The road to AEW Forbidden Door 2026 begins winding down tonight.
AEW Dynamite returns this evening at 8/7c on TBS and HBO Max from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
The show begins with a live cold open, which sees Jon Moxley backstage with The Death Riders. Mox hypes them up and they do a big huddle to further hype each other up. Mox walks off and they follow. Daniel Garcia and Will Ospreay hang back and smile at each other.
The Death Riders vs. Brodido & Mistico
Inside the arena, the familiar sounds of The Death Riders’ theme hits. Jon Moxley and company make their usual custom entrance through the crowd, as Excalibur and Tony Schiavone welcome us to the show on commentary. They settle inside the ring and their music dies down.
“The Dapper Yapper” Justin Roberts finishes their introduction and then begins introducing their partners. Out first comes the Brodido duo of Bandido and Brody King together. Mexican pro wrestling legend Mistico makes his way out next and the three-man team heads to the ring for opening trios action.
Bandido and Yuta start the match. Yuta applies a single-leg crab hold, but Bandido gets free and comes back with a back-breaker. Moxley tags in, but Bandido applies a side-headlock. Moxley turns it into a hammer-lock, and then kicks Bandido in the midsection.
Moxley delivers shots in the corner and tags in Castagnoli, who stomps Bandido down. Bandido comes back with a hurricanrana and tags in Mistico, who delivers a springboard back elbow. Mistico kicks Castagnoli in the head, but Castagnoli comes back and slams him down.
Mistico comes back with an arm-drag, and then drops Castagnoli with a hurricanrana. King tags in and he and Castagnoli exchange elbow strikes. Moxley and Yuta knock Bandido and Mistico to the floor, but King takes all of the Riders down before he, Bandido, and Mistico dive through the ropes.
On that note, the show shifts gears and settles into a mid-match commercial break as the action in this trios opener continues. When the show returns, we see some back-and-forth action for a few minutes and then things begin to pick up.
King drops Moxley with a lariat. Shafir gets on the apron and Castagnoli hits King with the AEW Continental Championship belt behind the referee’s back, allowing Moxley to get the victory for himself and The Death Riders in an excellent opening contest.
Winners: The Death Riders
Backstage With The Conglomeration
Backstage, we see Renee Paquette standing by with members of The Conglomeration, Darby Allin, and Konosuke Takeshita. Allin says this is Mark Briscoe’s chance to become the AEW World Champion, and they are going to help him do it, so they have to be ready.
Roderick Strong says he hates the Don Callis Family, and especially MJF for what he did to Adam Cole. Kyle O’Reilly says he will make sure everyone has backpacks for the fight and says Briscoe will be in the middle of the ring later tonight. Cassidy says everything is fine and walks away.
Survival of the Fittest Qualifier
Harley Cameron vs. Marina Shafir
Back inside the arena we go, as we head down to ringside for our next match of the evening. It will be Harley Cameron going one-on-one against Marina Shafir in a Survival of the Fittest qualifying bout. Shafir attacks Cameron during her entrance and drops her with a kick.
Shafir takes Cameron down with a take over, but Cameron counters into a single leg crab hold. Shafir kicks her away, but Cameron comes back with a kick to the face. Cameron follows with a dropkick through the ropes and drops Shafir with a diving cross-body.
Cameron gets Shafir back into the ring and goes up top, but Shafir kicks her leg out and slams her down. On that note, the show shifts gears and settles into a mid-match commercial break as the action in this high stakes women’s showdown continues.
When the show returns, we see Cameron kick Shafir into the corner and follows with right hands. Cameron drops Shafir with a clothesline, but Shafir comes back with a kick to the face. Shafir delivers knee strikes, but Cameron comes back.
Cameron goes on to take Shafir down again. Cameron applies the single leg crab, but Shafir counters into a rear-naked sleeper hold. Cameron rolls over and gets the unexpected victory. With the win, Cameron qualifies for Survival of the Fittest.
Winner: Harley Cameron
Will Ospreay vs. ELP
After an Owen Hart Cup video package, we return to the ring where Will Ospreay is scheduled to take on ELP in our next match of the evening. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. ELP applies a wrist-lock, but Ospreay counters into one of his own.
Ospreay gets a quick one count, and then they dodge each other’s kicks and stand at a stalemate. Ospreay delivers a shot into the ropes, but ELP comes back with some of his own and goes for a hurricanrana. Ospreay lands on his feet and delivers a dropkick that sends ELP to the outside.
Ospreay connects with a diving cross-body, but ELP comes back and takes Ospreay down with a dive of his own. On that note, the show shifts gears and settles into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. The show returns and we see Ospreay deliver a corkscrew kick and gets a two count.
ELP comes back with a diving DDT and follows with a stunner after blocking one from Ospreay. They exchange elbow strikes on the mat and Ospreay drops ELP with a forearm shot. Ospreay delivers elbow strikes, but ELP comes back with a few kicks. Ospreay delivers a Spanish Fly.
He goes for the cover, but ELP kicks out at two. Ospreay goes for the Hidden Blade, but ELP counters and gets a tw count. ELP delivers a thrust kick and goes for another cover, but Ospreay kicks out at two again. Ospreay comes back with the Styles Clash, and then delivers the Hidden Blade for the win.
Winner: Will Ospreay
Daniel Garcia vs. Swerve Strickland
It’s time for more one-on-one action, so we head back down to ringside where Daniel Garcia of The Death Riders goes one-on-one against Swerve Strickland, who as always, has Prince Nana with him. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running.
We see Garcia and Strickland slap each other before Strickland takes him down. Strickland slams Garcia into the corner, but Garcia comes back and takes Strickland to the apron. Garcia traps Strickland in the apron and delivers a few shots.
Garcia puts Strickland in a chair on the outside and delivers right hands before following with a dropkick against the barricade. Garcia goes for another one, but Strickland counters with a clothesline. From there, we slide into a mid-match advertising time out as the match continues.
The show returns and we see Swerve with a death valley driver onto the ring apron. Swerve gets Garcia in the ring and Swerve with a suplex. He goes for the cover but Garcia kicks out. Swerve runs towards Garcia but Garcia with a drop kick.
Garcia with an ankle lock but Swerve gets out of it. Garcia goes for a pile driver but Swerve gets out of it and he lands a back breaker. Swerve with a power slam. He goes for the cover but Garcia kicks out. Swerve runs but his leg gives out. Garcia with the Styles clash.
He goes for the cover but Swerve kicks out. Garcia grabs Swerve but Swerve kicks him away. Swerve with a running kick to the face. He goes for the cover but Garcia kicks out. Swerve with the Hidden Blade and a follow-up cover for the win.
Once the match wraps up, we see Swerve grab Garcia. Will Ospreay comes out and he hits Swerve with a kick to the face. Prince Nana trips Ospreay and Swerve hits him with the House Call. Swerve lifts Ospreay but Garcia moves him out of the way. Swerve with the Vertebraker. In comes Ospreay with a chair but Swerve bails.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
