AEW Dynamite and Collision September 23, 2026 Results & Recap: Ospreay Expands United Empire, Swerve & New Level Retain

AEW had three hours to finish the road to All Out last night, and the combined Dynamite and Collision special did its best work whenever it stopped trying to cram everything onto the screen at once. Will Ospreay finally began building the AEW version of United Empire he promised after All In, officially bringing “Speedball” Mike Bailey into the group before teaming with him to defeat Claudio Castagnoli and Gabe Kidd. Jon Moxley continued preparing for Ospreay by choking out Dezmond Xavier, Swerve Strickland and The New Level survived The Demand to keep the AEW World Trios Championship, and practically every major All Out program received one final push. Some of it landed. Some of it felt rushed. The opening trios match was especially sloppy in stretches despite an excellent finishing sequence, while the final Ospreay-Moxley confrontation finally gave Saturday’s AEW World Championship match the urgency expected from the biggest match on the card.

Here are the full results

• Swerve Strickland & The New Level w/Prince Nanna (c) defeated The Demand (AEW World Trios Championship)
• AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defeated Dezmond Xavier (AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match)
• Tommaso Ciampa defeated Jake Doyle.
• Persephone (c) defeated Hyan (TBS Championship)
• AEW World Champion Will Ospreay and “Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Gabe Kidd.
• Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight defeated The Outrunners.
• Queen Aminata defeated Skye Blue.
• PAC defeated Ace Austin.

Breakdowns & Reactions

Swerve Strickland & The New Level vs. The Demand — AEW World Trios Championship

Last night opened with the right match on paper. The winner was going directly into All Out against “Hangman” Adam Page, Bandido and Brody King, The Demand had jumped the champions the previous week, and Swerve’s history with Ricochet, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona gave the match more substance than another random trios defense.

More importantly, last night finally felt like we were watching the birth of an actual AEW trios division, and that process really started when The New Level debuted alongside Swerve Strickland at All In London.

AEW has had the World Trios Championships for years, but having championships and having a real division are not the same thing.

For most of the belts’ existence, AEW never consistently created enough established three-man units, long-term rivalries, defined hierarchy or interconnected stories around them to make the trios scene feel like its own division. Too often, three wrestlers would simply be grouped together because a trios match was needed, challenge for the belts and disappear back into their separate stories afterward.

That changed when The New Level arrived.

Kofi and Austin Creed did not debut as two random wrestlers filling spots beside Swerve. They arrived as an established identity, immediately aligned with one of AEW’s biggest stars and became part of the Trios Championship picture from the beginning.

Since All In London, AEW has finally started putting actual structure around those championships.

Swerve and The New Level are the centerpiece.

The Demand became an established rival trio with history against Swerve.

Now “Hangman” Adam Page, Bandido and Brody King are entering the championship picture at All Out with their own relationships, personalities and motivations.

For the first time, AEW is not simply booking trios matches.

It is starting to build a trios division.

That is the difference.

Last night was the clearest example yet because one championship match directly led into another rivalry. The Demand were trying to take the championships. Hangman and Brodido were waiting for whoever survived. Swerve’s history with both sides mattered. New Level were no longer just Swerve’s surprise partners from Wembley; they were now champions standing at the center of a growing ecosystem.

That is what the Trios Championships have been missing almost from the moment they were introduced.

The problem was the execution of the actual match.

There was plenty of athleticism, but too much of the match looked choreographed instead of competitive. Several transitions were a beat late, there were moments where wrestlers appeared to be waiting for the next sequence, and the constant bodies entering and exiting the ring made portions of the match feel less like controlled chaos and more like six wrestlers trying to locate the next spot.

That was frustrating because some of the individual ideas were excellent. Ricochet flying into the action after Gates of Agony had isolated the champions worked. Swerve’s House Call interruptions looked violent. The late near falls finally gave the match some urgency. Once they reached the closing stretch, the match became considerably sharper.

The finish was smart. Kofi struggled to put the much larger Toa Liona away with the SOS until Swerve connected with the House Call, allowing the champions to finish Liona and retain.

There was a very good trios match buried inside this, particularly during the final several minutes. It just took too long to find it.

But the bigger takeaway matters more than the grade.

The New Level’s arrival at All In London did not revive AEW’s trios division.

It finally gave AEW the foundation to create one.

Last night was the first time that vision really started taking shape on television.

