Evil prevailed over good as MJF defeated Kenny Omega to retain the AEW World Championship in the main event of Dynasty (Apr. 12, 2026). The PPV also featured Jon Moxley surviving a war against Will Ospreay, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage failing to capture tag team gold, a new TNT champion, new trios titleholders, and more from Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Let’s break down the show from top to bottom.
AEW World Championship: MJF (c) defeated Kenny Omega to retain the title. MJF sat on a throne for his entrance as the Devil against the God of Professional Wrestling. I don’t want to say that the Devil is cool, but this entrance was cool.
Referee Bryce Remsburg immediately searched MJF to confiscate the Dynamite Diamond Ring before the opening bell. The main event lasted about 40 minutes. The excitement really picked up 30 minutes in when Omega executed an avalanche One Winged Angel. Omega was worn down and too slow on the cover. MJF rolled outside to prevent the pin. That moment was the jolt of energy needed to pay attention to the finish on a marathon night of wrestling.
MJF regained control by escaping the One Winged Angel to counter for the Cross Rhodes from his mentor and a package pilediver. That wasn’t enough to keep Omega down for the count.
MJF made history as the first person to kick out of the One Winged Angel, albeit through a load of hijinks. MJF pulled the referee in front of a V-Trigger. Ref down! MJF struck with a low blow from behind, then he frantically pilfered Remsburg’s pockets to get his diamond ring back. Swing and a miss. Omega snatched MJF for the One Winged Angel. The ref was still out, and the crowd counted to 12. The backup referee arrived. MJF kicked out on the cover. So technically, MJF is the first person to kick out of the One Winged Angel.
The action continued with more cheating. Omega winced in pain trying to lift MJF for another One Winged Angel on the apron. MJF escaped and jabbed a loaded punch to Omega’s break basket. Those diverticulitis innards were bubbling. MJF executed a jumping tombstone through the table. The Devil quickly placed Omega into the Heatseeker finisher to get the win.
This match was too long for my tastes, however, the final ten minutes were loaded with excitement. That avalanche One Winged Angel was awesome. The kick out from the One Winged Angel was cheap, but it should be great material for MJF to gloat. I can understand any frustration about the manner used for someone to finally kick out of Omega’s sacred finisher. It diminishes the next time someone does it. This instance was clearly tainted. First is first though, and that’s what will be remembered. I thought it was a smart bit for Remsburg to take the Dynamite Diamond Ring, and it was even smarter how they wrapped back around to it. The finish was a gut punch in a great way. Omega had that momentum to believe he could win. Just that like, it all came crashing down. I like the urgency MJF showed to close the deal. All that monkey business was a fitting way for the Devil to win.
AEW World Trios Championship: Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, & Kyle O’Reilly defeated The Dogs (c) to win the titles. O’Reilly was the mystery partner revealed in a sitcom skit that fits the dorky vibe of the Conglomeration.
The Dogs had a funny response to the set piece. Gabe Kidd seems like a Big Lebowski villain. He pretended to urinate on the couch.
Unfortunately, Kidd was injured early in the action. The Conglomeration won the gold when O’Reilly trapped Clark Connors in an ankle lock.
In a bubble, the result was a happy moment with O’Relliy triumphant in return from injury. As a fan of the Dogs, I wasn’t satisfied with the hot potato of the trios titles. The action was fine, but I didn’t care. That’s an issue with the PPV length. AEW doesn’t need these ‘cooldown’ matches. The main events are so long anyway that I’m annoyed waiting for this one to end so the the show as a whole can finally be over.
AEW Continental Championship: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Will Ospreay to retain the title. This was a crackerjack of a fight. Ospreay blasted a Hidden Blade at the opening bell. Instead of going for the win, Ospreay relished the opportunity to dish out more punishment.
Moxley weathered the storm to target Ospreay’s neck. He hit Death Riders, Paradigm Shifts, curb stomps, and piledivers during the course of the combat. That damage weakened Ospreay’s grip, and he was physically unable to execute the Tiger Driver ‘91. Moxley capitalized for a piledriver on the ring steps. That was the crucial move of the match. Ospreay beat the ten-count back into the ring, but he was severely damaged goods at that point. He still showed toughness to kick out from a curb stomp and two Paradigm Shifts. Moxley finished him off with a Death Rider.
Great match that serviced the story. Ospreay could have won, but he wanted revenge over glory. And that was the primary reason for wanting Continental rules, which kept the Death Riders away from the ring. Ospreay’s hubris cost him. A man like Moxley can take a beating and keep moving forward. He is a master at wars of attrition. Ospreay’s body is still broken, so he played right into Moxley’s strength. I’m curious what the long play is here. Moxley did his job. He doesn’t need to hand out a rematch. Ospreay’s body is not fully recovered, so he can’t hang in a war with Moxley right now. Revenge is a heavy weight, and Ospreay won’t be satisfied with this outcome.
In terms of wrestling ability, Ospreay was fantastic. He had so many cool transitions. The jackknife into the Styles Clash was sweet.
I’ve been critical of how AEW referees pause the action to check on wrestlers for storyline injuries. I like how they handled it here. Ospreay was twitching on the floor after the piledriver on the steps. Instead of allowing an unfair advantage of recovery time, the referee called over the doctor, then he started the ten count. That seems like a fair application of safety.
AEW Women’s World Championship: Thekla (c) defeated Jamie Hayter to retain the title. Brawling slugfest. Hayter hit hard with moves such as scooping up Thekla from the spider pose for a tombstone piledriver.
Thekla was toxic on the finish. She raked the eyes to escape a fireman’s carry position, bridged on a roll-up, and grabbed the ropes for leverage on the win. Alex Windsor came down to protest to the referee about the cheating. The result was final. Hayter was angry, and Thekla reacted with mock tears.
The rugged action was satisfying while leaving me with a desire for more. I much prefer the solo style of cheating to the bum-rush numbers game, so I appreciate Thekla’s ability to swindle wins.
TNT Championship: Kevin Knight wins the title in the Casino Gauntlet. Kyle Fletcher vacated the belt due to injury, so this was the chosen method to crown a new champion. And it rocked! Action galore. My favorite spot was Bandido executing the 21 Plex to Tommaso Ciampa, who was pinning someone at the time. Excalibur lost his mind on the call.
The finish was bang bang. After a blitz of maneuvers, the dust settled with Daniel Garcia cranking a sharpshooter on Mike Bailey. Knight landed a UFO splash onto the pile and pinned Garcia to take the gold. Knight is an exciting choice as new champion, and it gives him more exposure to develop into a main player down the line.
The full entrance order included Tommaso Ciampa, Rush, Bandido, Mike Bailey, El Clon, PAC, Daniel Garcia, Anthony Bowens, Kevin Knight, and Wheeler Yuta.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) defeated Adam Copeland & Christian Cage to retain the titles. Electric atmosphere for this hockey fight. Cope was bloodied when Cash Wheeler hit him with the title belt in a tug of war with Christian. That was just the start of the shenanigans, and it all meshed well into pure excitement. Down the stretch, Wheeler tossed Christian over the timekeeper table. Cope was outnumbered, but he fought tough. FTR went for the Shatter Machine. Cope answered with a double spear. On the finish, Cope charged for a spear. Wheeler leaped over the top for a sunset flip rolling Cope into the Shatter Machine. Dax Harwood made the pin.
This was a tag team classic for AEW. The legendary teams tore the house down. The funny business was funny without feeling like a mess. The flow felt chaotic yet natural leading from one spot to the next. I’m surprised that C&C lost here in Canada, so bonus points on unpredictability. There were a lot of teases from FTR using Young Bucks’ offense that the next chapter should be a dream match three-way.
Darby Allin defeated Andrade El Idolo. Great match featuring smooth wrestling and car crash physicality. Allin threw his body around with reckless abandon. He tackled Andrade on the tranquilo pose in the ropes, and he dove onto Andrade after the selfie with the ladies.
Allin also had an amazing reversal on an avalanche maneuver into a crossface submission on the mat.
The finish was exciting. Allin flipped over the top for the Scorpion Death Drop. Andrade pulled an Ingobernable tactic to stop the referee’s arm on the three-count. Andrade came back with his spinning back elbow. When Andrade went for the DM to finish, Allin countered into the Last Supper pin to win. Andrade paid respect with a handshake.
Allin should get a world title shot off this win, and that was a great match to boost him as a serious contender for a PPV main event. He did an excellent job mixing the daredevil style with tactical wrestling. Andrade moves so smooth in the ring. It will be interesting to see his next move. The fans continue to pop for him, especially when he takes his pants off as he did on this evening. El Idolo would be the babyface against MJF, but it appears that match would be off the table now with this loss. Does he revert back into the heel side with the Callis Family association? Or does AEW book him in matchups as a tweener where he is the fan favorite?
It sounds like Allin wants his world title shot on Dynamite.
Ricochet defeated Chris Jericho. Ricochet rocked the ring with athleticism. Jericho showed flash of his own for an avalanche hurricanrana and a slick Codebreaker counter in midair on Ricochet’s shooting star press.
