The John Report: AEW Dynamite 06/17/26 Review
This is AEW Dynamite, featuring MJF and Mark Briscoe picking teammates and then having a 12-man tag team match.
The AEW Forbidden Door PPV is taking place on Sunday, June 28th. It will feature wrestlers from other promotions like New Japan and Stardom, but it’s way less than in other years. It feels like an AEW-only PPV with some others sprinkled in.
I’ll do summary-style reviews for most of the show and play-by-play for one or two matches.
This was AEW Dynamite episode #350 from the Smart Financial Center at Sugarland in Houston, Texas. 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. The commentary team wasn’t at ringside.
There was a backstage interview with AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman and the Don Callis Family because MJF is teaming with members of the Don Callis Family at Forbidden Door and also on this show. Callis said it would be Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Kazuchika Okada, Jack Doyle and Andrade El Idolo. Andrade complained about it and wanted a World Title shot. Callis said one day Andrade is a future World Champion, but they are getting a lot of money for this, so do the match.
Kenny Omega vs. Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling & Ariya Daivari)
The announcers tried to put over Nese as a tough opponent for Omega, even though Nese is rarely on Dynamite. Nese missed a moonsault when Omega moved. Omega hit two Snapdragon Suplexes and a V-Trigger knee on Nese. Omega hit a knee on Sterling and knocked him off the apron onto Daivari. Omega hit a One Winged Angel for the pinfall win in about 2 minutes. Tony called it a “big win.” Sure.
Winner by pinfall: Kenny Omega
Analysis: * A squash match to give Kenny Omega the win.
Let’s Hear Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega was about to do a promo, but Zack Sabre Jr. walked out with his TMDK stable mates Bad Dude Tito and Mikey Nichols. Omega was on the ramp connected to the ring and he was joined by The Young Bucks and Jack Perry.
Omega thanked Sabre for challenging Omega at Forbidden Door. Omega praised Sabre for being the best technical wrestler in the world and Omega mentioned it would look good for Sabre to pick up a win over Omega. Omega said a win would look good for him, too. Omega said that they should keep it 1-on-1 at the pay-per-view. Omega said goodbye and goodnight bang to end it.
Analysis: That was a very generic promo. It would be nice if there were more of a story, but it’s basically just a match between two elite in-ring performers. Why not do a cheap attack here and create some angle to add some heat to the story? Having Omega do a very basic promo doesn’t add much.
A clip aired of The Dogs having positive momentum in recent weeks. The Dogs beat The Young Bucks on Collision last week.
Death Riders – Jon Moxley & Daniel Garcia (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Brodido – Brody King & Bandido
It’s nice to see former AEW Tag Team Champions, Brodido, together again. Bandido connected with a dropkick on Garcia early on. King tagged in and slammed Bandido onto Garcia. They did some dance moves, which led to King and Bandido chopping Garcia on his ass. Moxley finally tagged in to do his “stand and throw strikes” sequence that he does in every match. Moxley tried a move, but King knocked him down. King sent Garcia out of the ring. Bandido hit a moonsault off the top onto both opponents on the floor. That led to a picture-in-picture break.
(Commercial)
The powerhouse King worked over Moxley with strikes. Moxley tried three clotheslines that barely moved King and then Moxley hit a Cutter, but King popped right up and hit a clothesline. Garcia faced off against Bandido, who hit an overhead suplex into the turnbuckle. Shafir got in King’s face and they barked at eachother, so Moxley hit King with a suicide dive. Moxley gave King a spiked piledriver on the floor with Garcia assisting. Garcia hit Bandido with a back elbow by the barricade. The Death Riders made quick tags as they worked over King. Moxley gave King a superplex from the middle turnbuckle for a two count. They went on another PIP break.
(Commercial)
It was about 18 minutes into this match as Moxley and Garcia continued to isolate King. Moxley and Garcia took turns hitting running clotheslines on King against the turnbuckle. King came back with a double clothesline. Bandido got the hot tag and he was on fire with a twisting cross body block and a Cutter. Bandido slammed Garcia onto Moxley. After Mox hit Bandido with a forearm, Garcia went back in as the legal man. Bandido picked up Shafir, who went into the ring, and gave her a suplex, which drew a pop. Bandido hit a somersault dive over the top onto the Death Riders on the floor. Bandido hit a Frog Splash off the top on Garcia, but Moxley broke it up with The Stomp. King clotheslined Moxley. Bandido popped up Garcia and hit a knee to the face. Bandido hit the 21 Plex on Garcia that was missed by the director because they showed King doing a suicide dive on Moxley. It went about 22 minutes.
