‘AEW: Dynamite’ Review (Feb 18th 2026)

Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from Sacramento, California. We’ve got Tony Schiavone, Excalibur and Bryan Danielson on commentary, so let’s dive right in! Also, as usual, we’ll be abbreviating AEW’s huge match recaps where we can to save your eyes and your time…

Match #1: AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match – Jon Moxley def. Mark Davis

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Davis was out for revenge after Moxley cost him and Jake Doyle the AEW World Tag Team Titles last month, escalating an already heated rivalry between the two men following a grueling week. Davis controlled the early grappling exchanges, flattening Moxley with shoulder blocks and chops. Moxley tried a sunset flip, only for Davis to sit on his chest. After a diving elbow sent Moxley outside, Davis dominated at ringside until he punched the ring post when Moxley moved. Moxley capitalised, diving through the ropes and targeting Davis’ injured hand—biting the fingers and stomping it into the steel steps. Davis fought back, crushing Moxley into a chair in the corner and heading up top, blood pouring from his hand. Moxley met him there, bit the wound again and hit a superplex. A frantic closing stretch saw big lariats, a piledriver from Davis for two, and both men collapsing after heavy strikes. In the end, Moxley countered another piledriver attempt into a tight bulldog choke in the centre of the ring, forcing Davis to tap out. Moxley wins.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #2: TBS Title 4-Way Match – Willow Nightingale def. Mina Shirakawa, Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Shafir and Bayne started fast, dumping Mina and double-teaming Nightingale until the TBS Champion fired back with a cannonball off the apron. Shirakawa followed with a top-rope crossbody to wipe out everyone on the floor and nearly pinned Shafir with a tornillo splash. The pace barely slowed as Nightingale hit a double lungblower, Bayne answered with a hurricanrana from the top, and bodies piled up at ringside—including Bayne gorilla pressing Mina onto the others. Shafir and Bayne briefly worked together, but miscommunication saw Shafir eat Bayne’s senton. Shirakawa landed a slingblade, Willow dished out spinebusters, and all four women traded momentum in rapid-fire fashion. Bayne powerbombed Shafir through the timekeeper’s table before Willow launched Bayne with an avalanche German suplex. Shirakawa nearly capitalised with a shotgun dropkick and spinning backfist, setting up for the figure four—but Nightingale cradled her with a sudden small package to steal the pin out of nowhere.

My Score: 4 out of 5

Match #3: The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy & Tomohiro Ishii) def. Clark Connors & Gabe Kidd

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

After some early mind games, Connors blindsided Ishii and took control, but Ishii shrugged off his chops and blasted him into the corner. Cassidy tagged in, mixing in his usual laid-back offence before diving onto Kidd—only to be caught and dumped onto the apron. Kidd and Connors isolated Cassidy, with Kidd dropping him with a brutal lariat while also flooring Ishii at ringside. Cassidy eventually fought free and tagged Ishii, reigniting Ishii’s long-running rivalry with Kidd from their NJPW wars. The two hammered each other with strikes until Kidd flattened Ishii with a huge lariat. Connors nearly put Ishii away, but the “Stone Pitbull” kicked out and answered with a desperate suplex despite barely being able to stand. Chaos broke loose late. Cassidy spiked Connors with a swinging DDT and wiped out Kidd on the outside. As Kidd brawled into the crowd with Cassidy, Darby Allin appeared out of nowhere, attacking Kidd with his skateboard and dragging him away. Left alone, Connors ate an Orange Punch and Ishii’s brainbuster, giving Ishii the pin and the win.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #4: The Brawling Birds (Jamie Hayter & Alex Windsor) def. B3CCA & Viva Van

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Windsor quickly worked Van over and beat her to the mat with power. Van came back with strikes, but never saw Hayter make a blind tag to hit a sunset flip/big boot combo. Hayter hit a snap suplex and tagged Windsor back in for the Birds to light Van up with chops from both sides. Van hit a couple of kicks to slow Windsor down and then escaped a double suplex attempt to make the tag to B3CCA. She threw forearms at the Birds until they sandwiched her with a pair of big elbows. B3CCA reversed the momentum with a springboard stunner to Hayer and Windsor before nailing Windsor in the corner. She tried to follow up, but was caught by Windsor, who slingshotted B3CCA into Hayter for a backbreaker followed by a running lariat from Windsor. Hayter and Windsor sandwiched B3CCA in the middle of the ring with lariats. Windsor picked up B3CCA for Hayter to hit their version of the Hart Attack, which they call Two Birds with One Stone! The Brawling Birds win their Dynamite debut!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #5: “The Jet” Kevin Knight def. The Beast Mortos

