AEW TOP MATCHES & PROMOS OF THE WEEK: Ospreay vs. Pac including the one spot that really stood out, the surprising person in the top promo segment of the week

Will Ospreay vs. Pac – Dynamite 4/1/26

As excited as I am about the return of Will Ospreay, it’s going to take me a bit to watch his matches and not cringe at certain spots and worry about his neck. It’s the same way I felt watching Bryan Danielson in his last AEW run. Ospreay plays such a great injured baby face though, and you knew what was coming in this match when it was announced that he would be wrestling Pac the brutalizer.

Also, it is nice to see Pac being used. He has been criminally underused the last couple months. I loved him attacking Ospreay from behind to start the match and Ospreay did a hell of a job selling the attack on the ramp. You just knew that once Ospreay got in that ring Pac was going to work that neck all match and boy did he ever. DDT’s, Brutalizers, Stomps, Tombstones he pulled everything out to try and take Ospreay out.

The one spot I loved was Pac holding his foot on Ospreay’s neck and Ospreay slowly rising using the muscles in his back, arms, and neck to get out of it. Almost like a “Yeah, I’m still strong, don’t forget” moment. There was also a moment when Pac hit Ospreay with a Lariat and Ospreay landed right on his neck and I cringed on my couch at it.

I just thought that both guys played their roles well with PAC being the heel brutalizer working the injured neck of Ospreay and Ospreay playing the injured babyface fighting from behind and picking up a quick win with a smart strategic pin to get the win. Just picture perfect.

I thought Moxley was also perfect in the post-match beat down of Ospreay. He saved Ospreay from having a chair smashed on his neck by Claudio, but he somehow still came off as sinister. His line of “ Use your head or you may lose it permanently” was great and I love him telling Ospreay that “It’s not personal for me yet, so don’t make it personal” I’m really excited for this match between them, and it’s the most excited I’ve been for Moxley since the Continental Classic ended.

The Dogs & Death Riders vs. Mistico (AEW Trios Champion), Kevin Knight (AEW Trios Champion) & Roderick Strong & Orange Cassidy – Collision 4/2/26

This match was nuts from the beginning and it was my favorite match on Collison by far. Sometimes these 8 man tornado matches can become too hectic and can be borderline cartoonish, but I really enjoyed this one a lot. Kevin Knight just continues to impress me week in and week out.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how high he gets on his dives. He really is Superman with the height he gets. The UFO Splash he hit to win the match when he went halfway across the ring and twisted his body was insane. I’m also going to say something that I thought I’d never say… Roderick Strong is *gulp* growing on me. I loved the spot in the match when he was just eating boots from Claudio and asking him for more. We just have to stop the screaming of people’s names. Please stop, Roderick.

The one thing coming out of this match that I think needs to be fixed is that the Dogs are losing too much. I’m not sure if it is like a “Welcome to AEW” thing for these guys where they are going to have to take their lumps before they get pushed, but right now they are kind of a joke, and I don’t think that’s a spot they should be in.

I think they have something with Gabe Kidd and even though he was not in this match his affiliation with The Dogs and the non-stop losing is hurting him. I thought his coffin match with Darby Allin a few weeks ago was the worst match of the year and I really think he may already need a reset in AEW if he and The Dogs continue this path.

Promo Highlight of the Week

MJF (AEW World Heavyweight Champion) and Kenny Omega – Dynamite 4/1/26

HIPPA laws being broken aside, I thought this contract signing between MJF and Kenny Omega really worked, and I thought Kenny did a great job here. It was a nice bounce back from last week from when I thought we got what I like to call “Flippant” Kenny Omega.

I thought Omega’s opening remarks to MJF about his health issues and how he’s taking this World Heavyweight Title match seriously because there may not be another one were great. Also, it was a small moment, but don’t think I didn’t miss MJF putting his boots up on the table for everyone to see the red bottoms. If you’re going to wear $1,500 Christian Louboutin boots, you better throw them up on that table for the world to see.

I also loved MJF telling “Speedball” Mike Bailey to get his “Wax on, wax off, ass out of the ring”. I also thought “Speedball” did a great job on the mic and didn’t come off as dorky as he sometimes can. Omega also had a great line at MJF about how he’d rather “ Be missing 24 inches of my intestines, than missing my balls.”

Overall, I just thought this was a solid contract signing segment, and I was pleasantly surprised that it led to a match between MJF and Speedball. MJF wrestling more on TV is good for everyone and I always enjoy when MJF does his “All-American” gimmick when he is in another country. Just one of those classic hell moves that always works in my opinion.

Thoughts and Observations:

– Willow Nightingale is the Ms. Rachel of AEW, and she really needs to get an edge on her character because she is becoming very annoying. I wanted to throw my remote through my TV on Wednesday during Dynamite when she clicked her tongue at the end of her promo.

– I thought Kenny Omega was solid on commentary during the main event of Dynamite, but can we get the guy a shirt? I thought it was weird that he was on commentary without a shirt.

– Happy to see Hikaru Shida back in AEW. With Toni Storm out for the rest of the year, it should be all hands on deck to help lift the division.

– The Hurt Business needs to be a Collision only act moving forward. I can’t have Dynamite be filled with guys in their mid-fifties every week. If there is a Dynamite that has The Hurt Business, Cope and Christian and Jericho all on during one show I am going to lose my mind.

– Anthony Bowens, hanging with Moxley for 15 minutes sure was a choice to kick off Collision this week.

– Thank God those security guards decided to run right in to Cope and Christian during their entrance because I don’t think they would have been able to get through those guys without that. Seriously, enough if the security guard shit. It’s stupid.

– I thought Isiah Kassidy had a great promo on Collision this week and I want this kid to be paired up with Swerve Strickland, like I need air to breathe.

– Jack Perry telling Darby Allin “You set me on fire” was so funny and maybe my favorite promo he’s ever done.