Night 2 of AEW’s run in Arena Mexico kicks off with AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Mexico 2026. On Tuesday night AEW x CMLL Semana Internacional featured AEW competing against a number of CMLL wrestlers on their program, and on Wednesday there is a stacked lineup of singles, tag, trios, and more for the majorly hot crowd.
On Wednesday August 5, the show Adam Copeland kicked off the show, firing up the crowd and what a massive pop he got. He is followed by his co-champion Christian Cage and The Young Bucks as they face off with the Death Riders: Mox, Pac, Daniel Garcia, and Wheeler Yuta. The match was fast-paced, and surprisingly, the World Tag Team Champions managed to work well with the Jackson brothers until the final moments. An errant collision allowed Mox to roll up Copeland for the win.
A hot opener, a rapid-fire eight-man tag match which only amplified the already fired up crowd. I was surprised to see them start off with heels winning, but it makes sense for the story of miscommunication between champs and challengers.
After a promo highlighting the feud between Will Ospreay and AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, we are treated to an awesome triple threat match with the winner earning the #1 spot for the upcoming Casino Gauntlet Battle Royale.
AEW National Champion Andrade El Idolo defeated Komander and Tommaso Ciampa
Excellent match. The crowd erupted for Andrade and for Komander. Ciampa played up the heel role very well, antagonizing fans. After Andrade took a selfie with a ringside baddie, Ciampa stole the phone and took a questionable photo of his own. The fans erupted when Andrade dropped his pants, but then laughed as Ciampa hit a forearm drop and tried pinning the pants. Komander pulled out all the razzle dazzle and more. At one point it looked like he might steal the win, but Andrade would prove to outlast both challengers in winning the match.
After a dual-language promo, Andrade is attacked by the returning MJF. Brandishing his custom AEW World Championship. He bloodies Andrade, stealing his ring back. He then cuts a scathing promo, planning to win the Casino Gauntlet, defeat Andrade, and take back his world title. Essence of Ric Flair in that one.
AEW Women’ s World Champion Willow Nightingale and the Brawling Birds defeated Mercedes Mone and the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions, Divine Dominion
Another solid match, one which furthered both feuds between Willow and Mercedes, and the build up the Birds as the most credible threat against Dominion to date. These feuds are the most unpredictable. They’re pushing this as the championship which slips by Mercedes, and Dominion as completely unstoppable. On the other hand, Willow has become the face of AEW and the Brawling Birds do appear to be the most credible threat since Bayne and Kross won the championships. Mone tries for her finisher, but Willow quickly counters into a backslide for the pinfall victory.
Mercedes appears to feel more frustrated, desperate, and angry. This is a combination of emotions which typically does not bode well for her opponents. Mone vs. Willow will be main event worthy at All In.
It is a shame Ana Jay and Tay Melo didn’t win the tag titles. They would have been fun champions.
Kyle Fletcher retains the AEW International Championship against “Speedball” Mike Bailey
An unreal match from two wrestlers with unreal abilities. Fletcher, typically known for agility, has been seen implementing a stronger, more forceful array of holds and moves, steering away from high-flying into more grounded, hard-impact moves. Mid-match the action spilled to the floor where he threw Bailey like a lawn dart into the barricade, where it appeared Bailey smacked his head. Later, Bailey would confound Fletcher with an onslaught of counters and reversals into aerial attacks. Despite the neverending offense by Bailey, Fletcher regained advantage once again. Bailey, however, countered with an absolutely insane Poisonrana off the top turnbuckle, Fletcher landing square on his head, followed up with Weapon X, for the closest two-count I have ever seen. I honestly thought the ref had to quickly pull up as Fletcher might have been too dazed to kick out.
Fletcher regained control, scoring another lawn dart followed by a Turnbuckle Brainbuster for the win.
Mistico, Jericho, and Darby Allin defeated Okada, Hechicero, and TNT Champion Kevin Knight
Listening to the audience sing along to “Me Muero” is as amazing as singing along to Judas or Metalingus. There’s an air to it. It’s beautiful. Jericho coming out as Curazon de Leon fit very well. The match felt like a showcase of excellent singles wrestlers in a team setting, and it worked. The crowd remained hot as Hechicero and Mistico got wild reactions. Okada seemed to lean heavily into trying to outsmart everyone, but wound up reeling from his attempts. A wild combination landed Hechicero and Okada into submission holds while Darby Allin nailed a Coffin Drop onto Knight for the win.
Simply put. Fun match.
Persephone defeated Kris Statlander
The CMLL Women’s Champion up against one of AEW’s best. As an added bonus, the current Mexican National Women’s Champion, Thunder Rosa was at ringside scouting out a potential challenger. Both Rosa and Persephone were clear favorites with the live crowd, but not enough for Statlander to tempt any heel-like behavior. I imagine it can be difficult not to come off as an opposite role given the environment, but she needed to stay within her role for the purpose of the feud. Both sold the other’s power very well, it’s also clear AEW needs to get Persephone signed to some sort of deal ASAP. She is extremely talented and has a charismatic presence in the ring.
The action got wild as Persephone and Thunder Rosa got into it, and then later on a crazy bump took out the referee. This allowed Hikaru Shida to interfere and cost Statlander the match. Hyan and Maya World rushed the ring for the save.
“Hangman” Adam Page and Brodido defeat The Demand to win the AEW World Trios Championships
Talk about unexpected! Page, King, and Bandido dethrone The Demand in an exciting back-and-forth match. Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun looked their best, even in defeat. Hangman and Brody channeled their inner luchador to daze and confuse their opponents, who utilized more brute force tactics while Ricochet continued to irritate everyone with his teasing antics. After some wild action both in and out of the ring Bandido and Hangman used a Buckshot Lariat/21-Plex combo to get the win and the championships.
This felt like a total surprise. Having The Demand lose the championships so soon after winning was unexpected and added to the thrill of seeing new champs. Surprises like this get attention. Excellent match with a very well-played outcome.
Will Ospreay defeated Mark Davis in the main event
A bloody and violent wrestling match. One thing to say about both Ospreay and Davis is that while a street fight/no DQ match is typically a brawling match with plunder, this was a wrestling match with plunder. The match felt just as good as their encounter a few months ago, but now with a brutal and bloody twist.
Chairs, barbed-wire, and a lethal fork were mainstays during the match, adding more blood and guts to the bout. No wear down moves here, both went right to their strongest holds, suplexes, and slams. Ospreay hit a piledriver of his own on the ring apron, but Davis seems to charge up and then unleash his own hell of piledrivers. The Awful Waffle Piledriver is disgustingly beautiful. Davis kicked out of a Hidden Blade which popped the Arena Mexico crowd. A wild night concludes as Ospreay hits the Stormbreaker, followed by a barbed wire-assisted Hidden Blade for the win.
Mark Davis is a machine.
The overall pace of the show was fast and flowing. It felt like a true wrestling show. Match after match, after match, after match. No long promos, nothing that felt like the flow of wrestling was interrupted. It was different and refreshing for those who have tired of segments and promos breaking up a wrestling program too much. This was nothing but three hours of pure wrestling.
Yes, three hours. Dynamite, typically a two-hour program, was billed as a two-and-a-half hour special. Well, by the time the main event of Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis in a Street Fight began, it was already 10:30 eastern time. By the time it was all over, it was 10:57. The show felt exciting and never seemed to slow down. It hit all the right notes in appealing to the Arena Mexico audience, furthered stories and fed heading closer to All In, and certainly sets up more wrestling for the next couple weeks.
