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AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
NORFOLK, VA. AT CHARTWAY ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TBS & HBO MAX
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Attendance: WrestleTix reported that 2,513 tickets had been distributed; arena is set up for 3,353. The arena has a capacity of 9,520 spectators when configured for concerts.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
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PWTorch editor Wade Keller and PWTorch’s Brian Zilem to review AEW Dynamite LIVE tonight right after Dynamite. Joi n us and let us know your thoughts on Dynamite during the show.
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Dynamite. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
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[HOUR ONE]
-Excalibur introduced the show as they showed a wide shot of the ring and stage and part of the crowd. He hyped the line-up alongside Taz and Tony Schiavone. Excalibur promoted All Out a bit, too.
-Clips aired of last week’s main event finish in the tables match.
-Renee Paquette interviewed Adam Copeland, Darby Allin, and Steve Borden. Copeland praised Borden. Christian floated in and told Borden he is sorry for the loss of his father, then added “your father’s in-ring career.” Darby told Christian he’s not done with him. Christian said they should worry about their own titles. Copeland asked if they’re at least good tonight.
-Stokley Hathaway, flanked by FTR, cut a brief promo. Kevin Knight, Don Callis, and Kyle Fletcher interacted with them a bit.
(1) ADAM COPELAND & CHRISTIAN CAGE & DARBY ALLIN & STEVEN BORDEN vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler w/Stokley Hathaway) & KEVIN KNIGHT & KYLE FLETCHER
Schiavone noted there were signs of tensions within both teams in this match. Copeland came out first and fans sang his entrance theme even after the music stopped. Christian came out next. Darby and Borden them came out. The heels then came out in two groups. Stokely joined in on commentary. Excalibur asked, “Can we get Don Callis on commentary, please?” He said he never thought he’d say that. Taz defended Stokely. Stokely said Taz is the only one around there he likes. The bell rang 11 minutes into the hour.
A minute in, when Darby tagged in against Fletcher, Christian blind-tagged himself in instead. Darby then tagged himself back in went after Fletcher. Christian shot him a dirty look. At 3:00, everyone entered the ring and tempers flared. Borden then locked up with Dax. After a minute of action between them, everyone charged into the ring again and this time they fought. They cut to a double-box break at 5:00. [c/db]
Fletcher powerbombed Darby on the ring apron. Borden hot-tagged in at 11:00 and went after Dax, Cash, Fletcher, and Knight as they came at him one at a time. Borden set up a Scorpion Death Drop on Dax, but Dax blocked it. Cash knocked Borden off the top rope. Darby leaped into Fletcher, who caught him and gave him a half-n-half. All four heels climbed to the top turnbuckles and took turns landing on Borden mid-ring. Borden’s partners “broke up the cover.” (Not really, though; they just hit Dax, but Dax was still on top of Borden and Borden didn’t seem to lift his shoulders.)
Dax battled Borden once things settled down and scored a two count with a small package. Dax set up a Scorpion Death Drop on Borden. Fans booed. Borden up-kicked out of it and sent Dax into a chair being swung by Christian. The ref didn’t see it. Copeland speared Dax. Borden then gave Dax a Scorpion Death Drop with a Coffin Drop by Darby at the same time for the win.
Christian helped Darby stand. Darby was leery. The four babyfaces celebrated together as Darby’s music played.
WINNERS: Darby & Borden & Christian & Copeland in 15:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Fun match, Borden looked solid out there, but he’s not showing a range of personality or emotion.)
-Moxley, Pac, and Gabe Kidd cut a promo backstage. Mox said no one understands but him how hard of a road Will Ospreay has been through. “This is a hard job,” he said. He said he hoped that by now, after their time together, he understood that any belt makes them the best. He said what Ospreay did at All In will inspire generations to come. He said he never wanted Ospreay to follow him, he wanted him to lead. He said that by now he should know that All Out, when he looks across the ring and sees him, he knows that “whatever happens is your responsibility.” Kidd and Pac spoke more violently about what they wanted to do to hurt Ospreay tonight in their match. Mox was hard to read as they spoke.
-The Brawling Birds cut a promo about the Chicago Street Fight at All Out against Divine Dominion.
-Excalibur hyped Jericho vs. Nick Wayne was up next. [c]
(2) CHRIS JERICHO vs. NICK WAYNE
Jericho’s ring entrance aired. They went to an inset clip of their exchange last week backstage. Then a new promo aired with Wayne pleading with Jericho to “show me a thing or two.” Fans finished singing “Judas” after the music stopped. Wayne then made his entrance. The bell rang 38 minutes into the hour. A chant of “Jericho!” broke out as Wayne acted cocky. Wayne spit at Jericho a minute in.