Grade: B-

• What worked: The finishing stretch, Ricochet’s explosiveness, Swerve’s House Calls, a logical finish protecting Liona’s size and AEW finally showing the beginnings of a legitimate trios division around Swerve and The New Level.
• What didn’t work: Too much obvious cooperation, mistimed transitions and sequences that briefly exposed how heavily rehearsed the match was.

Hangman Page & Brodido Confront The Champions

This was better than the match because AEW finally stopped treating the All Out Trios Championship match like a simple title defense and leaned into the people involved.

Hangman congratulated Kofi and Creed but immediately questioned whether they understood exactly who they had attached themselves to. That opened the door for AEW to revisit the uncomfortable truth surrounding Swerve: he has spent years burning bridges.

Kofi defended him. Creed called New Level the best team in wrestling. Brody King pointed out they have only known Swerve for three weeks.

Then the old wound opened.

Swerve turned Hangman’s accusation back on him and questioned how many partners Page has lost. More importantly, Swerve brought their history back to Chicago and All Out, where their rivalry once reached one of its ugliest stages.

That is the hook AEW needed.

Saturday is not simply three champions against three challengers. It is Swerve and Hangman being forced back into each other’s orbit while four partners stand around them wondering whether either man can actually be trusted.

It also continued what last night’s opener finally made obvious.

AEW is beginning to build a true trios division for the first time.

The Demand were one type of challenger: physical, aggressive and already tied into Swerve’s history.

Hangman, Bandido and Brody King are something completely different. Their threat comes from history, distrust and the possibility that Swerve’s past with Hangman eventually becomes more important than the championships themselves.

That variety is what makes a division feel real.

AEW had trios champions before.

Now it finally looks like it is creating an actual trios scene around them.

Grade: B+

• What worked: Bringing Swerve and Hangman’s history directly into the match gave the title defense needed emotional weight while further establishing AEW’s emerging trios division.
• What didn’t work: Bandido had very little to add while most of the verbal focus stayed on Swerve, Hangman and New Level.

Will Ospreay Officially Expands United Empire

This was one of the most important developments from last night.

After winning the AEW World Championship at All In, Ospreay said he wanted to build his own version of United Empire in AEW. That was significant because Ospreay originally founded United Empire in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2020 after breaking away from CHAOS and turning on Kazuchika Okada.

AEW did not forget about it.

Francesco Akira has remained beside Ospreay, and Mike Bailey stepped into the fight against Ospreay’s enemies before last night. Ospreay acknowledged that Bailey willingly put himself in danger against the Death Riders and asked him to become part of United Empire.

Bailey accepted.

The angle also worked because Bailey acknowledged that his previous partnership with Kevin Knight did not end particularly well. Instead of pretending Bailey was simply looking for another tag-team partner, AEW allowed that history to exist.

Ospreay asking whether Bailey owned anything green made the entire thing feel less ceremonious and more natural.

This is where AEW can make United Empire matter instead of turning it into another collection of talented wrestlers standing behind a world champion. Ospreay created the original group to reshape his career. His AEW version now needs its own identity rather than simply borrowing the name and colors.

Grade: A-

• What worked: Clear continuity with Ospreay’s post-All In promise, Bailey had a believable reason to join, and Akira keeps the connection to the original United Empire alive.
• What didn’t work: AEW still needs to explain what this version of United Empire actually stands for beyond supporting Ospreay.

Thekla Sends One More Warning To Willow Nightingale

Thekla delivered another short promo centered on the difference between the friendly side people show the world and the violent side underneath it.

It was weird because Thekla is weird, which is exactly why it worked.

She framed Saturday as the moment when the joking stops and everything turns toxic. Willow later answered by reminding Thekla that she has already beaten her and is now a different wrestler after becoming AEW Women’s World Champion.

Neither woman needed a 15-minute promo. Their story is simple: both are former champions, both want Mercedes Moné, and only one gets the WrestleDream title match.

Grade: B

• What worked: Thekla stayed in character and Willow’s later response gave their history meaning.
• What didn’t work: The feud still feels secondary to Mercedes despite Mercedes not actually wrestling at All Out.

Jon Moxley vs. Dezmond Xavier

Moxley’s recent matches have served one purpose: prepare him for Will Ospreay.

