The John Report: AEW Dynamite 05/13/26 Review
This is AEW Dynamite, featuring Darby Allin defending the AEW World Title against Konosuke Takeshita, a big 10-man tag, a women’s tag team match, and more.
It’s the fourth straight episode of Dynamite where Darby Allin is defending the AEW World Title on Dynamite. After beating Kevin Knight last week on Dynamite, Allin told MJF he wanted him to put his hair on the line for a shot at the AEW World Title. MJF didn’t respond to it, but we might get a response this week. AEW Double or Nothing is on May 24th.
For this review I’ll go summary style for most of the matches and play-by-play for one or two matches.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #345 from the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North 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.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman was interviewed by Renee Paquette backstage. MJF noticed a bald referee backstage. MJF didn’t answer any of Renee’s questions, and then MJF kept noticing bald dudes in the backstage area while the fans chanted “BALD” at him. MJF noticed bald guys like Christopher Daniels, Sonjay Dutt and even John Silver (he still works there). MJF also saw baldy Tommaso Ciampa. Ricochet took his hat off to tell Max he’s gonna look great, but not as good as Ricochet. MJF said nothing and left. Taz said MJF had beautiful hair and he paid a lot of money for it.
Analysis: That was clever utilization of the bald dudes who work in AEW. Well done.
There was a 10-man tag team match to open the show, so the entrances took place.
Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson and Orange Cassidy vs. FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler (w/Stokely), Tommaso Ciampa, The Dogs – David Finlay & Clark Connors
The 10 guys started brawling around ringside as soon as the bell rang. Dax battled Orange in the ring while the others kept fighting around the building. Orange and Dax battled by the turnbuckle, leading to Dax hitting a superplex. Orange hit a Stundog Millionaire and a Tornado DDT. Cash hit a cheap shot, so the heels took over as they isolated Orange on the heel side of the ring. Ciampa chopped Orange to remain in control. Dax missed a splash against the turnbuckle because Orange moved. Nick Jackson got the tag with a spinning heel kick and a jumping kick on Dax. Nick hit an impressive armdrag/headscissors on The Dogs at the same time. Matt and Nick each hit running bulldogs. Nick hit a somersault dive over the top onto three guys. Matt did his Northern Lights triple suplexes. Stokely held the Bucks legs, so the Bucks brought Stoke into the ring. The Bucks hit multiple superkicks on their opponents, including a double superkick on Ciampa. Cage tagged in with a low blow kick on Cash (the referee never saw it) and the Bucks hit a double superkick for a two count. They went to a picture-in-picture break.
The heel side was in control of Cage as the face in peril. The heel team knocked all of the babyfaces off the apron to prevent a tag. Cage tried a Killswitch, Dax shoved Cage and Cage bumped into Dax so they were both knocked down. Cope got the hot tag and he was on fire as he cleared the ring. Cope hit a running boot to knock Clark down. Finlay held Cope’s legs and then Nick hit a flurry of moves. Cope hit a sitout neckbreaker for a two count. Cage and The Bucks hit a splash/kick combo. Orange did one of his comedy splashes. Cage hit a double reverse DDT on Ciampa and Dax in an attack on bald dudes. The foursome of the Bucks, Cage and Orange all went up top and hit moves onto guys lying in the ring. Cope hit an Impaler DDT on Clark for a two count. The Bucks hit suicide dives onto two guys on the floor. Orange put Cage’s hands in his pockets and Orange did his pocket routine as well. Cage tossed Orange over the top as a weapon onto two guys. Cage jumped off the top onto Finlay on the floor. FTR hit a Shatter Machine on Cope that was almost missed, but they connected it well enough. The Bucks hit a double superkick on Cash and a superkick on Dax. Matt hit a DDT on Finlay, Ciampa with a knee on Matt and Cage hit Killswitch on Ciampa. Clark hit a running shoulder tackle to knock Cage out of the ring. Clark charged, Cope jumped over him and Clark splashed Dax. The Bucks and Cope all hit superkicks at the same time, Orange hit an Orange Punch and Cope hit a Spear on Clark for the pinfall win. It went about 16 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson and Orange Cassidy
Analysis: ***1/2 A wild and typical AEW party match as some people call it. The rules weren’t enforced very much because it’s AEW and we know they don’t care about those things. Having the babyfaces win made sense while Cope getting the win also gives him momentum going into his AEW Tag Team Title match at Double or Nothing. No surprise that Connors took the pin since he’s the least pushed guy on his team.
