The landscape of AEW just changed. Kenny Omega won the world title from MJF in the main event of Dynamite (July 8, 2026). The Beach Break special also featured Willow Nightingale returning from injury to earn a women’s world title shot, Kyle Fletcher winning international gold, and more from the BayCare Sound in Clearwater, FL.
New AEW world champion Kenny Omega
Omega challenged MJF for the AEW World Championship. The stipulation was that a loss by Omega means he won’t challenge for the world title
ever again. Omega played into the seriousness of the stipulation to hype the match. It’s do or die. That’s when Omega does his best work.
Will Ospreay was pulling for Omega to be the champion at All In. MJF butt in with valid criticism about Ospreay never winning the world title yet. MJF should be thanked, not overlooked. He is carrying the golden era of AEW as champion. More insults led to MJF spitting in Ospreay’s face. Fisticuffs! This scene is relevant for later in the main event. It also did a good job creating a touch of doubt that Omega will win. There is enough heat between MJF and Ospreay to carry through to All In.
MJF versus Omega was given roughly 25 minutes of action. The flow was exciting back and forth action. They pushed the pace on each other, dodging signature moves at crucial times, and chipping away at the power meter. MJF and Omega didn’t hold back, such as Omega blasting a V-Trigger to knock MJF off the apron crashing through the commentary table.
There were two false finishes that hooked me full. Omega went for an avalanche One Winged Angel. MJF countered into an avalanche poison rana then followed up with the Heatseeker. Omega kicked out at 2. That sequence felt like a real finish. MJF finally hit the piledriver that he worked for the whole match, and Omega sold those moves like death.
The second false finish was when shenanigans erupted. MJF grabbed the title belt, so the referee confiscated the object. MJF went into his bag of tricks for the Dynamite Diamond Ring. That’s when Ospreay ran in to snatch it away. The ref tried to restore order with Ospreay. Omega was inches away from clobbering MJF with the title belt, however, he stopped shout out of conscience to win it the right way this time. MJF took advantage of the hesitation for a low blow, and he had no qualms about clocking Omega with the belt. The ref was back in focus. Omega kicked out at 1. The fans erupted. That was a great spot to show Omega is done with MJF’s BS.
Omega turned up the heat to pepper punches and deliver three consecutive V-Triggers. One Winged Angel sealed the deal for an emphatic finish.
That match was PPV worthy. The result was feel-good satisfaction and cathartic to see Omega reach the top again, especially at the expense of that scumbag. MJF outwrestled Omega on that first kick-out, then he outsmarted, albeit with a lack of scruples, Omega on that second kick-out. Commentary put over how Omega was finally back to 100%, and that was the extra juice for Omega to prove he is better than MJF.
This still offers intrigue for the road to All In. The current plan is Omega defending the world title against Ospreay at Wembley, but that leaves questions for how AEW books the Redemption PPV in the meantime. Will MJF try to get revenge on Ospreay? Will it involve Ospreay wagering his All In shot? What will be the angle to build heat between Ospreay and Omega? I don’t mind them being chummy for the next two months, but that’s not exactly riveting TV building to AEW’s biggest PPV of the year.
Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
Tommaso Ciampa defeated Chris Jericho. Ciampa caused Jericho to bleed his own blood on a double underhook facebuster atop the steel steps. This was a cool move that looked brutal.
The finish involved a bucket of sand, which was present due to the Beach Break theme. Ciampa grabbed the bucket, Jericho sprung for a Codebreaker, and sand spilled on the mat. On closing sequence, Ciampa charged for his running knee finisher. Jericho blocked to counter for the Walls of Jericho submission. Ciampa reached for the bucket to use as a weapon. The referee confiscated the foreign object, so Ciampa threw a handful of sand in Jericho’s face. That did the trick. Ciampa escaped and delivered a running knee to the blinded Jericho. After the match, Ciampa add insult to injury with chair to the head. He pulled out a power drill, but security intervened to protect Jericho.
High-intensity opener for this burgeoning grudge feud. Ciampa and Jericho set the tone for the night. I never expected that a sand trap would determine the winner, and it was a great way to use the Beach Break surroundings. Not to mention that tactic being a crafty heel move, which shows how cerebral Ciampa can be. Jericho looked good in the ring. I think Ciampa might have a non-stop streak of bangers ever since he debuted in AEW. Because I enjoyed this match, I like the result in that it should extend the rivalry. This fight left me wanting more of Jericho versus Ciampa.
