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AEW DYNAMITE REPORT
JULY 22, 2026
NASHVILLE, TENN. AT THE PINNACLE
AIRED ON TBS & HBO MAX
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Attendance: WrestleTix reported that 1,250 tickets had been distributed; arena is set up for 1,251. The arena has a capacity of 4,500 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 Dennis Kline to review AEW Dynamite LIVE tonight right after Dynamite. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Dynamite during the show. PWTorch’s Darrin Lilly will join as an on-site correspondent also.
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]
-They opened with a live shot inside the arena of the crowd and then to the announcers at ringside as Excalibur introduced the show. He hyped the AEW Redemption PPV this Sunday night.
-A backstage promo aired with Will Ospreay and Kenny Omeg backstage. Ospreay excitedly said he and Omega have never lost when they’ve teamed. He told Ospreay to “reach out and touch someone” if he needs to tag out since he’ll be there for him. (Oh, fun, a 1980s “Ma Bell” long-distance calling commercial pop culture reference!). Jon Moxley walked in and soaked up the vibe and said, “There is no tension in this room.” Mox left. Omega said, “Well, there wasn’t.”
(1) KEVIN KNIGHT vs. DARBY ALLIN – TNT Title match
A clip aired Darby beating Brian Cage last week. Renee Paquette did a ringside report as Darby was making his entrance. She said last year, Darby spent the night in the hospital last fall when they were in this arena last time due to injuries caused by Knight. She said tonight Knight told her he is determined to “out-wrestle” Darby. When Knight came out, he stood at ringside and taunted the crowd. Darby grew impatient and leaped through the ropes and tackled Knight. He punched away at him at ringside. Excalibur noted the bell hadn’t rung. The crowd chanted “Darby! Darby!” They fought into the crowd. Darby then leaped off the ringpost and clotheslined Knight off of a table at ringside. Fans chanted, “Holy shit!”
Darby favored his knee afterward. Knight rolled into the ring and Darby followed. The ref called for the bell at 8:00. They fought to the ramp right away. Knight shoved Darby crotch-first into a ringside barricade and then flew at him and knocked him to hte floor. Knight pulled the ringside stairs aside and catapulted him from inside the steps head-first into the top layer of the steps. Knight threw Darby back into the ring and went for a pin. Darby kicked out at two. Darby was bleeding from the forehead. Excalibur noted any damage Knight suffers won’t serve him well against Omega on Sunday night.
Darby gave Knight a top rope Code Red; Knight almost landed dangerously awkwardly on his face. He then hit a regular Code Red into a near fall at 3:30. Darby shoved Knight’s forearm into the top of the ringpost (he removed the lid earlier) and wrenched on it. Then he knocked Knight to the floor and leaped onto him with a Coffin Drop. With both down at ringside, they cut to a double-box break at 4:30. [c/db]
Back from the break, the camera panned the floor seats from behind which was a really cool scene-setting angle. Both Darby and Knight collided mid-ring after the break. Both were slow to get up. Knight landed a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall at 8:30. Knight flung Darby and Darby knocked the ref over inadvertently. Knight clotheslined Darby as he turned around. He then pulled the belt off the announce desk at ringside and waited for Darby to stand. Darby ducked and gave Knight a Scorpion Death Drop. They showed the ref was still down at ringside. Excalibur said his head clipped the ropes. Darby picked up the belt, but then threw it down. Excalibur said Darby wanted to win the right way. When Darby set up a Coffin Drop, Knight knocked him off balance with a belt shot to the back of his head and hung him upside down. Knight then landed a Coast to Coast followed by a top rope UFO splash. A groggy ref crawled into the ring and counted the pin. Excalibur noted that Knight said he wanted to win without help from the Don Callis Family, but he showed he was willing to use other illegal means.
WINNER: Knight in 12:00 to retain the TNT Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: AEW doesn’t do ref bumps often. This was executed well for a ref bump. I liked Darby choosing to try to win the right way, and having Excalibur point it out was also a plus. It turned out to be a way to give Knight a heelish tainted win going into Sunday’s PPV.)
-Kyle Fletcher then walked out with his title belt. Taz said they’re both with Callis, but there’s tension between them anyway. Kazuchika Okada then came out. [c]
-Renee interviewed Knight, Fletcher, and the rest of the Don Callis Family who came to the ring during the break. She talked about three of them defending their singles titles on Sunday. Jake Doyle said the only way he has a match this Sunday is if Andrade can scrape himself up off of the pavement in Fenway where he left them. Fans broke into a “How you know? chant as Renee turned to Knight. Knight said he broke Darby tonight and also broke a record for the number of TNT Title defense, a record held by Fletcher prior. He said he did it without the Don Callis Family. Renee turned to Fletcher and asked what was next for them. Fletcher yanked the mic away from him and walked up to his face.
