Tony Khan isn’t waving the white flag to the World Cup.
This week’s AEW Dynamite is absolutely packed, and Dave Meltzer says that’s not by accident. With World Cup soccer airing opposite Wednesday’s show and Forbidden Door just days away, Khan is apparently throwing everything he can at fans to make sure Dynamite delivers.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said Khan knows exactly what he’s up against. As the vice-chairman and director of football operations for Fulham FC, Khan follows soccer closely and understands the challenge.
“One of the reasons it is so loaded is because Tony Khan is a soccer guy. He is well aware of the World Cup and he’s trying to put on a hell of a show going against World Cup soccer, and that is part of it. And again, building this pay-per-view for Sunday.”
That’s pretty obvious when you look at the card. nstead of the usual four to six matches that have become the norm for Dynamite in 2026, AEW is rolling out eight matches for the June 24 show in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
The lineup includes Konosuke Takeshita defending the AEW International Championship against Ricochet, Will Ospreay facing El Phantasmo, and a trios showdown pitting Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta against Místico, Bandido and Brody King.
Zack Sabre Jr. will battle Jack Perry, while The Young Bucks square off with TMDK’s Mikey Nicholls and Bad Dude Tito. Swerve Strickland also takes on Daniel Garcia, and there are two Survival of the Fittest qualifiers featuring Queen Aminata vs. Red Velvet and Harley Cameron vs. Marina Shafir.
The timing makes sense. Dynamite is the final stop before Forbidden Door, so AEW was already going to go hard. Throw World Cup competition into the mix, and it looks like Tony Khan decided to stack the deck even more.
Whether that strategy pays off remains to be seen, but fans definitely aren’t getting a throwaway episode this week.
Do you think Tony Khan is smart to stack Dynamite against World Cup soccer, or is the competition too tough? Let us know in the comments.