wrestling / Columns
411’s AEW Redemption 2026 Preview
Image Credit: AEW
Well, hello, fellow SICKOS, and welcome back to my expected and (somewhat) anticipated preview for Redemption coming to us this Sunday! Emanating from The Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Redemption debuts as the new July PPV show for the company, and it will serve as the final stepping stone heading into the penultimate show, All-In London, coming up on August 30th.
Redemption offers an interesting mix of matches, including six titles being defended, the return of the “Pain Maker” to face a Psycho, and a high stakes tag team match that, despite not having titles or really anything else on the line, has the potential to steal the show!
For more on this, let’s roll out the Headlines for Redemption!
All of this and, of course, so much more in store for us tonight! So, walk with me and talk with me as we explore the entire card for Redemption!
What a difference a year can make in the canon of wrestling lore! Just one year ago at All-In Texas, Will Ospreay was teaming with Swerve Strickland to usurp Matt and Nick Jackson from EVP power, and then in the main event, Will helped Hangman Page to defeat Jon Moxley for the World Title. Now, Ospreay stands on the side of the man he helped Hangman to defeat, but he still stands across the ring from the Bucks. Continuity, the game!
At the base of it, this match features four talented professional wrestlers who can go with the best of them, but deep down, there is a lot more going on here. For instance, the Young Bucks have made their intentions known that they are looking to become four-time AEW Tag Team Champions, and a win here for them would get them one step closer to their goal.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, while we know that Ospreay has his ticket punched for the main event of All-In London in his hometown, picking up a win here alongside Moxley would give him extraordinary momentum heading into next month’s big show. What it does for Moxley, however, is something that remains to be seen, since Moxley has become more engrossed with bringing Will into the Death Riders and getting his neck better that he really hasn’t had as many defenses of the Continental Title like he used to.
It may feel like a cop-out answer, but I’m not sure who wins this match. While Matt and Nick winning here continues to solidify their future Tag Team Title aspirations, you don’t want Ospreay taking the pin here because he needs to be Teflon until All-In. Moxley taking the pin makes sense, but I feel like there could be shenanigans afoot in this match given all the drama that has circled both teams. In that scenario, it suits the Death Riders better.
WINNERS: Will BRUV Ospreay and Jon “Bane” Moxley!
Since returning to AEW a couple of months ago, Chris Jericho has managed to have moments and matches that were better than what he was partaking in prior to his sabbatical. Jericho’s humor may have proven juvenile with the reliance on calling Ricochet BALD, but the matches were not bad. And then along came Tommaso Ciampa, and the intensity dial went from one to ten in a hurry.
Ciampa, coming off not only losing his TNT Title but also being unsuccessful in winning the AEW World Heavyweight Title, turned his attention to Jericho and assaulted him just because he could. So funny was Ciampa that he not only pulled out Jericho’s mannerisms from his time in WCW and WWF/WWE, but he also produced his own list of 1,004 moves that he can put Jericho in. Along the way, we had wrestler abuse by both men and an instance from both men for Tony Schiavone to tell everyone that they are the best wrestler of all-time. And after defeating Jericho at Beach Break, it would seem like this chapter had been written.
That was, until Jericho not only demanded a rematch from Ciampa a week ago on Dynamite, but he also revealed that he was bringing back the “Pain Maker” gimmick that he debuted in New Japan post his WWE run. If you aren’t familiar with it, think Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange starring Malcolm McDowell. Ciampa not only accepted the challenge, but he pushed for the match to be a No-Holds Barred battle.
Given that Ciampa won the first encounter at Beach Break, and since Jericho eventually got his win back from Ricochet, Jericho would win this match. After all, not only is he willing to bring back the Pain Maker to combat the “Psycho Killer,” but I’m sure a big deal will be made about Jericho being from Canada (even if he’s from the other side of the country). Ciampa gets nuts in this one, but in the end, Jericho gets a little more nuts (Credit to Michael Keaton).
WINNER: “The Pain Maker” Jericho!