Jericho vertical suplexed Wayne at 3:00. Jericho played to the crowd. Wayne poked Jericho’s eyes and then tossed him into the ring apron. Wayne punched Jericho and told him, “Show me something!” Jericho slapped him. Wayne set up a Spanish Fly on the ring apron, but Jericho blocked it and the delivered a Death Valley Driver. Jericho played to the handheld camera at ringside. Wayne reverse-whipped Jericho into the ringside stairs and then landed a Destroyer off the ringside steps which caused Excalibur to cackle with laughter. They cut to a double-box break at 4:00. [c/db]
Jericho rallied after the break. He leaped off the top rope with a crossbody onto Wayne at ringside. Wayne made a comeback and landed a top rope senton onto Jericho on the ring apron. Jericho countered a top rope leap back in the ring by Wayne with a Code Breaker for a near fall at 10:00. Jericho mounted Wayne and punched away at him as the crowd counted to ten. He then took Wayne to the mat with a huracanrana. Wayne suddenly hit a leaping cutter off the second rope for a near fall.
Jericho yanked off Wayne’s necklace. Wayne picked it up and looked despondent. Jericho went for a Walls of Jericho, but Wayne blocked it. Jericho then twisted his legs and rolled him up for a three count. Wayne cared more about his broken necklace afterward than losing the match. Taz pointed that out.
WINNER: Jericho in 14:00.
-After the match, Jericho’s music stopped and he approached Wayne with his hands on his hips. He offered a hand to help him up. Wayne rolled eyes and said no and turned his back. He then stood and kicked the middle rope into Jericho’s crotch as Jericho was leaving the ring. Wayne pounded away at his head. He then bashed Jericho cross his back with a chair.
(Keller’s Analysis: Wayne made for a good young punk heel in this match and he’s a good opponent for Jericho at this stage of each of their careers. I’m not sure about Wayne caring more about his necklace than the outcome of the match.)
-They went to Excalibur, Schiavone, and Taz at ringside. Excalibur said Mercedes Mone wasn’t cleared to compete at All Out, but she will be cleared by WrestleDream on Oct. 17 and she’ll face either Thekla or Willow Nightingale there.
-A vignette aired with soundbites from Willow and Thekla.
(Keller’s Analysis: Solid vignette, but it remains a match between two very different fan favorites.) [c]
[HOUR TWO]
-Renee interviewed Ospeay, Francesco Akira, and Andrade. Ospreay talked about forming United Empire. He told Andrade that one day they will find out who the better man is. He said he thinks he knows who the better man is because he has the belt over his shoulder. Andrade asked, “How you know?” As tensions increased, Akira tried to inspire cooperation in Italian. Ospreay told him to say something in English. Akira said, “Let’s kick the shit out of the Death Riders!” Ospreay whacked him in the head and said, “Not that word.”
(3) ORANGE CASSIDY & KYLE O’REILLY & RODERICK STRONG vs. “HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE & BANDIDO & BRODY KING
The bell rang 4 minutes into the hour. Different wrestlers paired off for brief exchanges in the early minutes. Brody chopped away at Cassidy as they headed to a double-box break at 3:00. [c/db]
Hangman rallied after the break and landed a Death Valley Driver on Strong for a two count at 8:00. Strong got the better of Hangman at ringside. Cassidy and Bandido battled in the ring. Bandido gave Cassidy a cutter for a two count at 11:00. Cassidy landed a Stun Dog Millionaire. Strong and O’Reilly took shots and then Cassidy made the cover. Brody “broke up the cover” (but, again, Bandido’s shoulders were still down and Cassidy was still on him, but the ref stopped his count anyway).
Hangman and Strong battled next. Hangman took Strong down with a clothesline. Cassidy leaped off the top rope onto Hangman. Cassidy leaped onto Hangman’s back and twirled an imaginary lasso. Hangman reversed it and did the same. Strong clotheslined him. O’Reilly and Brody battled next. Brody blocked an Orange Punch. Cassidy did slo-mo kicks to try to break free. Strong helped. Hangman then surprised Strong with a Buckshot Lariat for the win. Excalibur said Hangman, Brody, and Bandido would battle the winner of next week’s match between Swerve Strickland & The New Level vs. The Demand. Next week will be a combined Dynamite/Collision three hour hybrid episode.
WINNERS: Hangman & Brody & Bandido in 13:00.
-Clips aired of last week’s Collision dedicated to The Butcher.
(4) TOMMASO CIAMPA vs. MYLES HAWKINS
During Ciampa’s ring entrance, an inset soundbite aired with him saying it was time for him to go all out and collect a title. He said since he arrived in AEW, there was one match he wanted more than anything else and that is a shot at Kazuchika Okada. As Hawkins fretted over his entrance jacket not getting wrinkled, Ciampa gave him a running knee for a quick win.
WINNER: Ciampa in seconds. [c]
-Swerve and The New Level made their entrance for a promo. As they were dancing along with Prince Nana, The Demand attacked them. New Level tried to fight back; they were knocked down. The Demand then triple-teamed Swerve. The Demand then held the AEW Trios Title belts over the fallen faces and dropped the belts onto their chests and struck a pose.
-A promo aired with Jack Perry who was sitting backstage. He said he was in the process of facing former great champions in AEW, and even in defeat, he is learning and feeling something. He said he’s not just going to sit around and wait for an opportunity. He said he was going to call his shot. He punched himself in the forehead a few times and called out Samoa Joe. “You are both feared and loved, but not by me,” he said. He said he’s been gone long enough, but it’s time he come back and teach him something “and make my day.” The wall he was leaning on was painted with the words “Joe is gonna kill you.”