AEW has deliberately put high-speed wrestlers in front of him. AR Fox, Mike Bailey, Zachary Wentz and now Dezmond Xavier have forced Moxley to deal with speed, sudden counters and aerial offense before facing arguably the best high-speed wrestler in the company.

Xavier understood the assignment.

He used headscissors, kicks, dives and a standing shooting-star press to make Moxley adjust. Moxley repeatedly slowed him down, forced him into physical exchanges and eventually caught Xavier at exactly the right moment.

Xavier appeared to have Moxley vulnerable after another burst of offense, but Moxley trapped him in the Bulldog Choke and dragged him away from the ropes until the referee stopped the match.

This was not designed to convince anyone Xavier might suddenly beat Moxley three days before All Out. Its job was making Moxley look methodical while reinforcing how he intends to approach Ospreay.

It succeeded.

Grade: B

• What worked: Xavier’s speed gave Moxley another useful stylistic test, and the Bulldog Choke finish fit Moxley’s strategy.
• What didn’t work: The result was never seriously in doubt.

Adam Copeland Warns Darby Allin & Steven Borden

Copeland approached Darby and Steven Borden without Christian Cage and made the conversation surprisingly serious.

He praised Steven’s progress but reminded him that targeting the AEW World Tag Team Champions means jumping into a level of competition he has barely experienced. Copeland compared facing himself and Christian to climbing two Mount Everests.

Darby’s answer was simple: challenge accepted.

That matters because Saturday’s Darby and Steven Borden match against Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight is not only about earning a future title shot. AEW is already planting tension between the potential challengers and the current champions.

Grade: B

• What worked: Copeland treated Steven like an inexperienced wrestler without making him look like a joke.
• What didn’t work: Teasing another feud before Saturday’s contender match risks getting ahead of the story.

Cage & Cope, FTR and The Young Bucks Go Face-To-Face

This was exactly what the three-way ladder match needed.

The Bucks acknowledged something AEW rarely forces established stars to admit: opportunities eventually run out. FTR focused on becoming four-time champions. Christian Cage predictably made everything personal. Copeland leaned on the combined ladder-match experience he and Christian carry into Saturday.

Then Matt Jackson attacked the obvious weakness in that argument — age and injuries.

That line immediately changed the tone.

The talking eventually collapsed into the required go-home brawl. Ladders came out. Security became collateral damage. All three teams got physical without AEW wasting the actual match before Saturday.

After weeks of moving pieces into place, this finally sold All Out’s ladder match as three elite teams with completely different motivations.

Grade: A-

• What worked: Stakes, history, personal insults and physicality all came together without overcomplicating the segment.
• What didn’t work: Security running out only to be destroyed is one of AEW’s most overused brawl-ending devices.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Doyle

Doyle’s size gave Ciampa something meaningful to overcome, but nobody watching believed Ciampa was losing three days before challenging Kazuchika Okada.

Doyle used his power, caught Ciampa outside and gave him enough resistance to keep this from becoming a complete squash. Ciampa eventually found the opening for the running knee and finished him.

The match existed for what came afterward.

Grade: C+

• What worked: Doyle supplied believable resistance and Ciampa looked aggressive.
• What didn’t work: The outcome was obvious and the match was mostly a vehicle for the Okada confrontation.

Kazuchika Okada & Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa called for Okada rather than waiting until Saturday.

Okada appeared and refused to give Ciampa the Rainmaker early. Instead, he promised Ciampa would get exactly what he wanted at All Out before making it clear he does not consider Ciampa to be on his level.

Ciampa responded by promising Chicago would get a version of the Psycho Killer AEW has not seen yet.

This feud has been built quickly, but at least both men have spent the final two weeks telling the audience why the match matters to them.

Grade: B+

• What worked: Okada’s dismissiveness against Ciampa’s intensity created an easy stylistic contrast.
• What didn’t work: The program still feels more like an attractive match AEW wanted on the card than a deeply developed rivalry.

Persephone vs. Hyan — TBS Championship

Persephone retained, but this was not her cleanest outing.

Hyan had enough offense to make the match competitive, including a dive and several late near falls, but there were rough transitions and at least one landing that looked uncomfortable.

The finish protected Hyan while reinforcing Persephone’s current character. Persephone trapped her in a pin and used the bottom rope for extra leverage while the referee could not see it.

Britt Baker’s presence on commentary kept their wider storyline moving, but the wrestling itself never escaped the middle of the show.

