AEW Dynamite recap & reactions (Jan. 7, 2026): Lights Out hanging

AEW Dynamite (Jan. 7, 2026) ended in a hanging. The Lights Out tag team main event saw Hangman Page served cold justice. The show also featured Jon Moxley in a nail-biter, the return of Andrade, MJF getting embarrassed by Bandido, and more from BOK Center in Tulsa, OK.

Lights Out

Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland teamed up to fight Will Hobbs and Hook in Lights Out. That match stipulation basically means that anything goes and AEW is not held responsible. This fight was on the medium level of violence for a Lights Out match, except for the finish. Hanging a man over the ropes is not a taste for everyone’s palate to savor.

Hook looked sharp early with a barrage of suplexes to send Hangman crashing through a table. Hook’s receipt would come later.

Pause a moment for Hangman to staple Hobbs in the groin.

The action continued with chains, chairs, slams on cinder blocks, hot coffee to the eyes, and such. This was a rugged fight, but it wasn’t a bloody affair. The finish delivered the type of excitement demanded for Lights Out. Swerve and Hangman combined forces for a flying stomp Deadeye piledriver to Hobbs on cinder blocks.

That left Hook ripe for the picking. Taz’s baby boy was walloped by the House Call kick and Buckshot lariat. Hangman wrapped a chain around Hook’s neck to hang him over the ropes. The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil tapped out.

This edition of Lights Out carried out its purpose as a spectacle of entertainment. Hangman and Swerve prevailed as a pair of badass heroes. Page felt satisfaction in payback on Hook for costing him the AEW world title. In terms of story, we’ll have to wait and see if this match solved anything. Hobbs and Hook should be back to work by next week if needed, and there is room to split this foursome off into singles matches for television. Hangman and Swerve worked well as a tag team. It will be interesting to see the fallout for their characters after such a strong performance together. Obviously, the focus is for the world title picture, however, the fans are hot to see a run in the tag team division. At least for this night, Hangman and Swerve gave the people what they want.

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

AEW Continental Championship eliminator: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin outclassed Moxley with speed and athleticism for German suplexes right away. Moxley made the smart strategic choice to turn this into a brawl as they fought through the crowd. Mox used a wristlock for control to smash Benjamin into the steel steps, and that slowed the pace for a bit. Benjamin sprang up for an avalanche suplex and five consecutive German suplexes.

Moxley was on wobbly legs, and yet he still managed to bait Benjamin into a cutter. The action continued hard through to the finish. Benjamin rocked Moxley with a knee strike. Instead of playing it safe for a time-limit draw (which earns a title shot), Benjamin showed urgency to win by applying a triangle choke. Moxley used his wits to stack on top for a pin to steal the win with 5 second remaining.

This match told an engaging story with the time-limit factor adding extra drama. The action backed up Moxley’s promos. He knew Benjamin was the better athlete and more proficient grappler. Mox also knew that he would be hurt. That’s what happened. Benjamin was a badass. He blitzed Mox with German suplexes for instant excitement. Moxley made it an ugly fight to suit his style, and that set up hot rallies for Benjamin. The longer this match went, it felt like a draw was coming. That’s what made the finish so shocking to create a reaction. Moxley’s mind is full of tricks. Even though Benjamin lost, I love the killer instinct.

Jack Perry & Young Bucks defeated the Demand. The Young Bucks were Perry’s surprise partners. More on that later. This match tore the house down with a tremendous pace of high-flying offense, however, Toa Liona was the standout with great power. He pounced Perry over the timekeeper table.

Liona also executed a triple stack Samoan drop.

In the end, the Bucks were the game-changers. Perry countered Ricochet into a poison rana, then the Jacksons went nuts on a superkick party. Perry executed a springboard Doomsday Device to Ric, and the Bucks hammered the BTE Trigger. The Jacksons held up the bald man for Perry to finish on with a running knee.

