MJF isn’t scared of Brody King, but he should be. King squashed MJF in the main event of AEW Dynamite (Feb. 4, 2026). The show also featured Andrade trying to screw Kenny Omega, Darby Allin left for dead in the desert, MegaBad earning a women’s tag title shot, and more from Pearl Theater at The Palms in Las Vegas, NV.
World title eliminator
The saga of MJF’s world title reign and the quest for challengers took the spotlight once again this week. MJF wrestled Brody King in an eliminator match. A win or draw would earn King an official shot at Grand Slam Australia. I say ‘wrestled’ loosely, because there wasn’t much of it in this main event.
This match started after the two-hour broadcast window, so something fishy was expected for a quick finish. MJF was full cocky with maximum arrogance during introductions. As soon as the bell rang, fear crept across his face. MJF and King stood in opposite corners staring at each other. It was like MJF didn’t want to make any sudden movements to upset the beast.
Hangman decided to butt in with his music on stage. MJF took the bait, so King took his neck to choke off the apron.
King followed up for a cannonball in the corner and the Gonzo Bomb to win. That was the match. I’m not leaving out details in an effort to be concise.
There was more action in the post-match scene than the main event itself. Andrade clocked King with a back elbow. Hangman hit a Buckshot Lariat on Andrade. When the cowboy went for a Buckshot on MJF, the devil kicked him in the groin. King would have his moment to stand tall after another Gonzo Bomb to MJF.
That was a cheeky way to get King his official world title match. I would have preferred the even greater shock value of King doing this what the distraction from Hangman, but I understand that it protects MJF in defeat. The novelty of the matchup is fully preserved for Grand Slam. I really enjoyed the post-match fisticuffs of one-upping each other. That closed the show with a double bang of excitement.
Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, & El Clon defeated Jon Moxley, PAC, & Daniel Garcia. This battle between the Callis Family and the Death Riders was focused on setting up Takeshita to challenge Moxley for the AEW International Championship down the line, which is happening at Grand Slam Australia. Takeshita and Moxley had a few exciting showdowns throwing blows. It was juicy enough to leave us wanting more.
Moxley wasn’t the victim to take the loss here. That assignment was given to Garcia. At least Garcia looked like a badass in defeat. I was not expecting Garcia to show so much heart kicking out of a Blue Thunder Bomb and a running knee strike from Takeshita. And just like that, I’m back on the Garcia train. I do appreciate feats of intestinal fortitude. The nail in the coffin for Garcia was the Raging Fire driver.
Strong trios action. The finish was a little weird. Moxley had the upper hand for a suicide dive to wipe out Alexander, Clon, and PAC in the pile as well. As Takeshita focused on Garcia, Alexander and Clon were back in the mix to help. I didn’t see why Moxley and PAC were incapacitated enough to leave Garcia hanging. That left me scratching my head a little. Maybe something happened off camera to explain it. As for the overall battle between the Death Riders and the Callis Family, there are a lot of great matchups that can be had. PAC and Clon shared some nifty back and forth. Claudio and Alexander would be a heck of battle. The list goes on. Garcia should be rewarded with a win.
Toni Storm & Orange Cassidy defeated Jordan Oasis & Brittnie Brooks. The appeal of this match was the matching denim gear for Timeless and Citrus Boy. They handled business for a DDT by OC, running hip attack by Storm, and superman punch by OC to beat Oasis. Afterward, Cassidy and Storm were having second thoughts about the hair versus hair challenge for Grand Slam Australia. Storm comically lamented about looking disgusting with a shaved head as bald Luther stood there in the background. Storm turned her anxiety into a pep talk.
Darby Allin kidnapped. Gabe Kidd and Clark Connors ambushed Allin the parking lot. The War Dogs stuffed him in the car trunk and drove away.
Later in the show, Kidd forced production to air his torture film of Allin. They dragged him behind the car in a body bag on the desert road and left him stranded.
Thumbs up for audacious villainy. The over-the-top antics have my interest for this feud. Thumbs down for the War Dogs’ as filmmakers. The shaky camerawork and breathing hard into the mic leave a lot to be desired if they are trying to win an Oscar.
Hangman Page defeated Mark Davis. They delivered a certified slobberknocker. Davis swinging his meat hook for a lariat looks painful.
Hangman won in style with a counter sequence to execute a tombstone piledriver on stage. The cowboy followed for the Buckshot Lariat to win.
The story idea was Don Callis not allowing Hangman to have a free pass to the world title contender match at Grand Slam Australia, under the confident assumption that Andrade would be the opponent. MJF also offered a bounty on social media, although, he was offering cheap rates. Nonetheless, Hangman showed his usual cowboy swagger for the gritty win. He seems to be healthy heading into Grand Slam. I’ve grown into being a fan of Davis in the ring. He brings it hard every time in that big man style. Davis won’t be in line for the big picture anytime soon, but he’s the type of talent that makes mid-card matchups exciting for a better TV product.
Andrade defeated Kenny Omega. The ladies love El Idolo. AEW brought in some eye candy to match Andrade’s sex appeal.
