AEW’S TOP MATCHES OF THE WEEK: What stood out with MJF vs. Bandido, Darby Allin vs. Pac, The Opps vs. Hangman & Jet Speed

I thought this was a great week for wrestling on AEW. Not so much on the promos. (Sorry, no Top Promos article this week.) So let’s kick this thing off…

MJF (AEW World Heavyweight Champion) vs. Bandido – 1/14/26

Banger. This exceeded my expectations, and I thought these two had great chemistry. I know it goes without saying but the trust you must have in someone jumping from the turnbuckle over the barricade and trusting that person to catch you is really special and unique. The air that Bandido got on that spot was awesome and was such a great spot in the match.

I also loved early in the match when MJF called Bandido a “dumbass” and then Bandido leg swept him right on his back. I also liked MJF working Bandido’s arm throughout the match. I love the consistency of people continuing to work Bandido’s arm. I love that in these Moxley matches too when his opponent keeps working his ankle. The zoom-in by the cameraman when MJF and Bandido did the suplex spot  in the center of the ring in the middle of this match was awesome. It made you feel like you were right in the ring with them.

I really enjoyed that type of camera work by AEW. It was a unique perspective. I am not a huge fan of the rapid-fire pinning spot. It just looks too cartoonish to me. I loved MJF having “Lucha Legend” on his elbow pad. I always like seeing what MJF puts on his elbow pad. It’s like a little Easter egg every time he wrestles. I loved the ending of this match and got a good chuckle when Bryan Danielson on commentary said MJF put Bandido in the Yes Lock and then quickly caught himself and called it the LeBell Lock.

The post-match beat down was also great. MJF telling Bandido he was a future World Champion and then telling him “Which is why I have to do this” was great and then proceeding to attack him was such a great MJF move. This MJF title run is off to a great start which I thought it would be.

Darby Allin vs. Pac – Dynamite 1/14/26

I was so pumped when they had Renee Paquette doing the sideline report for this match. I had been writing for weeks that they needed to have her do these reports for more than just the Continental Title matches. This match was also the first time we had a look at the venue this week and I thought it looked amazing.

The camera angles they used made it look like the fans were packed to the rafters. I always love these Darby matches where he starts it off by just diving through the ropes like a torpedo. I also loved that they took the fight into the stands because it really showed you how massive that venue was and how many fans were there.

The Coffin Drop to Pac by Darby while he was on the second level of the venue was awesome. Once they got back to the ring, Pac hit Darby with a belly-to-belly suplex on the ring stairs that made me jump out of my seat. He hit those stairs like a bug hitting a windshield. There was also a spot where Pac hit a Belly to Belly Suplex on Darby where he threw him into the turnbuckle and then followed that up with a belly-to-belly suplex from the top rope and absolutely launched Darby off the top rope. Can we also stop doing the 10 count spot where the referee gets to 9 and then suddenly, the wrestler jumps up and dives in the ring.

I thought the ending of the match was a little bizarre. It included more outside interference from the Death Riders and then Pac getting his ankle smashed in a chair by Darby. So, is Pac getting written off TV? I’m just not sure where we are going with the direction of the Death Riders. To be honest I’m getting a little annoyed because the Moxley character makes no sense anymore leading the Death Riders.

Also, if Pac isn’t getting written off TV, he now looks like a chump losing to Darby. The whole thing to me is just kind of a mess now. I’m just not sure what the delay is with having Moxley leave the Death Riders. Every faction in its original formation has an expiration date and we are well past that date for the Death Riders.

The Opps (AEW World Trios Champions)  vs. Jet Speed and “Hangman” Adam Page – Collision 1/17/26

I thought this was a really fun match and I like this little side adventure that Hangman is on now by being a Trios Champion with Jet Speed now. I also like that they are following it up by having Swerve wrestle Kevin Knight on Dynamite next week.

The crowd chanting “Speedball Shit” at the beginning of the match really made me laugh and you could tell Speedball got a kick out of it too. I also liked Speedball taking the bait on the handshake by Shibata. He’s just goofy enough to fall for the old handshake trick by the heel.

Hangman hit a moonsault to the outside in this match and I thought he was going to over rotate and land on his neck. It was awkward the way he hit Hobbs and Joe with it. I also really liked the spot where Speedball hit Hobbs with a leg sweep while he was standing on the ring apron holding Hangman and that caused Hangman to land on top of Hobbs like a powerslam. Speedball also nailed Hobb’s right in the face with his backflip on Hobbs on the ring apron.

I loved the reaction of Hangman and Jet Speed when they won the titles. Just pure excitement and joy on all three of their faces. It made me smile to see their reactions.

Overall, just a fun Trios match and I think the Dynamic of these three with Swerve being involved will work well. I’m guessing they are going to have Swerve start pulling Kevin Knight away from the group which will eventually lead to tension with Hangman and Swerve again.

 Thoughts and Observations

•The Pyro this week was unnervingly close to the wrestlers when they came out on the stage. Omega even made a face when the fire hit during his entrance. You can feel that heat when you are in the stands so I can’t even imagine how hot it is when you are a few feet from it.

•Brody King’s voice does not match his look, and it is jarring sometimes.

•I have no interest in Davis & Doyle vs. FTR. Once again, this is why we took the tag titles off Brodido? I don’t get it. Adam Copeland & Christian can’t come back soon enough to light a fire under this tag title run for FTR.

•I audibly groaned when Don Callis’s music hit after Omega’s promo this week. Can we please just separate Omega from Callis for a bit? It’s been three years of this with Omega and Callis.