Fables and stories will regal you about the history between these men, harkening back to the days of New Japan and before the end of the OG Bullet Club. Switchblade Jay White, Juice Robinson, David Finlay, and Clark Connors were all major players at some point or another within or around the group, and history shows that betrayal and power grabbing was normal.
That feud has found its way to AEW and has managed to add other players into the mix, such as Austin and Colten Gunn, Ace Austin, and MADMAN Gabe Kidd. When you look at the numbers on paper, it seems a tiny bit unfair to Connors and Finlay, since there are five members in the BBG, and Kidd is in NJPW competing in the G1 Climax.
As it pertains to this match, White and Robinson will be chained to both Connors and Finlay, ensuring that the Dogs don’t run away from the GUNS UP gang. In a match where it is simply two-on-two, Finlay and Connors stand a much more even chance of winning than having to deal with the rest of the BBG. Will it matter in the end is anyone’s guess.
As mentioned above, everyone can see that the numbers imbalance of more faces than heels doesn’t seem right. It is worth noting that, as of July 23rd (Thursday) the talent that WWE released is free to sign with other major companies. And so, I wonder to myself if there is a plan to bring in a couple of former WWE stars to balance the odds for the Dogs. Would it make sense to add external people to this feud? It might. But this feud has been too imbalanced towards the BBG for there not to be some kind of addition(s) to the Dogs.
WINNERS: The Dogs, unchained!
I am sure I wasn’t alone in thinking that, as Dynamite this week came and went, it was odd that we heard and saw nothing from Speedball Mike Bailey. Ordinarily, this isn’t any cause for concern, as some wrestlers simply do not make it onto Dynamite or Collision on any given week. But it set off some alarms in my head because Redemption is in Montreal, Quebec, and Speedball hails from the Province of Quebec. Something seemed off to me.
As it turned out, that situation was rectified on the edition of Collision taped after Dynamite, and Speedball will be on the main card after all! But it gets better still, as Bailey will be one of six competitors attempting to climb a ladder and secure a future International Title shot! Suddenly, we went from forgetting about Bailey to including him in a match that has major chaos appeal.
A wrestler winning in their hometown isn’t always a guarantee, but in a storyline vacuum, Speedball winning here would make the most sense. Granted, his issues had been with Kevin Knight after he betrayed both Darby Allin and him, but Bailey being able to extract some revenge on another DCF member would give him some form of vindication.
As for the rest of the field, you can weed out some of the pretenders in El Clon and Nick Wayne, who will be there for car crash effect. I’m happy to see FRANK here, but since he’s still having US Visa issues, I can’t see him winning. Komander already lost to Kyle Fletcher, and so that leaves Jungle Jack Perry, a man who is no stranger to gold in AEW, as arguably Mike’s biggest challenge. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, this is seemingly Speedball’s match to lose, and I don’t think that the Ultimo Weapon misses here.
WINNER: Quebec’s own Speedball!
I know I am crazy (but what are you), but I feel like this match is just filling time to get to the one that has so obviously been telegraphed for a while now. The endgame is Christian Cage and Adam Copeland defending the Men’s World Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks, at All-In London next month. Despite this, Claudio Castagnoli and PAC are certainly worthy of a Tag Team Title shot here.
This match also plays nicely into the storyline that has been building around the Tag Team Champions and the Death Riders. This storyline has also ballooned to include everyone from the Dogs to the Bang Bang Gang and, yes, even the Young Bucks as well. In a strictly established sense, Cage and Copeland defending the titles against two men who are no strangers to gold in AEW (and ROH in Claudio’s case) checks out.
And, not for nothing, but when Cage and Copeland defended the Tag Team Titles against Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia last week on Dynamite, this would inevitably be the next logical step. I would be INCREDIBLY surprised if Claudio and PAC took the Tag Team Titles here from Cage and Copeland, but stranger things HAVE happened in professional wrestling.
