Jack Perry is a divisive figure among fans in professional wrestling. Personally, I enjoy what he brings to the ring. He’s grown from Jungle Boy to Jungle Man over the years in AEW. After the beating Jon Moxley put on Perry during the main event of Dynamite (Aug. 12, 2026), I have to demote him back down to Boy status. The show also featured Will Ospreay ambushed by hooligans, MJF one step closer to the world title, Chris Jericho hit by a screwdriver, the return of Swerve Strickland, and more from Pearl Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Man chokes Boy
Jon Moxley battered Jack Perry in the Continental Challenge Cup opening round for the main event of the evening. Moxley destroyed Perry to beat him bloody. It started by blocking Perry’s suicide dive with Moxley’s elbow.
Moxley continued the assault to ram Perry head-first into the ring post. Perry was busted open. I wonder if that was real steel. Moxley also powerbombed Perry through the timekeeper table. Back in the ring Moxley mauled Perry like dead meat.
It was funny how much Mxoley dominated. Perry landed clothesline, and Moxley shed it off like he was fighting against a child. Moxley destroyed his opponent for about ten minutes. Perry finally rallied with a spurt of dives outside. It was a back-to-back-to-back-to-back (four times in a row) aerial attack.
Back inside the ring, the action was gritty again. Moxley pummeled Perry with more ferocious blows. The referee pulled Moxley off to check on Perry. The match continued. Perry flashed middle fingers and slapped Moxley with the force of an exhausted man. Perry found another second wind to trap Moxley in the Snare Trap submission. Moxley kept his cool to methodically escape and reverse for a chokehold. Perry showed guts in an effort to escape. Moxley switched his grip tighter under the chin with body scissors. The referee waved off the match when Perry passed out. Moxley showed respect to Perry for his intestinal fortitude.
The story of the match was supposed to be Perry’s tremendous display of heart. In my eyes, I saw a breakthrough opportunity turn into a complete mismatch. Moxley showed that Perry is nowhere near world title level. Credit for Perry’s toughness. That’s about all he brought to the table on this night. There were offensive flurries to create the illusion of drama, but I wasn’t biting beyond it being a cool spot. I think they lost me when Perry looked like a complete pansy with clotheslines softer than luxury toilet paper. It didn’t help that the referee gave Perry an unfair advantage to recover when Moxley had the win in hand.
There are some things in AEW that I disagree with that occur on a standard basis. I often let it go in the wind, because I don’t want to sound like a broken record. One of those things that I can’t let slide is the terrible way AEW referees stop the action to check on a downed wrestler. This wasn’t a concussion scare. Perry was getting beat up. Plain and simple. Either the referee shouldn’t have stopped Moxley, or the match should have been waved off for Perry’s own safety. Perry was adamant that he wanted to continue. If AEW wants to run that play, then what’s the purpose of the referee claiming to watch out for his safety. That moment directly led to a rally by Perry. Otherwise, Moxley would have bludgeoned Perry’s head into mash potatoes with unabated elbow strikes en route to victory. Keep in mind, this is a promotion that has flamethrowers and such in street fights. If AEW actually cared about wrestler safety in storylines, then the referee would have stopped this match. That shows why it’s an overused spot with stupid execution.
Back to the match. It was funny seeing how badly Moxley beat up Perry. I don’t think the intention was for me to laugh. It made Perry look like a joke compared to Moxley. Moving past this match, Moxley dominated in a manner that should put fear in his next opponent. That can set up a huge upset or confirm why Moxley is the ace of AEW when he wins the Continental Cup. As for Perry, life moves on. He can easily rack up a few wins to put this in the rearview mirror. Commentary played up his heart, so I guess that’s the takeaway moving forward. It also plants seeds for Perry as a learning experience to potentially be the one to dethrone Moxley down the line.
Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
Sloppy fool. Will Ospreay opened the show with a promo about his responsibility to AEW. Ospreay leaves it all in the ring. That’s why he wrestled the street fight at Grand Slam Mexico. Meanwhile, Kenny Omega is lounging at home. Ospreay called for Omega to join him in the ring. Don Callis interrupted with some valid points. He chooses to exploit AEW. Omega was the perfect tool to capture the world title, then Ospreay was the useful idiot to take on Omega. In that series, Callis was in the corner of the winner each time. Now, they think they can do it alone. Callis threatened that the road to All In will be paved in blood. Sneak attack by Callis goons on Ospreay. Omega ran in with a lead pipe from the observatory to fend off the Callis Family. Omega scolded Ospreay for wearing his heart on his sleeve. Omega said that Ospreay never thinks. He is a sloppy fool. That’s why Ospreay will lose to Omega at All In. Despite that, Omega offered a hand to help up Ospreay. From now, Omega won’t help him again. Ospreay shot back that he doesn’t need Omega’s help.
Ospreay’s talking points illustrated the idea of how much he cares about AEW. It is positioning him to be the ace once he wins the world title. Omega brings up good points that I can’t help but laugh at. Ospreay is a sloppy fool in storylines. He proved it again by claiming he didn’t need Omega’s help. The Callis Family was about to piledrive him if not for the save. We’ll see if Ospreay has a trick up his sleeve on defense, because the Callis Family will be coming hard all over him. I bet Don already commissioned a portrait of that. This Callis beef creates a reason for Ospreay to stay active in the ring to entertain TV viewers. It will be interesting to see if Omega has a clear path for full rest before the All In showdown.
MJF defeated Nick Wayne and “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Winner earns the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet at All In. Andrade punched his ticket last week to be #1. MJF stepped aside to let them fight and tire out. His antics were funny, and the response was as well when Bailey dropkicked him unexpectedly.
MJF did get his hands dirty enough to hit some shot and take some lumps. In the end, Speedball connected on the Ultima Weapon to Wayne. MJF dumped Bailey from the ring, and he slapped on an armbar to submit Wayne.
Good flow of action with MJF above it all. That played well into MJF’s character as a blowhard and an opportunist. MJF railed as the one true champion. Before the match, he aggressively choked Justin Roberts to announce him as champion. After the match, he played a prank with Andrade’s music, even though, El Idolo was not present in the building. It makes all the sense for MJF to win the title shot at All In. However, Andrade is the people’s favorite right now. AEW is doing a good job making the Casino Gauntlet result unpredictable. That feud aside, the winner could also be someone else just as easily while MJF fights Andrade in heated passion.
Continental Cup first round: “Switchblade” Jay White defeated “Shillelagh” David Finlay. Prior to the bout, Mick Foley caught up with the Bang Bang Gang. White was confident, since there will be no interference. He also expressed a desire to beat Moxley in the final. We’ll see if that is foreshadowing. Grandpappy Foley did better this week with the catchphrase.
The match was an even affair. Finlay gained the upper hand when White injured his own neck on a bridging German suplex. Finlay targeted the injury. In the end, they teased finishers with counter escapes. White had the last laugh for the Blade Runner out of nowhere as a counter to Finlay.
I don’t know if this feud is over for now. If that is the case, then it was a strong win for White on top. The big question is if that neck pain will cost White in the upcoming rounds. It could be used as an excuse losing before the finals or as a bullseye for Moxley to bludgeon at All In. White should ask Ospreay for the Death Riders’ neck training routine for a quicker recovery.
Swerve Strickland returns. Swerve interrupted the new trios champs in the ring. One thing Hangman Page, Bandido, and Brody King have in common is taking beatings from Swerve. After a little banter with Hangman putting Swerve in his place, Ricochet and the expanded Demand interrupted. Jay Lethal wore a vest like Ricochet. Blake Christian and Lee Johnson must not have received the memo about vests. They need to be suited up better next time. I digress. Ricochet wants a rematch. He claimed conspiracy with Toa Liona’s shoulder not on the mat for the losing pin last week. Hangman was game, but Ricochet teased that they will do the rematch on his time.
