AEW Dynamite Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Jan. 21

The January 21 edition of Dynamite aired from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida where multiple world title contenders looked to build momentum.

Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe were all in action, hoping to pick up victories and build a resume for a title opportunity against Men's world champion MJF.

Led by Jon Moxley, The Death Riders fought The Don Callis Family in a trios Street Fight. The Timeless Love Bombs hoped to knock down Megan Bayne and the recently returned Penelope Ford.

This was an important night of action for All Elite Wrestling that also promised to set the stage for big shows to come.

MJF Meets Another Future Challenger, Brody King

Tony Schiavone introduced AEW men's world champion MJF to start the show. He called himself the best wrestler on Earth and insulted the fans throughout.

Brody King interrupted to request a world title match tonight. The Salt of the Earth refused as the potential challenger had not defeated "elite" level talent.

While MJF said he was not afraid of King, he retreated right after getting a bit too close, leaving another challenger in search of a path to his title opportunity.

This was a decent segment but did not have the energy to open the show. King played too nice with MJF after last week and did not quite sell why he should jump the line for a title shot.

Still, King going after the world title is an exciting option, setting up a fresh match for MJF when the time is right.

He is the least established challenger though for MJF, so hopefully the coming weeks will sell why King can hang in the main event scene.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments and Observations

King threatened to rip out MJF's spine for what he did to Bandido.

MJF called King "all bark, no bite".

The Salt of the Earth made sure his music was played to end the segment.

Samoa Joe vs. 'Speedball' Mike Bailey

Araya Doheny/WireImage

Last Time in Action: "Speedball" Mike Bailey alongside Kevin Knight and Hangman Adam Page defeated Samoa Joe alongside Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata to win the World Trios Championships (Collision, January 17).

Bailey pushed the pace early in this match, flying at The Samoan Submission Machine from all sides. Hook and Shibata arrived to turn the tide.

The Wrestler brutalized Speedball with two suplexes and a knee breaker on the outside behind the referee, leaving Bailey vulnerable.

Speedball was able to counter the Coquina Clutch with a pin attempt near-fall, but The Opps again interfered to stop the Ultimate Weapon and allow The Samoan Submission Machine to seal his victory with a Muscle Buster.

With the level of talent in this ring, this was frustratingly underwhelming. It did not help that Joe was oddly outmatched most of the contest by Speedball, leading to frequent interference.

Even without The Opps' involvement though, Joe and Bailey never found their flow, leading to a flat performance from all involved.

The end goal was to get Joe the win, and it may have been better to let The Samoan Submission Machine shine more if he is going back after MJF.

With all the names trying to earn a shot at The Salt of the Earth, Joe will likely get lost in that shuffle, branching off to a different rivalry.

Based on the first two segments, moving into Brodido vs. The Opps in the near future would be a great story for AEW.

Result

Joe def. Bailey by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments and Observations

The new world trios champions tried to come with a new name backstage. Hangman advised Speedball to focus on his speed advantage against Joe but could not give advice to The Jet against Swerve.

Bailey also told Knight to focus on his match and let him fight alone, which left Speedball at a disadvantage in this one.

Taz returned to commentary and showed his favoritism on behalf of his son, supporting The Opps.

Joe was in top sarcastic form, mocking the fans and Speedball throughout his sly smiles and claps.

One of Joe's chops was so loud on Speedball's chest that it could have believably ended the match.

Paul Turner was blind in this match, always missing The Opps' obvious interference.

MJF was shown backstage watching one of his potential future challengers.

Street Fight: The Death Riders vs. Don Callis Family

Last Time in Action: (Dynamite: Blood & Guts, November 12); Hechicero, Lance Archer and Rocky Romero lost to Orange Cassidy and Paragon (Collision, October 2).

The Death Riders found a vicious fight in The Don Callis Family but used their numbers to overwhelm the competition.

Marina Shafir saved Mox against Archer, catching The Murderhawk Monster in a triangle choke to set up a cutter from Mox. Archer recovered quickly to throw Mox through a table at ringside.

Claudio Castagnoli and Pac took out Archer on the stage, sending his head through an exploding speaker. Shafir caught The Alchemist with a low blow.

Garcia and Mox then teamed up to take down Romero with a piledriver and Dragon Slayer/Curb Stomp combination to seal the knockout win.

Afterward, Mox told Don Callis on commentary that "your boy" knows where to find him.