While the match result might be obvious, I feel the match quality itself should be good, if for no reason other than Claudio and PAC upping their game to try and win the titles. I’m sure the home country atmosphere for the Champions won’t hurt and, hey, at least THEY are closer Quebec than, say, Jericho or Omega.
WINNERS: The C&C Canadian Wrestling Factory! (And still!)
Maya World has had the, no pun intended, whole World talking about her success in AEW. Maya not only got her big break (alongside Hyan) because of the egos of others, but she has made the most of it. She was a replacement for Sareee in the Women’s Owen Hart Tourney and defeated Skye Blue and shocked Athena in the semifinals only to lose to Mercedes Mone in the Finals. And she has been involved in high profile matches and in main events on Dynamite and Collision.
Hikaru Shida, meanwhile, has been on the run of her AEW career since returning from an exceedingly long hiatus. The former three-time AEW Women’s World Champion won the vacated TBS Title on the July 1st edition of Dynamite in a Survival of the Fittest match, and she has been phenomenal as the heel character with a cocky disposition. And Shida has not been shy about defending the title, as she has won over Harley Cameron and Queen Aminata less than three weeks after winning the title.
The truth is that, while Maya has been on quite the run since she got the spotlight months ago alongside Hyan, she hasn’t delivered in the big moments yet to this point. Sure, she DID defeat Athena (who she had pushed to the limit previously for her ROH Women’s World Title), but she lost to the CEO in the finals. On the other hand, Shida has no problem stepping up and winning in the big matches and holding titles for her is second nature.
Despite what some “fans” have complained about regarding Shida (“She looks fatter” or “She is so sloppy in the ring”), the fact is that you should always expect the best out of her in any match, and she is willing and able to elevate someone next to her. Maya may not win this match, but she’s still got the whole WORLD talking.
WINNER: Hikaru HOLY Shida (And still!)
Nothing lasts forever, and families don’t always manage to stay happy all the time. These are lessons that can be applied to Andrade El Idolo and his exit from the Don Callis Family after the events of the 12-man cage match at Forbidden Door in June. Andrade was already teetering towards the turn leading into it, and his catchphrase had caught on in a big way with the fans.
After turning and helping Mark Briscoe’s team win so he could get a title shot at then-Champion MJF, Andrade insisted that, on top of still wanting the World Title, that he wanted to take every title from the Family. And he gets his first crack at this on Sunday when he challenges Mark Davis for his National Title.
Davis has had a terrific run as a singles wrestler, following in the footsteps of former United Empire members Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher. Dunkzilla defeated Jungle Jack Perry for the National Title back at Fareway to Hell, and he will have held the National Title for 78 days as Redemption rolls around.
As much as Davis has been doing well, you simply cannot deny Andrade. The man has been dealing all the face cards and aces since he officially returned to AEW earlier this year, and it’s been a tragedy that he hasn’t won a singles title since coming back. That situation will be rectified on Sunday, when Andrade takes the National Title from Davis, and the fissures within the bed rock of the Family continue to multiply.
WINNER: HOW YOU KNOW? (And NEW!!!!)
One of the biggest wrestling cliches (at least in my mind) is when a wrestler is referred to as being “pound for pound the best wrestler in the world.” But, when it comes to Bandido, that may be truthful. The current Ring of Honor World Champion and tag team partner with Brody King in Brodido, Bandido does things that anyone else his size shouldn’t be able to do. Sure, he’s fast and agile, but he’s also strong enough to lift heavier foes like his name is Superman.
Kyle Fletcher has gone from being a tag team wrestler, to a can’t miss singles prospect, into the fulfillment of potential and superstar status in AEW. Fletcher already has multiple TNT Title reigns under his pink tights, and now he’s rocking with the International Title. Fletcher also doesn’t have a problem dealing with what he perceives as slights within the Don Callis Family, as he took the title from the former Champion and Family member Konosuke Takeshita.
These guys have had interactions as of late to display what they can do when they get into the ring one-on-one. Case in point, this week’s episode of Dynamite, where Brodido defeated ProtoKada, which led to Fletcher losing his mind on Kazuchika Okada after he had already called out the Jet Kevin Knight before the match. After this match, it’s clear that Bandido has the momentum heading into their title encounter.