(5) JAMIE HAYTER vs. LENA KROSS
During Hayter’s entrance, Renee read a quote from Windsor from earlier including: “We are going to slap the tits off these behemoths.” Kross attacked Hayter with a kick to the throat before the bell. The ref ridiculously rewarded the pre-bell attack by immediately calling for the bell. (This remains SO F’N STUPID and they do it all the time. Find a better way to start wrestling matches than this trope.) The bell rang 33 minutes into the hour. Excalibur hyped Blood & Guts takes place on the Nov. 4 Dynamite. He plugged other events. Kross took it to Hayter at ringside at 2:00. She powerbombed her into the edge of the ring as they cut to a double-box break. [c/db]
Hayter rallied after the break. She climbed to the rope and landed a missile dropkick for a two count. Both ended up down and slow to get up after exchanging high-impact moves at 8:00. Hayter eventually took control and landed a backbreaker for a two count at 10:00. Megan Bayne stepped onto the ring apron. As the ref scolded her, Kross hit Hayter in the back with a pipe and then landed a Jackhammer for the win.
WINNER: Kross in 11:00.
-A vignette aired on Andrade who talked about growing up in pro wrestling with vintage photos of him when he was just starting and also pics with him with his father and uncles. He said he comes from a family of four generations of wrestlers. He said his destiny is to become World Champion. He said no one will stand in the way of the destiny of his family.
-Excalibur hyped Andrade vs. Daniel Garcia for the National Title on Collision on Saturday.
-Renee interviewed Okada. She asked for his response to Ciampa’s challenge. Okada said he gave it a lot of thought and Ciampa “is a bitch.” He smiled. Ciampa attacked him. He said he wants “the Psycho Killer vs. The Rainmaker, bitch.” [c]
-Renee interviewed Windsor and Hayter. Windsor said there are no rules to break next week. She said they are getting slaughtered.
(6) WILL OSPREAY & ANDRADE EL IDOLO & FRANCESCO AKIRA sv. JON MOXLEY & PAC & GABE KIDD
Mox, Pac, and Kidd made their entrance first. Then Ospreay, Andrade, and Akira. Excalibur said Akira is like a more controlled version of Darby. The bell rang 56 minutes into the hour. Andrade took a selfie with a woman at ringside a minute in as Kidd beat up Akira.
[OVERRUN]
Mox grounded Akira and then cut to a break at 6:00. [c/db]
Akira took a beating, but eventually escaped Pac and tagged in Andrade to a nice pop. Excalibur announced Darby & Borden vs. Fletcher & Knight and Okada vs. Ciampa were officially added to the PPV.
As Mox and Ospreay squared off, Excalibur said tomorrow would be the one-year anniversary of Ospreay’s neck fusion surgery. Ospreay landed a sitout powerbomb for a two count, with Pac breaking up the cover. Ospreay signaled for a Hidden Blade, but Kidd grabbed his boot. Akira tagged himself in and leaped off the top rope at Mox. He then took Pac down with a flying head scissors. He then flipped off the top rope onto Kidd and Pac at ringside. He landed a springboard cutter on Mox for a near fall at 15:00.
Mox ducked a running knee strike and then Kidd landed a lariat. Chaos broke out. Mox gave Andrade a cutter. Akira rolled up Mox for a two count with a schoolboy. Mox kicked Akira in the jaw. Akira fought back and took Moxley down in the corner. Akira dropkicked Wheeler Yuta off the ring apron. Mox recovered and took over, landing a Paradigm Shift. Kidd piledrove Ospreay at ringside as Pac landed a reverse huracanrana on Andrade. Mox then finished Akira with the bulldog choke for the tapout win. Mox held on for several extra seconds.
WINNERS: Moxley & Pac & Kidd in 18:00.
-Mox reapplied the Bulldog choke. Andrade made the save. He fended off Yuta and Garcia. David Finlay and Clark Connors jumped Andrade. Pac joined in. Mox threw a chair into the ring and put Akira’s head in it. Ospreay made the save with a barrage of hidden blades. He pulled the chair away and used it to fend off any more threat from the heels.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
JOIN US LIVE ON YOUTUBE TONIGHT FOR THE VIDEO-FORMAT OF OUR LIVE POST-SHOWS…
PWTorch editor Wade Keller and PWTorch’s Brian Zilem to review AEW Dynamite LIVE tonight right after Dynamite. Joi n us and let us know your thoughts on Dynamite during the show.
Email our post-show at wadekellerpodcast@gmail.com with your comments and questions about Dynamite. We’ll read your emails live during the post-show.
VIP VIDEO CALLER CODE: CLICK HERE
https://streamyard.com/bdw7humhtj
Click that link during the post-show to enter the waiting room as “live video caller” (or just audio if you turn off your cam, which is fine).
Subscribe to all of our free podcasts by searching “wade keller” and “pwtorch” in your podcast app of choice including Spotify and Apple Podcasts and most other iOS and Android apps.
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