There was no reason for this Street Fight to be so good. This was The Don Callis Family's least established trio while The Death Riders have dominated most groups in multi-man matches.

However, with a strong focus on selling the particular talents of Archer, Hechicero and Romero, The Family pushed The Death Riders believably, setting the stage for a violent and exciting finish.

The home stretch was a wild showcase of The Death Riders' synergy, selling why they will be a serious threat to the entire Family.

By the end, the entire Death Riders had the crowd behind them, and it seems the full face turn may be complete.

The Death Riders have been the biggest heels in AEW since the group's arrival, but it is easy to root for them when Callis is on the other side.

Result

Garcia, Mox and Yuta def. Romero, Archer and Hechicero by knockout.

Grade

A

Notable Moments and Observations

Archer sent Yuta with a loud crash through the timekeeper's table.

Mox pulled out a barbed-wire board only for Archer to chokeslam him onto it.

Shafir always looks at her best in intergender action. Her technical ability shined here as she believably caught Archer off-guard to help her team.

FTR vs. Alec Price and Jordan Oliver

All Elite Wrestling

Last Time in Action: Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood defeated The Bang Bang Gang to retain the World Tag Team Championships (Worlds End, December 27). This was the AEW debut for Alec Price and Jordan Oliver.

While FTR worked this match with significant ego, the newest signees to AEW pushed them throughout.

Wheeler managed to knock out Price on the outside then team up with Harwood for the Shatter Machine to win.

There was little drama to this match, but Price and Oliver looked great throughout. In particular, their high-speed pace fits right in on this tag team roster.

They worked a Young Bucks style with FTR, rarely worried about tagging in to push the pace of the contest.

By the end, it was clear why these two were signed, though they need more spotlight to come off as true threats to a loaded roster.

They are most likely filler undercard stars for 2026 and can do much more in future years based on how much they shine in losses.

Result

Harwood and Wheeler def. Price and Oliver by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

Big Stoke warned Price and Oliver that this would be a bad first night for them before plugging his website: helpbigstoke.com.

Hathaway refused to give too much credit to the new team, even as they pushed FTR with their high-speed offense.

Backstage, Thekla challenged Kris Statlander for the Women's World Championship next week while Julia Hart challenged Willow Nightingale for the TBS Championship on Collision.

Later, Stat and Willow both accepted the challenges, and Harley Cameron promised to keep Skye Blue out of both matches.

Kenny Omega vs. Josh Alexander

Last Time in Action: Josh Alexander alongside El Clon and Kyle Fletcher defeated SkyFlight (Collision, January 17, 2026); Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks defeated The Don Callis Family for $1,000,000 (Dynamite: Holiday Bash, December 17, 2025).

Kenny Omega worked this match as fast and crisp as any contest in 2025, but he found a worthy challenger in Josh Alexander, who focused on wearing out his right ankle.

When the two fought to the announce table, Don Callis tried to help The Walking Weapon and got run off. The distraction allowed Alexander to lock in an Ankle Lock to do serious damage to that ankle.

The Walking Weapon focused too much on Callis when he returned to commentary. The distraction allowed The Cleaner to hit a pair of V-Triggers for a near-fall then a One-Winged Angel to seal it.

Afterward, Omega said he was healthier than he has been in a long time and did not believe anyone in The Family could contest him on his road to the world title.

Omega and Alexander delivered throughout this match, especially highlighting how much The Walking Weapon had waited for this opportunity.

It is a shame that it was only a Dynamite match when the feud had pay-per-view potential. Just what they delivered on TV would have made an impact on AEW PPV.

This felt like Omega putting The Don Callis Family behind him, which is for the best. Even if he still has a future match with Andrade, El Idolo needs more time to rebuild himself.

Result

Omega def. Alexander by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

These two best sold the heat between them in a physical strike exchange at ringside where both delivered strikes that rang out in this arena.

Callis tried to get involved as he has in the past, but referee Bryce Remsburg got ahead of him, stopping it.

MJF watched again backstage, indicating he was studying all future challengers.

Taz broke down the technical focus of MJF to defeat Bandido last week.

Timeless Love Bombs vs. Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford

All Elite Wrestling

Last Time in Action: Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford defeated Danielle Kamela and Viva Van (Collision, January 17); "Timeless" Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa defeated Hyan and Maya World (Collision, January 3).

The Timeless One fought with vicious focus, clearly indicating her hatred for her competition throughout, particularly when they isolated The Venus.

