AEW Dynamite Review - May 13, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, The Young Bucks and Orange Cassidy def. The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay), Tommaso Ciampa and AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR

​The Conglomeration are still owed a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship after Cassidy beat Dax Harwood one-on-one, so that's why Cassidy was involved here. This was an energetic, entertaining 10-man tag team match to start the show. It was cool seeing Copeland and Christian team up with the Bucks, and I'm sure it won't be long before they're on opposite ends of the ring.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Westbrook

As I've said before, we've been getting a few showcase matches with Bailey in recent weeks and now we know why. He made quick work of this random dude named Westbrook here, but after the next match, he made it clear that he's coming for Darby Allin's AEW World Championship. I thought he'd challenge Kevin Knight for the AEW TNT Championship at Double or Nothing, and maybe he still will, but that's not looking likely at this point.

AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight def. Brian Cage

Cage was out injured for 14 months, so it was nice to see him back. He didn't miss a beat. I know people will be bothered that he lost in his return and I can understand that to an extent, but I genuinely don't see him being anything more than a background player in The Don Callis Family like he was before, so this felt more like a one-off opportunity for him. Despite that, I thought he and Knight had a great match.

Will Ospreay def. Ace Austin

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I couldn't tell you the last important match Austin won in AEW, if ever. He's been getting a lot of these competitive matches this year, but I'd argue they do more to make the other person look weak than it does to make him look strong. This did not need to be as long as it was. On a side note, I appreciated Ospreay winning with a submission seeing as how he's associated with The Death Riders right now.

The Brawling Birds and Hikaru Shida def. Triangle of Madness (AEW Women's World Champion Thekla, Skye Blue and Julia Hart) by Disqualification

We found out the brackets for both the women's and men's Owen Hart Cup tournaments on this show and a few people from the women's were in this match. I don't know what purpose this would have served otherwise. Shida walking out on Brawling Birds was predictable, and the disqualification was lame. I get wanting to protect Triangle of Madness, but this didn't really seem to accomplish anything.

AEW World Champion Darby Allin def. Konosuke Takeshita; AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight Saved Allin from MJF During the AEW World Championship Contract Signing for Double or Nothing

Takeshita vs. Allin was another banger in Allin's growing list of banger matches as AEW World Champion. It was originally supposed to be Kazuchika Okada challenging Allin, but I believe Okada had to head back to Japan for a family matter, so Takeshita replaced him. It was an awesome match, regardless, even though the outcome was never in doubt. The subsequent contract signing was solid and set the stage for his Hair vs. Title match against MJF at Double or Nothing.

Overall Show

AEW kept their momentum rolling with this edition of Dynamite, which I thought was very enjoyable on the whole. Allin's title defenses have consistently been a treat and the Double or Nothing card is coming together well. I had my issues with Ospreay vs. Austin and the six-woman tag team match, but the opener and Knight vs. Cage were both a lot of fun. AEW is packing these two-plus hours of Dynamite each week and it's making for must-see television in my eyes.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews