AEW Dynamite Beach Break - 7/8/2026: 3 Things We Hated And 3 We Loved

AEW stormed the beach of Clearwater, FL for the Beach Break edition of "Dynamite." The show had two title matches, and the return of Willow Nightingale in the Casino Gauntlet match. There's a whole detailed report over on the AEW Dynamite Beach Break 7/8/2026 Results page.

There may have only been a few matches on the special show, but the Wrestling Inc. crew had plenty of opinions about the show, and the time to share said opinions has arrived. There was plenty of good things that happened on the broadcast, like the Gauntlent, or the International Title match, and there was also plenty that just wasn't, like whatever is going on with the Don Callis Family. As always, you can keep the conversation rolling in the comments section.

For now, here's the best and the worst of AEW Beach Break.

It feels strange to say that a Chris Jericho match could have been a bit more in the year 2026, but I thought his "Dynamite"-opening match against Tommaso Ciampa in the beautiful venue of The Baycare Sound in Clearwater, Florida, could have used a stipulation to further show off how cool the venue was. The pair started off with a brawl around the beach-themed set on the stage before the bell rang, and I just thought it would be more fun to keep that up throughout the match.

It was really the only bout on the show tonight that could have been slightly sillier, for lack of a better term, to really show off the uniqueness of the venue. AEW World Champion MJF and Omega also utilized the environment a bit, but there were already high stakes to their match.

Ciampa bloodied Jericho after hitting the Fairytale Ending on top of the steps, which looked brutal. The pair also utilized a bucket of sand in the ring, right in front of referee Aubrey Edwards' line of sight. They were halfway to a hardcore stipulation match anyway, and I just think AEW could have gone all in (pun not intended) with it. Obviously, not knowing the logistics of The Baycare Sound, it would have been fun if they could have brawled through the crowd for a moment, as there was a lot more light for their match. Even if they just battled back to the set after the match officially got underway and knocked each other around with weapons and pool floaties, the theming of it all could have been really fun.

I also really thought this was at least the pair's second match, but nope, only their first bout in what I can only hope, for Ciampa's sake, won't be a best-of-three series. I guess they've just talked so much s*** to one another on "AEW Collision" that I figured this had already been done before. But, if this match was some kind of street fight, beach fight, whatever clever name you want to call it, Ciampa's victory could have been more decisive, and could potentially lead to their feud wrapping with just a single match. Sadly, I think Jericho is headed for his "Redemption" at the end of the month.

I suppose a one-and-done is too much to ask for when it comes to Jericho, and despite this not being a bad match, by any means, I just thought it could have been a little more on what was overall an excellent, jam-packed episode of "Dynamite." The set and venue overall looked incredible, and it should have been Jericho and Ciampa to help show it off a little more.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita are two of my favorite male performers on the AEW roster, so naturally, it makes sense that I was very into the banger of a match that they had for the AEW International Championship at the "Dynamite" Beach Break special.

These two men are just one of those pairs who have that natural chemistry in the ring. You know that you're going to get a banger of a match between them, which was made even better by their storied history that allowed AEW not to have to do too much in order for the match not to feel super random or out of the blue (as matches on "Dynamite" can sometimes feel). The action throughout the duration of the match was intense and gripping, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I watched it and engaged throughout the entire thing. I have to give both men (and all of the performers on this show, for that matter) major props for putting on a match that was this good in the sweltering heat and humidity of Clearwater, Florida.

I was also very pleasantly surprised when Fletcher emerged as the victor of this match to become the new International Champion. I thought that there was a good chance Takeshita would retain, considering he's held the title for just a little over a month and would argue he could've maybe held it a tad bit longer, but was very happy regardless to see AEW give Fletcher a title once again because I think he absolutely deserves it.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

After weeks of speculation about Jack Perry's contract status, Perry put pen to paper in a dramatic video package on Wednesday. I have no problem with Perry as an AEW lifer, but the high-profile way he's announced his re-signing makes me believe we're going to be trying once again with the former AEW TNT Champion. In the post-Darby Allin world, it's very possible that he could be the next AEW Original to earn an AEW Title reign, and I kinda shudder at the thought of the discourse that would surround said win.

Discourse is kind of the whole problem with Perry. It's possible that the video package was a way to say "Jack Perry is coming for his anointed spot in the AEW title lineage," but it's also just as possible that it was a way of saying, "F*** you, new WWE Champion CM Punk." There's just so much baggage with Perry, too much baggage.

I hope I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, and he'll be slotted back in the National Title scene, or maybe team up with Luchasaurus and go back to the tag team division. I just worry that he's going to become some kind of walking rib against CM Punk, but there is time to be proven wrong.

Written by Ross Berman

I love a good, chaotic Casino Gauntlet match, and I love it even more when it's on the women's division side of things. Tonight's match was excellent for so many reasons, and the inclusion of AEW Women's World Champion Thekla on commentary was such a fun addition. I think she's absolutely excellent, and her saucy quips are just so good in a "Timeless" Toni Storm-less AEW.

We got a good amount of competitors in the match, with Willow Nightingale being the eighth and final woman. We knew Athena and Maya World would start off the bout, but we also saw Skye Blue, Mina Shirakawa, Stardom's Rina, Julia Hart, and Thunder Rosa. I expected to see the likes of Kris Statlander and Harley Cameron in the match, so I was surprised we got some faces I didn't expect, especially someone from Stardom trying to get to Thekla.