They should have replayed the 21 Plex that we didn’t see, but instead, they showed no replays. Wake up, director.
Winners by pinfall: Brodido – Brody King & Bandido
Analysis: ***1/2 A very long match that probably went about 10 minutes longer than it needed to be, but AEW loves longer matches, especially when it comes to Moxley. I’m not sure if King & Bandido teaming up again was done because they are going to be a regular tag team, or if it was just a way to have a long tag team match and fill a lot of time. I’m not surprised that Garcia took the loss in the match since he rarely wins.
Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada did a backstage promo while standing over an injured Tomohiro Ishii. The idea is that they beat him up so he can’t team up with Mark Briscoe later in the show and at Forbidden Door.
There was a rundown of what’s coming up and we’ll hear from The Dogs up next.
(Commercial)
Tommaso Ciampa did a promo in the backstage area saying he was a fan of Chris Jericho in the past and mentioned Jericho’s success in the past, including being the first AEW World Champion. Ciampa said he’s not a fan of this version of Chris Jericho. Ciampa said the ball is in Jericho’s court and he shouldn’t drop it.
Let’s Hear from Adam Copeland & Christian Cage Instead of The Dogs
The Dogs duo of David Finlay & Clark Connors were shown backstage about to make their entrance. They were attacked by AEW Tag Team Champions Adam Copeland and Christian Cage in the backstage area. They went fighting out into the arena. Cope wanted a Spear on Connors, but Finlay saved his partner and they left.
Christian Cage said that The Dogs are named after their mothers. Cage said that Finlay’s father should have let him run down his leg. Ouch. Copeland talked about how The Dogs have picked up some big wins and look impressive. Copeland said that they are the learning curve. Copeland said 30 years ago they thought they had it figured out, then they figured out against the New Age Outlaws and the APA. Cope said they learned because they picked up intangibles from facing those guys. Cope said that at Forbidden Door they’ll use old man strength, old man knowledge and old man grumpiness to turn The Dogs into little pups.
Analysis: I think AEW has done a nice job of building up The Dogs as a tag team since they picked up wins over other teams in recent weeks, including The Young Bucks. I say all the time I want to see wrestlers earn title shots, so I think it’s fair to say The Dogs have done that. I doubt Cope & Cage lose the titles to The Dogs. I think Cope & Cage will hold the titles until All In London in August, where they face The Young Bucks, or perhaps a three-way with FTR involved as well.
There was a video about Stardom’s Starlight Kid doing a promo about facing Thekla at Forbidden Door. Starlight claimed she would bring the AEW Women’s World Title back to Japan.
Thekla did a backstage promo saying Starlight Kid is a big hero in Japan while Thekla got kicked out of the company. Thekla doesn’t care if Tony Khan said Starlight Kid was his favorite wrestler outside of AEW. Thekla said all she cared about is this AEW World Title. Thekla threatened to take Kid’s mask off and spit in her face. Thekla said she runs this place.
The Mercedes Mone-Hazuki match was up next.
(Commercial)
Brody King and Bandido were interviewed by Lexy Nair. King said that they reminded everybody they are one of the best tag teams in the world. Bandido mentioned seeing a title held by Jon Moxley. The Death Riders showed up with Jon Moxley accepting Bandido’s challenge for a shot at the Continental Title at Forbidden Door.
Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Semifinals: Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki
I don’t know much about Hazuki, but she’s obviously talented and she made it to the semifinals. Hazuki was able to take control early after a dropkick and some boots to the face. Hazuki hit a headscissors, so Mone bailed to the ramp. They went on a PIP break there.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Mone hitting a Lungblower double knee attack for a two count. Mone hit the running double knees on Hazuki against the ropes. Hazuki sent Mone out of the ring and hit a suicide dive cross body block on the floor – she did it three times in a row. Back in the ring, Hazuki hit a missile dropkick for two. Mone got the momentum back with the Three Amigos suplexes and a double knee attack on the ramp. They went to another PIP break.
