AEW Dynamite recap & reactions (Feb. 11, 2026): Thekla and Kyle Fletcher are new champions

AEW brought the bang with two new champions on Dynamite (Feb. 11, 2026). Thekla and Kyle Fletcher both triumphed to win gold. The broadcast also featured Swerve Strickland tackling Kenny Omega off the stage, the surprise return of Private Party, a haircut for Mina Shirakawa, and more from Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

Thekla wins AEW Women’s World Championship

The main event closed in a shocker. Thekla dethroned Kris Statlander to win the women’s world title. The strap match stipulation was executed very well. The physicality was nuts. Thekla and Statlander whipped each other without mercy. The standout element were the touches of strategy to make the stipulation feel valuable. The higher level of appreciation came from things like pulling the strap to knock Thekla off balance in the spider pose and pulling the strap to feed Thekla into a powerslam. This wasn’t a match with a strap. It was a full blown strap match.

The finish was great as well. Statlander wrapped the strap around Thekla to keep her from escaping the tombstone piledriver. That maneuver probably would have been enough to win, however, the Sisters of Sin interfered. That led to Thekla spearing Statlander. Thekla tied Stat’s hands with the strap to prevent any defense on the curb stomp to win.

That is one of the most interesting strap matches I’ve witnessed. The mix of ferocity and intelligence with touches of humor delivered the full package. As if the sound of the strap whipping skin wasn’t violent enough, Statlander was bloodied by the steel steps to add the visual element. I was surprised by the title change here, because I overlooked it as a TV match. That means the shock value was high for me. Thekla should be a quality champion. She has charisma to keep the picture fresh. The interference from Julia Hart and Skye Blue protects Statlander when in search of a rematch to continue the feud.

AEW sort of botched the final scene, in my opinion. Rather than allowing Thekla to soak in the glory of victory. They rushed an attack from the Triangle of Madness, then the Brawling Birds ran out for the save. One common criticism of AEW is not letting moments breathe while jamming too much in. This is a perfect case to illustrate that point. The final memory of the night should be Thekla as the new women’s champion. It should not be the return of Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor as a new tag team in a generic run-in.

Kyle Fletcher wins TNT Championship

Kyle Fletcher regained the TNT title in a slobberknocker against Tommaso Ciampa. The intensity was hot from the start. Ciampa had early control until Fletcher executed a half and half suplex on the floor.

Ciampa dished out pain with the Psycho Driller onto the steel steps.

In the end Fletcher flipped the switch to a higher gear. He caught Ciampa for a Michinoku Driver. A lariat set up the brainbuster to win.

Fantastic match. This was PPV worthy on free TV. The action set up great near falls on Fletcher’s brainbuster and Ciampa’s running knee. The urgency of time running down added an extra element of tension. Both men showed beautiful skill. Two instances in particular stood out to me. Fletcher demonstrated fancy footwork on the ropes for a back drop suplex. Ciampa’s transition to escape a superplex and counter for a German suplex was so fluid.

The booking of Ciampa to lose the TNT title so soon will be a talking point for pundits and fans alike. I don’t have a problem with this result. Ciampa made a huge splash in a short time to show (or remind) the people that he is the real deal. The loss came in a badass match where both men were elevated by their performance. If Ciampa gets lost in the mix quickly, then criticism will be warranted. For now, Ciampa has directions to explore for storyline motivations.

Fletcher continues to rack up excellent matches. There was a little bit of character shift by asking Don Callis to butt out of interfering. Fletcher wanted to win this one by himself. The reaction in Australia for the Protostar should be electric.

Afterward, Fletcher issued an open challenge to defend the TNT title in his hometown at Grand Slam. Mark Briscoe answered the call. They are split at three wins apiece. Fletcher wanted to up the stakes for the final round, so he declared a ladder match. This was a smooth setup using the catchphrase, “Reach for the sky.”

Let’s jam through the rest of Dynamite. Catch up on all the details with excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.

Tensions explode between Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland. In what started as a promo exchange turned into a brawl. Swerve felt slighted by Omega jumping back into the world title mix after missing so much time. Omega felt the angry vibes, so he offered Swerve a match. Trash talk ensued, Omega slapped Swerve, Swerve tackled Omega, and it was a donnybrook.

They fought through the crowd up to the stage. Swerve escaped the One Winged Angel and speared Omega off the platform crashing through a table. AEW announced the official match for next week.