Jericho had victory withing his grasp on the Walls of Jericho, but GOA interfered as Toa Liona pulled Ricochet out of the submission. GOA heavily influenced the finish as well. Jericho blasted Bishop Kaun with the Judas Effect elbow, then Liona trucked him on the floor. That set up Ricochet for a shooting star press. Kick out by Jericho, so Ricochet clobbered him with the Spirit Gun. Instead of a pin, Ricochet landed the Lionsault to rub the win in Jericho’s face.
Say what you want about Jericho’s wrestling ability at his age, but the man can still control a crowd. He milked loud reactions several times. Jericho is still a star. Losing his return match starts his latest journey. Of course, he was outnumbered, so that should create some story value to get backup if there is a rematch. The Lionsault finish was a nice touch fitting of Ricochet’s fondness for trolling.
Young Bucks defeated Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita. This match was as good as expected given the talent in the ring with chemistry and creativity. The big question was whether Okada and Takeshita could get along as partners. They worked together well, until they didn’t. There was a funny moment in the middle when the Bucks applied a pair of Sharpshooters. Okada was close to tapping. Takeshita grabbed Okada’s hand to prevent losing, so Okada reacted by slapping Takeshita. They exchanged slaps back and forth then crawled to the ropes to break.
At one point, Okada and Takeshita started trading punches on each other. Don Callis comically claimed that they were blowing off steam.
The real division came when Takeshita accidentally blasted Okada with a power knee. A short while later, Okada clobbered Takeshita with the Rainmaker. Blame that on the Bucks for ducking like cowardly Jannettys. In the end, the Bucks surged with a BTE Trigger on Okada. He showed heart to kick out. The Bucks set up for the Meltzer Driver. Takeshita was there to block the move by grabbing Nick Jackson’s foot, however, he decided to release his grip and allow the Bucks to execute the finisher on Okada. Matt Jackson made the pin. Callis was befuddled.
The partnership between Okada and Takeshita was played well. They stayed cool long enough for this to feel like an epic tag team contest. Even though Takeshita takes the blame for the combustible finish, it was done in a way for him to remain the babyface of this feud. Now, it’s time to bring on the singles clash once and for all. This was an important win for the Bucks on paper, so they can remain relevant to the tag title conversation with FTR and C&C. Wrestling Cope and Christian is their honey pot dream match.
The Zero Hour pre-show had four bouts, two of which were for titles.
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: Divine Dominion (c) defeated Maya World & Hyan to retain the titles. Megan Bayne and Lena Kross thrilled in their powerhouse style. The challengers put up a good fight to make it competitive. In the end, a double chokeslam on Hyan sealed the deal with Bayne making the pin. Maya and Hyan did well to reboot their status from chumps to potential contenders. They should be taken seriously from now.
AEW National Championship: Jack Perry (c) defeated Mark Davis to retain the title. Speed versus power. The action delivered in that style of match. Davis was a beast hammering Perry. Jungle Man relied on his craftiness for quick counters. Davis went for a powerbomb, but Perry countered into a DDT. Perry showed power of his own by executing a piledriver. Davis kicked out on the cover. A striking exchanged ended with a hurricanrana pin for Perry to win. Fun babyface win. I like how Perry struggled with Davis’ size on that piledriver. It sells the idea that it was a strain on his system to execute. Those are the kinds of things that make matches feel larger than life.
Kamille defeated Big Anne. Dominant win from the returning American Gladiator via torture rack bomb. The real story happened earlier. Willow Nightingale was chatting backstage, then Kamille attacked as a surprise return. The focus was on challenging for the TBS Championship. Kamille was given the tune-up match. Afterward, Willow marched to the ring to confront Kamille. The champ suffered an injured shoulder, so this was a stupid move on her part. Kamille pounded her again. Later, Willow was game to defend the title, and that bout will be on Dynamite. Strong way to bring back Kamille. I don’t think she is the one to dethrone Willow, but AEW made her look like a real threat to do it. They have my eager attention for that showdown.
Alex Windsor defeated Marina Shafir. Nice side match from the Ospreay versus Moxley feud. Shafir controlled the action with judo, while Windsor had that brawling toughness. All those bar fights Windsor has been having alongside Jamie Hayter paid off on the finish. Windsor caught a kick, delivered two headbutts, then closed with a pumphandle half nelson driver. Okay, so there aren’t many pumphandle half nelson drivers in bar fights, but it was the general vibe of Windsor’s rally that was fitting of a Brawling Bird. She was taking shots on the chin and shaking them off. This match set a good tone to start the night. Aggressive action with a pleasing finish.
MJF found a way to win by hook or by crook. Nobody is on the level of the Devil.
Match of the Night: Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo
Sizzling blend of wrestling and physicality.
Typical AEW PPV. Great wrestling on a very long show.
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