I really liked how the heels, the Sisters of Sin, brought weapons into the match. Yes, I'm always one for weapons and a gimmick, but in the gauntlet, it made sense, as I'd imagine you'd want to bring in a kendo stick or a trash can lid to take out your opponents, so you're the one to get the pin. The heels bringing them, as well as chairs, worked. The whole attacking officials on the outside thing that Hart and Blue did to get their hands on the chairs didn't make sense, but whatever, they're heels.

I was glad to see Nightingale back so quickly, as she's such a bright spot in AEW. I hate that she had to relinquish the TBS Championship and miss out on The Owen due to injury, but if this leads to her dethroning Thekla to get to Mercedes Mone at All In: London, I'm all for it. Nightingale looked great in the match, like she didn't miss a beat, and I especially loved her big boot to Athena right on time with her entrance music.

I also thought Rosa looked really good in this, which is certainly something of note, as she isn't often around on "Dynamite." I also thought she looked great in her Zero Hour tag match alongside Olympia at Forbidden Door, so maybe something's in the works for her. Athena and World kicking off the match, but neither winning, was a nice touch, as they're likely to go to battle over the ROH Women's World title.

On a big show like "Beach Break," it was nice to see so many women get a lot of time in a really solid match. The AEW Women's World title picture is looking really interesting heading into Redemption and All In, and I can't wait for it all.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Previously on Wrestling Inc. loves and hates for "AEW Dynamite." The Don Callis Family segment got a hate from your boy because it was the segment on the show that was the least good on a show full of good. Tonight, we revisit the family to see if they can once again have the weirdest segment on a show that was, again, very good from top to bottom.

So Kyle Fletcher is the new AEW International Champion after defeating Konosuke Takeshita in what was an excellent match, and I thought that we were going to leave it at that since the show went to a commercial immediately after the finish. However, when the show came back, Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher were still in the ring, some of the family came down (not all of them, though, because they probably couldn't be bothered with the humidity, and honestly, that's fair enough), and then Mick Foley showed up.

Foley was advertised for the show beforehand, which I thought was cool since he hasn't been seen since AEW Double or Nothing 2026, but I don't think he really added anything here. It was just the only way to get him on a show that was so focused on the in-ring action, which made him talk about his dog shoes a bit awkwardly. What was even more awkward was when Foley was staring down Fletcher as if that was going to go anywhere, like I know Foley wants one more match, but please man, don't get in there with Fletcher, you'll get killed.

Then it all kind of descended into a more overbooked version of last week. Kevin Knight still wants his AEW World Championship match despite being afraid of backpacks. Andrade El Idolo showed up in a detective coat in a 100-degree heat and was baited into facing Jake Doyle on "AEW Collision" for a chance to face Mark Davis for the AEW National Championship. That was fine, until you realize "Speedball" Mike Bailey wants Davis as well, and the fact that Andrade wanted the world title two weeks ago and is now fine with any of the belts in The Don Callis Family. Darby Allin then showed up with an exploding skateboard, and everything just seemed a bit all over the place. Oh, and Foley had quietly disappeared by this point, which was the right move.

I know the end results will likely be good. Darby vs. Knight, Andrade as a champion, it will all work out. It's just that the road to get to those points is a lot bumpier than it should be. At least Andrade's catchphrase is over; that's fun.

Written by Sam Palmer

At the end of a night of some already pretty great wrestling, Beach Break went that extra step further in staging Kenny Omega's final gambit for the AEW World Championship. If he lost, then even being a major reason why that title exists, he wouldn't be allowed to challenge for it again.

He would have been the third member of the founding Elite to have been banished from the World title picture because of MJF; betraying Cody Rhodes in a challenge against Chris Jericho and ensuring he would never hold the title again before leaving the promotion, and then beating "Hangman" Adam Page with the stipulation applied at Revolution.

And he would have to do something he had never done before, beat MJF. Of course, everything that came between that pretext and the actual result was Pro Wrestling Godly, because it was a Kenny Omega match with a twist: it was also an MJF match. What ensued was a physical game of cat and mouse, Tom and Jerry but graps, with each taking turns to come up with inventive ways to beat the other up throughout.

Omega leapt from a lifeguard tower for a moonsault, and given this was all at a beach, got some sand in his eye that he later needed to address. To create the space to address it, he kicked MJF off of the apron and through the announcer's desk.

Having failed to connect with the One Winged Angel after a few attempts, he looked to step that up by connecting with one from the top rope. MJF telegraphed it and spiked him with a gnarly poisonrana from the top, following up with a Heatseeker to surely break "The Cleaner's" heart.

Omega kicked out of that, and MJF decided that enough was enough and he was doing this the dirty way, grabbing his title and returning to the ring for the good ol' belt shot. The referee reminded him that, despite all his best wishes, that's not how wrestling works and took the belt off him. But then MJF whipped out the Dynamite Diamond Ring as his backup plan, shaping up to use it before Will Ospreay ran down the ramp to snatch it away from him.

Omega went for a belt shot, looked like a bit of a numpty when he just stopped, dropped the belt, and caught a low blow for his chivalry. He kicked out at one, rectifying that issue with an adrenalin spike for the crowd to go on and win the title clean as a whistle.

Two top-notch performers. A top-notch match. And a top-notch result. Roll on Kenny Omega versus Will Ospreay at All In.

Written by Max Everett