AEW Dynamite Review - June 3, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Champion MJF def. Rush by Referee Stoppage

These two met once before one-on-one two years ago. That was an entertaining encounter, but this was even better. Rush has been having a lot of squashes lately, but this allowed him to fully show off what he's capable of and it made for a super fun match. The AEW World Championship never truly felt like it was in jeopardy of changing hands, but the predictability of the outcome hardly mattered. This was terrific.

Mark Briscoe def. Lio Rush

As I've said before, it's cool that Rush is getting more television time as his creepy gimmick is clearly getting over with fans. Granted, this was more about Briscoe picking up a straightforward victory than it was Rush, but the match was decent while it lasted. Post-match, Briscoe called out MJF and acknowledged beating him at All Out last year, only for MJF to once again deny giving him a shot at his title.

AEW Women's World Champion Thekla Addressed Stardom

It's about damn time Thekla got some mic time on Dynamite. Truthfully speaking, I couldn't care less about the Forbidden Door concept at this point, but Thekla taking aim at Stardom is admittedly intriguing given her history with the promotion and how she was "fired" from there. I don't know who she faces from Stardom at the event, but this did set up whatever match she ends up having.

Andrade El Idolo def. DK Vandu

Andrade seems to be getting the same treatment that Rush did for a while where he'll win a bunch of matches to maintain his credibility before eventually challenging for the AEW World Championship, ideally against MJF. That bout should have the title on the line, but if MJF loses it at Redemption to Kenny Omega as I suspect he will, then it could work just as well as a non-title matchup at All In.
post-match promo/don callis family

AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey

Don Callis stuck around after Andrade's victory to announce Knight as the newest member of The Don Callis Family. I definitely don't think that's necessary as I fear he might get lost in the shuffle. He's essentially taking the spot Konosuke Takeshita occupied before he officially exited the group at Double or Nothing. Nonetheless, Knight vs. Bailey was very good as you'd expect, and Knight retaining keeps Bailey in chase mode. Perhaps they'll run it back in Bailey's home country of Canada at Redemption?

Mercedes Mone def. Alex Windsor in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match

I genuinely didn't think Mone would be the replacement for Willow Nightingale in the tournament because it didn't seem like this was how they originally planned on bringing her back. Well, I was wrong. I have no idea how anyone else could win the whole thing. Sure, Windsor beat Mone on Collision back in December, but she didn't stand a chance here. It was a quality contest, though.

Will Ospreay def. AEW National Champion Mark Davis in a Men's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match (Non-Title)

Davis beat Ospreay by count-out in April, so Ospreay got to avenge that loss here. This was an even better bout with a frantic pace and excellent action. I could've done without Ospreay kicking out of multiple piledrivers, but this was an awesome main event otherwise. I also didn't mind all of the run-ins (which clearly pointed to an upcoming program between The Don Callis Family and The Death Riders) as it added to the excitement in my opinion.

Overall Show

This was a vast improvement over last week's uneventful edition of Dynamite coming out of the heavily-praised Double or Nothing. They started hot, ended hot, and packed in plenty of strong stuff in the middle, including the return of Mone. The "Forbidden Door" aspect of the upcoming pay-per-view doesn't mean anything to me, but the build could still be solid if AEW can keep delivering Dynamite episodes of this caliber.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews