AEW’S TOP MATCHES OF THE WEEK: Did you catch everything that was great about the first-ever Omega vs. Strickland match? Jet Set Rodeo and The Demand also shine

Kenny Omega vs. Swerve Strickland – Dynamite 2/18/26

I think Swerve said it best after he put Kenny Omega through the announcers table with a Vertebreaker: “I needed that.” What a main event these two alpha’s put on. It’s still crazy to me that this was the first time these two have wrestled each other in AEW, and just another reason I love that Kenny Omega has split off from the Elite World. We are getting these fresh match-ups and it’s no surprise that the weekly TV shows for AEW have been top tier since the beginning of the year.

These guys started off the match a little slowly and it seemed like they were trying to get the chemistry in the ring going, but boy did they ever pick it up and deliver an absolute classic of a main event.

There was a point in the match where you could see two guys grabbing each other and jumping up and down in the first row after Kenny hit a big knee on Swerve and it made me smile to see how happy these two dudes were watching this match.

I also got a good laugh when Kenny and Swerve were on the outside of the ring and Kenny went to hit a moonsault off the barricade and he slipped on the original attempt. He hit it on the second attempt and then went back and ripped off the rubber protector that was on the top of the barricade that he slipped on and started swinging it around his head.

There were so many great spots in this match, such as Kenny grabbing Swerve’s braids to get extra momentum when he kneed him in the face, the 450 splash Swerve hit on Kenny’s back, the Avalanche Dragon Suplex off the top rope, Swerve exposing the steel rod on the turnbuckle and sling shotting Kenny’s neck into it.

I loved that Swerve turned heel in this match, and I loved how they teased it throughout the match with Swerve pulling Aubrey Edwards in the way of Kenny’s knee and Swerve sling-shotting Kenny into the exposed steel rod on the turnbuckle.

I also loved Swerve’s reaction when Omega kicked out of the Swerve Stomp towards the end of the match. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. It was one of my favorite moments of the night.

The post-match stuff was great too with Swerve putting Kenny through the announcers table, and Bryan Danileson yelling at Swerve, “You don’t have to do this!” I love Bryan yelling like that because there is still like that 10 percent chance that Bryan will get physical again one day.

Swerve saying repeatedly “I needed that” was such a good line and I love him releasing those demons because you can tell he’s played nice for too long and it hasn’t gotten him any closer to regaining the World Title.

Willow Nightingale vs. Marina Shafir vs. Megan Bayne vs. Mina Shirakawa for the TBS Title – Dynamite 2/18/26

This was my second-favorite match of the week and the women really put on a show with this match. Megan Bayne just continues to impress, and you can see her getting better every week. The Avalanche Suplex that she took off the top rope from Willow Nightingale was maybe the scariest thing I’ve seen in AEW this year that didn’t involve Kyle Fletcher. I can’t believe she was able to somehow tuck her head on that move. I jumped up off my couch when she landed because I thought she was going to be hurt.

The rest of the women in this match also really delivered and there was this spot where Mina Shirikawa did like a twist off Megan Baynes back and then nailed Marina Shafir. I thought it was so cool looking, and I’ve never seen anything like that before.

Willow Nightingale laying everyone out with spinebusters was also a great spot and was a nice showcase to highlight how strong Willow is.

The star of this match, though, was Megan Bayne. The powerbomb she hit Marina Shafir with when she put her into the timekeeper’s table was such a beast move. She picked her up like a ragdoll and it really showed just how strong Bayne is.

I am ready for a Willow Nightingale vs. Megan Bayne TBS Title match at the Revolution PPV.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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Jet Set Rodeo (AEW Trios Champions) vs. The Demand – Collision 2/21/26

I loved the gear on all six guys in this match. The matching gear that Jet Set Rodeo had looked great and I loved that “Hangman” Adam Page switched up his look a little bit. The gear he was wearing reminded me of the pants that Shawn Michaels switched to during the second half of his career.

The Demand always brings it with their gear as well. The cloaks they wear to the ring are so clean looking. The cloaks fit all three guys so well and it just makes all three of them look like bad asses.

Toa Liona was the star of this match for me. I loved him running around the outside of the ring like a freight train just annihilating anything in his path. When he was eating superkicks from “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight, he literally took them and spit them out. I thought it was the moment of the match for me, and it made him look like an absolute beast.

There was also a spot where Toa Liona was holding both Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight and did a modified fallaway slam with them. Just an absolute monster in that ring this week. I don’t think they should have shown a replay of Speedball missing his moonsault to the outside of the ring because he wasn’t even close to hitting it clean. Production did him no favors on that one.

I thought it was also a great use of Jack Perry showing up as well and distracting Ricochet which helped give Jet Set Rodeo the win here. Later in the night, though, Ricochet got his revenge when he absolutely smoked Jack Perry on the entrance ramp when he was running down to help the Young Bucks after the main event on Collision.

Thoughts and Observations

-Three weeks in a row now with a Will Ospreay teaser vignette. He has to be coming back at Revolution, right?

-I don’t need weeks of teasers of when Yuta is going to reveal his bald head. Pics of him were already leaked online from an Indy show he was at. Also, it’s Wheeler Yuta, no one really cares that much. Just show the bald head and move on.

-Jon Moxley and Mark Davis had a great match on Dynamite, but I think I’ve had enough of people tasting other people’s blood in AEW. It’s revolting.

-Kazuchika Okada has the best shit-eating grin in professional wrestling.

-If Hook is going to be the leader of the Opps, then he has to do something with that hair. I can’t take you seriously as the leader of a heel faction when you have the haircut of a 13 year old. He needs to fix the hair and lose the oversized hoodies.

-I was not that interested in another FTR vs. The Young Bucks match, but after Collision this week I am all the way back in. Dax Harwood pushing The Young Bucks mom was wild. I couldn’t believe he put hands on their mom.

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