody King vs. Some Guy With No Chance
This was called a Standy Match, which is another way of saying King is going to squash a dude. I don’t think they said the name of King’s opponent. King hit a clothesline and a Gonzo Bomb for the pinfall win after about 10 seconds.
Winner by pinfall: Brody King
Analysis: Match of the year. King is against Swerve Strickland at Revolution, so it’s a way to make King look dominant.
As King was walking around the ring after, Swerve Strickland was at ringside with a hood on and he choked King with a chain. Swerve tried to choke King with a chain, but King broke the chain. King hit a belly to back suplex on Swerve. King hit a cannonball attack on Swerve on the floor. King used the chain to choke Swerve. Prince Nana tried to help Swerve, so King shoved him down and Swerve pulled on King’s arm to break free.
Analysis: That will be one of my favorite matches at Revolution with King facing Swerve. I’m looking forward to that. This segment worked in terms of getting us ready for the match.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey was interviewed by Renee Paquette. Bailey mentioned Kyle Fletcher cheated to win. Bailey said he has to look forward and not black. Bailey said at Revolution when he teams with Kevin Knight and Mistico, the Don Callis Family will get what they deserve.
Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. The Dogs – David Finlay & Gabe Kidd
I think “The Dogs” is one of the least creative stable names I have ever heard. Just saying. This is Finlay’s first AEW match after debuting last week on Dynamite. It was a chaotic start to the match with the referee losing control quickly because it’s AEW. Anyway, Finlay and Kidd were both in the ring beating up Orange and the show went to a PIP break early on.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Orange doing some of his stupid comedy spots that seem less effective when it’s supposed to be a serious rivalry. Orange hit a DDT on Finlay and Kidd went into the ring illegally to stop a tag. Allin got the hot tag and was hitting splashes on both opponents because they were both in the ring for too long…because AEW. Kidd and Finlay were both in the ring for about two minutes as they tried to fight Allin and Kidd hit a clothesline to knock Allin down. Orange hit a Stundog Millionaire and Allin hit a Code Red. Orange and Allin each hit suicide dives on their opponents. Allin hit a missile dropkick off the top on Kidd on the floor. Clark Connors hit Orange with a tire iron to the back of the head. The ref never saw it since it was on the floor. Allin and Kidd exchanged moves, Finlay was in illegally with a backbreaker and a Dominator. Kidd hit a piledriver on Allin to win. It went about 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: The Dogs – David Finlay & Gabe Kidd
Analysis: *** A solid TV match to put over the heels in what was Finlay’s AEW debut match. With that said, I wouldn’t have had The Dogs beat Cassidy and Allin in this match. I would have used another team in that spot and have The Dogs win. The match would be better if tag teams in AEW actually tried to tell a story in a tag team match instead of just doing spots with both guys on a team in the ring for too long. Finlay and Kidd are good at abusing the rules, at least while Connors is taking out Orange, helping Clark’s buddies get the win.
The Dogs trio of Finlay, Kidd, and Connors beat up Orange after the match as Connors hit a Spear. Roderick Strong walked out to the ring and they teased that Strong would work with The Dogs, but Strong attacked The Dogs instead. The fans popped for that. Strong cleared the ring as fans chanted “Roddy” for him. Strong picked up Orange to show they are together again as Strong gave Orange a high five. Tony overreacted to it as if it was some big moment. It’s not big of a deal.
Analysis: The angle worked in terms of getting Strong back into the mix. That sets up Strong to team up with Orange and Allin against The Dogs at Revolution.
(Commercial)
TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale vs. Persephone
Persephone is the CMLL Women’s World Champion. Each woman won their title from Mercedes Mone. There was an impressive headscissors by Willow early on. Willow worked over Persephone with clotheslines and then Persephone got a cradle pin attempt for two. Willow hit a cross body block, but Persephone rolled through and hit a fallaway slam. Good spot to show off Persephone’s power.