AEW International Championship: Kyle Fletcher defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) to win the title. This match delivered the goods. Takeshita had a sweet piledriver to wheelbarrow German suplex transition on the apron.
Down the stretch, Takeshita gained the upper hand for a Raging Fire driver, however, Fletcher shocked the audience by placing his foot on the ropes to break the pin. In the end, Fletcher surged with offense to finish with a brainbuster on the turnbuckles.
Great match with a surprising result. Takeshita and Fletcher were so smooth together, and they did an excellent job keeping me engaged throughout. Fletcher is definitely worthy of the win. The turnbuckle brainbuster looks brutal enough to beat anyone. It’s just that I didn’t expect Takeshita’s reign to be so short. He barely did anything to make it memorable after winning the title from Kazuchika Okada. Speaking of Okada, I’m wondering if there is jealousy toward Fletcher now. ProtOkada?!?!
Mick Foley TV debut. Foley dropped in to interview Fletcher after the title win. Insults were exchanged between Callis and Foley. Fletcher stood tall in Foley’s face to protect Callis. It was fun to see Foley on screen again.
The segment turned into chaos. There was an interesting wrinkle of continuing the animosity between Kevin Knight and Fletcher. Andrade came out with desire to take a title from the Callis Family. Don arranged a ‘beat the Jake Doyle’ challenge to earn a shot at Mark Davis for the national title. The Callis Family chased Andrade backstage, and Darby Allin went on the attack with a booby trap exploding skateboard. This was a lot of hijinks to touch on various feuds in an entertaining manner.
Jon Moxley & Will Ospreay defeated Workhorsemen. The Death Riders handled business with a emphatic finish on JD Drake. Ospreay hit the Styles Clash, Moxley nailed the Paradigm Shift, Ospreay added the Hidden Blade, then Mox made the pinfall. Nothing of substance caught my eye here. It was just a way to get Moxley and Ospreay on screen to continue building their relationship.
Casino Gauntlet won by Willow Nightingale. The prize was a shot at Thekla for the AEW Women’s World Championship at the Redemption PPV. Order of entrance was Athena, Maya World, Skye Blue, Mina Shirakawa, Rina, Julia Hart, Thunder Rosa, and Willow. Thekla added lots of personality from commentary. The action was entertaining, however, there wasn’t much urgency to win. That should be an issue considering the format adds more wrestlers the longer it goes. Athena hit some O-Face finishers with pins broken up by the others, then it was time for the big surprise. Willow is back from injury. She cleaned house and beat Hart off the gutwrench powerbomb.
Thekla went on the attack to spear Willow. Mercedes Moné watched the match seated on stage, and she had a plan afterward. Divine Dominion smashed the Sisters of Sin. Apparently, the CEO struck an arrangement with Megan Bayne and Lena Kross. Mercedes stood tall cracking Thekla and Willow with the title belt.
The gauntlet winner and the post-match activity create a lot of intrigue for the road to All In. Will Willow find Redemption by winning the title from Thekla? Willow’s return vignettes painted a picture that she will win the belt sooner than later. Or perhaps this sets up a three-way for Wembley. Thekla has been too good on screen to be sidelined from the spotlight just like that. I like how Divine Dominion created a new feud for themselves by attacking Hart and Blue. If challengers won’t step up voluntarily, then go force them to step up.
Notes: The Beach Break venue and set was a cool change of pace from the average Dynamite. The wrestlers wouldn’t call it cool, since the ring temperature was allegedly 102 degrees. They were sweating profusely, so I believe that the heat was frying. I also enjoyed the various scenery shots of Clearwater and the sunset.
The Brawling Birds beat up dudes at the pub. I love these style of vignettes. It says so much in a short period and builds a reason for viewers to get invested in the characters.
Hikaru Shida gloated about winning the TBS Championship.
Jack Perry re-signed with AEW. He wants to live up to potential to win the world title.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey has his eye on Mark Davis and national gold.
Stud of the Show: Kenny Omega
Omega nailed the storyline of aging veteran winning the world title one more time.
Match of the Night: Kenny Omega vs. MJF
The action excited and the story element was even better.
Grade: A
Excellent episode for the Beach Break special featuring great matches, Omega dethroning MJF, Fletcher shocking Takeshita, Willow’s return as a surprise, Ciampa with sand to the eyes, and an exploding skateboard from Allin. What more could one ask for?
Share your thoughts about AEW Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?