There was a video from earlier today showing The Death Roders, led by Jon Moxley, training with Will Ospreay. Moxley was applying headlocks on Wheeler Yuta while giving Will advice on how to do it. Moxley talked about how Will has to remember how it felt when eh won the Super Juniors years ago. Moxley said other things in your life are just weight that holds you down. Moxley said all those things will still be there and you can still fly. Moxley called Will a bird of prey. Moxley told Will not to protect anything like his neck, Moxley told Will to go out there to give something.
Analysis: Nice advice from Jon Moxley to Will Ospreay. Mox the philosopher.
(Commercial)
A video aired about the history of Stadium Stampede matches. Chris Jericho and Ricochet will be on opposite sides of it this year. Jericho and Ricochet will have 6 partners each to make it a 7-on-7 tag.
Ricochet was backstage with The Demand and Mark Davis, who is the AEW National Title. Ricochet said that Davis is on their team at Stadium Stampede. Ricochet said Andrade El Idolo is on their team, and so are The Dogs – David Finlay and Clark Connors. Finlay said they’ll fight The Young Bucks anywhere. They all stared into the camera aggressively.
The 14-man Stadium Stampede match looks like this: Chris Jericho, The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin), and The Elite (Kenny Omega, “Jungle” Jack Perry, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona), The Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) and The Don Callis Family (Mark Davis and Andrade El Idolo.
Analysis: I don’t think Stadium Stampede needs to be a 7-on-7 tag team match, but it’s a way for AEW to get more guys on the show. It will be hard for the cameras to keep up with everything in a match like that.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Westbrook
They did a sequence of moves and Westbrook jumped off the turnbuckle and stumbled onto the apron. Westbrook tried a leap off the top, but Bailey avoided it and hit a spinning kick to the head. Bailey hit the Ultimate Weapon knee drop to the back for the pinfall win after about 1 minute.
Winner by pinfall: “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Analysis: * I guess Bailey needed a win, so he got it in a quick match here. Westbrook messing up his spot by the ropes will likely get some attention, but it’s not a big deal.
The TNT Champion Kevin Knight was in the ring to defend his title in an open challenge. The man answering the open challenge is a returning Brian Cage, who looks as muscular as ever. Cage is with the Don Callis Family. Cage is back after 14 months off due to injury. It was a torn quadriceps injury, which is a big one and takes a long time to come back from.
TNT Championship: Kevin Knight (w/Mike Bailey) vs. Brian Cage (w/Lance Archer)
Cage used his power to toss Knight across the ring and hit a superkick. Cage was dominant early on with a clothesline. Knight managed to dropkick Cage out of the ring. Knight went for a suicide dive, but Cage shrugged him off to the floor. Cage tossed Knight onto the ring apron. That led to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Cage hitting a twisting neckbreaker for two. Knight grabbed a headlock and sent Cage’s head into the top rope. Knight hit a springboard missile dropkick to finally get some offense going. Knight ran the ropes and hit an impressive dropkick. After Cage was sent out of the ring, Knight jumped over the top onto him, Cage caught him and Knight sent Cage into the steel steps. Archer got too close, so Bailey superkicked Archer in the jaw. Cage showed off his power with a superplex from the middle turnbuckle. Knight came back with a jumping DDT for two. Knight reversed Cage off the turnbuckle with a hurricanrana. Knight went up top and hit a UFO Splash for the win.
Winner by pinfall: Kevin Knight
Analysis: ***1/4 A solid TV match with King selling for most of it before finding a way to win. Cage looked dominant for most of the match and was on offense for about 75% of it. It’s good to see Cage back in action, but I think it would have been better for him to win a match after coming back instead of losing. I understand it’s an open challenge so there’s the surprise element, but why bring him back to lose? They’ll probably have Cage win his next match to make people forget about this loss.
After the match, Mike Bailey congratulated Kevin Knight on a hell of a win. Knight said they are red hot right now. Knight welcomed back Cage to AEW. Knight said he’s still standing as the TNT Champion. Bailey said that Knight is a future AEW World Champion and everybody knows it. Knight said they will always support eachother. Bailey said tonight is Takeshita against Darby Allin and Speedball wants next. Bailey said Takeshita was his greatest rival in Japan, but they never had a match in AEW. Bailey said even though we want to see MJF bald, he’s coming for the AEW World Title. They celebrated.
Analysis: That means Speedball is getting an AEW World Title shot next week. It’s just that easy to get a title shot in AEW.