Grade: C+

• What worked: Hyan was competitive, Persephone cheated intelligently and the finish advanced the larger story.
• What didn’t work: Some rough execution and an awkward pace kept the match from becoming anything memorable.

Will Ospreay & Mike Bailey vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Gabe Kidd

This was the best match of the night.

Ospreay and Bailey immediately wrestled like a team capable of making the new United Empire concept work. Bailey’s striking blended naturally with Ospreay’s speed, while Kidd and Castagnoli provided exactly the kind of physical opposition they needed.

Bailey and Kidd beating on each other gave the match edge. Castagnoli’s power changed the pace whenever the match threatened to become nothing but rapid-fire offense. Ospreay entering late gave AEW the burst it needed heading into the finish.

There were still a few moments where the choreography became too visible — particularly when Castagnoli’s strength spots required opponents to remain in position — but the match generally moved with purpose.

Ospreay countered the Giant Swing and eventually finished Castagnoli with the Styles Clash.

More importantly, United Empire won immediately after adding Bailey.

That matters. If AEW wants this faction to feel important, its formation cannot begin with everybody getting beaten.

Grade: A-

• What worked: Bailey and Ospreay had immediate chemistry, Kidd brought violence, Castagnoli brought power and the finish gave United Empire credibility.
• What didn’t work: A couple of overly cooperative sequences briefly undercut the physicality.

Will Ospreay & Jon Moxley Have Their Final All Out Confrontation

This was the segment the World Championship program needed.

Ospreay did not simply tell Moxley he was going to beat him. He thanked him.

He thanked Moxley for helping establish AEW, for being its ace and even for breaking him. Ospreay then explained the lesson he took from Moxley: everything ultimately comes back to the AEW World Championship.

That allowed Ospreay to change the dynamic.

For years, Moxley has been the man everybody else has to survive. On Saturday, he is not carrying the championship. He is coming for Ospreay’s championship.

Moxley entered and asked the only question that mattered: standing across from him, did Ospreay actually feel like the champion?

Gabe Kidd tried to blindside Ospreay.

Ospreay ducked it, drilled Kidd with the Hidden Blade and emphatically answered yes.

That image did more for Saturday’s main event than another wild six-man brawl would have.

The exchange finally distilled this feud into its simplest form: Moxley believes being champion requires surviving him. Ospreay believes winning the championship means he has already earned the right to stand above him.

Now they have to settle it.

Grade: A

• What worked: Ospreay acknowledged Moxley’s importance without becoming submissive, Moxley only needed one question, and the Hidden Blade gave Ospreay the final visual.
• What didn’t work: AEW could have reached this level of intensity earlier in the build.

Jack Perry Sets His Path Through Katsuyori Shibata

Jack Perry wants Samoa Joe.

HOOK has essentially told him that wanting Joe and earning Joe are two different things.

That road now runs through Katsuyori Shibata at the All Out Tailgate Brawl. Perry framed Shibata exactly as he should have: somebody he must survive before he can claim he belongs among AEW’s killers.

Simple. Effective. No unnecessary detour.

Grade: B

• What worked: Clear motivation and a logical connection to the larger Samoa Joe story.
• What didn’t work: The match was added late and still feels detached from the main pay-per-view card.

Brawling Birds & Divine Dominion Tea Party Turns Into A Fight

Nobody believed Jamie Hayter, Alex Windsor, Megan Bayne and Lena Kross were going to peacefully drink tea three days before a Chicago Street Fight.

That was the point.

The setup was deliberately absurd before Hayter used the teapot and everything collapsed. Divine Dominion eventually took control and left the champions down on the stage.

The segment did not reinvent anything, but it gave Saturday’s street fight the one visual it needed: Bayne and Kross standing over the champions.

Grade: B+

• What worked: Quick escalation and a decisive final image for the challengers.
• What didn’t work: The tea setup was entertaining but barely necessary for a rivalry already built around violence.

Roderick Strong Reaches His Breaking Point

AEW also aired footage of The Conglomeration reacting to last week’s Trios Championship loss.

Kyle O’Reilly tried to look ahead.

Roderick Strong was done hearing about next time.

Strong finally snapped, said he could not keep accepting losses and walked away from the group.

It was brief, but that was why it worked. AEW did not overexplain the frustration. Strong simply reached the point where losing opportunities had become unacceptable.

Grade: B

• What worked: Strong’s frustration felt earned and creates a reason to follow The Conglomeration after All Out.
• What didn’t work: Dropping it into an already overloaded go-home show made the angle easy to overlook.

Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight vs. The Outrunners

Fletcher and Knight needed to look like a functioning tag team before facing Darby Allin and Steven Borden.

They did.

The Outrunners got their comeback and familiar double-team offense, but the match ultimately belonged to the Don Callis Family. Fletcher planted Turbo Floyd with the brainbuster before Knight finished the sequence with the UFO Splash.

The key point was not the result. It was that Knight and Fletcher increasingly look like an actual unit instead of two singles wrestlers Don Callis forced together.

Grade: B

• What worked: Fletcher and Knight continue developing chemistry, and the finish looked decisive.
• What didn’t work: There was virtually no suspense over the winner.

Darby Allin & Steven Borden Answer From The Rafters

Fletcher and Knight promised Saturday would be easy.

Darby was smart enough not to walk into another Don Callis Family ambush and instead appeared with Steven Borden in the rafters.

Knight dismissed Steven as a rookie.

Darby turned it around by reminding him exactly how embarrassing it would be if a wrestler only a few matches into his career beats them.

“Just don’t call it an upset” was the right final line.

Grade: B+

• What worked: Darby and Steven avoided the predictable ringside brawl and made Knight’s arrogance the central issue.
• What didn’t work: Steven still needs more speaking time if AEW wants the audience invested in him beyond being Sting’s son.

Chris Jericho & Nick Wayne

Jericho and Wayne continued a story that has nothing to do with All Out, which immediately made this feel misplaced on the go-home show.

The actual content was better than its placement.

Jericho compared Wayne to his younger self and used advice he once received from Nick Bockwinkel about slowing down and understanding the business. Wayne pushed back, arguing that wrestling is all he has ever known.

That eventually led to a rematch being established for Grand Slam France.

There was real substance buried in here: Jericho sees a younger version of himself, while Wayne views Jericho as somebody he should already be better than.

It just went longer than this particular show needed.

Grade: B-

• What worked: Jericho’s Bockwinkel story gave his criticism of Wayne some actual meaning.
• What didn’t work: Too long for an All Out go-home show when neither man is wrestling on Saturday’s main card.

Hyan Introduces Thunder Rosa

After losing to Persephone, Hyan revealed that she had found a replacement partner following Maya World’s injury.

Thunder Rosa.

That immediately creates Hyan and Rosa against Persephone and Britt Baker next week in Pittsburgh while reopening Rosa and Baker’s long history.

AEW managed to transition Hyan away from the title loss without leaving her directionless.

Grade: B

• What worked: Logical follow-up to Maya’s absence and an easy way to reignite Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa.
• What didn’t work: The amount of crossover surrounding Persephone risks making the TBS Champion secondary to Baker and Rosa.

Queen Aminata vs. Skye Blue

One of the quieter surprises of Collision was how much the crowd and online reaction enjoyed seeing these two get television time.

Aminata controlled stretches with her physical offense, while Skye used Julia Hart’s presence to change the match outside the ring. Skye eventually appeared to have control after a series of kicks, but one slap too many woke Aminata up.

Aminata answered with Off With Her Head and won.

It was not spectacular, but it was clean, competitive television wrestling.

Some fan reaction was also understandably frustrated that Skye took another loss when she continues to have a defined character and presentation.

Grade: B

• What worked: Aminata looked physical, Skye had a strong opponent and the finish was decisive.
• What didn’t work: Skye losing again does little to strengthen Triangle of Madness heading into the next phase of the division.

The Women’s Division Collides After The Match

Julia Hart immediately attacked Aminata.

Mina Shirakawa got involved.

Thekla joined the fight.

Then Willow Nightingale arrived and cleared the heels while Mercedes Moné watched from commentary.

It was straightforward go-home booking but accomplished the job. Willow and Thekla were kept physically connected to Saturday, while Mercedes remained the prize waiting at WrestleDream.

Grade: B+

• What worked: Several women’s stories were connected without turning the segment into complete nonsense.
• What didn’t work: The post-match brawl was predictable from the second Mercedes joined commentary.

Persephone Issues An All Out Open Challenge

Persephone and Britt Baker accepted Hyan and Thunder Rosa’s challenge for next week before Persephone turned her attention to Saturday.

