Jon Moxley’s training is paying off for Will Ospreay. The Aerial Assassin didn’t break his neck in the rematch against Mark Davis. Even better is that Ospreay is one step closer to his Wembley dream. AEW Dynamite (June 3, 2026) also featured the surprise return of Mercedes Moné as the wild card, MJF as the matador against El Toro Blanco, Kevin Knight joining the Callis Family, and more from Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA.
Will Ospreay is the assassin
Will Ospreay’s journey to headline Wembley Stadium continued on Dynamite. He faced Mark Davis in the semifinal of the Owen Hart men’s tournament. There was also the story angle of Ospreay getting redemption. Last time Ospreay wrestled Davis, he lost the match after a series of piledrivers left him unable to continue. That put into motion Ospreay learning from Jon Moxley and the Death Riders. This was a test for the recovery of Ospreay’s neck and mental fortitude.
Moxley gave a pep talk to focus on the task at hand. The Death Riders will handle any interference from the Callis Family.
Oh, boy was there interference. There was like a ten-minute break of pure interference.
This main event was given the PPV style of dramatic kick-outs. Ospreay started quick. Davis used force to impose his strength advantage. Dunkzilla threw Ospreay through the air.
Davis put a pounding on Ospreay, but bruv’s will was strong to keep fighting. He pulled out a spinning ninja kick.
A ref bump from Davis’ enziguri led to maximum chaos. Ospreay blasted a Hidden Blade, but there was no count on the pin. Well, not officially. The crowd chanted to 10. The Callis Family ran in, so the Death Riders arrived to watch Ospreay’s back. It played for a long stretch alternating members to get pops from the crowd. Shout-out to Brian Cage for wearing Zubaz. Eventually, Moxley was the last man for a Paradigm Shift. Those factions cleared out to the back, but the interference wasn’t over. Kyle Fletcher had a screwdriver for Ospreay, and Konosuke Takeshita made that save.
That monster mash of interference was so long that it was easy to forget a match was still ongoing. Davis stabbed with the screwdriver. Ospreay blocked the strike with a Hidden Blade, then he delivered another Hidden Blade with full force. Still no referee though. The crowd chanted to 13 on the pin. A backup ref finally arrived, and Davis kicked out at 2. In the end, Ospreay kicked out of a piledriver then trapped Davis in an armbar to tap out.
Interference aside, Ospreay versus Davis was very exciting. The action played into the storyline about Ospreay. The finish was funny how his body stiffened like a board on that last piledriver. Ospreay didn’t break his neck, and his mental will was sharp as an assassin.
The massive amount of interference was fun like cotton candy. Sweet but not much substance. There were so many bodies that it needed Yakety Sax to turn into a Benny Hill skit. Coming off the wrestling high of El Grande Americano versus Original Grande Americano shows the vast difference in overbooking. That mask match played off on story angles in a great way to paint a fuller picture. Much like when Hangman Page dethroned Moxley of the AEW world title. This Dynamite match here was a case of doing way too much for the sake of it. The interference was so ham-fisted that I’m wondering if Blood & Guts is around the corner soon.
Mercedes Moné is the wild card
Willow Nightingale was pulled from the Owen Hart women’s tournament, so a wild card was her replacement in the quarterfinal. That wild card was revealed to be the return of Mercedes Moné.
Windsor put up a good fight, but this felt like Mercedes’ match to win. The CEO was never in danger of losing. She controlled the pace and forced Windsor to fight on the back foot. Mercedes took control on the finish for a Backstabber and the Statement Maker submission to win. If there was any doubt about the CEO’s alignment upon return, those doubts went away when she refused to release the hold after the bell. Mercedes is clearly still working heel.
Mercedes as the wild card makes me wonder if this was the plan all along. Willow might have been there just to manufacture the drama of surprise. Looking at the bracket, it lines up as a redemption tour for the CEO. Windsor won the RevPro title from Mercedes, and now she has that win back. In the semifinals, a showdown with Persephone could be looming. Perse won the CMLL title from Mercedes. The finals opponent is still up in the air. Winning the Owen to face Thekla at All In would be a clash of personality and a matchup worthy of Wembley. One thing is for sure though. Business is picking up again with the CEO back in AEW.
MJF is the matador
MJF defended the AEW World Championship against Rush to open the show. The no count-out stipulation was added after fisticuffs backstage. MJF slapped Rush, so El Toro Blanco tackled him. Spicy!
MJF dressed for the part in a matador outfit.
The no count-out stipulation was a nice touch to prevent MJF from running away. That stipulation also allowed leeway for violence. Rush delivered a straitjacket piledriver on the apron.
