AEW Dynamite Indiana Recap: Ospreay and Moxley Go Face-to-Face as Swerve and New Level Retain

AEW made its final major stop before All Out 2026 on Wednesday night, delivering a loaded show from the Fishers Event Center in Indiana.

One quick date clarification: the live AEW Dynamite/Collision special took place Wednesday, September 23, with the recap coming on September 24. The three-hour broadcast combined Dynamite and Collision, with the Dynamite portion featuring two championship matches, Jon Moxley in action, Tommaso Ciampa building toward Kazuchika Okada, and AEW World Champion Will Ospreay sending one final message before All Out.

Swerve Strickland and New Level Survive The Demand

AEW wasted little time getting to one of the biggest matches of the evening as Swerve Strickland, Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed — New Level — defended the AEW World Trios Championship against Ricochet, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona of The Demand.

The challengers entered convinced that the champions were little more than a collection of talented individuals rather than a true team. That question became particularly interesting because of Swerve’s complicated history with several people surrounding the Trios Championship picture.

Once the bell rang, however, Swerve, Kofi and Creed looked increasingly comfortable as a unit.

The match developed into a fast-paced, chaotic showcase featuring Ricochet’s aerial offense, the power of Kaun and Liona, and New Level’s increasingly effective teamwork.

One of the biggest near falls came when Ricochet connected with a 630 Splash on Kofi, only for Swerve to make the save.

Later, Creed showed impressive strength by getting the much larger Liona up for a sit-out Death Valley Driver. The closing stretch became a succession of signature moves before Swerve connected with a House Call on Liona, helping Kofi complete the sequence and score the pin.

Winners: Swerve Strickland & New Level — retain the AEW World Trios Championship.

Their celebration didn’t last long.

“Hangman” Adam Page, Bandido and Brody King came out to confront the champions ahead of their Trios Championship match at All Out.

The exchange centered heavily on the history between Page and Swerve. Page questioned whether Kofi and Creed really understood the man they had chosen as a partner, while Swerve fired back by questioning Page’s own history with partners.

That confrontation added another personal layer to what was already one of All Out’s most interesting championship matches.

Mike Bailey Officially Joins United Empire

Before competing later in the night, “Speedball” Mike Bailey officially accepted Will Ospreay’s invitation to join United Empire.

Bailey explained that his respect for Ospreay had developed through their history together and said he wanted to stand alongside the AEW World Champion.

That immediately gave Ospreay another major ally heading into his escalating war with the Death Riders.

More importantly, Bailey would get an opportunity to prove himself as part of United Empire before the night was over.

Jon Moxley Defeats Dezmond Xavier

Before challenging Ospreay for the AEW World Championship at All Out, Jon Moxley faced Dezmond Xavier in an AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match.

Xavier’s speed gave Moxley problems early, and he managed several bursts of offense, including a standing moonsault and Meteora.

Moxley eventually turned the match back in his favor with his physicality.

When Xavier attempted to continue his high-speed offense, Moxley caught him and eventually trapped him in a rear-naked choke.

Xavier had nowhere to go and submitted.

Winner: Jon Moxley.

It was exactly the type of victory Moxley needed before entering All Out as the challenger rather than the champion.

Cage & Cope, FTR and The Young Bucks Descend Into Chaos

The AEW World Tag Team Championship picture exploded when Cage & Cope, FTR and The Young Bucks shared the ring ahead of their three-way ladder match at All Out.

What began as a war of words predictably became physical.

The Young Bucks emphasized that another failure could represent their final opportunity to regain the championships. Christian Cage responded by reminding everyone that he and Copeland weren’t interested in becoming four-time champions — they planned to make sure their first reign continued.

Things quickly broke down.

Cope struck Dax Harwood, triggering a six-man fight.

The Young Bucks used superkicks, security poured toward the ring, Nick Jackson launched himself from a ladder onto security personnel, and FTR put another member of security through a table.

Cage and Cope then delivered a Con-Chair-To during the chaos.

Rather than calming anything down before All Out, the segment demonstrated exactly why putting these three teams together in a ladder match could become one of the wildest matches on Saturday’s card.

Tommaso Ciampa Sends a Message to Kazuchika Okada

Tommaso Ciampa defeated Jake Doyle of the Don Callis Family in another physical encounter.

Doyle repeatedly targeted Ciampa’s surgically repaired neck and used his size advantage to control stretches of the match.

Ciampa survived, eventually connecting with a bicycle knee to earn the victory.