(Commercial)
The Men’s Brackets were revealed for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. The winner gets a shot at the AEW World Title at AEW All In London. The winner will be crowned at Forbidden Door on June 28th.
Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay
Mark Davis vs. Jack Perry
Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brody King
Analysis: I think the finals will be Will Ospreay beating Swerve Strickland. If it’s not that then maybe it will be Ospreay against King in the finals. I don’t see Joe, Davis or Perry making the finals from the left side of the bracket.
Jack Perry was featured in a video talking about Mark Davis taking the AEW National Title from him and Perry facing Davis in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Jack claimed he’s a future AEW World Champion and if you don’t like that, f**k you.
Will Ospreay vs. Ace Austin
Big reaction for Ospreay, who is loved by the fans. Austin didn’t get much of a reaction. The announcers love talking about Austin’s legs any time he’s in a match. Will stomped on Austin’s left arm as the announcers put over the Death Riders influence. Austin was able to get some offense going with a leg drop and suplex. Austin did a submission pulling on the neck, but Will got to the ropes to break the hold. Austin hit a slam off the shoulders as the match went to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Will hitting a forearm off the top that some might say looked phenomenal. Will hit a twisting splash for a two count. Will connected with a backflip kick to the head to knock Austin out of the ring. Austin came back with a cross body block on Will on the floor. Will came back with a forearm to the back of the neck and an Oscutter off the ropes for two. Austin came back with a headscissors off the turnbuckle. Austin spun Will around into a flatliner into the mat for two. Austin tried a move off the top, but Will caught him with a Powerbomb for two. Will hit a rolling elbow and a hook kick. Austin broke free with a spinning kick to the head. Will hit a back body drop, followed by an elbow. Will hit a running kick to the left arm and a flying cross armbreaker, so Austin tapped out. It went about 16 minutes.
Winner by submission: Will Ospreay
Analysis: ***1/2 An entertaining match with Ospreay showing off the submission skills to get the win. You can tell that Will wrestled a bit different stylistically because of the storyline that he’s working with the Death Riders. Will did some strikes that were different from what he usually does in a match. Austin had a good showing, like his recent loss to Okada, but everybody knows he had no shot to win here. I think it’s better to have Ospreay win a match more decisively instead of needing 16 minutes to beat Ace Austin. Just saying.
After the match, Will Ospreay shook hands with Ace Austin as a sign of respect.
Let’s Hear from Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe made his entrance with The Opps, which means he was joined by Katsuyori Shibata and Anthony Bowens. Joe shouted “Ospreay” repeatedly as the fans do. Joe said faith put them on a collision course and they will meet in the opening round of the Owen Hart Tournament. Joe said Will could have joined The Opps, but instead, Will is a lapdog for Moxley and the Death Riders. Joe said that Will shall suffer the consequences at Double or Nothing. Joe said his friends feel slighted and Joe doesn’t put leashes on his friends. Shibata and Bowens went to the ring to fight Ospreay, but the Death Riders showed up with the full group walking to the ring. The Opps backed away. Ospreay looked around at the Death Riders surrounding him.
Analysis: A solid promo from Joe, warning Ospreay. It should be a fun match when Ospreay faces Joe at Double or Nothing. I’m going with Ospreay winning that one.
Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis were interviewed by Renee Paquette. MJF walked in to say he has seen Takeshita improve and he can become one of the best wrestlers in the world. MJF said that Takeshita will win the World Title and they can face off down the road. Takeshita shook hands with MJF and left. MJF made a bald remark and said no offense to Don. MJF said that Takeshita needs to win, so he handed Callis the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Andrade El Idolo walked in to stare at MJF and show off his hair. Callis said Takeshita would win and bring the AEW World Title to the Don Callis Family. Andrade said next time he wants a title shot. Callis agreed.
(Commercial)
The Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament bracket was shown.
Persephone vs. Hazuki
Willow Nightingale vs. Alex Windsor
Mina Shirakawa vs. Athena
Skye Blue vs. Sareee
Analysis: It’s a weak field and harder to predict compared to the men. I think Willow might win. I’m not sure who the other finalist will be, but Athena would be a good choice. I’d also like to see Athena win the tournament.
The Conglomeration’s Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong were interviewed by Renee Paquette, while Willow Nightingale was also there. O’Reilly said he’s coming after Jon Moxley. Willow said she’d win the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Mark Briscoe walked in, so he’s back after a break. Mark said he wants to face Tommaso Ciampa on Dynamite. Mark hyped up Collision being close to home and did some yelling like a madman.