Mina nearly won with a diving Slingblade on Ford, but Bayne broke up the pin.

The Venus caught Ford with Uraken and then went for the Figure Four, but Bayne Clotheslined her to set up a Doomsday Device.

Marina Shafir attacked The Timeless One at ringside to ensure she could not save Mina from the finisher or the pinfall.

This was just Ford's second match back in action, yet she and Bayne fell right back into their rhythm as a tag team.

While there is built-in heat between the teams, this did not feel like a heated encounter outside of Storm's aggressive words.

It was more a good athletic showcase for the teams, especially Bayne, who remains a problem for Storm and Mina.

The win should give The Megasus and Ford the inside track for a future Women's Tag Team Championships opportunity.

It would not be surprising if they won the gold since they felt like potential favorites in the initial tournament before Ford's injury.

Result

Bayne and Ford def. Mina and Storm by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

Bayne tossing around Ford was a solid indicator that Ford is fully healthy again.

Shafir remains the most stalwart heel of The Death Riders, even if she will always help the most babyface of the group, Jon Moxley.

AEW hyped Roderick Strong's win over Hechicero to earn a CMLL World Heavyweight Championship match against Claudio Castagnoli on Collision.

Swerve Strickland vs. Kevin Knight

Arturo Holmes/WireImage

Last Time in Action: Kevin Knight alongside "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Hangman Adam Page defeated The Opps to win the World Trios Championships (Collision, January 17); Swerve Strickland alongside Page defeated The Opps in a Lights Out Match (Dynamite, January 7).

Swerve tested and pushed Knight, who caught him off guard at multiple points in this match.

The Mogul nearly took a count-out victory after a piledriver on the barricade. When The Jet returned, Swerve caught him with a 450 Splash and locked in a Dragon Sleeper.

Knight fought free and to the top rope where Knight hit an explosive Hurricanrana, Coast to Coast and UFO Splash for a near-fall where The Mogul got his foot on the rope.

Swerve fought back and landed a House Call, Vertibreaker and Big Pressure for the victory.

This was the best match of the night, but it was surprising that it was the main event on paper. Based on the presentation though, MJF was most worried about Swerve as his next challenger.

He has serious chemistry with Knight, selling this as The Mogul fighting a younger version of himself.

Down the stretch, an upset felt real, giving this contest the drama no other match on the show had.

It would have been nice to see Knight win here, but with the way AEW is presenting the various challengers for MJF, a single loss could knock a competitor out of the running.

With no Continental Classic on the horizon, this battle of challengers picking up wins almost feels like a tournament replacement. Swerve, Hangman, Samoa Joe, Kenny Omega and Brody King will all be itching for regular singles matches.

The end game could either be to pit them against each other and slowly knock off names through losses until one man is left undefeated in 2026 to contend with MJF.

While not every match was as good as the main event, there is real potential in building this momentum all the way to Revolution while MJF stays fresh for whoever emerges on top.

Result

Swerve def. Knight by pinfall.

Grade

A

Notable Moments and Observations

MJF found private seating to watch this match closely with wine. As things got intense, The Salt of the Earth showed he was rooting for The Jet.

Knight hit Swerve with a few of his own moves, including a snappy House Call near the finish.

The Mogul looked like he was recapturing his world title form over the course of this match, finding the "killer instinct" necessary to win.

Overall Show

While the focus of Dynamite was clear, this was the most filler night of action in a while. The show revolved around MJF's challengers stepping up with all predictable finishes.

Predictable does not necessarily mean bad, but it made this more of a building-block night than a standout edition all on its own.

Swerve Strickland vs. Kevin Knight was an electric main event preceded by a signature Kenny Omega performance against Josh Alexander.

Samoa Joe vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey suffered in comparison, which may indicate The Samoan Submission Machine will struggle to keep up with his peers in the title race.

Brody King similarly needs to find a way to step up, as his promo segment with MJF felt like background noise next to the challenges of Omega and Swerve.

Elsewhere on the show, The Death Riders stood out the best, solidifying at least a temporary face status in contention with The Don Callis Family following a better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be Street Fight.

The women's division could have used more direct spotlight, but "Timeless" Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa vs. Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford was a good continuation of a strong rivalry.

As a whole, this night will mostly be forgotten in the coming months, but it did set a solid foundation for what fans can expect in future weeks, particularly in the world title scene.

Overall Grade: B-