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AEW Dynamite Results & Booking Grades (8/18/26): Kenny Omega Decimates Will Ospreay

What did Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega have to say to one another just 11 days before their AEW World Heavyweight Championship match at All In.
Zack Heydorn|
Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega | All Elite Wrestling

In 11 days, AEW will invade Wembley Stadium with the All In PPV event and Will Ospreay will be the main attraction on that show, which emanates from his home country of the United Kingdom.

Ospreay is scheduled to challenge Kenny Omega for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. Ospreay earned the shot at the title by winning this year's Owen Hart Cup Tournament.

This week's episode of AEW Dynamite began with Ospreay. He made his entrance to a loud reaction from the audience. Members of the United Empire joined him as teammates and the trio took on members of The Don Callis Family.

Last week on Dynamite, Ospreay was assaulted by The Don Callis Family. This week, he looked for retribution.

Will Ospreay and United Empire defeated The Don Callis Family in a trios match. Ospreay was the star of the match and won it for his team in the end. Ospreay connected with his Hidden Blade on Rocky Romero to secure the victory.

Booking Grade: 8/10

  • Nothing really fancy here from a booking perspective, but the match did exactly what it was designed to do and that was keep Ospreay with some momentum. Plus, like commentary pointed out, Ospreay was able to vanquish The Don Callis Family, which is a part of his journey to All In.

Tension grows inside of The Don Callis Family ahead of All In

After the match, Kazuchika Okada was interviewed by Renee Paquette. Okada said that he would be happy if Kyle Fletcher retained the AEW International Championship at All In. He said family is everything, so if Okada wins, he expects Fletcher to raise his hand.

The cold war between Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada got especially chilly during the Don Callis Family Summit.
The cold war between Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada got especially chilly during the Don Callis Family Summit. | All Elite Wrestling

Fletcher was interviewed by Tony Schiavone in the ring. He addressed the comments by Okada. Fletcher said that he was having the greatest AEW International Championship run in history and that it wouldn't end anytime soon.

Fletcher then talked about Don Callis. He said he trusted Callis and owed a lot to him. From there, he and his other opponent at All In, Konosuke Takeshita, brawled in the ring. The brawl ended with Takeshita getting the upper hand and holding up Fletcher's title belt. Okada never ran out to help Fletcher.

Booking Grade: 9/10

  • The more drama AEW can put between Fletcher, Takeshita, and Okada, the better the match will be. This juggled a lot. It fed the Fletcher and Okada rivalry inside of The Don Callis Family and also their rivalry with Takeshita.
  • Okada not helping Fletcher certainly won't sit well with the champ. A strong, passive-aggressive way to fuel that feud.

Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay travel back in time in special interview

Omega and Ospreay were both interviewed by Renee Paquette. Paquette asked them each a plethora of questions about their long history together. Omega and Ospreay covered their careers in New Japan Pro Wrestling, their two previous matches together, COVID, and their health.

The topic of health focused on Ospreay's neck and Omega's diverticulitis. Omega accused Ospreay of wanting to face him while he was injured. Ospreay shrugged that off. He said he wanted Omega at his best because he had been on a long journey to prove that he was better. Ospreay said he needed to beat Omega when the pressure was on and that there wouldn't be a place with more pressure than in front of his family and friends at Wembley Stadium.

Omega mentioned Ospreay's mother and this infuriated Ospreay. Omega tried to calm him down, but needled Ospreay even more. Omega said that if Ospreay didn't beat him, his son would look up to him instead of his father. Ospreay went after Omega and the two men needed to be broken up by AEW security.

Booking Grade: 10/10

  • Epic. A fantastic segment that tied the long Omega and Ospreay history together. They put context around the meaning of their first two matches and used that meaning to define just how important the third one would be. Dramatic and emotional.
  • Special shout-out to Kenny Omega. He's got a tough job. He needs to present as a confident champion who wants to win, but at the same time, can't come across as a total jerk. He walked the line well inside this segment and balanced that perfectly. Jerky enough to poke Ospreay and fan his emotions, but not likable enough for the audience not to fully turn on him.

Maya World defeated Persephone, Kris Statlander, and Hikaru Shida in a fatal four-way match to retain her TBS Championship. World pinned Statlander to win the match. She countered a Statlander Saturday Night Fever and then rolled her up for the victory.

After the match, World celebrated and Statlander was devastated. The announce team called the win impressive for World. Later in the show, World said she accomplished what she promised she would and now wanted more. Willow Nightingale approached her and granted her a title match this week on AEW Collision.

Booking Grade: 7/10

  • I mean, it was a fine little match, but the near falls didn't land that well because World retaining felt like a foregone conclusion.
  • Interesting that the camera held on Statlander after the loss. She looked angry. Heel turn?

Jon Moxley advances in the AEW Continental Cup Classic tournament

Jon Moxley defeated Jay White in an excellent match to advance in the AEW Continental Cup Classic tournament. This was the first time that Moxley has ever beaten White.

Moxley and White battled for nearly 20 minutes. White almost had the match won when he connected with Blade Runner, but he was unable to secure a pin attempt because Moxley rolled out of the ring.

Moxley won the match like he wins most of his matches. A choke. White submitted and now Moxley is moving on in the tournament.

After the match, White got attacked by The Dogs. The Conglomeration tried to make the save, but were thwarted by Gabe Kidd. Kidd left them lying until Brodido and Adam Page ran out. After they helped clear the ring, Page cut a promo and issued an open challenge for their trios titles at All In.