She wants another defense.

Persephone issued an open challenge for the TBS Championship at All Out while specifically excluding Hyan, Rosa and the injured Maya World.

The announcement immediately generated speculation online over who might answer.

That is exactly what an open challenge three days before a pay-per-view is supposed to do.

Grade: B+

• What worked: Gives All Out another title match while preserving the mystery.
• What didn’t work: Adding another match to an already large weekend risks stretching the show further.

PAC vs. Ace Austin

PAC and Ace Austin closed the wrestling portion of the night with a good match that also served two All Out programs at once.

Ace’s athleticism created problems early, including a Death Valley Driver and several fast counters. PAC gradually slowed the pace, imposed his physical style and waited for his opening.

Ace survived long enough to make the match competitive, but PAC eventually caught him, hit the Black Arrow and won.

That was exactly the result PAC needed before challenging Andrade El Ídolo for the AEW National Championship.

Grade: B+

• What worked: Strong athletic chemistry, Ace looked competitive and PAC gained momentum before Saturday.
• What didn’t work: Like several matches last night, the winner was fairly obvious before the bell.

PAC, Andrade, Bang Bang Gang, The Dogs & Death Riders End The Night Fighting

PAC refused to stop after the bell and locked Ace in the Brutalizer.

Jay White ran out.

The Dogs and Death Riders followed.

The entire ringside area broke down ahead of Saturday’s Tailgate Brawl before Andrade El Ídolo arrived and immediately went after PAC.

Andrade and PAC brawled into the crowd while everyone else continued fighting around ringside.

It was chaotic, but unlike the opening match, this was supposed to be.

Collision ending with two separate All Out programs exploding at the same time gave the three-hour special the frantic finish it needed.

Grade: A-

• What worked: PAC and Andrade received a final physical preview while the Tailgate Brawl teams were able to fight without giving away Saturday’s match.
• What didn’t work: AEW uses mass brawls so frequently that even a good one has less impact than it should.

The Road To AEW All Out

The most important thing AEW accomplished last night was finally clarifying what Saturday’s major matches are actually about.

Will Ospreay left Wembley Stadium as AEW World Champion after defeating Kenny Omega at All In. On the first Dynamite afterward, he spoke about finally joining AEW’s championship lineage and announced his intention to create an AEW branch of United Empire. That same night, Jon Moxley emerged as his All Out challenger.

The dynamic has been unusual because there has always been respect underneath the hostility. Ospreay even revealed that he wanted Moxley as his first challenger. Moxley, meanwhile, spent the following weeks testing himself against fast wrestlers who could approximate parts of Ospreay’s style.

The September 16 trios match changed the temperature when Moxley, PAC and Gabe Kidd defeated Ospreay, Andrade and Francesco Akira, followed by Moxley continuing the violence afterward.

Last night completed the story.

Ospreay now has Bailey and Akira beside him, but Saturday comes down to whether he can stand alone against the man who has defined so much of AEW’s identity.

The Trios Championship story may be the most interesting structural development AEW has made since All In London.

AEW has had Trios Championships for years, but it never truly had a trios division.

There were champions. There were challengers. There were occasional three-man groups. What AEW lacked was a consistent division built around established units, multiple challengers, overlapping rivalries and championships that connected those stories together.

The New Level’s debut with Swerve Strickland at All In London finally changed that.

Swerve, Kofi and Austin Creed became the foundation.

From there, AEW began adding pieces around them instead of randomly assembling them.

The Demand became an immediate opposing force.

Now Hangman Page, Bandido and Brody King are next.

That is why last night mattered beyond one successful championship defense.

For the first time since AEW introduced the World Trios Championships, the company is beginning to show what an actual trios division can look like.

The New Level did not walk into an established division.

Their arrival helped create it.

Saturday now becomes the next major test because Swerve, Kofi and Austin Creed are not simply defending against another set of challengers. They are defending against a trio tied directly to Swerve’s past.

Hangman knows exactly what Swerve is capable of.

Swerve knows exactly how far Hangman will go.

Bandido and Brody King are being pulled into a rivalry that has already consumed everyone around it once before.

That gives the championships something they have rarely had: a story bigger than the belts without making the belts irrelevant.