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

Before the bell, Knight upped the stakes: if Beast Mortos beat him, LFI would get a shot at the AEW World Trios Titles on Collision. The fight immediately spilled outside, with Knight striking first via a jumping clothesline from the apron. Mortos responded by launching Knight to the floor and wiping him out with a tornillo through the ropes. Back inside, Mortos powered ahead with a corner lariat and a pop-up Samoan drop for two, then crushed Knight with a headbutt to halt his comeback. Knight answered with a skywalking dropkick, a leaping clothesline and an impressive body slam on the larger Mortos. A standing UFO splash nearly sealed it, and after countering Mortos on the top rope with a leaping hurricanrana and a pendulum DDT, Knight soared with a top-rope UFO Splash to secure the pin and deny LFI their title opportunity.

My Score: 4 out of 5

Match #6: Swerve Strickland def. Kenny Omega

The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:

A tense stalemate quickly broke down into shoves before Omega dumped Swerve to the floor and teased a dive. Swerve cut him off with a running clothesline and head-scissors, then wiped Omega out with a twisting dive to the outside. The fight spilled everywhere—into the barricade, the front row, and eventually the crowd—where Omega steadied himself on the rail and crushed Swerve with a moonsault. Back inside the ring, momentum swung constantly. Omega strung together a basement dropkick, bulldog and You Can’t Escape for a near fall, while Swerve answered with sharp strikes and a top-rope hurricanrana attempt that backfired when Omega dropped him face-first on the buckle. Snap dragons and V-Triggers flew, including a brutal one on the apron. Swerve stunned Omega with a 450 splash, but couldn’t keep him down. Late chaos saw Omega accidentally V-Trigger referee Aubrey Edwards as Swerve feigned injury. A House Call connected but there was no ref. Swerve escalated, exposing metal and stomping Omega onto the apron before landing a Swerve Stomp—still only two. Omega roared back with a poisonrana and knees, but Swerve finally caught him clean with House Call into Big Pressure to win a war. Afterwards, Swerve snapped. He attacked Omega, dragged him to the announce table, ignored Bryan Danielson’s pleas, and planted him with a Vertebreaker through the table. Screaming “I needed this!” into the camera, Swerve stood tall as Sacramento closed on a disturbingly violent note.

My Score: 5 out of 5

Final Verdict: 4.5/5

This was one of those Dynamites that escalated as it went on and absolutely nailed the landing. The opener between Moxley and Mark Davis was gritty, nasty stuff – the finger biting, the blood, the desperation. It felt like two men trying to maim each other rather than win a wrestling match, and that bulldog choke finish came at the perfect moment. The TBS four-way kept the energy high, with Willow stealing the win in a clever way that protects everyone and keeps the division feeling stacked. The middle of the card was solid-to-very good throughout. Cassidy and Ishii vs. Connors and Kidd delivered that NJPW-flavoured stiffness we love, and Darby’s skateboard-assisted chaos added some spice. The Brawling Birds made a strong statement on debut, while Kevin Knight continues to feel like a breakout star waiting to properly detonate – that UFO Splash is becoming must-see.

But let’s be honest: this show will be remembered for Swerve vs. Omega… That main event was pay-per-view calibre in every sense. Big match pacing, wild momentum swings, brutal apron spots, Aubrey taking a V-Trigger, and a finish that felt both definitive and dangerous. Then the post-match angle pushed Swerve into genuinely unsettling territory. The Vertebreaker through the table wasn’t just a spot – it was a statement. “I needed this” is the kind of line that lingers. Dynamite doesn’t always balance in-ring excellence with meaningful storyline progression, but this week it absolutely did. A red-hot main event, a strong women’s showcase, and no real dead air anywhere on the card.