The John Report: AEW Dynamite 05/06/26 Review
This is AEW Dynamite, featuring Darby Allin defending the AEW World Title against Kevin Knight, singles matches involving Jon Moxley and Kazuchika Okada, and more.
The road to AEW Double or Nothing continues with Darby Allin defending the AEW World Title again this week, just like last week when he beat Brody King to keep his title.
For this review, I’m going to do a condensed review because I watched the show while on the couch last night. I wasn’t in the mood to sit in a chair and type for 2+ hours. I’ll do play-by-play for the main event.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #344 from the North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina. 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 Taz.
AEW Pays Tribute To Ted Turner
The former WCW owner and billionaire many times over, Ted Turner, passed away on Wednesday. They spent the first ten minutes of the show with Tony Schiavone and Sting in the ring talking about Turner’s legacy. They spoke about how he loved WCW and competing against the other guys (WWE), which AEW is doing now with Tony Khan running the show. All it takes is being a billionaire many times over, apparently. Anyway, I thought it was justified and well done.
Match #1: Jon Moxley defeated Juice Robinson by submission
It was an AEW Continental Title Eliminator Match, meaning if Juice won, then he’d get a shot at Moxley’s title. I doubt anybody watching this thought Juice would win. Late in the match, Juice and Moxley exchanged headbutts (into their hands) and forearms, which Moxley does in every match. Moxley charged, but Juice avoided it and sent Moxley into the ring post. Juice rolled up Moxley for two. Moxley tried a choke and then hit a piledriver. Moxley applied the Bulldog Choke, and Juice passed out to give Mox the win after 14 minutes. Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5) – It was like many TV matches Moxley has had, where he gives an opponent a decent amount of offense before putting them away. They don’t need to go as long as 14 minutes when the audience knows Juice has no chance to win, but that’s AEW.
Will Ospreay had a training session with Jon Moxley and the Death Riders. Remember when they tried to end Ospreay’s career last summer? Will is a forgiving guy. It was more of the same “tough love” kind of coaching that Moxley does. I think Ospreay will win the Owen Hart Cup and win the AEW World Title at All In London.
Match #2: Double Jeopardy Match – Orange Cassidy defeated Dax Harwood by pinfall
If Cassidy won, then the Conglomeration gets an AEW World Tag Team Title shot. If Harwood won, then FTR and Ciampa get an AEW Trios Title shot. I barely know who holds the Trios Titles most of the time. There were a bunch of people at ringside watching the match. It was Cash Wheeler, RPG Vice, The Dogs and Stokely supporting Harwood. Meanwhile, Cassidy had the rest of the Conglomeration, Adam Copeland, Christian Cage and The Young Bucks were there too. It was an even matchup most of the way, and then Cassidy got an inside cradle to get the win. Rating: *** Just an average AEW TV match. All the guys at ringside were distracting and took focus away from the match.
After the match, the babyfaces beat up Rocky Romero, and the fans enjoyed it.
There was a video about Rush. Will they finally push this guy? No idea. I like him as a talent.
Chris Jericho and Ricochet Set Up Double Or Nothing Match
There was a promo between Chris Jericho and Ricochet, who was with his buddies in The Demand – Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun. Jericho and Ricochet exchanged words to continue their rivalry. They agreed to a 5-on-5 Stadium Stampede Match at Double or Nothing since they are in Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens for that show. The Demand beat up Jericho, so Jericho got help from The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & MVP. Tony Schiavone said “Benjamin Shelton,” so he got the man’s name wrong. Tony is old. Analysis: It was fine as a segment to set up Stadium Stampede at Double or Nothing, which has become a tradition at that PPV. It’s either that or Anarchy in the Arena. They’ll have to find more partners to make it 5-on-5, but there’s time to do that. Those Stadium Stampede matches are usually fun.
The team of Mina Shirakawa and Harley Cameron were interviewed backstage. Mina hyped up Harley by ripping her shirt to expose Harley in a bra. Harley didn’t care because the wrath was back. Renee to Harley: “You gotta go put something on.” Hot women showing off their bodies? The Attitude Era is back! Oh wait. Wrong company.
Match #3: AEW International Championship – Kazuchika Okada defeated Bryan Keith by pinfall
This was like the Jon Moxley match earlier in the show, when we knew Moxley was going to win, and for this one, we knew Okada was going to win. Okada is such a good worker that he makes people believe that Keith had a decent shot here, but of course, Okada put him away with a powerslam and a Rainmaker for the win. It went about 10 minutes. Analysis: ***1/4 A decisive win to give Kazuchika Okada a victory going into his Double or Nothing match against Konosuke Takeshita. Keith is a solid overall wrestler, but I don’t see AEW ever pushing him that much.
After the match, Okada said he wanted more than the International Title because he wants more. Okada said he’s coming for the AEW World Title…bitch.
Analysis: Finally. I have wanted Okada in the AEW World Title picture for years, so I’m glad he’s going after it.
There was a video package about Andrade El Idolo.
Jet Speed was backstage as “Speedball” Mike Bailey said his buddy, TNT Champion Kevin Knight, would be the AEW World Champion tonight. Knight was confident going into his match.
Samoa Joe did a promo with The Opps, talking about how he wanted Will Ospreay to join their team, and threatened to beat up Ospreay if it didn’t happen.
Match #4: Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander defeated Mina Shirakawa & Harley Cameron by pinfall
It was an average tag team match that went too long. It just didn’t feel that interesting at any point. They did a spot where Shida accidentally hit Kris with a knee when Mina moved, so Harley came close to beating Shida. Harley was yelling a lot to get the crowd more into it. Kris saved Shida with a kick to Harley, and then Shida hit a Falcon Arrow to win. Analysis: **3/4 The idea seems to be that Kris and Shida are teaming up for now, but they don’t necessarily get along that well, and there’s likely going to be a split coming soon. However, they are also good enough to win matches like this.
Swerve Strickland did a promo about wanting power and going after the Most Wanted, which is a Bandido reference, so he’s going after Bandido, as we also saw last week.
After a break, Brody King and Bandido talked about Swerve’s comments, with Bandido saying he was ready for it. King said he had Bandido’s back, too.
Match #5: AEW World Championship: Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight
This is for Allin’s AEW World Title, but not for Knight’s TNT Title. I’ll go play-by-play for this main event. They spent a couple of minutes early on doing basic moves and countering eachother. Allin tripped up Knight and grabbed a side headlock. Allin worked over Knight with chops. Knight hit an uppercut punch. Allin hit a Coffin Splash off the middle rope for a two count. Allin and Knight did a double clothesline spot that led to both guys taking big bumps after the move. Allin kicked Knight, but Knight came back with a hurricanrana and dropkick that sent Allin out of the ring. They went on a picture-in-picture break.
Allin hit a missile dropkick off the top to knock Knight down as the show returned from the PIP break. Allin hit a Code Red for two. Knight was on the floor, so Allin hit a suicide dive outside the ring. Allin went up top, and Knight hit a hurricanrana off the top to the floor. That was a crazy bump. The referee was on the floor with the wrestlers instead of counting them out. While Allin was sitting on the commentary table, Knight jumped off the top with a clothesline on Allin on the commentary table. That was wild! They were outside the ring for over three minutes, but there was no countout going on. Knight jumped off the apron, Allin caught him and Allin applied a Scorpion Death Lock like his buddy Sting, and Knight got to the bottom rope to force the break. Allin went up top, jumped off with a Coffin Drop and Knight got the knees up to block. They were by the turnbuckle. Allin knocked Knight down, and Allin was upside down as Knight went on the top rope across the ring. Knight jumped off the top with a Coast to Coast dropkick. Knight went up top and hit a UFO Splash, but there was a slow cover that was only good for a two count because Allin got his left shoulder up. Allin kicked Knight in the leg and applied a Guillotine Choke on Knight, but Knight tried to fight it. Allin set up Knight upside down across the top rope and Allin hit a Coffin Drop to the back. Allin went up top and hit another Coffin Drop for the pinfall win. It went about 16 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Darby Allin
Analysis: **** Great match as usual for two of the best in AEW. I went 4 stars out of 5 for it because I think it was a competitive match from the get go. They started slow, but then the pace really picked up, and I enjoyed the second half of the match a lot. Knight makes the simple moves look so easy while Allin is absolutely insane and so much fun to watch. Did I expect a title change? No. It was still a very entertaining match.
After the match, Sting went into the ring to celebrate with Darby Allin. That ended AEW Dynamite.
They had a one-hour episode of AEW Collision right after this, and I don’t review Collision. However, it’s worth noting that MJF called out Allin for a rematch for the AEW World Title. Allin said that if MJF wants a rematch, he’ll put something on the line. MJF suggested his scarf, Allin said no, MJF suggested his Dynamite Diamond ring, Allin said no, MJF suggested $1 million for a rematch, and Allin said no because he used to be homeless in a car under a bridge. MJF asked: “What do you want?” Allin said he wants MJF to put his hair on the line. MJF was hesitant to accept that as the fans chanted “Bald” at Max. Allin said next week they can have a contract signing – Championship vs. Hair, and if MJF doesn’t sign, then he’ll never get a championship match. MJF left without saying anything.
Analysis: It’s a good way to set up the Allin-MJF contract signing for next week. I assume MJF accepts the Championship vs. Hair stipulation, and I think MJF winning back the AEW World Title is possible.
===
Three Stars of the Show
- Darby Allin
- Kevin Knight
- Jon Moxley
===
The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.5 out of 10
Last Week: 8
2026 Average: 7.58
===
Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
A very good show overall, carried by the excellent Allin-Knight main event. These great Allin matches are a weekly occurrence since he’s a fighting AEW World Champion, and they are fun to watch. It also makes me think that Allin isn’t going to have a super long title reign.
I’d like to see some matches that are less predictable, because of the five matches I watched, four of them were very predictable. That includes the great Allin-Knight main event.
The next AEW PPV is Double or Nothing on May 24th in Queens, New York. Here’s the lineup so far:
* AEW International Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita
* AEW World Tag Team Championship I Quit Match: FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs. Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (If Cope and Cage lose, they must retire as a tag team)
* Stadium Stampede Match: Chris Jericho, The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin), and 2 TBD vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona) and 2 TBD
===
Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays. You can contact me using any of the methods below.
John Canton
Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @johnreport