The contest had big stakes with the winner advancing to the #1 contender bout against Hangman at Grand Slam. Andrade controlled the pace for much of the match, and that set up rallies for Omega to get the babyface pops. They delivered some cool sequences. Omega surged for a pair of snap dragon suplexes, then he went for an avalanche One Winged Angel. Andrade countered for a super sunset flip bomb, and he followed for a hammerlock DDT. Omega kicked out on the cover. In the end, shenanigans took over. Don Callis slid the infamous screwdriver to Andrade. Swerve Strickland ran in to keep it fair by snatching the weapon away. As the referee tried to restore order, Andrade escaped the One Winged Angel to strike Omega with a low blow. The DM finisher sealed the deal for Andrade to advance.
Afterward, Omega put the blame on Swerve for trifling in his business. It’s unclear if Omega realized that Swerve had good intentions. A shoving bout broke out, and security kept them apart.
Sweet match. The finish was not so hot. Sure, it makes sense from the professional wrestling handbook of storytelling. I’m being a little bit of a sourpuss to see Omega get screwed like that. I really wanted him to go on that old veteran last shot at glory run to face Hangman then MJF. If he would have lost clean to Andrade, I could accept it. But that’s why the heel heat is on Andrade now. In that sense, the story works. No doubt that Andrade will try to cheat on Hangman, so the question is if Swerve or Omega get involved as well. Back to Omega, styles make fights. I can envision him beating Hangman and MJF. I struggle to see the same against Swerve. They are on a collision course, so it will be interesting to see who gets the push from that win.
AEW Women’s World Championship eliminator: MegaBad defeated Babes of Wrath (c). Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford pulled the upset. Bayne tossed Ford into the air for a cutter to Willow Nightingale, then a Doomsday Device finished Harley Cameron. The future title shot comes at Grand Slam.
Good result to advance the plot on TV. MegaBad has the stature to win fair without it looking out of place. This sets some doubt into wondering if the Babes of Wrath can retain. I enjoyed the strategy from MegaBad. They pulled a sneaky trick that gave them the initial momentum. Ford started across from Harley, but she backed away to tag in Bayne. Harley tagged in Willow for the powerhouse matchup. Bayne wisely circled to turn Willow’s back, and Ford attacked from behind. The Babes would rally, however, MegaBad caught them on the finish. Bayne anticipated Willow’s charge to time the tossing cutter with Ford. That created a window for a double-team situation to close on Harley.
AEW National Championship: Ricochet (c) defeated Jack Perry. Jungle Man launched before the bell to attack Ricochet. That set the mood of the fight. Perry came with aggression, while Ricochet weathered the storm.
Ricochet rallied with a suplex train taking Perry down for a Death Valley Driver on the floor.
Perry was so close to victory if not for those intruding GOA. He slapped the Snare Trap submission on Ricochet. Ric almost reached the ropes, so Perry pulled him back to center. That’s when Bishop Kaun ran out to distract the referee, while Toa Liona pulled Ricochet’s body to the ropes for the break. The Young Bucks arrived to beat off the hooligans. Ricochet hatched a plot in a jiffy to smash Perry into the title belt. The damage was done, and Ricochet closed with the Vertigo driver.
This was an athletic duel. The outside interference was amusing, but it also didn’t seem natural. I don’t know why GOA weren’t out there the whole time, when they usually are. That is an inconsistent detail. The visual was cool of Liona flipping the bird to Perry as he pulled Ricochet to the ropes. The Young Bucks continued their redemption to help a friend in need. The course of this story feels like Perry is going to win the title. That leaves the question how they get to round three when Perry is 0-2. Sure, Ricochet cheated in more ways than one, however, that’s rarely been reason enough to re-book matches in AEW. That said, they just slapped together a rematch of Kris Statlander and Thekla without round one justifying a second shot. We’ll see what happens.
Notes: Even though Swerve Strickland is out of the world title picture for now, he scoffed at the idea of losing focus on that prize. The goal is still the same. Swerve isn’t going anywhere.
Will Ospreay injury package, bruv. Ospreay had successful neck surgery. Well wishes on a healthy recovery.
Kevin Knight is too fly with confidence that is high. People say he is the future. Knights says he is the now.
Kris Statlander picks the stipulation for Thekla’s world title rematch next week, but StatDaddy will reveal the rules on Collision. This came about after both agreed not to interfere in the women’s tag title eliminator. Thekla was granted another crack if the Triangle of Madness stayed at bay, and Statlander was given the choice to pick stipulation.
Tommaso Ciampa is the new TNT champion. He want to honor the tradition of the title and pay respect to Mark Briscoe by continuing the open challenge. AEW announced a three-way against Roderick Strong and Claudio Castagnoli for Collision. Also of note, Ciampa called the title Silvey, for whatever that is worth in terms of character.
Stud of the Show: Brody King
The man wanted violence, and that’s what he served to MJF.
Match of the Night: Hangman Page vs. Mark Davis
Sometimes a slobberknocker hits the spot, and that’s the case here.
Grade: B
Pieces are coming together for stories to advance. I thought the results overall had too many shenanigans for one show.
Share your thoughts about AEW Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?