Triangle of Madness – Thekla, Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs. The Brawling Birds – Alex Windsor & Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida
The AEW Women’s World Championship at Double or Nothing is Thekla (c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander, so two of Thekla’s opponents are in this match. The babyface team of the Birds and Shida were in control of the heels early on. Windsor and Hayter slammed Blue onto the ring apron, and that led to Thekla hitting a cross-body block off the top on Hayter and Windsor. That led to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The Madness heel team was in control until Hayter hit a boot to knock Thekla down. Shida tagged in with a running knee and she suplexed Hart into Thekla against the turnbuckle. The Madness ladies did a double superkick, and Thekla did some upside-down walking, leading to a Spear for two because the Birds broke up the pin. Windsor hit a sitout spinebuster and Blue made a blind tag with a superkick. Windsor headbutted Blue to put her down. Hayter went into the ring illegally for a double clothesline. Thekla had the AEW World Title and hit Hayter with it for the DQ finish. It went about 10 minutes.
Winners by disqualification: Brawling Birds – Alex Windsor & Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida
Analysis: **3/4 The match was okay with a cheap ending. AEW doesn’t book a lot of DQ finishes like that, so it’s fine to do it once in a while. I thought Hayter or Shida would win to build momentum going into Double or Nothing, and instead they went with the DQ finish to get some heat on Thekla the champ.
After the match, Blue grounded Windsor with a submission hold on the mat. Hart spit some mist in the face of a referee. Thekla put a submission on Hayter. Shida left, so the babyfaces Willow Nightingale, Thunder Rosa and Mina Shirakawa ran out to the ring. The Triangle of Madness left.
Analysis: That was a way to get more heat on the Triangle of Madness for the post match attack, and then the trio of Willow, Rosa and Shirakawa could face them in the future. It would be better if Thekla had a singles feud for the title, but instead, it’s a 4-way match, and Thekla should keep her title.
A video aired about Rush claiming he’s unbeaten in 10 of the last 11 matches.
(Commercial)
It was main event time as Konosuke Takeshita made his entrance. The fighting AEW World Champion, Darby Allin, was up next as the champion. Allin successfully defended the title on Dynamite and Collision last week.
AEW World Championship: Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Don Callis was on commentary since Takeshita is a member of the Don Callis Family. Allin dropkicked Takeshita out of the ring. Allin tried a suicide dive, Takeshita caught him and sent Allin into the ring post. While Allin was on the apron, Takeshita kicked him to the floor. Takeshita hit Allin with a forearm and tossed Allin into the turnbuckle. Allin knocked Takeshita back and tried a cross body block, but Takeshita no sold it. Takeshita hit a back body drop on Allin, who rolled out to the floor. Takeshita worked over Allin with knee shots to the ribs. Takeshita sent Allin into the barricade and Allin was bleeding from the mouth. Takeshita hit Allin with an elbow. Takeshita went for a charging knee, but Allin moved and Takeshita bumped over the steel steps. Allin jumped off the steel steps with a dropkick on the floor. Allin hit a suicide dive on Takeshita on the floor. Allin jumped off the turnbuckle with a Coffin Drop attempt, but Takeshita caught him and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on the floor! That was crazy. They went on a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
Takeshita was in control, but Allin came back with a kick to the leg, followed by a Guillotine Choke. Takeshita got out of that and hit a sitout Tombstone and a Wheelbarrow Suplex across the ring. Takeshita hit a running Helluva Kick against the turnbuckle. They went to the top turnbuckle and Takeshita hit a bridging German Suplex off the top for a two count. That’s not an easy move to do off the top, and they did it about as safely as possible. Takeshita hit a power-drive knee for a two count. El Clon from the Don Callis Family went to ringside, so Callis gave Takeshita the Dynamite Diamond Ring to use. Takeshita didn’t want to use it. Allin got an inside cradle for two. Takeshita hit an elbow smash to the jaw. They were battling on the top turnbuckle, and Allin hit an Avalanche Code Red, followed by a Last Supper pin attempt for two. Takeshita went to the floor, so Allin hit a Coffin Drop off the top onto a standing Takeshita to knock them both down. The referee, who didn’t do countouts at all during the match, did a countout spot here just so the guys could get back into the ring before the ten count. Takeshita tried a move on the steps, but Allin countered with a Scorpion Death Drop on the steps. Allin jumped off the top with another Coffin Drop onto Takeshita, who was out on the floor. Back in the ring, Allin got a two count. Allin went up top and went for a Coffin Drop, but Takeshita blocked with his knees up. Takeshita hit a knee to the head. Allin countered a Powerbomb and applied the Scorpion Death Drop, so Takeshita crawled to the ropes. Allin went up top and hit a Coffin Drop to the back. Allin hit another Coffin Drop into the pin for the three count. It went about 16 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Darby Allin
Analysis: **** It is another 4-star level title defense from the champion Darby Allin. I don’t think it reached that next level where I can rate it higher, but it was still a lot of fun to watch because Takeshita is awesome. Most of the match was Takeshita hitting big moves, Allin selling it like he was in a lot of pain and somehow Allin made the comeback to get the win. They came up with some really creative spots in this match. I don’t know how many Coffin Drops there were by Allin in the match, but he did a lot of them and they all helped tell the story that Allin was willing to put his body on the line to win. It was great. While Allin winning was expected, I hope Takeshita is the AEW World Champion in the future.