(Commercial)
It was still Mone in control, but Hazuki came back with some punches. Hazuki trapped Mone against the turnbuckle and hit a double knee attack of her own. Hazuki hit a Senton Bomb off the top rope for a two count. Mone countered a Hazuki submission attempt into a two count. Hazuki and Mone exchanged forearms. They did a double pump kick spot to knock eachother down. That’s usually done to lead fans into chanting “AEW” or “This is awesome,” but they weren’t chanting anything, even though it’s a good match. Hazuki hit a DDT and superkick for two. Hazuki hit a Brainbuster, so Mone rolled out of the ring. They exchanged pin attempts for two counts. Mone applied the Statement Maker (Crossface) and Hazuki countered it into a pin for two. Mone hit a Backstabber because she loves that double knee offense. Hazuki countered Mone into a pin attempt for two and she did it a second time. Hazuki cradled Mone for two. Mone hit a knee to the ribs, Hazuki with a back elbow, Mone rolled through and hit another Backstabber into a Statement Maker submission. Hazuki did a nice job of selling it and Hazuki tapped out. It went 23 minutes.
Winner by submission: Mercedes Mone
Analysis: ***3/4 A very good match that was given a lot of time. I think going over 20 minutes felt a bit too long, but Tony Khan is a massive fan of Hazuki, so of course he’s going to give her a lot of time against arguably AEW’s top female, Mone. It’s easy to see why Hazuki is highly regarded because she’s so fast, she sells moves well and has charisma too. Mone does the double knee attack (Meteora) so many times in a match that it feels repetitive, but she really likes that knee-based offense. Hazuki got a lot of pin attempts throughout the match. However, I doubt anybody watching this thought that Mone would win.
That victory means that Mercedes Mone is in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals at Forbidden Door against Maya World or Athena. That result was taped at Collision, so I won’t spoil it here. Whoever wins the Women’s Owen Cup will get an AEW Women’s World Title shot at All In London.
Analysis: I know Mercedes Mone was put in this tournament as a replacement for an injured Willow Nightingale, but it sure seems like she was always going to be in it and always going to be in the finals. I assume she’ll win the Women’s Owen Cup for the second year in a row and this time she’ll win the AEW Women’s World Title for the first time in her career.
A video aired about Athena facing Maya World in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Semifinals in a match that will air on Collision on Saturday. As I mentioned above, it’s already been taped.
Face to Face: Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland
Will Ospreay was introduced first by Tony Schaivone, who mentioned Will got married (to AEW’s Alex Windsor) a few days ago. Will said that the wedding was lovely. Will said his wife knows how much the tournament means to him, they can go to Hawaii whenever they want, and she told him to chase his dream. Will claimed he took her upstairs, he smashed the life out of her, told her to clean herself up, and he said he had to go to Houston, so the fans cheered. Congrats on that, Will.
Swerve Strickland was up next, joined by Prince Nana. It’s Swerve against Ospreay in the Finals of the Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Prince told Tony to get out of there with his tight suit. Nana: “Loosen it up.” That made me laugh.
Swerve spoke to Will, saying it’s been a while. Swerve said he hasn’t liked what he’s been seeing from Will because he’s changed. Will claimed nothing has changed with him because he dresses the same. Will said something changed about Swerve – it’s the way he’s looking at Will right now. Will wondered if they needed to have a chat. Swerve said that everything they fought for last year against the Death Riders to get rid of them, but now Will is working with them in a Booty Bootcamp, like he’s having fun. A “Booty Bootcamp” started, so Swerve paused for a bit. Swerve said Will never gave an explanation for why he’s doing what he’s doing. Swerve said Will changed.
