And then there were three… The primary story in AEW is stacking up challengers for MJF’s world championship, and knocking them down to determine his opponent for the Revolution PPV. The list includes Hangman Page, Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Andrade, and Brody King. By the end of Dynamite (Jan. 28, 2026), three men are left in the mix with the shocking elimination of Swerve. The show also featured three title bouts for the women’s world championship, the TBS championship, and the world tag
team championship from HEB Center in Austin, TX.
World title picture says goodbye to Swerve Strickland
The night started with six contenders vying for the world championship bout at Revolution on March 15. This story played throughout the entire episode with matches and various interactions between these treasure hunters.
The first man ousted was Samoa Joe due to suffering a non-contact injury during training. Commentary made it sound serious enough to miss a few weeks, but hopefully not so serious that Joe is out for an extended period.
Kenny Omega opened the broadcast with a victory over Rocky Romero. This was a smooth match with lots of defensive escapes to signature moves. Rocky did his job hamming it up as a heel. His hubris was his downfall, much to the humorous delight for viewers. Azucar celebrated prematurely sliding on his knees and shimmying his shoulders. Omega blasted Romero from behind with the V-Trigger. That moment alone was hilarious. It got even better as Omega poured on the offense to finish. A snap dragon suplex and another V-Trigger set up the One Winged Angel for the win.
The scene transitioned to the explanation phase for this world title picture storyline. Tony Schiavone was dressed for the occasion with a bright yellow tie and sneakers of the same color to match. Tony Khan whittled down the PPV contender to Hangman Page, Omega, Swerve Strickland, and Andrade El Idolo. Swerve and Andrade are booked to wrestle in the Dynamite main event. The winner wrestles Omega next week on Dynamite. That winner advances to wrestle Hangman at Grand Slam Australia on February 14. The last man standing earns the shot at Revolution.
Omega was confident in his ability to go through the field to win the world title. Enter Hangman to the ring. He rained on Omega’s parade to declare himself as the next world champion. Swerve didn’t take kindly to that declaration, so he joined the promo session to state his case as deserving to be next. This was all competitive trash talk to hype the upcoming contests. It turned a bit personal when Omega noticed that Swerve seemed to be looking for a fight. Swerve teased a clash for later. This was a solid segment to get the mind salivating about all these different matchups.
So, what about Brody King? I’m glad you asked, because AEW answered that in a great way.
MJF was given the spotlight for a promo, but he was quickly interrupted by King. MJF tried his hand at mind games. He claimed that King is a follower, such as with Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, and Bandido. MJF had the idea that King can follow him and be paid for protection. King pointed out that those men are his friends, which is something MJF wouldn’t know anything about. Sass aside, the purpose here was King needing to beat a worthy opponent to get into the world title conversation. King consulted with Khan, and there is no better man to beat than MJF to prove his case. AEW booked an eliminator match for next week. If King wins or survives the time limit, then the title bout will come at Grand Slam Australia. King stated that he will win the championship to become the leader that AEW needs.
This was a smart segment to justify giving the people what they want, which is King versus MJF. It saves the PPV for a mega star while delivering a treat for TV. Since AEW booked the title shot for Grand Slam, that gives an extra hook to see how King gets the job done next week. If he loses, then that Grand Slam announcement would add extra drama to the finish.
Thanks to the added stakes, the main even had a big-fight feel. Anticipation increased to answer the question of pants or trucks for Andrade. He disrobed to reveal pants. El Idolo continued with his playboy antics by flirting with a fan in the front row. The crowd also chanted for Andrade to take off his pants. That was all a subplot to the real action.
The flow was equal parts hard-hitting and finesse. Down the stretch, Andrade had the advantage after a super reverse rana. He followed for running knees and a hammerlock DDT. Swerve kicked out. Swerve exploded out of a roll-up exchange to snap the House Call kick. Andrade kept his wits clear to cheat for the win. Swerve gripped a waistlock, so Andrade grabbed the referee. As the ref pulled away and turned her back, that was the split second Andrade needed to mule kick Swerve for a low blow. Andrade capitalized for the DM double underhook neckbreaker to win.
AEW is often criticized for predictable results. I did not see this finish coming. I would have bet the house that Swerve would win. Great job dishing out a surprise. Swerve fans might be upset, but I think this is for the greater good. If it’s not Swerve’s time yet to win the world title, then losing to Andrade automatically vaults El Idolo into a top player. Swerve now has the chase to overcome to earn the shot down the line. No doubt that a feud with Andrade is just beginning. No way that the most dangerous man in AEW will let that slide.
AEW closed the show by wrapping a bow on the events from Dynamite. MJF exited past Omega, Andrade, and Hangman flexing their machismo with words for the champ. This was a cool way to paint the picture for the world title scene. I thought Hangman would be outside chilling atop a horse, but it was probably too cold for that.
Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
AEW Continental Championship eliminator: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Ace Austin. Moxley unleashed aggression to start. Ace didn’t wilt under pressure. He kept chipping away with speed and strategy. This spinning hook kick was wicked when watching live in the moment.
In the end, Ace went to finish with The Fold. Moxley anticipated the maneuver and countered with a cutter. The champ quickly went to the Death Rider for the win.
Good showing for Ace. He continues to impress against tough competition. Moxley had the type of win to show there are levels to greatness, and Ace isn’t on his level yet (in story).
TNT Championship: Mark Briscoe (c) defeated El Clon to retain the title. Entertaining pugilistic matchup between redneck kung fu and strange style. Dat Boy did his rowdy thing. Clon turned heads in a breakout performance. This match solidified him as a legit wrestler in AEW, not just a gimmick Hologram clone. The standout moment was Clon no-selling the Jay Driller. This works in keeping the illusion, because Clon has a sense of mystery about his character. He followed that up with cool skills arching backward for an overhead kick and a step-up moonsault outside.
Briscoe relied on his wily veteran know-how to sneak out with the win. Clon went to finish with the Portal Bomb. Briscoe escaped to counter for a roll-up and stack weight over the shoulders to prevent a kick out. Nice finish to protect Clon. If he was going to lose before facing Hologram, a roll-up was the way. It saves face for Clon to argue Briscoe got lucky.
Business picked up after that match.
Tommaso Ciampa is All Elite. Briscoe cut a promo about being a fighting champion. He issued an open challenge for Collision to anyone not in the Callis Family. Lights out for the tease to Ciampa’s entrance as the Psycho Killer.
That was a genuine surprise. The beating heart is a great hook to grab attention for the reveal. The song has a good fighting vibe, and Ciampa has a face for wrestling. I’m pumped for Briscoe versus Ciampa, and I hope AEW gives them as much time as they need to tear the house down.
AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c) defeated Thekla to retain the title. Prior to the bout, the Babes of Wrath proposed a deal for the Sisters of Sin. Stay out of this title match, and they will be granted a shot at tag team gold on Collision. Julia Hart and Skye Blue took that offer, and it was a clean fight. The best part of this promo was Statlander’s riff for Thekla to live short and die (as opposed to live long and prosper).
Statlander was a power machine for a delayed vertical suplex on the floor then a catapult into the steel steps.
Thekla was scrappy with spider movements for strong character work. It felt like everything Thekla did had purpose to entertain. She opened with a cheap shot then bailed to escape Statlander’s anger. Throughout the match, Thekla had attitude to be larger than life despite her diminutive size. In the end, Statlander weathered the storm to snatch Thekla for a gutwrench powerbomb and the Wednesday Night Fever piledriver to win.
This was a PPV worthy fight. Thekla pushed Statlander to bring her best. Thekla’s aura remains high, and I wouldn’t doubt her as world champion one day. Statlander added another notch on her impressive run.
That run appears to have the strongest test yet. Megan Bayne stepped out on stage.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) defeated Mark Davis & Jake Doyle to retain the titles. Hard-hitting affair. Pause for a moment. D&D attacked Moxley after his match. I assume it was part of Callis Family business to watch Takeshita’s back after the Alpha stepped to Moxley.
Moxley got his payback at the end of the tag title bout. He clocked Davis with the gold, then FTR closed with the Shatter Machine.
This was enjoyable for power versus technique. The Moxley interference stumps for the big picture. I’m certainly in the mood for Moxley versus Davis. Aside from that, I guess it is a cheap way to protect D&D in defeat. AEW shouldn’t want the hot-headed musclemen to cool off so quickly after becoming a team.
Notes: Okada apologized to Kyle Fletcher about stealing the screwdriver in the Continental Classic. Fletcher accepted the apology. Okada didn’t show any signs of being two-faced here. I still assume that we can never trust Okada, however, it seems like this issue has smoothed over for now. That doesn’t mean Okada won’t try to manipulate Fletcher against Takeshita down the line.
Don Callis tried to get Fletcher and Takeshita back on the same page for the Family. They sort of rolled their eyes in the background. Takeshita was annoyed that Fletcher forgave Okada. I’d like to image Takeshita doing the Arrested Development sad walk. Seriously though, this dangles the nugget of if Fletcher will choose Okada over Takeshita.
The Young Bucks put the tag team division on notice. They are getting back to roots for superkick parties.
Ricochet had GOA slam Jack Perry through a table prior to the national title bout next week.
Orange Cassidy was confronted by Wheeler Yuta. When Marina Shafir grabbed OC by the hair, Toni Storm stepped in to protect Citrus Boy. A mixed tag team bout makes sense for the future.
Stud of the Show: Tommaso Ciampa
The Psycho Killer felt like a big deal. The whole package fit right to hype a fight against Mark Briscoe.
Match of the Night: Andrade vs. Swerve Strickland
The first-time matchup delivered strong for smooth chemistry and an unexpected finish.
Grade: A-
Great night of action. The world title picture is taking shape enough to taste. Matches had stakes. The ‘losers’ all stepped up to look good despite defeat. Sprinkle in surprises of the Ciampa debut and Andrade winning. This episode leaves me with high anticipation for what is brewing.
Share your thoughts about AEW Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?