Bandido has been the ROH World Champion for over 472 days now, and the Most Wanted Man adding a second title would not only make him Bandy Two-Belts but also continues the issues within the Family. Fletcher just won the International Title from Takeshita at Beach Break, and since I am already calling one title change in the DCF, I don’t see a second happening. But, if it is any consolation, this one has major MOTN potential.
WINNER: PROTOSTAR! (And still!)
When TIMELESS Toni Storm went MIA and has remained out of the limelight, someone had to step into her role and not just become the Women’s World Champion, but someone who will be the face of the division. Enter Thekla, who not only has stepped up and filled Toni’s shoes, but she has become one of the absolute best things going in the company regardless of the division.
On the other side of the ledger, we have Willow Nightingale standing in to oppose the Champion. It is vindication for what happened to Willow over the past two months, but Nightingale went from having to drop her TBS Title and stepping out of the Women’s Owen Hart Tourney, to returning to win the Casino Gauntlet match at Beach Break. Thekla may have beaten all the “dumb bitches,” but Willow doesn’t fit that category in the least, since she smiles anyway!
Predicting a winner here is not going to be easy work in the slightest. A lot of fans (me included) have been on the Cadillac Rock Box about Thekla holding onto the Women’s Title until All-In London. For that to happen, she must defeat Nightingale here, who has looked great since she made her return from injury. Some fans (again, me included) feel that Willow winning the World Title is poetic justice for all the bad luck that fell upon her since Double or Nothing in May.
And then there is the Mercedes Mone angle. Mone has involved herself not only with Nightingale (adding to their overall history), but she also has problems with Thekla as well. I’ve seen an idea floated by others that Thekla wins here by way of nefarious means (Mone interference), and then we have a 3-way dance at All-In London. And the more I think about it, the more I can get behind it.
WINNER: Thekla, DUMB BITCHES! (And still!)
The expression, “The sky is the limit” is used to the point that it becomes cliché and trite. However, given that Kevin Knight’s nickname is “The Jet,” it makes total sense if you were to say that, indeed, the sky is the limit for him. The only problem for Knight is that he is going to contend for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship held by Kenny Omega. And say what you want about Kevin’s future in wrestling, but Kenny is everything that personifies pro wrestling today.
Despite having his own title to defend, Knight has screamed from the rooftops about getting a World Title shot. And even though Knight got an agreement from Maxwell Jacob Friedman, he would go on to lose the title, and Knight tried to hold Omega to someone else’s word. Despite this, Omega was a good sport and, in last week’s episode of Dynamite during his title celebration, he granted Kevin’s request for a title shot at Redemption.
One of the absolute worst secrets kept within AEW and the wrestling world is that we are looking at a World Heavyweight Title match at All-In London between Omega and Will Ospreay. And, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will be in for what may be the match of the year between these two best friends. But what if Knight were to score a win here over Omega and not only hold the TNT Title but also the World Title?
I mean, it IS possible. After all, Darby Allin was able to dethrone MJF and turned it into at least one title defense every week until Max won it back at Double or Nothing in May. And it’s not like Omega is facing Aaron Solo here; Knight is authentic. And don’t forget that Knight bragged that he didn’t need the Family to help him win his matches, so, this should be a fair one-on-one match for Omega, and he shouldn’t have to deal with the DCF.
WINNER: Kenny BY GAWD Omega (And still!)
And that’ll do it for my preview of Redemption! I will wrap this up by saying what I always do, and that is if you clicked on my article, read it, and posted a comment, I thank you for the support! It means a lot to me as do the responses, whether good, bad, or indifferent!
I always close my previews with the location and time of the show, but I want to remind everyone that the main show starts at 7:00PM EST instead of 8:00PM EST, meaning the Buy-In will take place at 6:00PM EST. But, as always, you can find the show in all the usual places!
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