Will said he hasn’t forgotten or forgiven what the Death Riders did to him. Will said he let it go. Will said that the training is working because his neck is great and the ground game is improving. Will claimed he saw Kenny Omega, The Opps and Darby Allin trying to get in the cage to save him from the Death Riders, but Will didn’t see Swerve. Will said that Swerve was attacked and had his knee injured, so he had surgery on his meniscus. Will claimed it all started at All In Texas. Will said that last year, they teamed up to beat The Young Bucks. Will spoke about how Hangman needed help and Will ended up in a hospital. Will told Swerve he expected him to help him because Will would do the same for him. Will wondered why Swerve didn’t help him. Swerve was about to speak, so Will slapped the microphone out of his hand. Will said that Forbidden Door is bigger than any explanation that he’ll get from Swerve. Will said that this is Swerve’s redemption, but this is his dream. Will said he used to work near Wembley Stadium and everybody wanted to kick the winning goal at Wembley Stadium. Will said he is one match away from kicking the ball. Will said that this is the Semifinals for his World Cup. Will doesn’t care if Swerve sees him as his brother or his friend. Will knows that Swerve won’t hesitate to end his dream. Will said he won’t hesitate to end Swerve.
Swerve took the microphone, saying he could end Will first. Swerve said that last year, he had to hear Will say it was Hangman Page’s time. Swerve said that he had to fight with Will and helped him get the AEW World Title off Moxley. Swerve asked where is Hangman Page? Swerve said he hasn’t heard from him and Page can’t fight for the AEW World Title anymore. Swerve said what we did last year was for nothing. Swerve said “F**k that” to the idea of stepping aside for Ospreay so Will can headline at Wembley Stadium. Swerve said he’s done stepping aside for other people. Swerve said that he’s not letting it happen. Swerve talked about how he’s good at disrupting plans. Swerve talked about how every time they step in the ring, it’s fireworks. Swerve said that whether as opponents or partners, they raise the bar. Swerve mentioned he’s beaten Ospreay before and said that Will hasn’t been able to beat him in 10 years. Swerve claimed that when he wins the AEW World Title for a second time, Will can challenge him for it, and Swerve will beat Will again and again. Swerve said that Will isn’t better than Swerve on his worst day with Will’s fragile-ass neck. Will punched Swerve to knock him down.
Swerve was handed a chain by Nana, so then the Death Riders’ music hit to show that Will had backup. Jon Moxley led the Death Riders down to the ring. Swerve looked around at the Death Riders and said Will really has changed. Swerve left.
Analysis: I enjoyed the promo exchange between Ospreay and Strickland. Ospreay is easy to like as a babyface who has never been AEW World Champion, while Swerve wants to earn a shot at the AEW World Championship to be champion again. Swerve had been heelish in recent months, but he wasn’t that way in this segment. It was easy to see the perspectives of Swerve and Ospreay in the segment. They made valid points. Swerve is right that Ospreay has changed because he’s aligned with the Death Riders now.
Chris Jericho was interviewed by Lexy Nair with a “Jericho” nameplate. Jericho challenged Tommaso Ciampa to a serious “face to face” segment on Collision. That was it.
Analysis: I assume it leads to Jericho against Ciampa at Forbidden Door.
(Commercial)
Will Ospreay was backstage with Daniel Garcia, reminding Will that he was called fragile and how he feels about that. Will grabbed Garcia against an object. Jon Moxley said that words can’t hurt you. Moxley told Will he is this close and told him not to lose focus. Garcia repeated Moxley, saying it was just words. Will let Garcia go and said nothing.
Analysis: Good advice by Mox the philosopher.
The 12-man tag team main event match was up next, so the AEW World Champion MJF made his entrance first. That was followed by the Don Callis Family members Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher and Andrade El Idolo.
Mark Briscoe was backstage for a promo with his team. Mark said he obviously has Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong, while Big Tom (Ishii) is out, but he will avenge what happened. Kyle mentioned that Tony Khan said that if anybody gets disqualified, then they lose a man at Forbidden Door. Mark introduced his partner, the AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita. The final Briscoe partner is a very good friend of theirs, Darby Allin. Allin told Briscoe it is his time. Alin said that they will win at Forbidden Door and Briscoe will win that AEW World Championship. The tag team match was after a break.
Analysis: That’s a strong babyface team for Mark Briscoe. I like Takeshita and Allin being part of it, especially.