The AEW World Tag Team Championship ladder match is built almost entirely on legacy. Cage and Cope defeated the Young Bucks at Wembley. The Bucks wanted another chance. FTR inserted themselves into the argument. The result is three of the most decorated teams of their generations fighting with ladders for the championships.

Willow Nightingale and Thekla have a much cleaner story. Willow defeated Thekla for the Women’s World Championship at Redemption before eventually losing the title to Mercedes Moné at All In. With Mercedes not cleared for All Out, Willow and Thekla now fight for the WrestleDream title shot.

The Brawling Birds and Divine Dominion have spent weeks attacking each other, trading singles victories and arguing over whether Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor truly proved themselves by becoming champions. A Chicago Street Fight removes the excuses.

Ciampa wanted Okada.

PAC wanted Andrade.

Darby and Steven wanted a path toward the tag titles.

Jack Perry wanted Samoa Joe and got told to survive Shibata first.

Almost everything on Saturday now has a reason to exist. The question is whether AEW can keep a loaded show from becoming an exhausting one.

Best Match & Segment Of The Night

Best Match: Will Ospreay & “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Gabe Kidd — A-

It had the strongest combination of execution, physicality and storyline purpose. Bailey joining United Empire immediately mattered because AEW followed the announcement with a meaningful victory.

Best Segment: Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley’s Final Face-Off — A

Nothing else last night made All Out feel more important. Ospreay thanked Moxley for helping make AEW what it is before making it clear that Moxley is now chasing him. Moxley questioning whether Ospreay truly felt like the champion gave Ospreay one final chance to answer with actions instead of another speech.

Updated AEW All Out Match Card

• Will Ospreay (c) vs. AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley (AEW World Championship)
• Cage & Cope (Adam Copeland & Christian Cage) (c) vs. FTR vs. The Young Bucks (AEW World Tag Team Championship Ladder Match)
• Swerve Strickland & The New Level w/Prince Nanna (c) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page, Bandido & Brody King (AEW World Trios Championship)
• Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa (AEW International Championship)
• Andrade El Ídolo (c) vs. PAC (AEW National Championship)
• The Brawling Birds (c) vs. Divine Dominion (AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship Chicago Street Fight)
• Willow Nightingale vs. Thekla (AEW Women’s World Championship No. 1 Contender Match & winner challenges Mercedes Moné at WrestleDream)
• TNT Champion Darby Allin & Steven Borden vs. Kyle Fletcher & Kevin Knight (AEW World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender Match)
• Persephone (c) vs. TBA (TBS Championship Open Challenge)
• Jack Perry vs. Katsuyori Shibata (All Out Tailgate Brawl)
• The Bang Bang Gang vs. David Finlay, Clark Connors, Wheeler Yuta & Daniel Garcia (All Out Tailgate Brawl)

Final Thoughts

Last night was a good go-home show trapped inside an overloaded three-hour television block.

AEW accomplished the important things. Ospreay finally started building his own United Empire. Moxley looked dangerous without needing another gratuitous attack. Swerve and New Level survived The Demand. Hangman brought history back into the Trios Championship story. The tag-team ladder match became more personal. PAC and Andrade finished the night fighting.

AEW also finally showed the birth of something its World Trios Championships have never really had before: an actual division.

That distinction matters.

The titles existed.

A legitimate division around them did not.

The New Level debuting beside Swerve Strickland at All In London was the starting point. Since then, AEW has begun surrounding those champions with recognizable trios, ongoing rivalries and challengers who have reasons for being there beyond simply needing three bodies for a match.

The Demand represented the first major obstacle.

Hangman, Bandido and Brody King represent the next.

Now the championships sit in the middle of multiple interconnected stories instead of existing on the edge of everybody else’s.

That is the first time the trios concept in AEW has started feeling like an actual division instead of a championship without a permanent home.

But there was still too much television competing for attention.

The opening title match should have been one of the strongest matches of the night and instead spent too much time fighting its own timing before finally coming alive. Jericho and Nick Wayne had useful material that belonged on a different episode. Several obvious-result matches existed primarily to move Saturday’s pieces into their final positions.

When last night focused, it was very good.

When it tried to remind viewers that AEW has 15 other stories happening simultaneously, it became cluttered.

The final Ospreay-Moxley exchange is the blueprint AEW should have followed more often throughout the night: two wrestlers, one championship, one clear question and one answer.

Now there is nothing left to advertise.

Saturday has to deliver.

Overall Grade: B

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