AEW TOP MATCHES OF THE WEEK: Which match this week is an early leader in the Match of the Year contenders? Did Grand Slam Australia’s top matches deliver?

AEW has been on a real heater to start off 2026 and I have been thoroughly enjoying both Dynamite and Collision. I love that AEW made “Grand Slam”  a mini-PPV this week. They should do more special events like this on TV, especially with WWE moving to ESPN and a large majority of people still having to pay $30 a month to watch their PLE’s (it will never not be weird saying PLE instead of PPV). It could be a smart way to try tod get more eyeballs on their product.

Now for a little bit of personal news. I am going to be the new co-host of the Collision Café podcast with Brian Zilem, which is available to PWTorch VIP members. Go VIP! Needless to say, I am beyond excited and I can’t wait to get started this week. I want to thank Wade Keller and Brian Zilem for the opportunity.

The last six months at PWTorch have been more than I could have ever asked for. I am having so much fun writing about AEW, and I’ve had so much fun the couple of times I’ve been able to co-host some of the Wade Keller Post-shows. If you were a fan of “Collision Café” before, I hope you tune back in to hear Brian and me this week. If you’ve never listened, but have been a fan of this article or my “Top Promos” article, I ask that you tune in and give the podcast a shot this week.

Tommaso Ciampa (TNT Champion) vs. Kyle Fletcher – Dynamite 2/11/26

Hands down Match of the Year so far. This was a PPV-quality match and the fact that we get matches like this on free TV is just insane. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire match.

Watching Tommaso Ciampa put on performances like this and being able to see how happy he is just by the way he has wrestled since his debut is such a treat for me as a wrestling fan. Nothing makes me happier than when you see a wrestler who is all in (no pun intended) and loving what he is doing. Ciampa could barely hold back his smile throughout this match. So happy for that guy. Kyle Fletcher is the future of AEW, and it has also been a treat to watch him over the last 12-15 months as he’s transitioned into this absolute star.

So many great spots in this match I could barely keep up writing them all down as the match was happening. The Psycho Driller to the steel steps by Ciampa was insane; Fletcher’s back hit the edge of the stairs so hard. Later in the match they had a close up of Fletcher’s back and you could still see the steel grate marks on his back.

Then the knee Ciampa hit Fletcher with after he rolled back into the ring was like a Shohei Ohtani homerun shot. Ciampa’s knee hitting Fletcher made the same sound Ohtani’s bat does when he hits a 465 foot home run. Fletcher ate so many knees from Ciampa in this match. Once commentary played up the fact this was Ciama’s third match in 12 days, it pretty much solidified it for me that Fletcher was winning (rightfully so), but man was I on the edge of my seat for the final five minutes of this match. Just perfect near fall after perfect near fall. Now it’s time to keep the TNT Title on Fletcher and let this man go on a legendary run with it.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Andrade El Idolo – Grand Slam Collision 2/14/25

I thought this match perfectly summed up the entire night of Grand Slam. Really solid and did the job that it needed to do. I may be a little tired of Hangman in the title scene at this point, but I understand why they had Hangman win here. I do worry about the promos between Hangman and MJF and the possibility that it could just turn into a screaming fest for the next month, but I’m not going to get upset about something that hasn’t happened yet. The older I get, the more I’ve realized that getting upset about things that “could happen” isn’t worth the time or energy.

I loved Hangman booting Andrade off the ropes as he did his pose while sitting on them and I also loved Hangman taking advantage of Andrade being distracted while he took another selfie with a girl at ringside.

I thought it was a nice touch having Hangman then take a selfie with the girl as well as Andrade laid on the floor. I got a good laugh when Hangman told the woman at ringside he was “married.” I hope this is the last selfie spot by Andrade now.

Don Callis was great on commentary in this match as well. I like this new thing he does where he complains about the refs not knowing how to count to three for his guys. The fallaway slam into the barricade by Hangman looked so brutal. Andrade slammed so hard into the metal barricade.

Overall, I thought this was a solid match and I understand why Hangman won because of the heel and face dynamic with him and MJF. I also really loved that Hangman blocked the low blow attempt by Andrade – the same low blow he used to beat Swerve and Omega. It made Hangman look smart for scouting his opponents. I am a little fatigued of Hangman in the AEW World Title picture at this point, but Hangman and MJF should have a nice little run here together for the next month leading up to Revolution PPV.

MJF (AEW World Heavyweight Champion) vs. Brody King – Grand Slam Collision 2/14/25

I was really interested in how the different styles of MJF and Brody King would mix in this match and overall. I enjoyed the match, but I did feel like there were spots where the chemistry was a little off and I thought the ending of the match ended with a little bit of a thud. Brody looked like a beast during his entrance and he got a great reaction from the crowd.

I loved the way MJF worked the crowd during this match and I always laugh when he yells “Shit!” during his matches when his opponent is going to hit a big move on him. I got a little bit of PTSD when MJF did the Kangaroo Kick and I had flashbacks of his run with Adam Cole during his first title run. Brody hit MJF with two devastating moves on the outside when he nailed MJF with a crossbody while MJF sat on a chair and then when he slammed MJF through the chair and off the barricade later in the match.

I don’t think Brody King should be using this chokeout on the ropes if he’s not going to win matches with it. If you completely choke the lights out on someone and then drag their lifeless body into the ring and slam them headfirst into the mat, that should be all she wrote for your opponent. I thought that sequence made Brody King look bad. I also think the crowd did this match no favors. I didn’t think the crowd was great all night, to be honest.

I wonder where Brody King goes after this now. He’s received a lot of media attention this last week and this should be a strike when the iron is hot. I hope he doesn’t go away after this match. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a feud with Ricochet and putting  the National Title on him could maybe help that title get a little more interesting and could help keep Brody on TV for the foreseeable future. The National Title has been meaningless, so give it to a guy who has meaning and let that rub off onto the title.

I liked the post-match angle with Hangman coming down to the ring with his World Title contract and signing it right in front of MJF, something MJF never did with his World Title contract when he entered himself into the match with Hangman, Swerve Strickland, and Samoa Joe for the World Title at World’s End. I thought that was a nice little touch and showed the differences in the types of men MJF and Hangman are.

THOUGHTS & OBSERVATIONS

•I thought this would have been a great spot to move the Women’s Tag Titles off The Babes of Wrath. They have done a phenomenal job as the first ever Champions, but I think it’s time for Willow to focus on the TBS Title.

•If I never hear the term “ EVP”  again it won’t be soon enough.

•The Rascalz, The Young Bucks, and Private Party all being in the same ring together was like a real life Spider-Man pointing meme.

•Putting the AEW Women’s World Title on Thekla was the absolute right move.

•So Moxley has a problem with Yuta leaving the ring and trying to duck out on getting his head shaved, but he has no problem with the rest of the Death Riders cheating in every match they are in basically. Please figure out something to do with Moxley and the Death Riders. A faction shouldn’t exist just merely to exist and that is where we are at with the Death Riders.

•Yuta Wheeler should shave his head, but he should keep a long rat tail on the back of his head. It would be so obnoxious to see and would fit his character perfectly.