New York, N.Y. — All Elite Wrestling delivered an action-packed show at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday night.
The night opened with an intense “I Quit” Match for the AEW Tag Team Championships as Cope & Cage defeated FTR to become the new champions. The match reached its conclusion after Dax Harwood was forced to quit following the use of Cope’s signature weapon, “Spike” a black 2×4 covered in, well, spikes. The stipulation in this match stated that if Cope & Cage lost, they would never be able to team together again. Fortunately for them, that was not the case.
One of the biggest moments of the night came when Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the AEW International Championship. The match itself lived up to expectations, but the major story afterward was the return of Kyle Fletcher. Fletcher’s appearance set the stage for what appears to be a future battle with Takeshita over the International Title.
In the first round of the Owen Hart Women’s Memorial Tournament, Athena defeated Mina Shirakawa to advance. Athena will now face the winner of Skye Blue vs. Sareee in the second round.
Jon Moxley successfully retained the AEW Continental Championship against Kyle O’Reilly. O’Reilly pushed Moxley in a technical bout, but Moxley ultimately secured the victory via submission.
Will Ospreay advanced in the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament after defeating Samoa Joe. Ospreay finished Joe off with back-to-back “Hidden Blades” in one of the best matches of the night. Expectations for this match were high, and both competitors managed to exceed them. Ospreay will face the winner of “Jungle” Jack Perry vs. Mark Davis.
Swerve Strickland also moved on in the tournament, defeating Bandido via the “House Call” to get the job done. Swerve will face the winner of Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brody King.
The AEW Women’s World Championship was defended in a four-way match featuring champion Thekla, Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander, and Hikaru Shida. Thekla managed to survive the chaotic match and retained her championship against three former world champions in the AEW women’s division.
The Stadium Stampede match delivered loads of chaos all over the stadium, with the team of Chris Jericho, The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin), The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), “Jungle” Jack Perry, and Kenny Omega emerging victorious over The Demand (Ricochet, Toa Liona, and Bishop Kaun), The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay), and the Don Callis Family (Andrade El Ídolo and AEW National Champion Mark Davis).
In the main event, Darby Allin defended the AEW World Championship against Maxwell Jacob Friedman. The stipulation stated that if MJF lost, he would be shaved bald. MJF avoided that fate by defeating Darby Allin to capture the AEW World Championship for the third time in his All Elite Wrestling career.
The show ended with another shocking moment as Kevin Knight turned heel, leaving fans stunned after jumping off the top rope onto a stretchered Darby Allin. “The Jet” made his claim as the next rising heel star in All Elite Wrestling.
This sold out show was one of AEW’s most successful events in company history. With WrestleMania heading out of the United States, there is now a major opening for a domestic wrestling extravaganza in April 2027. Though it is still a long way away, Tony Khan was asked during the post show press conference whether an AEW led wrestling weekend could be possible. Khan deemed the idea “viable” and hinted at the possibility, saying there is not a domestic wrestling weekend “yet.”
It is shaping up to be another fun filled year of wrestling for the “sickos” of All Elite Wrestling.