Very entertaining match for the AEW style. Perry and the Young Bucks have great chemistry. It was a nonstop highlight reel of moves. Ricochet is such a good villain that seeing his clock cleaned with so much offense on that finish felt satisfying. Perry picked up another pin over Ricochet, and this should continue their feud.

Andrade El Idolo and Jake Doyle are All Elite. The new signings, as confirmed by Tony Khan, revolved around the previously mentioned trios match. JetSpeed was supposed to team with Perry, but Doyle (aka Jake Something in TNA) beat them up to collect the bounty. Thus, the surprise element for the Bucks as replacements in the match. I can’t stop laughing at Don Callis slapping the chest of Doyle. Callis is like a little kid on Christmas morning.

After Perry and the Bucks were victorious, the Callis Family stormed the ring for a beatdown. JetSpeed limped out for the save, then Andrade made a surprise return to stand tall over the babyfaces.

The scene closed with FTR on stage eyeing Andrade. Excalibur put this over as a big deal, because apparently FTR and Andrade have deep history. AEW needs to explain that one. I don’t remember any major stories between them. Looking at the AEW record archive, FTR and Andrade shared one match together in 8-man action back in 2021.

Anyway, Andrade and Doyle are good signings to AEW. We’ve already seen what Andrade can offer in the AEW style. Whatever you want to say about his character or ceiling in the company, El Idolo delivers in the ring. Doyle should be a brute of chaos. I’m salivating over the idea of Doyle teaming with Mark Davis as a rugged powerhouse tag team.

Bandido defeated Sammy Guevara. This was another rocking match that had the crowd rowdy. The finish revolved around the 21 Plex. Sammy stifled the move a few times, but Bandido eventually executed the 21 Plex to win. Sammy’s game plan didn’t fit his promo from last week. I would have liked to see more focus on trying to injure Bandido with intent to take the spot against MJF next week. On the other hand, Sammy is as cocky as it gets, so his arrogance here did fit his character well. For Bandido, this was about building up momentum and fan support prior to the world title showdown against MJF next week. AEW rolled into that with an MJF promo after the match. Insults were exchanged, and Bandido stood tall with a pair of 21 Plexes for Jon Cruz and MJF. This scene worked simple enough to rally behind Bandido as the underdog.

Toni Storm defeated Marina Shafir. Aggressive attitudes with a disqualification finish. Storm stunned Shafir with a headbutt, but Wheeler Yuta pulled the referee out on the roll-up. Paul Turner waved off the contest in favor of Storm. Ah, the rare DQ in AEW. It’s like seeing a unicorn in the wild. Afterward, Shafir pummeled Storm and Mina Shirakawa. Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong arrived for the save. The Death Riders retreated. I loved how Claudio Castagnoli charged in out of nowhere in a mood to fight before he calmed down. Even better was Toni and Mina content in Cassidy’s arms. That is an amusing triangle of personalities to explore.

Notes: Jim Ross returned on commentary for the entire show in Oklahoma.

Willow Nightingale celebrated her TBS Championship with Harley Cameron and Kris Statlander. Willow wants to be a proud fighting champion. She called out Mercedes Moné. The CEO threw a fit and ended up slammed onto cake. Willow, Harley, StatDaddy, and even Renee closed with a conga line.

Thekla and her sisters challenged Willow and her friends to trios combat next week.

Mark Briscoe is itching for a fight to defend the TNT Championship against Hechicero on Collision.

For Brody King, violence puts food on the table.

Darby Allin went looking for PAC to get his match. PAC lost interest in that loser, so Allin attacked him with a fire extinguisher. Allin threatened to break PAC’s ankle, and PAC agreed to the contest. I didn’t like this look for Allin. I guess it can be justified as ruthless payback for all the Death Riders attacks, but it came across as reeking of desperation in my view.

Stud of the Show: Toa Liona

That triple Samoan drop was a moment. In the words of Tony Schiavone, “Three men for crying out loud.”

Match of the Night: Jon Moxley vs. Shelton Benjamin

The action maintained drama throughout with sizzle for the finish.

Grade: A-

Strong entertainment in the ring.

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