Fletcher told Knight he seems really impressed with himself. He said he hopes he becomes Kevin Two Belts. He told Knight to take his hand off his title. He said he doesn’t need help from the DCF to retain his title, either. He said he’s going to go to talk to Tony Khan to be sure everyone is banned from ringside on Sunday when he defends against Bandido. He said they should do it tonight for their match also. He then shoved Knight. Knight got in his face. Their cohorts separated them and tried to calm the situation.
Bandido and Brody King made their entrance.
(2) BANDIDO & BRODY KING vs. KYLE FLETCHER & KAZUCHIKA OKADA
The bell rang 28 minutes into the hour. Callis joined in on commentary, of course. He said he enjoys friendly competition and said it’s a real sport. Taz told Callis he’d probably love to have Brody King in his family. Callis said the problem with Brody is he likes to think for himself. Schiavone asked if he was saying his men didn’t like to think for themselves. Callis, quick on his feet, said they can, but they prefer to focus on wrestling and let him do the thinking. Fletcher and Okada worked together to take Bandido down. They shook hands as they cut to a double-box break at 5:00. [c/db]
Brody hot-tagged in after the break and set up a Gonzo Bomb. Okada blocked it and went for a Rainmaker. Brody blocked that. Okada gave him a neckbreaker. Fletcher tagged in and landed a running kick on Brody. Brody came back with a uranage for a two count. bandido tag in against Fletcher a minute later. Fletcher knocked Bandido out of mid-air, but Bandido came back with a sunset bomb for a dramatic near fall at 11:00. Okada tried to break up the cover, but came up short and late, so the ref had to just stop her count. (There needs to be a climic on how to do more believable pin breakups in all companies; not waiting until the very last split second is a good idea since so often they end up late.)
Bandido went for a 21 Plex on Fletcher a minute later, Fletcher blocked it and landed a half ‘n’ half. Bandido came back right away with a lift-and-drop faceplant for a near fall. Brody landed a cannonball on Fletcher in the corner. Bandido then landed a top rope frog splash for a very near fall. Okada interfered. Fletcher superkicked Brody. When Okada went for a Rainmaker, Brody ducked and Okada hit FLetcher instead. Brody knocked Okada to the floor and then dove at him. Bandido then gave Fletcher a 21Plex for the win.
WINNER: Bandido & Brody in 14:00.
-Okada told Fletcher he didn’t mean it afterward. He begged forgiveness. Fletcher got in his face and said, “Are you kidding? That was literally your fault I lost.” Callis tried to calm Fletcher down. Fletcher was red-faced and raging.
As the Don Callis Family gathered in the ring, Andrade came out and joined Bandido and Brody in the ring. The heel faction backed away. Schiavone noticed Andrade had the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Taz said it’s not his posession.
-A video package aired on “Painmaker” Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa coming up on Sunday. Jericho said stuff, but the sound mix made it difficult to hear over the music. Excalibur said it’ll be violent, wild, and unpredictable.
-Mick Foley made his way out onto the stage. He waved to the fans. [c]
-Foley stood on the ramp. “Hello, you AEW sickos!” he said. He said he is the Hardcore Legend and he’d be overseeing a face-to-face with Thekla and Willow Nightingale. He introduced Thekla first. Thekla said it was good to see Foley. She said she is the AEW Women’s World Champion and new Stardom Champion. “It’s Thekla Two-Belts, baby!” She urged Foley to introduced Willow “so we can get this thing over with.”
Willow came out and said it’s always great to see Foley and everyone in Nashville. She said it’s nice to see Thekla face to face instead of with a cheapshot from behind. Willow said there’s only one match between her and making her dream come true. She said her dream is to become the AEW Women’s World Champion. Fans chanted, “Willow! Willow!” Thekla mocked the chants and sarcastically said it’s great to have her back. She said she knows Willow is made of rainbows and chirping birds and sunshine. She said she isn’t buying any of the crap about smiling. She said she’s bottling up her feelings inside and is in actuality boiling up with poison inside. She said she’s going to release the poison in her so everyone can see how ugly she really is.
Willow said the difference between them is she never had to convince anyone who she is. She said they all know that her “toxic act is all a facade.” She said she’ll expose it. She said she thinks she talks all big because she feels all small. She said she does have a swagger that has helped her win two belts. She said the AEW Women’s Title is the only one she cares about. As they butted chests and argued, Foley stepped between them. Foley said he sees a lot of himself in Willow. He said they were both champions on TBS and both have taken beatings and smiled through it. He said her smile has more teeth than his. Thekla told them to shut up. Willow told Thekla she’s the one acting like a dumb bitch now. Willow said she and Foley are both legends, and they both stop at nothing to get what they want. She said they have something in common, which is that at Redemption, they both have a lot to lose. She said she’ll put all of her heart into it to be sure it’s her.
