AEW Dynamite Review - July 22, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight def. Darby Allin

I'm super surprised they gave this away days before a pay-per-view. I know Knight is challenging for the AEW World Championship at Redemption, so this couldn't have happened on that card, but I figured they'd save this for All In at the earliest. I suppose they could always run it back there. Either way, this was an entertaining opener and a big win for Knight heading into Sunday night.

Renee Paquette Interviewed The Don Callis Family

This took place immediately following Knight's successful title defense and we heard from Knight, Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher ahead of their respective matches at Redemption. All of them cut quality promos and effectively hyped up what they'll be involved in at the pay-per-view. This was also a seamless segue into the subsequent tag team match with Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada battling Brodido.

Brodido def. The Don Callis Family (AEW International Champion Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada)

We found out last week that Fletcher will defend the AEW International Championship against Bandido at Redemption because Bandido bumped into him backstage. Yes, seriously. Hey, at least we know the match will be great. This was intended to serve as a small preview of that and it was as enjoyable as you'd expect. Minor tension was teased between Fletcher and Okada, hinting at a potential three-way with them and Konosuke Takeshita at All In.

Mick Foley Interviewed Willow Nightingale and AEW Women's World Champion and Artist of Stardom Champion Thekla; Nightingale Attacked Thekla

This is the perfect sort of segment to use Foley for, especially with someone that fits his underdog vibe like Nightingale. This was a really good segment to build toward Thekla vs. Nightingale this weekend. Foley played his role well by being disrespected by Thekla, who excels at being a bully. Nightingale standing tall was interesting since she's expected to win this weekend and you'd think Thekla would've gotten the better of her instead.

Jay White def. Clark Connors

Although this feud doesn't do much for me, it is a fine use of White for the time being, and this was a logical match to do before Bang Bang Gang face The Dogs in a Double Chain tag team matchup at Redemption. This was adequate albeit a bit boring. David Finlay ran out afterward to attack White, only for Bang Bang Gang to make the save. This was pretty standard stuff.

AEW Women's World Tag Team Champions The Divine Dominion def. Artist of Stardom Champions Sisters of Sin in a No Disqualification Match

As I've said before, it's obvious Divine Dominion are defending against The Brawling Birds at All In, so there was no way Sisters of Sin were winning here. Despite that, I thought this was a fun brawl between the two teams. Sisters of Sin thrive in extreme environments, so they were in their element here. This didn't last too long, but it did receive an ample amount of time and they made the most of it.

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and The Death Riders (Will Ospreay and AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley) def. The Don Callis Family (CMLL World Heavyweight Champion Hechicero, Jake Doyle and Brian Cage)

From a star power standpoint, this was a total mismatch on paper and there was zero reason to believe the heels had a shot in hell of winning. I know it was one of those "Can they coexist?!" deals, but it would have been wild if they lost. It was a nice main event that accomplished what it needed to. The post-match chaos saw The Young Bucks and other members from The Don Callis Family run out, ending with Knight standing tall over Omega to make it look like he might have a chance against him at Redemption (spoiler: he doesn't).

Overall Show

This was a solid go-home show all things considered. Most of the matches weren't in much doubt, but we got plenty of above-average action as well as promo time for a few of the matches at Redemption. Finding that balance is something AEW tends to struggle with, but not here. Granted, Redemption doesn't look like a stellar show on paper, but I am impressed by the card they've put together on such short notice.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews