AEW Redemption 2026: Draws & Duds

The first-ever AEW Redemption is upon us this Sunday, as Tony Khan's promotion presents a 10-match card (as of this writing) at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Six titles are on the line, including both singles world championships, as Willow Nightingale challenges Thekla for the women's world title while Kenny Omega returns to his home country to defend his newly-won men's world title against TNT Champion Kevin Knight.

But which of these matches has the WINC crew excited to drop money on the PPV, and which have us thinking about keeping our wallets closed? That's the question this column aims to find out. From Hikaru Shida's TBS title defense against Maya World to Tommaso Ciampa's no-holds-barred date with the Painmaker, here are WINC's biggest draws and biggest duds for AEW Revolution 2026!

2026 marked the North American return of three-time AEW Women's Champion Hikaru Shida. The year has also proven to be a breakout one of high-profile matches and championship opportunities, specifically for Maya World. Now, it's pitting the two women against each other at AEW Redemption, and I'm here for it.

This AEW Redemption match will be a treat for many fans as one of AEW's established names takes on a rising star who recently pinned the longest-reigning major world champion of the modern era, Athena. Last month, World came close to conquering another decorated veteran in the form of Mercedes Mone at Forbidden Door. And while she fell short, World's performance showed that she could hang with the toughest of opponents, even those with multiple world title reigns to their names.

That's why, despite coming out of nowhere from a storyline perspective, Shida's TBS Championship defense against World remains at the top of my must-see list among the Redemption card. We already know that Shida can bring the heat (and the kendo stick shots) in the ring. Her resume in AEW and overseas speaks for itself. Can Maya World dish it back to her, though? I think so. Who knows, World may even live up to her name and shock the world with the announcement of "and new" at Redemption.

Written by Ella Jay

The artist formerly known as Chris Jericho is bidding for his obligatory win back from Tommaso Ciampa at Redemption, donning the "Clockwork Orange" facepaint in a revival of "The Painmaker" while Ciampa looks to bring the "Psycho Killer" to the fore in a No Holds Barred Match. 

Jericho lost to Ciampa when they met at Beach Break, a bout that wandered closer to the realms of No Holds Barred in itself as they fought around the venue. Maybe because a match with Jericho in this day and age doesn't exactly live up to the name, and a plunder match gets around some of those limitations. 

Nevertheless, it really does feel like this match is unnecessary and sure to be one of the weaker matches on the card. Plunder matches are fun at the best of times, but this feels like an excuse to get Jericho his win back as Ciampa becomes the latest bald victim of the Jericho Vortex. That's not the best trajectory for a man that won the TNT title on his first night in the promotion. 

There's also the case that this was a "AEW Dynamite" match and continues to stand out as that on a PPV card. Jericho is obviously a legend, but so are Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and Mick Foley. There is no desire to see any of them wrestling on PPV in a match apparently designed to have them win either.

Written by Max Everett

AEW Women's World Champion Thekla has been on a tear since winning the belt back in February in a brutal strap match against Kris Statlander, and now, she's set to take on the newly-returned fan-favorite Willow Nightingale. The clash of the pair's styles, and the unknown going into AEW All In: London, are what make this match a draw.

The pair went one-on-one only once before, almost exactly a year ago from Redemption, on "AEW Collision." Thekla scored the victory after the Sisters of Sin distracted Nightingale and Thekla was able to nail her with a spear, followed by her stomp. In the months that have followed the match, Thekla has only gotten better, honing her style in the ring to stand out on AEW programming and on American television.

In that match, Thekla started to bring out the harder side of Nightingale, something fans know she has in her, perhaps seen best in her street fight against Kris Statlander at All Out 2024. While this match doesn't have a stipulation, if there's one thing AEW pay-per-view matches are known for, it's excellent in ring work, which these two women are bound to bring, stipulation or not.

Thekla has been on a hot streak not just with her title defenses and wins, but on the microphone in an AEW without "Timeless" Toni Storm. AEW hasn't been giving Thekla a lot of time on "Dynamite" to cut promos on her opponent ahead of its pay-per-views, but she did cut one on Nightingale after she and the Sisters of Sin won the Artist of Stardom Championships. She addressed Nightingale directly and said that no amount of manifesting and dreaming is going to save her from what Thekla is going to do. She promised to step into Nightingale's dreams, "p*** into her clouds" and "break her smile." In the same promo, Thekla then pivoted to address the 2026 Women's Owen Hart Foundation tournament winner, Mercedes Mone, who is set for a shot at the AEW Women's World Championship in Wembley Stadium.

The fact Thekla thinks she'll be the one defending the title against Mone at All In brings the unknown factor into this match. Thekla vs. Mone would be a heel vs. heel feud at Wembley, and it's possible Nightingale captures her first AEW Women's World Championship at Redemption to defend against Mone, a woman who she's had a hot rivalry with over the years. A very possible title change, one to benefit the babyface Nightingale, is a big reason this match is a draw.

Written by Daisy Ruth

With all due respect to Kenny Omega and Kevin Knight, what are we doing? Is there a soul amongst us who believes that Kenny Omega is going to lose the AEW World Championship just a month before his All In match with Will Ospreay, in his home country of Canada? I have no doubt that between the bells, Knight and Omega will have a crisp, clean, smooth match, with plenty of high spots and plenty of high-impact wrestling, but it will be lacking in that most important ingredient: drama.

This is a "Dynamite" main event through and through, but instead Knight is getting a main event PPV slot, while Kenny Omega wins the title in a "Dynamite" main event. Things are topsy-turvy in a way that I simply cannot square. I can't find the ability to care about this match, other than what it might mean for Kevin Knight's prospects as a future main eventer. Even as I wrote that sentence, all I could think is, "This is what the main event of 'Dynamite' is for," and yet here we are. I just don't get it, and I leave it up to Omega and Knight — and Tony Khan — to prove me wrong.

Written by Ross Berman