VANCOUVER – Western Canada is officially All Elite.
Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia hosted AEW Dynasty Sunday. The tremendous pay-per-view was capped with a mainpredictably-violent event that saw “The Devil” MJF retain his “Triple B”, the AEW Men’s World Championship, against “The God of Professional Wrestling”, also known as “The Best Bout Machine”, Kenny Omega.
Zero Hour:
The pre-PPV hour added to Marina Shafir vs. Alex Windsor. “Jungle” Jack Perry defended his AEW National Championship against “Dunkzilla” Mark Davis of the Don Callis Family, and Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross) defended their AEW Women’s Tag Team Championships against Hyan and Maya World.
As well, a returning Kamille defeated Big Anne after attacking TBS Champion Willow Nightingale backstage!
Alex Windsor took on Marina Shafir in a singles match with a lot of bad blood between the two of them. The Death Riders vs. United Empire feud added another chapter on Zero Hour and Windsor came out victorious. Shafir had to contend not only with Windsor, but with the crowd as they chanted “put some shoes on!” Windsor felled Shafir for the three seconds needed after fighting her way out of multiple submission attempts. Two headbutts kept Shafir down for long enough. Shafir flipped off her opponent as she exited the ring.
Kamille took on Big Anne in a last-minute addition to the card. Cakewalk. Squash. Why are all these terms food-related? Nightingale came out after the short match but Kamille got the best of her again.
Despiute being vastly undersized compared to his challenger Mark Davis, Jack Perry dug as deep as he could (and then a bit deeper still) to retain his AEW National Championship. Davis shoulder tackled Perry while barely even moving. Perry survived the assault and fought out of multiple covers. He countered to retain.
Despite having a lot of momentum over the past few months on Ring of Honor, Hyan and Maya World were simply overpowered by Lena Kross and Megan Bayne. Divine Dominion made a statement retaining their AEW Women’s Tag Team titles. Divine Dominion isolated Hyan in their corner for most of the match. She was able to fight back and get some shots in herself, even causing Bayne’s shoulder to meet the ring post in an unsavoury fashion. Holding up her title, Bayne stares into the camera and asks “whos next?”
AEW Dynasty 2026:
The Young Bucks are on the long, LONG list you could label “AEW Wrestlers that Don’t Like the Don Callis Family” or something along those lines. After shaking hands at the beginning, “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita and “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada were unable to put their personal issues aside and the Young Bucks wisely took advantage. This earned them a huge win against two of Don Callis’ best, helped by Takeshita. Okada ate the pin.
After being away for quite some time, Chris Jericho recently returned and re-signed with AEW. As he did on Dynamite, he was interrupted (in his hometwon of Winnipeg) by Ricochet and Gates of Agony, collectively The Demand. After a hip-toss to start, the crowd chanted “You still got it!” at Jericho. The “bald!” chants for Ricochet soon followed. The crowd also chanted “Y2J!” as Jericho appeared to be on the cusp of winning. Gates of Agony took their chances and got involved, using each other as a distraction for the referee. In a crazy singles match that saw both Ricochet and Jericho highlighted at different times, it was Ricochet who got the last “AH-HAAAAA!”, earning the win.
Darby Allin and the Don Callis Family go together about as well as I do with math or science. Just, not well at all. Andrade El Idolo is a wrestler who maybe doesn’t get all the respect he deserves, in my humble opinion. That said, Allin found a way to best him tonight. Andrade landed in the ropes but hits his pose, taunting Allin. This didn’t end well as Allin dove right into him and both crashed to the floor. After fighting up the stairs between two sections, Andrade got back in the ring and went for Tres Amigos! Allin countered after the second fall and earned the win, and a AEW Men’s World Championship shot! Andrade gave Allin his flowers as the two shook hands after. Don Callis was not ringside for this one, or he may have been beside himself with the handshake.
For the second time (after All Out in Toronto in September) in a few short months, FTR locked up with Christian Cage and Adam Copeland at a PPY in Canada. This time, the AEW Men’s Tag Team titles were on the line. An “Oh Canada!” rendition rung out. FTR got in their groove and, despite great moves from the Canadians, retained their titles with a Shatter Machine on Cope. Cage had been thrown towards the timekeeper’s table. The air in the crowd felt heavy. This story likely isn’t over, though. Someone in the crowd had a sign that said “MJF is Canada’s Devil”. That might be the case. But I’d argue that Canada’s Devil has to be Canadian. By that logic, the only correct answer is Christian Cage.
The Don Callis Family suffered another loss in the Casino Gauntlet for the vacant AEW TNT title. Tommaso Ciampa (#1) and Rush (#2) were the first two in the ring but it was “The Jet” Kevin Knight who stood tall after the chaos. After Ciampa and Rush, the entrants were (in order): Bandido, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, El Clon, “The Bastard” PAC, Daniel Garcia, “The Pride of Professional Wrestling” Anthony Bowens, “The Jet” Kevin Knight, and Wheeler Yuta. Knight pinned Garcia to win the TNT Championship.
After winning the TNT Chamionship, Knight was calmly ecstatic, as only he can be: “This [is] my first singles title ever … It’s a lot of pressure, but I think ‘The Jet’ is built for this moment.”
AEW Women’s World Champion “The Toxic Spider” Thekla has had as close to a meteoric rise since joining AEW as humanly possible (unless you just came back from Artemis II. In that case, welcome back to Earth!). Jamie Hayter was her first target upon her arrival to AEW. Hayter missed a significant amount of time and looked to get some revenge tonight. After carrying Thekla up most of the entrance ramp, Hayter’s plan backfired and she got dropped. Thekla uses the ropes to aid her in the pinfall but the referee doesn’t see it. Alex Windsor rushes out to plead the Brawling Birds’ case but it’s no use. The Sisters of Sin join Thekla to celebrate her title retention.
After the match, Thekla was as confident as can be, and rightfully so. She doesn’t care who her next challenger will be: “They can all get the same trick”.
As with Shafir and Windsor in Zero Hour, Jon Moxley and “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay both pushed themselves and each other. Perhaps even more than anyone could have predicted, even. Ospreay challenged Moxley to fight this match on his own, of course willing to do the same himself. Ospreay came out with a Hidden Blade right as the bell rang. He thought he’d found that little extra bit in himself but his neck let him down after a seemingly nonstop barrage from Moxley. Despite getting his chances in this match to win the Continental Championship, Ospreay couldn’t get it done. Jon Moxley retained the AEW Continental Championship.
The Dogs haven’t been in AEW collectively for very long but they’ve been easy to find. Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong were joined by none other than a returning Kyle O’Reilly! The Dogs disrespected the couch. That would not stand. In the arena where he first watched wrestling live as a child. In the city he calls home. This match was all about Kyle O’Reilly and he proved he was up to the moment by pinning Clark Connors. The Conglomeration are the new AEW Trios Champions!
After earning the AEW Trios titles, Kyle O’Reilly spoke on what the moment means to him: “It’s not about the destination. It’s always about the journey. You always get up in the morning. Keep going.”
Last but certainly not least, it was Kenny Omega, “The God of Professional Wrestling”, against MJF, “The Devil”. During the match, a young fan closeby Home ring advantage did not aid Omega, as “The Best Bout Machine” was felled by MJF. The Devil’s reign is ready for his next challenger.
After a successful show, Tony Khan and Renee Paquette took some time to reflect on their favorite Canadian moments in AEW’s short history. The consensus answer? October 2022, at the RICOH (now known as Coca-Cola) Coliseum in Toronto.
It’s safe to say that Canada will soon host another AEW tour in the near future.