Booking Grade: 5/10

  • Jay White is a valuable guy, but you wouldn't know it from how he's booked in AEW. White needs victories like these if he is going to realize his potential. Moxley is a made guy and the tournament would be more interesting had Moxley lost early.
  • The match itself was excellent. It felt like a G1 match with extra stiff strikes and holds. Both guys complement one another well in that regard.
  • Where was White's faction? Busy?

Jonathan Cruz stood in the ring and read the audience a message in Spanish on behalf of MJF. Eventually, he challenged Andrade to a fight and his challenge was accepted right away.

Andrade won the match in just a few seconds after connecting with his spinning elbow.

Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale get physical

Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale confronted one another from different locations on video. Mone called Nightingale names right out of the gate and they both argued.

Nightingale commented about howMone wished she had a connection with the audience as she does. Mone retorted that she didn't want it. Mone accused Nightingale of bullying her by dancing and smiling while Mone was trying to recover from injuries. Mone told Nightingale that she would take her smile away.

That comment sparked a brawl between the two women. Nightingale and Mone fought from their backstage areas and down to the ring. Eventually, AEW security broke the fight up.

Booking Grade: 6/10

  • Mone and Nightingale were both fine in this segment, but none of it was fresh. We've heard the name-calling before and the narrative from Mone that she was going to steal Willow's smile. That angle is clearly the story, but this was an opportunity to do something different to that end. Instead, more of the same.
  • This needed the Omega and Ospreay treatment and it didn't get it. There isn't as much history between these two, but there is certainly enough to do more than they did on this show. Mone looped some of it into the mix, but not as impactfully as Ospreay and Omega did.

Nigel McGuinness defeated Hechicero and advanced in the AEW Continental Cup Classic tournament. Prior to the match, the announce team noted that McGuinness was injured, but he was still able to pull it off.

Like Moxley, McGuinness won the match with a choke. Hechicero never tapped out, but passed out to lose the match instead.

Booking Grade: 7/10

  • A totally fine match, but nothing great. Nigel McGuinness had to win this one and he did. It was relatively short compared to the Moxley and White match. Not nearly as good either.

Kevin Knight takes out Darby Allin

Knight cut a promo in the ring and called himself the greatest TNT Champion in AEW history. He said he was a man and not a young boy anymore. Knight then called out Allin.

Allin made his entrance, but then pyro went off with Allin still on the stage. Allin was stopped in his tracks and then attacked by Allin. Knight pulled him down to the ring and used a steel chair on him.

Knight ended up hitting a coast-to-coast dropkick on Allin and with the chair. The attack left Allin lying in the ring and he was taken away on a stretcher. As he was rolled away, Knight looked over his handiwork and was almost attacked by Sting's son, Steve. Allin called him off.

Booking Grade: 8/10

  • A strong heat segment from Knight that added fuel to their title match at All In. Knight was vicious, but that was the idea.
  • Darby Allin doesn't need to be running around with Sting's son right now. I get that the Sting connection is there, but even in their limited interaction this week, it felt forced.

Kenny Omega smashes Will Ospreay through a table with the One Winged Angel

In the main event of the evening, The Elite defeated The Don Callis Family in a trios match.

After the match was over, The Callis Family attacked Omega and The Elite. Though they will be opponents at All In, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage ran down to make the save. They fought off Callis's crew, but then got hit with superkick friendly fire by The Bucks.

Prior to the match beginning, Will Ospreay confronted Omega in the backstage area before he walked out. When the attack was over in the ring, Ospreay walked out to the ring and asked Omega what he wanted to tell him backstage. Omega dismissed Ospreay and told security to take him out of the building.

Ospreay walked away and Omega called him a b***h. He said that he didn't want to see Ospreay again until All In. Ospreay heard enough and ran back to the ring and the two men brawled. The security pulled Ospreay off Omega, but while he was held by them, Omega crushed him with a V-Trigger.

Omega tossed security out of the ring, but then turned his attention back to Ospreay. Omega set up a table and put Ospreay through it with a One Winged Angel as the show went off the air.

Booking Grade: 8/10

  • The main event match was what it was. It essentially was the stage for the angle at the end of the show.
  • Ospreay was fired up and he should have been after what Omega said about his son. His reason to fight was right there and they didn't avoid it.
  • So much for Omega walking the line that I mentioned above. Omega erased the line with the attack on Ospreay. This added big-time heat to their angle and gives Ospreay a big mountain to climb over Omega. Really well set up and well-executed. The question I have is how far they take the Omega thing. He's not a heel and this wasn't a heel turn, but he sure acted like one.

AEW Dynamite Results

  • Will Ospreay and United Empire defeated The Don Callis Family in a Trios Match
  • Maya World defeated Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander, and Persephone in a fatal four-way match to retain the TBS Championship
  • Jon Moxley defeated Jay White to advance in the Continental Cup tournament
  • Andrade defeated Jonathan Cruz
  • Nigel McGuinness defeated Hechicero to advance in the Continental Cup tournament
  • The Elite defeated The Don Callis Family in a Trios Match
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Published
Zack Heydorn
ZACK HEYDORN

Zack Heydorn has been covering the pro wrestling industry for a decade and writes news, features, and interviews for The Takedown On SI. He also hosts and cohosts a variety of WWE and AEW shows on YouTube. Heydorn is a former Assistant Editor of PWTorch and Managing Editor of SEScoops. Zack is also the author of the Hybrid Shoot book Stunning: The Wrestling Artistry of Steve Austin, which is available on Amazon. You can follow Zack on X and Bluesky.

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