The motivations for beef were soft here. Swerve sounded like an insecure heel making false accusations and arrogant presumptions. Omega had a touch of ignorance by blaming Swerve for the loss to Andrade. Once Omega slapped Swerve, this segment kicked into overdrive in a very entertaining way. I love the manner in which Swerve and Omega slowly got into fight mode by removing loose clothes and jewelry, so we could soak in the moment. Then, boom! The melee was on. The upcoming match now has a big-fight feel.

Jon Moxley, PAC, & Claudio Castagnoli defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander, & Mark Davis. Gangbusters trios action. The pace and the flow were exciting. For example, when Davis brought the beef, Claudio stepped up to match him. Things like that gave the match personality.

The primary story was to hype Moxley versus Takeshita for the Continental Championship at Grand Slam. Much like last week, Mox and Takeshita collided just enough for sparks while still leaving plenty of juice for the upcoming contest. Both men scored sequences to get the better of his rival. It feels like a very even matchup.

When the dust cleared in the end, Moxley snatched Alexander’s neck for a chokehold and finished with the Death Rider. That result gives fuel for the ongoing battle between factions, should it continue after Grand Slam.

For anyone still holding on to the idea of the Death Riders breaking up, I think this entrance puts a nail in that balloon. The Death Riders looked like a united squad. After this clips cuts off, Claudio did a circle dance with the young lads. Later in the show, Moxley went out for Daniel Garcia to support his match. That vibe of possibly dumping Moxley is long gone.

Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong defeated Daniel Garcia & Clark Connors. This heel partnership was explained as association through Gabe Kidd as a mercenary backing the Death Riders. The idea was that the Conglomeration were standing up for Darby Allin. Garcia teased recruiting Strong. Roddy came to fight, and he grew agitated with Cassidy’s unique style. When Cassidy lazily reached out for the hot tag, Strong left him hanging.

The odds were evened when Allin popped up as a surprise in the crowd to ransack Connors.

On the finish, Garcia countered the superman punch into the Sharpshooter grip, however, Cassidy was quick to reverse for a roll-up to win.

The drama continued with Toni Storm coming to the realization that she will make bald beautiful if her locks are trimmed at Grand Slam. Wheeler Yuta heard enough. Marina Shafir brought out Mina Shirakawa, and they chopped off a chunk of her hair.

There is a lot to explore with all the story developments from this block. Strong’s frustration finally erupted. He firmly stated that he isn’t down to conglomerate. Will they finally believe him? Allin got a little bit of payback by creeping on Connors. He should still be outnumbered though when the time comes to fight Gabe Kidd again. The way Garcia lost did his character no favors after such a strong performance last week. Poor Mina. I hope she doesn’t shave her head too if Storm loses to become the Timeless Bald Bombs. It did get even more heat on the hair versus hair match. No one is obvious to lose there, so the appeal is still strong.

Young Bucks defeated the Rascalz and Private Party. The winners earn a tag title shot against FTR. The wild card team was revealed to be the return of Private Party.

The action delivered as expected with all these high-flyers.

As a fan of Myron Reed, I was delighted to see his Flame On cutter.

The finish came about with the Bucks blasting fools out of the air with superkicks. They thinned out the herd to give space for the Meltzer Driver on Reed to win.

Afterward, FTR talked smack, so the Bucks served more superkicks.

I did not expect Private Party to be the reveal, so that was a pleasant surprise. They were an option out of process of elimination looking at the roster, but it was a case of don’t believe it until you see it. Private Party did fine, however, this wasn’t some big comeback. One of piece of speculation is eventually joining the Hurt Syndicate. Cameras showed Hook in the crowd scouting the match, so perhaps Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen join the Opps instead.

The Rascalz had plenty of exciting spots despite the loss. The Bucks are back in the title picture opposite FTR. I’m not too excited about the feud on TV, however, the match should deliver when it’s time. The post-match scene makes me wonder what it will take for Stokely Hathaway to finally walk again. That will be a funny moment.

Notes: Harley Cameron was down about taking the loss, but Willow Nightingale provided a pep talk for Grand Slam. Harley went from being a puppeteer with Mini Moné to becoming a Babe of Wrath in one year.

Don Callis and Andrade tooted their horns about beating Kenny Omega.

JetSpeed are following the lead of Hangman Page to go after more singles gold.

Will Ospreay’s recovery is motivated by the desire to wrestle again.

Final hype for MJF versus Brody King for the world title at Grand Slam.

Stud of the Show: Thekla

In addition to showing tremendous toughness, the Toxic Spider demonstrated smart strategy to win the world championship.

Match of the Night: Kyle Fletcher vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Great action, strong near falls, and powerful intensity.

Grade: A

Several matches packed with action. Two title changes give the show meaning.

Share your thoughts about AEW Dynamite. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show? Who impressed you the most?