This scene sets the table for the trios division. The Demand punked Swerve on stage with the numbers advantage. That’s not to say that Swerve was scared. He’s not stupid enough to pick that fight. It does leave an impression that Swerve will get payback with partners by his side. I’ve seen chatter from fans that this could be a spot for New Day. I don’t know about that. I don’t think Swerve has any connection on screen to New Day. It would also present babyface (plus Swerve) challengers versus babyface trios champions. That would also be a distraction from what many people really want, which is New Day versus the Young Bucks. As for who Swerve’s partners could be, my mind is empty on candidates. Swerve has no friends, so I guess he could pay the Hurt Syndicate.
TNT Championship: Kevin Knight (c) defeated Chris Jericho to retain the title. The finish came down to shenanigans. Jericho trapped Knight in the Walls of Jericho submission. Don Callis stabbed Jericho in the head with the infamous screwdriver. This was ugly in execution. At first, Callis entered the ring, and Jericho was still too far away. Jericho ‘took the bait’ to walk the submission closer to the ropes, and that’s when Callis struck. It basically made Jericho look stupid by walking into his own demise.
There was still more drama to be had. After the interference, Knight connected on the coast to coast dropkick. Jericho kicked out on the cover. Knight flew high for the UFO splash. Jericho countered for a surprise Codebreaker in midair. Jericho went to finish for the Judas Effect. Knight ducked, and referee Aubrey Edwards cowered away from Jericho. Knight took advantage for a low blow and the Crash Landing finisher to win.
Aside from the awkward screwdriver incident, this was a very entertaining match. Heck, one could be entertained in a ‘so bad it’s good’ way about Callis’ interference. I enjoyed the tit-for-tat gamesmanship. Jericho executed his classic crowd-pleasing moves from days long gone. Knight stole a few to show up Jericho. Other times, Jericho was ready with defensive tactics. For example, Jericho put his knees up to block the Lionsault, and he countered Knight’s super hurricanrana attempt into a powerbomb. Knight was smooth as always with athleticism.
AEW confirmed that Knight will defend the TNT Championship against Darby Allin in Falls Count Anywhere at All In.
Kris Statlander defeated Viva Van. Showcase for StatDaddy. It wasn’t an easy win, but Statlander was never in real trouble. A discus lariat set up the Wednesday Night Fever piledriver for the win. Afterward, AEW announced Maya World to defend the TBS Championship in a four-way against Statlander, Hikaru Shida, and Persephone next week. Statlander is proud of Maya as champion, and she will take satisfaction in shoving heads up asses on the two villains.
Thunder Rosa & Maya World defeated Hikaru Shida & Persephone. Maya had the shine on the finish. Persephone held Maya in place from behind. Maya escaped that grip, and Shida collided with a jumping knee to knock Perse out of the ring. Maya snatched Shida for a bridging fallaway slam to win. The story is momentum for the TBS champion heading into next week.
Notes: For those placing bets, Dynamite ran long past its 2-hour time slot. The main event didn’t start until five after the hour. The show ended with a 20-minute overrun.
Divine Dominion shattered pints of beer in the Brawling Birds’ pub. The tag champs were not impressed by the challengers’ undefeated streak. That streak is meaningless, because they never wrestled Divine Dominion. The Birds’ biggest moment will be Divine Dominion’s greatest massacre at All In.
Mercedes Moné violently ambushed Willow Nightingale.
Death Riders against the world in the Continental Challenge Cup.
Don Callis informed Kyle Fletcher that Konosuke Takeshita will have his rematch for the AEW International Championship at All In. Callis also swung the match to include Kazuchika Okada. Fletcher was not happy. Callis and Okada were ecstatic, and that’s reason enough to watch this clip for a laugh.
Stud of the Show: Jon Moxley
Mox made Jungle Man look like a boy.
Match of the Night: Kevin Knight vs. Chris Jericho
Despite the screwdriver chicanery, I really enjoyed the chess match of the action.
Grade: B-
Solid show. Nothing was spectacular, and there wasn’t any super hot angle. It was one step forward on the road to All In.
Share your thoughts about AEW Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?
