AEW Dynamite Review - February 18, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley def. Mark Davis in an AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match

Tony Khan has settled into a formula of putting Moxley in the opening match on Dynamite. The matches aren't bad by any means, and this one in particular was hard-hitting, but I simply don't find Moxley interesting as a character whatsoever. It doesn't help that the outcome is never really in doubt and this was no exception. Davis puts forth a commendable effort every time he's out there, but I have no idea why he's being featured so frequently when there's countless others who can't even sniff television time.

The Young Bucks Attacked Stokley and AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR

FTR did a nice job of recapping their history with the Bucks over the past decade before the Bucks emerged to lay them out as well as Stokley. It was a simple segment, but it was exactly what it should have been. The Bucks and FTR have been feuding on and off for so long that there wasn't much else that needed to be said or done and the match sells itself for Revolution.

AEW TBS Champion and AEW Women's World Tag Team Champion Willow Nightingale def. Mina Shirakawa, Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir in a Four-Way Match

This came completely out of nowhere. I don't believe it was explained why Shirakawa, Bayne and Shafir were all getting a title shot and the finish felt like a foregone conclusion, right down to Shirakawa eating the loss as she always does. All four of these women are primarily tag team players, so it's not like this had any sort of a story, either. Don't get me wrong, this was a fine four-way, but I'd appreciate Nightingale and the AEW TBS Championship getting more focus.

AEW World Champion MJF and AEW World Trios Champion "Hangman" Adam Page Went Face-to-Face

This was fantastic stuff. I thought the story with these two heading into Revolution would largely revolve around the fact that Page beat MJF twice on pay-per-view last year, but they took it to the next level with Page promising to never challenge for the AEW World Championship again if he loses at Revolution. MJF getting to choose the stipulation only for Page to tease it being a Texas Death match (without it actually being confirmed) was weird, but I loved everything else about this segment.

The Conglomeration (Tomohiro Ishii and Orange Cassidy) def. Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd

I would love to know why this match even existed. Darby Allin is the one feuding with Kidd and Connors, so Connors and Kidd losing a random match to Cassidy and Ishii of all people does them no favors, even with Kidd brawling with Allin into the crowd. Ishii got hurt at one point, too, so this whole thing ended up being a bit of a mess despite the match being adequate from an in-ring standpoint.

The Brawling Birds def. Becca and Viva Van

I'm sorry but Brawling Birds is a terrible team name for Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor, and their entrance music isn't much better. They do work well together and this served as a solid showcase for them, but I can't help but think that Hayter should be on her own. Nonetheless, we'll see how far they go as a duo and if a run with the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship is in their future.

AEW World Trios Champion Kevin Knight def. The Beast Mortos

The stipulation was that La Faccion Ingobernable would have gotten an opportunity at the AEW World Trios Championship had Mortos won here. I don't think Knight, Mike Bailey and Adam Page have defended the belts a single time since winning them from The Opps a month ago, so I can't say I cared about the stakes, but the match was well wrestled and Knight continuing to get the singles spotlight has been cool.

Swerve Strickland def. Kenny Omega

This was one of those rare dream matches that lived up to the hype. What an awesome, pay-per-view-worthy encounter. They received plenty of time and the action was excellent. Strickland cementing his heel turn by not only resorting to underhanded tactics but also viciously attacking Omega afterward was a great way to close the show. You'd think this would've been saved for Revolution, but reportedly Omega has a prior commitment that will force him to miss the event, so they can always revisit this once he's back.

Overall Show

I've seen some heavy praise for this show online, but I can't say anything truly stood out to me other than the segment with MJF and Page and the main event. However, those two things were enough to make this a thumbs-up edition of Dynamite and are absolutely worth checking out. The rest of this show was serviceable, but the world title picture has been carrying Dynamite so far this year and that was once again the case this week.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews