AEW Redemption Review: Incredible Action Dragged Down by Predictable Booking and Goofy Comedy
AEW Redemption was a complete microcosm of modern All Elite Wrestling. On one hand, you had world-class athleticism and star-making performances.
On the other, you had overly predictable match outcomes, head-scratching faction logic, and campy sports-entertainment comedy that completely clashed with the "serious wrestling" alternative AEW claims to be.
Here is the breakdown of what worked, what missed, and what left us shaking our heads.
The Good: Star-Making Moments & Veteran Masterclasses
Maya World’s Moment: Easily the feel-good beat of the entire night. Winning the TBS Championship off Hikaru Shida on her birthday—and carrying the emotional weight of losing her brother this past year—gave the show a rare moment of genuine, unscripted heart. Shida carried her end like a pro, and the crowd reaction made Maya feel like a true main-event transition.
Kevin Knight Breaks Out: Kenny Omega may not be operating at his peak "Best Bout Machine" speed anymore—you can tell he’s calculating every single bump—but he gave Kevin Knight 20+ minutes and made him look like a million bucks. Knight’s explosive athleticism and timing proved he belongs at the top of the card.
Cage & Cope Deliver: Christian Cage and Adam Copeland showed everyone how tag team psychology is done against Claudio Castagnoli and PAC. No gimmicks needed—just pure, veteran storytelling that drew the crowd in from start to finish.
Speedball Takes the Ladder Match: Opening the main card with "Speedball" Mike Bailey winning the #1 Contender ladder match in Quebec was the right move for the local pop. High-risk spots, crazy bumps, and an instant workrate setup for the International Title at Grand Slam Mexico.
The Bad: Predictable Title Changes & Baffling Faction Logic
The Predictability Trap: Outside of Maya's win, virtually every title match felt like a foregone conclusion. Kyle Fletcher retaining, Andrade El Ídolo taking the National Title off Mark Davis, and Willow Nightingale regaining the Women’s World Championship off Thekla were all telegraphed miles away. When long-term booking gets too obvious, it strips the actual matches of suspense.
Cooling Off Thekla & The Triangle: Disappointing move here. Thekla was on absolute fire with her promos and character work, giving the division a mean, dangerous edge. Pulling the belt off her just to reset Willow as a smiling babyface champion for a future Mercedes Moné match feels like a big miss that completely neuters the Triangle of Madness.
The Death Riders Had a Nightmare Night: For a group built up as an oppressive, dark force taking over AEW, their booking was a disaster. Moxley lost his tag match because he was too busy playing drill instructor to Will Ospreay, Claudio and PAC lost their title match, and the group fractured by the end of the night.
The Ugly: The Jericho Vortex & Murder-Bag Melodrama
Ciampa Wrestling a Teddy Bear: Look, Tommaso Ciampa built his career on gritty, high-stakes intensity. Watching him get sucked into Chris Jericho’s campy, comedic nonsense—including wrestling a literal teddy bear—is embarrassing to watch as a fan. When you market yourself as the serious wrestling alternative, pulling stunt spots like that just kills immersion.
The Ospreay Turn & Murder Ethics: The post-main event chaos devolved into total melodrama. Moxley demanding Ospreay put a plastic bag over Kenny Omega's head led to a hilarious existential crisis mid-ring—because apparently, fire and steel chairs are fair play, but attempted homicide is where Ospreay draws the moral line. The fact that Ospreay refused the bag, turned on Moxley to a huge pop, and then immediately ate a One-Winged Angel from Kenny Omega anyway made everyone in that ring look foolish.
Quick Results Summary
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (c) def. Kevin Knight
AEW Women's World Championship: Willow Nightingale def. Thekla (c) (NEW CHAMPION)
TBS Championship: Maya World def. Hikaru Shida (c) (NEW CHAMPION)
AEW International Championship: Kyle Fletcher (c) def. Bandido
AEW National Championship: Andrade El Ídolo def. Mark Davis (c) (NEW CHAMPION)
AEW World Tag Team Championship: Christian Cage & Adam Copeland (c) def. Claudio Castagnoli & PAC
Grudge Match: The Young Bucks def. Jon Moxley & Will Ospreay
No Holds Barred: Chris Jericho def. Tommaso Ciampa
Double Chain Match: Juice Robinson & Jay White def. David Finlay & Clark Connors
#1 Contender Ladder Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Jack Perry, The Beast Mortos, Komander, Nick Wayne, & El Clon
Buy-In: The Conglomeration def. The OutRunners & Dark Order
Overall Grade: B-
AEW Redemption delivered strong ring work across the board, but over-engineered storytelling and predictable outcomes kept it from being a classic.
Give us more Kevin Knight, less teddy bear spots, and let the heels actually stay dominant for once.