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa.

Afterward, Ciampa turned his attention directly toward AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada.

Okada appeared and made it clear that Ciampa would finally get the Rainmaker at All Out. Ciampa responded by promising a version of the “Psycho Killer” that fans had yet to see as he attempts to take Okada’s championship.

Persephone Retains the TBS Championship — But Not Cleanly

TBS Champion Persephone defended against Hyan, with Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. watching from commentary.

Hyan came close to pulling the upset, including connecting with a spear for a dramatic near fall.

Persephone ultimately escaped with the championship in controversial fashion.

Hyan attempted a sunset flip, but Persephone sat down on the pinning attempt and grabbed the ropes without the referee seeing it, allowing her to score the three-count.

Winner: Persephone — retains the AEW TBS Championship.

The finish ensured that the rivalry was far from finished.

Persephone later issued an open challenge for All Out, although she specifically excluded Hyan, Thunder Rosa and Maya World from answering it.

Will Ospreay and Mike Bailey Defeat the Death Riders

The biggest storyline of the Dynamite portion came in the night’s featured tag-team match.

New United Empire member Mike Bailey joined AEW World Champion Will Ospreay against Claudio Castagnoli and Gabe Kidd of the Death Riders.

Making the situation even more interesting, Jon Moxley joined commentary to watch his All Out opponent.

Bailey and Ospreay immediately showed chemistry, matching speed with the physical style of Kidd and Castagnoli.

The Death Riders eventually isolated Bailey and prevented him from reaching Ospreay, but Bailey survived long enough to make the crucial tag.

Ospreay exploded into the match.

The closing minutes featured counters, strikes and saves from all four men before Ospreay countered Castagnoli and connected with a Styles Clash for the victory.

Winners: Will Ospreay & Mike Bailey.

But the match was only the setup for the real story.

Ospreay and Moxley Come Face-to-Face

Following the victory, Ospreay addressed his upcoming championship defense.

The AEW World Champion acknowledged Moxley’s importance to the company and the role Moxley had played in AEW’s history. But Ospreay also made it clear that the situation had changed.

Moxley was no longer the champion waiting for someone to take his throne.

Moxley was now the challenger. Ospreay was the champion.

Moxley eventually entered the ring and challenged Ospreay directly about whether he truly felt like the champion.

Before Ospreay could fully respond, Gabe Kidd attempted a sneak attack.

Ospreay saw it coming.

Kidd nearly collided with Moxley before Ospreay dropped him, then emphatically told Moxley that he absolutely felt like the champion.

Moxley left the ring while Ospreay stood tall, giving AEW one final image of its World Champion before the two collide at All Out.

AEW Dynamite Results — September 23, 2026

• AEW World Trios Championship: Swerve Strickland & New Level defeated The Demand to retain.
• AEW Continental Championship Eliminator: Jon Moxley defeated Dezmond Xavier.
• Tommaso Ciampa defeated Jake Doyle.
• AEW TBS Championship: Persephone defeated Hyan to retain.
• Will Ospreay & Mike Bailey defeated Claudio Castagnoli & Gabe Kidd.

Final Thoughts

The Indiana edition of Dynamite accomplished what a strong pay-per-view go-home show should accomplish: it left the biggest issues unresolved while making the confrontations feel increasingly personal.

Ospreay and Moxley carried the most important story of the night. Moxley represents much of AEW’s past and its established identity, while Ospreay enters All Out holding the company’s biggest championship and determined to demonstrate that he now occupies that position.

The Trios Championship story also received significant attention. Swerve, Kofi and Creed survived an excellent challenge from The Demand, but their next opponents bring something different — especially because of the deep and violent history between Swerve and Hangman Page.

Meanwhile, Ciampa and Okada intensified their championship rivalry, Persephone escaped with her title through questionable means, and AEW’s three top tag teams showed exactly why putting ladders around them Saturday could be dangerous.

By the end of Dynamite, AEW had done most of the talking it needed to do.

Now comes All Out.

The Grueling Truth Bottom Line: AEW’s Indiana stop was less about delivering final answers and more about creating unfinished business. Swerve and New Level survived, Moxley handled his final test, Bailey officially joined United Empire, and Will Ospreay ended the Dynamite portion standing tall across from the man trying to take away his AEW World Championship.

Sources: AEW’s official results confirm the September 23 three-hour Dynamite/Collision special and its major matches and angles; Fightful and Cageside Seats also covered the live event