Thekla said she never thought she’d hear Willow say “my line” calling someone “a dumb bitch.” She said on Sunday, when she pisses on her clouds and rainbows, smile anyway. She took a cheapshot at Willow. Willow tried to get at Thekla, but Thekla hid behind Foley. Thekla then got another cheap shot in on Willow with the mic. Willow went down. Thekla held up both of her belts. When she went after Willow inside the ring, Willow gave her a Pounce. Thekla retreated as Willow’s music played and she led the crowd in clapping.
-A video package previewed Hikaru Shida vs. Maya World on PPV this Sunday.
(3) JAY WHITE vs. CLARK CONNORS
Jay White made his entrance on the stage with Colten Gunn, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, and Ace Austin. He headed to the ring alone. The bell rang 7 minutes into the hour. They cut to an early double-box break. [c/db]
With Connors in control after the break, Excalibur said this was White’s first singles match in over 15 months and only his second match overall in that time. White eventually made a comeback by blocking a spear and got a tapout win with an inverted bridge triangle choke.
WINNER: White in 10:00.
-Afterward, White gave Connors a Blade Runner when he tried to attack him. David Finley then hit White with a shillelagh. Juice and the rest of his cohorts came out to cause The Dogs to retreat.
-A backstage promo aired with Adam Copeland & Christian Cage. As Copeland began talking, Claudio Castagnoli and Pac attacked them. (There was no way, given the setting, that Copeland wouldn’t have seen them coming at him off camera.) Pac and Claudio beat up Copeland and Christian and then stacked them. Pac said they will show them what The Death Riders are capable of. [c]
(4) DEVINE DOMINION (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) vs. SISTERS OF SIN (Julia Hart & Skyle Blue) – No DQ match for the AEW Women’s Tag Team Titles
The bell rang 26 minutes into the hour. They cut to a double-box break at 3:00 after a wild brawl with apparatus used as weapons. [c/db]
Eventually, Blue set up a move off the top rope on Kross, but Bayne intervened and chokeslammed Blue through the table. Fans chanted, “Holy shit!” Julia put Bayne in an octopus style hold mid-ring. Bayne turned it into a tombstone. Kross helped Bayne land a double-chokeslam and then Bayne scored a three count.
WINNERS: Bayne & Kross in 12:00 to retain the AEW Women’s Tag Team Titles.
-A promo aired backstage with Juice, White, Ace, and The Gunns reacting to what The Dogs did. Juice and White challenged The Dogs to a double-chain tag match at the PPV. White said they’ll make a man out of Finley at Redemption “and give you the beating your father should have.” [c]
(5) KENNY OMEGA & WILL OSPREAY & JON MOXLEY vs. BRIAN CAGE & HECHICERO & JAKE DOYLE
Renee did a ringside report on Omega. She said she asked him how is feeling physically and mentally going into Redemption. She said he said the champ’s job is never done. Ospreay came out second. Then Moxley. The heel trio came out next. The bell rang 51 minutes into the hour. The announcers discussed that Ospreay’s opponent at All In could be Knight if he beats Omega on Sunday. The cut to a double-box break at 5:00. [c/db]
[OVERRUN]
Omega landed a moonsault on Cage. Cage came back with a faceplant and then he tagged in Hechicero.
Omega, Ospreay, and Mox worked together with rapid-fire sequences against Hechicero. Mox kicked Cage to add oomph to an German suplex by Omega. Omega accidentally kneed Mox in the head when Hechicero escaped a full nelson. Hechicero then hit a flying guillotine for a near fall. Cage and Hechicero flung Omega into a Doyle strike for a near fall. Mox shook Hechicero off the top rope. Omega and Ospreay made a comeback as a result. Ospreay hit a Hidden Blade as Omega hit a V-Trigger on Hechicero, and then Omega scored a three count.
WINNERS: Omega & Ospreay & Moxley in 15:00.
-Excalibur said Omega, Ospreay, and Mox won despite friendly fire. Mox got in Omega’s face afterward as Omega said it was inadvertent. Mox shoved Omega. Omega shoved back. When Ospreay got in between, Omega knocked him down. Ospreay popped up and got in Omega’s face. The Young Bucks leaped into the ring. Schiavone said the Bucks don’t trust The Death Riders. They went after Mox and Ospreay. Omeatg cleared the ring. Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero charged into the ring at Omega. Omega took them down and stacked them against the ropes and went for a V-Trigger. Knight intercepted Omega and hit him with the TNT Title belt. He then help up both the TNT Title belt and AEW World Title belt. Omega came up bleeding heavily from the forehead as the show ended.
(Keller’s Analysis: Having two instances of a dispute between partners was a bit much. The closing angle emphasized Sunday’s PPV main event well. The tension with Mox, Omega, and Ospreay felt inevitable.)
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 Dennis Kline to review AEW Dynamite LIVE tonight right after Dynamite. Join us and let us know your thoughts on Dynamite during the show. PWTorch’s Darrin Lilly will join as an on-site correspondent also.
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/cwt4vc48az
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). This is a private link, so don’t share. It’s just for VIP members at this time.
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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