AEW Dynamite Winners, Grades and Reaction Before Forbidden Door 2026

Wednesday's Dynamite was the go-home episode before this weekend's Forbidden Door PPV, so it was all hands on deck.

While a lot of the matches were designed to hype bigger stories heading into the PPV, we did get a title match on Wednesday.

Konosuke Takeshita defended his International Championship against Ricochet in a bout that could have stood beside anything we will see at the PPV this weekend.

We also heard from MJF and Mark Briscoe's teams before they collide in a steel cage this weekend.

Let's take a look at everything that went down on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite.

Death Riders vs. Brodido and Mistico

Brody King and Bandido teamed up with Mistico to take on Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli in trios action.

This match had a little bit of everything because it had every kind of performer involved. There were high-flyers, brawlers, technicians, powerhouses and everything in between.

All six men contributed to the fun, but King and Castagnoli stood out for their impressive feats of athleticism. Moxley and Bandido may have been the main feud featured here, but everyone felt important.

This was exactly what AEW trios matches are supposed to be. It was fun, chaotic, and it kept the action going at a brisk pace.

Result: Death Riders defeated Brodido and Mistico

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Ospreay falling during the backstage segment was hilarious.
• King jumping to the top rope for a double arm drag was the most surprising spot in the match.
• Bandido barely got Claudio up for the deadlift suplex, but he did it and it was still impressive to pull it off with no leverage.

Marina Shafir vs. Harley Cameron

Shafir didn't have to head to the back after the Death Riders' win because her match against Harley Cameron was up next.

This is the kind of match where you think you know how it will end before it begins, but AEW went a different direction.

Instead of having Shafir dominate and defeat her less-experienced opponent, her confidence was her undoing. Cameron stole the win with a pinning combination that caught her off guard.

This might not have been the cleanest match we saw on Wednesday, but if it did anything, it showed how far both women have come since arriving in AEW.

Result: Cameron defeated Shafir

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

• Cameron had on a Supergirl-inspired outfit.
• Shafir has gotten much smoother in the ring over the past year.
• The way Cameron countered into the pin looked like it would be legitimately hard for anyone to escape.

Will Ospreay vs. ELP

Will Ospreay and El Phantasmo have had many battles during their time in NJPW, so they fell right back into their old patterns.

This easily could have been booked as an easy win to make Ospreay look strong before he faces Swerve Strickland this weekend, but instead, AEW allowed ELP to show off.

He and Ospreay put on what was not only the most competitive fight of the night, but also the most entertaining.

ELP is one of those guys who reminds you how good he is every time he wrestles. He has often been overshadowed by bigger stars in NJPW, but he should never be overlooked as a reliable performer. If you missed the show, take the time to go check this one out.

Result: Ospreay defeated ELP

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• ELP gave his glasses to a kid at ringside. The kid looked stoked.
• The chest chop Ospreay hit was very loud.
• Ospreay mocking the fall he had at the top of the show was funny.
• ELP's moonsault from the top rope to the floor was gorgeous.

Swerve Strickland vs. Daniel Garcia

Right after Ospreay was done, his Forbidden Door opponent made his way to the ring as Strickland took on Daniel Garcia.

Once again, AEW took a match that could have been an easy win to make one guy look good and booked it to be a competitive back-and-forth fight.

We all knew Garcia was going to lose, but the fact that he kicked out of the House Call and several other moves helped him look strong.

This was an enjoyable encounter that gave Garcia the chance to look better than he has in months in singles competition. If anyone in the Death Riders deserves a renewed push heading into the rest of the summer, it's him.

Result: Strickland defeated Garcia

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Ospreay leaving through the crowd like the Death Riders was an interesting choice.
• Garcia talking trash is always going to be entertaining. He is like Eddie Kingston in that way.
• Garcia kicking out of the House Call was a nice surprise. It made him look like a tougher competitor.

Jack Perry vs. Zack Sabre. Jr.

Jack Perry and Zack Sabre Jr. ended up being the kind of technical clinic that is only possible when you put two talented grapplers in the ring together.

Perry is not known as being as proficient as Sabre is on the mat, but he kept up with the technical wizard and gave him a good fight.

This is a combo AEW may want to revisit in the future because they displayed incredible chemistry while clearly holding back and not trying to steal the show.

ZSJ winning was predictable but appropriate given his match against Kenny Omega this weekend.

Result: Sabre defeated Perry

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Excalibur compared ZSJ to Hechicero, which is actually a huge compliment.
• The way Sabre can transition from one hold to another is the kind of skill that takes years for most wrestlers to get even half as good as him.
• Perry had some nice moves in this match, especially when he was trying different pins on ZSJ.

The Young Bucks vs. TMDK

This ended up being the shortest match of the night, but that doesn't mean it didn't have its moments.

TMDK and the Bucks did what they could with the minutes they were given to put on a good show, but they simply didn't have enough time to stand out on a show that had several other stronger performances.

The Bucks won, which we all expected, but the possibility of an Elite vs. TMDK feud has been opened up. That is the kind of stable vs. stable match AEW and NJPW should think about including on a future show.

Result: Young Bucks defeated TMDK

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• You could tell TMDK wanted to hit something different when they hit a double flapjack, but it seemed like Matt didn't know what they were going for and it ended up looking awkward.

Red Velvet vs. Queen Aminata

The best thing about the Red Velvet vs. Queen Aminata match was how aggressive both women looked.

Unfortunately, they had a few missteps during the fight that kept this from being as good as we had hoped.

Having two women's matches on the show was great, especially with neither of them being squashes, but both of them fell a little short of the rest of the episode.

Aminata getting the win made sense and the way she did it looked brutal, so at least it ended on a high note.

Result: C+

Grade: Aminata defeated Velvet

Notable Moments and Observations

• Velvet's springboard double arm drag looked nice.
• Velvet's legs didn't get on the top rope for the slingshot suplex Aminata was going for, but Aminata made it work with raw power.
• The way Velvet took Aminata off the top rope with her legs was really cool.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet

Ricochet challenged Konosuke Takeshita for the International Championship in the closing contest on this week's show.

Even with the predictable outcome of Takeshita retaining, he and Ricochet were able to put on a fantastic match that had the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Ricochet's high-flying skills are second to none, and Takeshita played a great base for him, but even with all of the flips in the world, the challenger was unable to win gold.

Much like Ospreay vs. ELP, this is the kind of match you need to see if you didn't watch the show live. No recap will do it justice.

Takeshita beat him with a brutal running knee, but his night wasn't over there. He had to come back out when Team Briscoe and Team MJF had a big brawl to end the show.

Result: Takeshita defeated Ricochet

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Everyone was banned from ringside for this match, which is not always the case like it would be for the continental title.
• Ricochet's moonsaults and 450 looked awesome. He is considered one of the best high-flyers and it still feels like he is underrated somehow.

The Final Word

Wednesday's episode of Dynamite was a lesson in how to use every minute effectively. AEW managed to pack eight matches into a little more than two hours without any of them feeling like squashes.

And on top of that, there was still time for a few backstage segments and interviews. It was a brisk show, but it felt like no time was wasted.

The matches we saw were mostly good, but Ospready vs. ELP and Takeshita vs. Ricochet were the biggest highlights of the night, followed closely by Garcia vs. Strickland.

As a go-home show before Forbidden Door, this week's episode did a great job addressing all of the big feuds while still making the action the main attraction.

Grade: B+