(Commercial)
Willow blocked a suicide dive attempt with a punch. They were fighting on the ring and Willow hit a spinebuster on the floor. The referee, Aubrey Edwards, wasn’t counting because…it’s AEW. Willow hit a cannonball off the apron onto Persephone on the floor. Back in the ring, Willow hit a cannonball for two because Persephone was right by the ropes. Willow went for a moonsault that wasn’t really close, so Persephone hit a German Suplex and Willow hit a German Suplex of her own. Persephone hit a Lionsault off the middle rope for a two count. Persephone hit a dropkick into the turnbuckle. Persephone showed off her power, going for a Crucifix Bomb, but Willow slid out and did a backslide pin for the win. It went about 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Willow Nightingale
Analysis: ***1/4 It was a competitive match to give Willow a credible win as a champion against an opponent who is a star on the rise. Willow winning with a rollup instead of a finishing move was a way to show that Persephone was tough to beat. They sold moves better than some other matches on this show, so kudos to them. It would be nice if Willow actually had a storyline as the TBS Champion, but it’s mostly just match after match for her.
A video aired about Tommaso Ciampa turning heel on Mark Briscoe on Collision last week. Ciampa said that he was suppressing that and now he feels free. It sets up their tag team match up next.
(Commercial)
The Babes of Wrath duo – Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron – were backstage with the AEW Women’s Tag Team Titles. Willow suggested they defend the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Megan Bayne and Lena Kross at Revolution. Willow said she’ll also face Kross at the Revolution Zero Hour show. So wrestlers can just book their own matches? Guess so.
Mark Briscoe and The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson vs. Tommaso Ciampa and FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler (w/Stokely)
The three faces attacked the heels on the floor before the bell rang. The director was missing all kinds of action around the ring as the six guys fought on the floor. Matt sent Cash into the barricade and Nick sent Dax into the ring post. Dax sent Nick into the steel steps. Matt sent Cash into the steel steps too. Dax went after Mark on the top rope, and the bell rang to start the match. Nick hit a 450 Splash on Dax for a two count. Ciampa tagged in as the heels worked over Matt for a few minutes. Nick went illegally to stop a double team move and hit a jumping dropkick. Nick and Matt hit a tandem German Suplex on Nick. Matt hit a double team Sliced Bread and Ciampa was back in for a double team knee. The Bucks hit double superkicks on both FTR guys. Ciampa ate three kicks at the same time but I don’t think Mark’s kick touched him. Matt catapulted Dax into Cash. Mark hit a bulldog off the top. Ciampa and Mark exchanged strikes. Ciampa ran the ropes and hit a clothesline. The wrestlers were all down around the ring.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Mark hitting a Blockbuster on Ciampa on the floor. Nick got the tag as if tags matter. Nick did his flurry of offense with an X-Factor and moonsault. Matt cleared house and Nick dove over the top onto FTR on the floor. Mark clotheslined Ciampa out of the ring. Mark jumped off a with a somersault attack onto the three heels on the floor. Nick was back up on the top rope and hit a cross body block for two. Mark and Matt hit a Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combo on Mark for a two count. Dax chopped and clotheslined Matt while the other heels took control of the other faces. Cash accidentally superkicked Ciampa after Matt moved. Mark did a flipping slam on Ciampa off the top. The Bucks hit a double superkick. Nick hit a Senton Bomb on Ciampa and Matt hit a top rope elbow on Ciampa. Mark went up top and hit a Froggy Bow on Ciampa for two because Dax made the save. Cash shoved Nick off the top and through a table that was on the floor. FTR hit the Shatter Machine on Mark for a two count because Matt tackled Dax into the pin to make the save. Matt fought off FTR on the floor, until Dax hit Matt with a monitor and Dax hit a spike piledriver on Matt through the table. Ciampa hit a knee for two. Cash punched Mark in the back and Ciampa hit Air Raid Crash and a running knee for the pinfall win after about 13 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Tommaso Ciampa and FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
Analysis: ***1/2 I remember early in FTR’s AEW run when they were heels, and they would make a point to follow the rules, and it would make their matches feel different from every other team that just ignores rules and runs into the ring illegally to do double team spots. I wish it was still a thing because FTR has gone back on that big time and just do random shit like the other teams. Ciampa winning the match was the right move since it gives him some momentum as a heel.
After the match, Ciampa beat up Mark with punches. Ciampa hit Mark in the back with a chair. Ciampa choked Mark with a chair to the throat. Ciampa had two chairs set up in the ring. Ciampa gave Mark an Air Raid Crash through the two chairs in the ring. Nobody tried to help Mark during any of this.
Analysis: Tommaso Ciampa is a great heel and I’m glad he’s in that role.
A video package aired showing the history between AEW World Champion MJF and “Hangman” Adam Page going into their Texas Death Match at Revolution. If Page doesn’t win then he will be unable to challenge for the AEW World Title again.
Press Conference: MJF And “Hangman” Adam Page
They showed AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman and “Hangman” Adam Page sitting at a long table while members of the press (I guess) were sitting on the floor. Bryan Danielson was in the middle to moderate this. I’m not recapping the questions.
Page said that this has been about the AEW World Championship since they both joined the company. MJF bragged about how he’s a winner and he’ll leave with his World Title. Page claimed that MJF will be leaving in an ambulance. MJF said he’s not concerned about their last two matches that Page won. MJF also trashed a media guy, calling him a “tub of goo.” Page said he’s teaching Texas Death to MJF one drop of blood every time. Page talked about putting his future on the line just so this match could be Texas Death. Page said they get to finish the rivalry and it’ll be a replay of last year, but it will be a lot more bloody. Page was asked who he would be in AEW if he doesn’t win the AEW World Championship. Page had a problem answering that and claimed he would not lose. MJF cut off Page and wanted them to have a beer. Page slapped the beer out of MJF’s hand and they got into a brawl.
The press conference turned into a brawl as they fought into the arena, so the fans were cheering. MJF and Page exchanged punches and went to ringside. Security went into the ring to try to stop them (even though they barely stop any other fights on this show) and that was just done so that MJF could punch the security guys. MJF put his Dynamite Diamond Ring on, Page avoided it and Page hit the Deadeye move. Page pulled barbed wire board out and put it on the floor. Page teased a move onto the barbed wire board, but MJF escaped and ran through the crowd. They did some long distance trash talking. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: This was okay, but not great. The good thing is they have had other segments that were better in the lead up to this, so it’s okay that it wasn’t a home run segment. Doing a “press conference” is different than doing a Face to Face or a contract signing, which isn’t necessary. I think doing a Face to Face in the ring is better than this, but I understand wanting to try something different. In the end, it was a brawl between two guys in the AEW World Title match at Revolution, so it’s the same result that most of us would expect in this kind of scenario. The brawling that they did was a nice tease for what’s to come at Revolution in the Texas Death Match. MJF running away is a smart way to end it because it shows that Page has the advantage going into their match at Revolution, but will Page win? Tune in to find out. I actually might pick MJF, but I’m not sure yet.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Kyle Fletcher
- Mike Bailey
- Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.75 out of 10
Last Week: 7.5
2026 Average: 7.58
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
A good Dynamite full of entertaining matches. That’s the strength of AEW, as we know. They didn’t have much talking aside from the main event talking segment, which was two hours after all the matches. The Fletcher/Bailey match was definitely the best of the night, and I’d love to see it again.
I really think the commentary team needs to improve. A heel announcer is needed to change things up. The babyface commentary cheerleading everything annoys me so much. They react to three star level matches as if they are classics and every midcard angle is some big ordeal. It’s just silly sometimes.
There are so many matches at AEW Revolution and you can see them below. I just think the card is too long.
The next AEW PPV is AEW Revolution on March 15th in Los Angeles. Here’s the lineup so far.
* AEW World Championship Texas Death Match: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. “Hangman” Adam Page – If Page loses, he cannot wrestle for the World Title again.
* AEW World Tag Team Championships: FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs. The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson
* AEW Continental Championship No Time Limit Match: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Thekla vs. Kris Statlander
* AEW World Trios Championships: Don Callis Family – Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis vs. Místico and JetSpeed – Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight
* AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships: The Babes of Wrath – Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Megan Bayne & Lena Kross
* Andrade El Idolo vs. Bandido
* Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King
* Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, and Roderick Strong vs. The Dogs – David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors
* Everyone Banned From Ringside: Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir
ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW MATCHES:
* TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross
* AEW National Championship Blackjack Battle Royale: Ricochet, Tommaso Ciampa, 19 More Competitors
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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors, and Toronto Maple Leafs. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @johnreport