Darby Allin Calls Out MJF
The AEW World Champion, Darby Allin, called out Maxwell Jacob Friedman to sign a contract for the AEW World Title at Double or Nothing. The ring crew put a table into the ring along with chairs and the contract for the AEW World Title match. Allin signed the contract first, while MJF thought about it. The fans were chanting “BALD” at MJF, who wasn’t hesitant to sign the contract.
MJF said he’s happy for Allin having fun holding MJF’s AEW World Title. MJF insulted the fans, saying there’s a small part of him that feels bad for Allin holding the World Title longer. MJF said that Allin is a dime-a-dozen stuntman who burns the candle at both ends. MJF said that people think that life is about making friends and family and children, but all that matters is your legacy. Max said that Allin’s legacy is that he was a kid who had his 15 minutes of fame. MJF told Allin he hasn’t made an impact. MJF called Allin a “little pr**k” who just got lucky and was too reckless to stay on top. MJF said at Double or Nothing that he’ll be a 3-time World Champion at 30 years of age. MJF said he’ll go down as the greatest of all time. MJF said that Allin brags about climbing a mountaintop, but when it comes to pro wrestling, MJF is the mountaintop.
Allin told MJF to shut up. Allin said that only MJF thinks that the number one thing in life is legacy. Allin said he cares about living in the moment. Allin said that at Double or Nothing he’s going to make Maxwell Jacob Friedman a “Bald Headed Bitch.” The fans chanted that, but it didn’t pick up. MJF signed the contract.
MJF tackled Allin and punched Allin. MJF put the Dynamite Diamond Ring on his pinky finger and punched Allin in the head. MJF held the AEW World Title over a fallen Allin. MJF looked like he was about to leave, but then he went back into the ring. MJF teased a Piledriver off the middle turnbuckle, but Kevin Knight ran into the ring to save Allin, so MJF left. Knight helped Allin back up to end the show.
Analysis: Good promos from both guys as usual. I feel like MJF is going to win the AEW World Title again before All In London, but maybe it won’t be at Double or Nothing. Perhaps MJF will lose at DON and have his head shaved. I just think that long term, the direction is probably going to be MJF going into All In London as the AEW World Champion again and likely face Will Ospreay there. That feels like the biggest match AEW can do at All In London, so that’s why I think MJF winning back the AEW World Title is a possibility.
===
Three Stars of the Show
- Darby Allin
- Konosuke Takeshita
- Will Ospreay, Kevin Knight
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The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.5 out of 10
Last Week: 7.5
2026 Average: 7.59
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
A wrestling-heavy show with good action for 2+ hours as usual. They continue to feature Darby Allin as the AEW World Champion and his matches are great every time. We also got the confirmation of Allin facing MJF at Double or Nothing, which was expected and the Title vs. Hair stipulation is a good one.
The next AEW PPV is Double or Nothing on May 24th in Queens, New York. Here’s the lineup so far:
* AEW World Championship – Title vs. Hair: Darby Allin (c) vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
* 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)
* 14-man Stadium Stampede Match: Chris Jericho, The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin), and The Elite (Kenny Omega, “Jungle” Jack Perry, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona), The Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) and The Don Callis Family (Mark Davis and Andrade El Idolo
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Thekla (c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander
* Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarterfinals: Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay
* Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarterfinals: Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido
* Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarterfinals: Willow Nightingale vs. Alex Windsor
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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