(Commercial)
12-Man Tag Team Match: Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Don Callis Family – Andrade El Idolo, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle & Kevin Knight
Don Callis joined commentary. MJF had tape on his left knee/hamstring. Mark hit Andrade with a forearm to knock him out of the ring. Andrade sent Mark into the ring apron. Andrade posed with a woman at ringside. Mark kicked Andrade to knock him down. The Briscoe-led team worked over Andrade with punches. Orange pulled Andrade’s pants down to show off the tights. Fletcher faced off against O’Reilly in a “Kyle” matchup so the fans chanted their first name. Fletcher used his power to body slam O’Reilly into the mat. O’Reilly applied the Ankle Lock on Fletcher, so that led to Okada going into the ring, and the other wrestlers all went fighting inside and outside the ring. Orange hit a suicide dive and Allin hit a Coffin Drop on Doyle. Takeshita hit a somersault dive over the top on a bunch of dudes. Knight and Fletcher argued about who was the legal man in the match as they attacked Allin. MJF tagged in with a stomp on Allin’s leg. That led to a PIP break.
(Commercial)
The heel side was in control as the isolated Orange. Doyle was pulling on the left arm of multiple babyface wrestlers and did it to MJF by accident, so it drew some laughs. Strong got the tag and hit backbreakers on multiple members of the heel team. Strong tossed Orange into three opponents, so Orange hit a hurricanrana on Andrade. Doyle decked Strong with a forearm to the jaw. Strong came back with an Angle Slam for two. Doyle hit a shoulder breaker. O’Reilly was in illegally with a clothesline and a leaping knee. Andrade hit a running elbow on O’Reilly. Knight tripped up Allin and Andrade hit a back elbow on Allin. Orange hit a DDT on Andrade. Okada hit a Piledriver on Orange. Takeshita went after Okada and hit him with a knee to the head. Fletcher hit a Half N Half Suplex on Takeshita. After exchanging strikes, Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Fletcher. Mark was in the ring for his team and he hit big moves on all of his opponents. Mark tried a lifting move on MJF, but Knight attacked Mark with a leaping clothesline. Allin chased Knight into the crowd, so Knight ran away. Allin was choking Knight while on the ramp. Doyle held Allin and sent him from the ramp into the ring post. MJF couldn’t hit a move and was selling his knee after. Mark hit a Jay Driller on MJF for no count because the referee was yelling at Don Callis since Don was on the apron. Strong tagged in with a kick on MJF, but MJF pulled him down by the arm. MJF applied the Salt of the Earth armbar on Strong, who tapped out quickly. It went about 18 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Don Callis Family – Andrade El Idolo, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle & Kevin Knight
Analysis: ***1/2 A pretty good tag team match, but it’s hard to involve 12 guys in the match and have everybody stand out. I thought Allin and Briscoe were stars for their team, while the heel side had more of a balanced attack. MJF was in the match, but he was protected due to his left leg injury. I’m not surprised by MJF’s team getting the win here because I expect Briscoe’s team to win at Forbidden Door.
After the match, MJF and the Callis Family attacked the babyfaces. MJF hit Briscoe with the Dynamite Diamond Ring to the head. MJF’s music played to end the show.
===
Three Stars of the Show
- Mercedes Mone
- Brodido – Brody King & Bandido
- Will Ospreay & Swerve Strickland
===
The Scoreboard
This Week: 7.5 out of 10
Last Week: 7
2026 Average: 7.57
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Final Thoughts on AEW Dynamite
A wrestling-heavy show, as usual, for AEW, with two matches going over 20 minutes and a good main event as well. Brodido is always fun to watch in tag team action, while Mercedes Mone/Hazuki was excellent, even though the crowd wasn’t into it the whole way.
There wasn’t that much talking, but I did enjoy the Will Ospreay-Swerve Strickland interaction. That was much more entertaining than Kenny Omega’s boring promo, which didn’t add much.
I think the Forbidden Door lineup is strong, and they added some entertaining matches to it.
Here’s the updated lineup for AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door on June 28th.
* Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland – Winner Receives AEW World Title shot at AEW All In London.
* Steel Cage Match 6-on-6: MJF, Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Kazuchika Okada, Jack Doyle & Andrade El Idolo vs. Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita (Briscoe gets a shot at MJF’s AEW World Championship if his team wins.)
* Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament Finals: Mercedes Money vs. Maya World or Athena – Winner Receives an AEW Women’s World Championship Match at All In London
* Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Thekla (c) vs. Starlight Kid
* AEW Continental Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Bandido
* AEW World Tag Team Championships: Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) vs. The Dogs – David Finlay & Clark Connors
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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