The funniest moment of the night came next. Rush damaged his shoulder during the contest. After that piledriver, he tried to pop the joint back into place. MJF was down cold too. Referee Bryce Remsberg tried to wave off the match, so Rush headbutt the medical dude to stop him from calling for the bell. The match continued!
MJF would serve payback for that piledriver with a tombstone piledriver of his own onto a panel of the barricade.
Rush couldn’t overcome that one. He still had fight, but it was only a matter of time. MJF trapped Rush in a hammerlock crossface submission. Instead of tapping, Rush was defiant with the middle finger and passed out from the pain. MJF was great selling his reaction and the theatrics of cranking the submission.
For a match that MJF was certainly going to win, this was a fun one. Rush looked tough in the fight. He was bleeding after colliding into an exposed turnbuckle, there was the visual of trying to pop his shoulder back into place, and he passed out instead of tapping out. MJF showed champion’s heart to grab the ropes on the pin off the Bull’s Horns dropkick. I appreciate the twist on that hammerlock crossface. MJF worked the shoulder, so this application added extra pressure in the context of the match.
One challenger down, and many more are lining up. Mark Briscoe, Andrade El Idolo, and Kevin Knight called their shots for the world title. Briscoe defeated Lio Rush, then Dat Boy cut a passionate promo about life after the death of Jay Briscoe. AEW was like therapy for Briscoe to let out his anger in the ring. His heart filled with joy when finding friends in the Conglomeration. Rage crept back into his heart from MJF’s despicable taunts during their previous feud. Briscoe is a grinder, and he will prove that he is better than MJF by taking the world title. Briscoe found it fitting that his tattoo says child of God, whereas MJF calls himself the Devil.
Andrade didn’t break a sweat crushing local talent in a squash. El Idolo questioned MJF’s confidence in being able to beat him. How you know?
Knight has new allies by joining the Callis Family. After defending TNT gold against Mike Bailey, the Jet is coming for MJF.
MJF reacted to all these challengers by hopping into the cold tub. He only addressed Briscoe’s shot by turning that bumpkin down.
There’s no new ground here for Briscoe and Andrade, so we’ll see how the world title picture shakes out in the coming weeks.
Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
Mark Briscoe defeated Lio Rush. This match was set up before the show. Briscoe was in a fighting mood, and he wanted to compete against the first person he saw. That was Lio. Orange Cassidy being creeped out by Lio continues to be amusing.
Lio was quick enough to keep Briscoe on his toes, however, Dat Boy served up a Cutthroat Driver for the win. Briscoe earned a decent victory to climb up the ladder toward MJF. Lio is gaining support from the crowd for this weird character and blend of comedy. I do enjoy his galloping sprint. Give us Technique by Taz to analyze Lio running like, “a donkey with one leg.” I am kind of annoyed that there hasn’t been an explanation yet for this new attitude. It doesn’t look like anybody cares on screen, so I guess I’ll drop it moving forward.
Andrade defeated DK Vandu. Quick win via DM. Here’s the selfie with the lady of the night.
TNT Championship: Kevin Knight (c) defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey to retain the title. Knight and Bailey delivered athletic fireworks as expected. Knight showed more of an edge in aggression now that he is a heel. Bailey rallied with babyface fire and a ton of cool kicks. In the end, that darn Don Callis interfered to help Knight surge for victory. That avalanche maneuver was wicked. Knight showed a new finisher for a powerful uranage to win.
My initial impression of Knight in the Callis Family is that it makes his journey a little boring. Hopefully the Jet doesn’t become another cog in the machine. AEW didn’t waste any time with the played-out numbers cheating game. He’s been strong as TNT champion before Callis, so it feels weak to have him cheat now all of a sudden. Maybe it’s just to protect the value of a rematch for Speedball. Knight did well on the mic to stoke the fires of hatred. His cockiness is effective.
Notes: Thekla wants to burn Stardom to the ground. She demands a challenger from that promotion for Forbidden Door. The Toxic Spider closed her promo by climbing a ladder to spit on the Stardom logo. That was a nice promo to build interest, which will be needed since many viewers barely know anyone on Stardom’s roster.
The Young Bucks want the Dogs to prove in the ring who should be top contenders for the tag titles. The Dogs were too busy with brews and kazoos to care about that challenge.
Kazuchika Okada is focused on getting back the AEW International Championship from Konosuke Takeshita.
Tommaso Ciampa warned Chris Jericho to stay away from AEW.
Stud of the Show: Will Ospreay
Ospreay proved that he is one a higher level of toughness in mind and body, thanks to Jon Moxley.
Match of the Night: MJF vs. Rush
The world title, TNT title, and men’s Owen semifinal were a cut above the rest. The nod goes to MJF and Rush for the cleanest finish.
Grade: B
Banging action, a handful of surprises, and even some chuckles for a fun night of wrestling.
Share your thoughts about AEW Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?
